E8400 vs. lower processor

[acbluflame]

Yeah another question :P

Title may sound stupid because of course the 8400 would win benchmark-wise compared with a lower processor.

Question is: Would I see a decrease in performance if I were to get the e7200 instead of the e8400 processor for modern gaming? I mean, if the processor was the only variable in a computer, how low can you go before you see a considerable hit in performance?

Sorry if questions seems odd or you can't understand 'em :(

Thanks
Phil

[system7]

The E8400 does extremely well in office apps, but for modern gaming the graphics card is the limiting factor. Even slower Phenoms do just as well in Call of Duty 4 with the same graphics card.

For a gamer, you simply spend less on the CPU and more on the graphics. Overclocking can often make up the desktop shortfall anyway. 8)

How low can you go? E7200 is a nice budget CPU. E5200 would be OK with a 33% overclock too, I reckon.

[acbluflame]

I can get the E8400 which is still in budget if I don't get a case. If I do get a case (most likely antec 300), I'll need to cut down about £40-£50.

P5Q Mobo: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.jsp?ASU-P5Q

Hiper 630W: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/spec ... ?HYP-4M630 (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.jsp?HYP-4M630)

Memory: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/spec ... GEL-BD642G (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.jsp?GEL-BD642G)

HD4850: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/spec ... p?HIS-4850 (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.jsp?HIS-4850)

E8400: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/spec ... p?IL-E8400 (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.jsp?IL-E8400)

What can I cut down bearing in mind I'd like to still have PCIe 2.0 for the graphics card?

Edit: Can you guess if I need a new case from:
I currently have a
AMD 3200 Athlon64 stock fan
Foxconn NF4UK8AA-8EKRS Motherboard stock chip fan
Xpertvision 8600GTS Super HDMI stock palit/xpertvision fan
2 hard drives

CPU runs about 25 Celsius idle haven't checked when stressed
Motherboard @ 30 celsius idle, again haven't checked when stressed
GPU runs about 40 celsius idle, and 55 when playing games
hdd's are normally around the 30 mark

Sorry it's not much to go on >.<


Thanks for your help!
Phil

P.S. I really need to get a picture of my case :P.

[system7]

I think you can save some cash by getting a £55 MSI P43 Neo-F:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?MSI-P43NF

That will OC the fine E8400 to a rapid FSB 1600 easily enough with an AC7 heatsink or such. That leaves money for your Antec 300 case.

I would fancy the HD4850 on a 22" monitor. If you want a HD4870, then maybe, just maybe, you could OC a much cheaper E5200 for a gaming specialist setup. But I do like the E8400 for it's overall rapidity. And that Hiper 630W is a fine power supply as a long term investment and surely adequate for a HD4870. :)

[acbluflame]

Heh, I have a £410 budget :P, so I wouldn't be able to get a HD4870 with good processor etc.

Thanks System7 ! :D

[system7]

Being a bit more alert this morning, it is obvious the power supply is unneccessarily big. A Hiper 530W at £42 will do fine.

The Thermaltake Soprano is a nice looking case, if you ask me. People say it's plasticcy, but this is a looker, I reckon:

http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/5260/s4021579wo7hn9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Nothing stopping you using your old case though. As long as it's ATX size, and you have at least one 80mm case fan, it should do for starters. Check it with CPUID Hardware Monitor to see how it's going. Picture courtesy of gtz.

[djgandy]

I have the silver one. It is plasticy at the front. I wish I'd gone for the aluminium version although how much of it is aluminium I don't know.

I wouldn't waste money on the E8400. Go for the E7xxx's. E8400 price makes me look at a Q6600

[system7]

Hey, dj, where you bin lately? :P

I'm a bit uneasy about your Quad idea. This is a cheapish motherboard and it is a classic error to put heavy power demanding Quads in such and expect to overclock. The E8400 really is a good desktop CPU. The big cache and high FSB makes it fly in desktop work.

[djgandy]

Yeah but does he need the extra cache? Hence the 7xxx. I just don't see the point of this processor. I'd spend the £50 and upgrade the CPU + Board instead of the E8400.

The 7xxx series just make sense. 3MB cache is loads.

I've just been doing other stuff, back at uni now too. Thought I'd drop back and see how everyone is doing as I have some purchases in mind :)

[system7]

You know how conservative I can be. You never know what you are going to run into with computers. The E8400/P43 is a tested combination that Eclipse fitted in a recent model, albeit with an Asrock board. It was head and shoulders faster than any cheaper CPU overclock combination at FSB 1600 on general desktop use. Recent price rises on Quads make it good value. Overclocked lesser CPUs fell far short. But I kind of agree that overclocking cheapies is great fun. Me, I'd thrash an E5200 within an inch of it's life just for the heck of it. Hits 4 GHz by all accounts. :)

Jonny and me are working out a 2X 9600GT SLI setup for my gaming, so that should be fun...onwards and upwards. :D

[acbluflame]

Thanks again.

