Q8400 vs. E8400

[Nono01]

Greetings to all

Im having difficulties deciding witch CPU to get. Im going to use it with Asus P5Q-E mbo and kingmax 800mhz rams.

On the one hand i like the brute performance of the E8400, since it has very good OC potential , but, thinking in the future, quad 8400 may be a good choice also.

Tell you the truth im not using my PC professionally, only what i need is speed in every day jobs (including new and upcoming games ) and stability

Please write your comments on this...

thanx

 

[elconejito]

There's a sticky in this forum that has all the details you need, but I'll recap briefly.

(assuming cost is the same/similar)
It depends on what you are doing.
If you are just browsing the internet, either one will do.
If you do a lot of multitasking or keeping lots of windows open, then maybe the quad is a better choice.
If you do video encoding a quad is a better choice
Depending on the games you play, if they take advantage of many cores or not, this will be a big factor.
Adobe CS3 => high GHz dual
Adobe CS4 => more cores

Neither one is more stable than the other, but you can get a higher overclock with the dual than the quad.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Current demanding games and future games will run much better on any quad. UT3 runs slightly faster on a phenom 1 9550 (2.2ghz) then an E8400. Knowing the Q8400 is right behind it in terms of clockspeed only helps this out. With nearly all games in the fiture being optimized for a quad like UT3 is there is no question the quad is a better choice.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

The Q8400 would be my choice, and I think it would work best for you.

Just a few years ago we were debating single vs. dual core at the same price point, and right now those same dual cores (while slow) are still capable of playing most games and usually offer a 50% to 100% performance increase in recent games over a single core. In a few years (or the end of next year) I expect quad to offer a similar advantage over dual.

In summary: The lower clocked quad should have more staying power. And The Q8400 should overclock pretty nicely, too, although it won't get as high as the E8400.

 

[Nono01]

well, im thinking of Q9400...

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

If you have a MicroCenter near by, don't miss out on the Q9550 I bought mine for 169$ and its overclocked @ 4Ghz on 1.34v 500fsb x 8 multi

 

[cusideabelincoln]

The Q9400 would be a better choice for gaming, and the Q9550 would be the best. Get the best you can reasonably afford.

 

[Nono01]

im from Croatia, so MicroCenter is preety far

im putting Q8400 out of the equation and this time is the Q9400 vs. E8400

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Easily the Q9400 if you can afford it.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Your quad will be harder to overclock on the motherboard... 1. what mobo do you have in mind? 2. What type of ram do you have in mind? (if 1066 see question 1) If overclocking, how high of an overclock are you interested in?

 

[Nono01]

MBO is the Asus P5Q-E , 4 gigs of Kingmax 800. Im not interested in big OC, only about 3,0 Ghz. I need the comp to be quiet as possible and very stable.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Sorry, you did mention that in your op...

 

[Nono01]

Just to add this to the equation

the prices for E8400 and Q9400, here in Croatia are identical

 

[richierich1212]

Originally posted by: Nono01
Just to add this to the equation

the prices for E8400 and Q9400, here in Croatia are identical

If they are identical, and you only want to keep your computer @ 3GHz, then why not just get the Q9400?

 

[dguy6789]

Q9400.