Processors

[1erik1]

EDITED QUESTION:



about the 3gig RAM upgrade (from the 2gig)
is it important to get the 800mhz instead of the 667mhz?

Reason for asking is because I'm getting the XPS 630. And my budget my dad set is $1,450.
If i get the E8400 and 3gigs of ram at 800mhz the total is 1,509 haha. If He'll let me go 50 over it's no problem but if not then i'll have to get 3gigs at 667mhz

[tektrnica]

Raw speed is helpful, but in no means the most important aspect... but try and go for a nice balance between the both. just dont go crazy otherwise you'll have to spend an equal amount on the other components to insure there is litle risk of bottlenecking.

With regards to RAM.... depends what your doing tbh, but 2gb is really what you should get now... there will be some poeple who say i only have 1gb and its good enough. but RAM is cheap enough now to grab 2Gb... you can NEVER have too much RAM :P lol

[1erik1]

okay heres the options
Intel® Core™2 E8400 (6MB,3.0 GHz, 1333FSB)
OR
Intel® Core™2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache,2.40GHz,1066FSB)

they're the same price 0.o
and for RAM I was wondering more like
3GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 DIMMs
OR
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 2 DIMMs.
other options:
Intel® Core™2 E8200 (6MB,2.66GHz, 1333FSB)
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs

[tektrnica]

personally, id go for the E8400.

with 3Gb of ram...

Quad core is nice, but not useful yet...

[alexandgruntz]

I'd also go for the E8400 with 3GB RAM, however to upgrade RAM, you would need a 64-bit OS. (32-bit operating systems can't recognise all 4GB of RAM.)

[1erik1]

yes i was just reading that lol. But your'e talking about if I upgrade from 3 to 4. 3 gigs is alright to get with the 32-bit right?

ALSO:
about the 3gig RAM upgrade (from the 2gig)
is it important to get the 800mhz instead of the 667mhz?

Reason for asking is because I'm getting the XPS 630. And my budget my dad set is $1,450.
If i get the E8400 and 3gigs of ram at 800mhz the total is 1,509 haha. If He'll let me go 50 over it's no problem but if not then i'll have to get 3gigs at 667mhz

[bookworm99]

Any combination of those will be quite speedy, but I would recommend the dual core with 3GB of RAM as the Quad-Core processors aren't as much of a useful upgrade as you'd think, unless the cost isn't too much higher.

[1erik1]

err i already said that the price of the processors was the same?
and i need THIS question answered now
vvvv

yes i was just reading that lol. But your'e talking about if I upgrade from 3 to 4. 3 gigs is alright to get with the 32-bit right?

ALSO:
about the 3gig RAM upgrade (from the 2gig)
is it important to get the 800mhz instead of the 667mhz?

Reason for asking is because I'm getting the XPS 630. And my budget my dad set is $1,450.
If i get the E8400 and 3gigs of ram at 800mhz the total is 1,509 haha. If He'll let me go 50 over it's no problem but if not then i'll have to get 3gigs at 667mhz

[Zangetsu]

QX9770 FTW, but you didnt ask that

basically what i find important is the performance of the cpu not the GHz or the cache if you search for reviews you might find it that a cpu with a lower clockspeed/cache better then a cpu with higher clockspeed

oh and the Intel® Core™2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache,2.40GHz,1066FSB) is better cuz its a quad core processor

[Smith6612]

Go for the 800Mhz. If you can, try to get 1066MHz if you can support it. I've built my own gaming computer and I have 800MHz RAM and it runs nicely. I can always trade in my DIMMS for 1066MHz of RAM as I can support it on my motherboard. So yeah, when you get the Dell, get 800MHz. It's a lot better than getting 677MHz, even if it is more expensive.

As for CPU, a CPU with a high clock speed, lots of L2 cache and a good frequency will get you going good. The Intels are well known for having nice L2 cache. Otherwise, a Q6600 is a very nice processor, have the same thing in my gaming computer and it runs very nice. Very hard to push up to 100% usage on Vista due to the speed, but when video exporting in Windows Movie Maker, I can easilly utilize 80% of the CPU (HD video :D), as well in many other programs.

Otherwise, If your dad does have a budget, give him some money to bump the budget up a bit to get that RAM. Otherwise, as for Processor, go with what you hear good reviews on and what people here say. I personally love my Quad core over a dual core any day, but it's my opinion.

Oh yeah, for video card, try to see if you can fit an nVidia 8800 or 9800 card in there if you haven't already. You won't regret it