I'm going to put the order through finally :D

Geil Black Dragon PC2-6400 800Mhz 2GB Kit (2x1GB)
Quantity: 1
Price Ex VAT: £24.00
HIS HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 TVO/Dual DVI, HDMI, PCI Express Graphics Card - Retail
Quantity: 1
Price Ex VAT: £95.95
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 2 x 3.00Ghz 6Mb Cache 1333 FSB Dual Core Processor
Quantity: 1
Price Ex VAT: £95.50
MSI P43 Neo-F - Socket 775 - Intel P43 - DDR2 667/800/1066 - SATA - LAN - ATX
Quantity: 1
Price Ex VAT: £46.99
Hiper 580 Watt, ATX v2.2, Temp control Act. PFC, Sli Cert
Quantity: 1
Price Ex VAT: £36.50
Thermaltake Soprano Black Middle Tower Case With Window NO PSU
Quantity: 1
Price Ex VAT: £40.16

[system7]

Just under £400. 8)

On budget, and every component exactly right and great value.

Top of the class! Look forward to a picture.

I'm quite envious, actually... :lol:

[Jonny2Bad]

Yes nice little system that, will play everything you throw at it very nicely indeed.

[system7]

My online friend, gtz, made an interesting observation about cooling the Thermaltake Soprano with an Asus P5N-E and an 8800GT:

I could also mount two 120mm fans on the side but I tried a 120mm and 80mm to blow air in and my temps rose, so no side fans.
Less is sometimes more. :)

[acbluflame]

I could never have done without you guys answering my countless questions, you have my complete gratitude !

:D

[matz]

Thanks again.

I'm going to put the order through finally :D

Geil Black Dragon PC2-6400 800Mhz 2GB Kit (2x1GB)
Quantity: 1
Price Ex VAT: £24.00
HIS HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 TVO/Dual DVI, HDMI, PCI Express Graphics Card - Retail
Quantity: 1
Price Ex VAT: £95.95
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 2 x 3.00Ghz 6Mb Cache 1333 FSB Dual Core Processor
Quantity: 1
Price Ex VAT: £95.50
MSI P43 Neo-F - Socket 775 - Intel P43 - DDR2 667/800/1066 - SATA - LAN - ATX
Quantity: 1
Price Ex VAT: £46.99
Hiper 580 Watt, ATX v2.2, Temp control Act. PFC, Sli Cert
Quantity: 1
Price Ex VAT: £36.50
Thermaltake Soprano Black Middle Tower Case With Window NO PSU
Quantity: 1
Price Ex VAT: £40.16
the USA E8400 has an ok stock heatsink, reaching 4ghz with still being in the temperature ranges.
if your after 4ghz try 1.3v =)

[acbluflame]

Heh thanks, may overclock later.

Oops, motherboard only has one ide slot thingy :|

Both of my hard drives are IDE and so is my dvd drive, and can't really have them all on the same cable otherwise it'll be reallly slow.

[matz]

you can get PCI ide bus cards that would help, but for the price of harddrives these days you may want to move onto sata

[acbluflame]

Yeah, but don't have any money to spend on it :P

[system7]

Well, you've got a nice 8600GTS graphic card that some forummer or local repair shop might do a swap for a SATA hard drive... :!:

This £30 Maxtor 250GB is pretty ace value:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?MAX-DM250S

The £60 Asus P5N-E SLI is the only modernish motherboard that I can think of that has twin IDE's. And it's not without issues, mainly it runs quite hot and is not PCIE 2.0... :?

[matz]

well he could do that or http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/spec ... NOV-ATA133 (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NOV-ATA133)

[acbluflame]

If I can raise £30 or more, I'll get the Hard drive, otherwise I'll try and get the pci card.

Time for a new topic I think.

[TheTranquilEye]

Yeah but does he need the extra cache?

The short answer is yes. I can't find the link but one well respected tekkie website benchmarked two identical rigs, one with a 1mb cache CPU and one with a 2mb both clocked at the same speed. All other factors were identical (mobo, GPU, RAM etc). The lower of the 2 chips was about 7% slower on average EXCEPT in gaming where it was 35% slower.

[Nox]

or what about £13.51?

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/spec ... ?SAM-H653B (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?SAM-H653B)

use a sata DVD drive instead?

Nox

[acbluflame]

or what about £13.51?

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/spec ... ?SAM-H653B (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?SAM-H653B)

use a sata DVD drive instead?

Nox

Looks good value :D

[Nox]

cheapest way to get round your issue so far, and easiest probably.

Nox

[system7]

I always find it difficult to navigate round Nova's optical drives. That one I picked out is actually a read only by the look of it. But Combo drives are cheap. Have more of a look at the DVD writers, there may be a Combo in there somewhere.

This is all a bit *** about really. IDE opticals and SATA HDs have less issues... :lol:

[acbluflame]

Received everything today :D

Just need to put it together. Will post pictures when I have time :)