[Mr. Ali]

I remember building my current computer at the end of 2002 with a P4 2.8ghz cpu that cost $450 . I was young and blew all my (parents) money building two computers that cost a little over $3000 in total .

My budget now is around ~$500.

I have a pretty good idea for what I want but I am really struggling as for which processor I want to get. These are the ones I narrowed it down to:

Core 2 Duo e8400 3.0ghz 6mb cache 45nm
Core 2 Quad q9450 2.66ghz 12mb cache 45nm

For as long as I remember I wanted to get the e8400 since its a great price for a 3ghz chip and it runs cool and uses very little power. I never wanted to get a quad core because I want to minimize heat output and power use but with the above prices its hard to not spend $60 more for double the cache and double the cores.

So people know, I don't play games but I like my computer to be future proof since my current one lasted me almost 6 years I don't upgrade much.

Which is it then? Dual core or Quad core?

the rest is probably going to be a nvidia 9600pro, 4gb memory and some p35 motherboard. I will use my current drives/case/powersupply (480watt).

[tex]

If you can justify the pricing, I'd say quad-core hands down. There is no reason not to.

And quit your bitching, I'm sitting here working on my P4 2.4ghz - its not even a C. Just a B...
=(

That's nuts that it is all $500. I might have to spend my rebate on that - I'm debating on a new projector bulb, a new monitor, or other crap...

[hans5849]

Quad.

I'm on a 3.0E

[ivanolo]

Pfft! Amateurs. I'm still on my Socket A Sempron 3000+.

If you plan to keep that PC for a long time without any major upgrades, then definitely future proof it by buying the quad core.

[Chainblade]

haha mine is pretty old myself and I don't see an upgrade in the near future. too poor

[sims]

Good for you man, I just did a serious upgrade, almost 5 months ago now. I went with a quad core and I have no regrets, if you can afford it its certainly the more future proof chip. I always spend a decent amount of coin my my systems, but I find that if you upgrade at the right times you can get decent deals and have a good system thats last you at the very least a few years.

[gB dAvId x]

Originally Posted by Mr. Ali

So people know, I don't play games but I like my computer to be future proof since my current one lasted me almost 6 years I don't upgrade much.

You know you would play grand theft auto in a heartbeat if it came on pc!!!!

[Chris]

Go with the Quad.. That much I can tell you for certain.

Current video cards are such a grey area right now.

[Mr. Ali]

fuck it, i will probably go with the quad. man, i really wanted to make an energy efficient computer, oh well.

Now to decide what motherboard I want to get. This will take more time.

EDIT: I just found out that the P45 chipset is around the corner (1month) so I will wait for that. It will have the new ICH10 southbridge and that is suppose to have support for 10 gigE natively.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Mr. Ali

fuck it, i will probably go with the quad. man, i really wanted to make an energy efficient computer, oh well.

Now to decide what motherboard I want to get. This will take more time.

Asus of course :P

[sims]

booooourns on asus. I've never ever like asus for some odd reason.

I'm happy with my abit P35 pro

[Chris]

Originally Posted by sims

booooourns on asus. I've never ever like asus for some odd reason.

I'm happy with my abit P35 pro

I've only ever owned the A7N8X-E Deluxe for the old Athlon XPs, but it's still the best board I've ever owned.

[namelessentity]

I actually vote for the C2D.
I see Quad Core as the 64 bit processor. By the time anything ever actually utilizes it, the one you bought will be so bottom of the line that it won't even help anyway. Save the planet and some cash along the way.

[tex]

Originally Posted by Chris

I've only ever owned the A7N8X-E Deluxe for the old Athlon XPs, but it's still the best board I've ever owned.

The a7n8x is fucking epic. I actually have 3 still that are just sitting in a box gathering dust, but I can't bear to throw away. I also have a a7n8x-vm that is shoehorned in an NES. I just need to take care of the heating issues now...

[Justin3]

Originally Posted by Chris

I've only ever owned the A7N8X-E Deluxe for the old Athlon XPs, but it's still the best board I've ever owned.

Amen

[MSP]

Originally Posted by Chris

Current video cards are such a grey area right now.

Really? To me the 512MB 8800GTS (G92) is a no-brainer. Am I missing something?

[ShabazKillaX]

I just built a new system with a Q6600 quad core and 8800GTS (G92). Both are great bargains right now. And ram is super cheap.