Quad Core VS. Dual Core

[YouKnowWhoIBee]

My current setup is a slim case with the following components

AMD 5000+ processor @ 2.6ghz
Nvidia 7300gs 256mb 64bit gpu
Crucial Ballistix 2 x 2gb ram
250w psu

This is all in a slim case, so I am limited to upgrades. I prefer a slim case to hide it away from everything for less clutter.

My recent purchases are

Nvidia 8600GT 512mb 128bit
AMD Phenom 9550 Quad core 2.2ghz cpu

I am limited to the video card so I cannot upgrade to an 8800 or above due to the slim case. Would you recommend me keeping quad core or returning it? I don't notice any hesitation with my current processor, but I got this processor for under 200 with a 60 dollar incentive.

I am just getting into computer gaming and I want a rig that can handle most games. Thanks for any insight you can provide.

 

[Briansol]

you'll need a better PSU with a quad

 

[YouKnowWhoIBee]

I guess it is going back to newegg once they ship it

I used this calculator and figured I would be on the money...
eXtreme Power Supply Calculator Lite v2.5



System Type:
Single Processor
Motherboard:
Regular - Desktop
CPU:
AMD Phenom 9550 2200 MHz Agena
CPU Utilization (TDP):
85% TDP
RAM
2 Sticks DDR2 SDRAM
Video Card:
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
Video Type:
Single Card
IDE HDD 7200 rpm:
1 HDD
DVD-RW/DVD+RW Drive:
1 Drive
Sound Blaster - All Models:
Yes
Sound Blaster w/ Front Bay:
Yes
PCI-e x1 Card:
1 Card
USB:
6 Devices
IEEE-1394 FireWire:
1 Device
Keyboard and mouse:
Yes
System Load:
90 %


Recommended Wattage:
254 Watts

 

[Briansol]

i wouldn't run a dual proc with less than 450 now, and quad, 550+

 

[TommyTheCat]

At least an AMD...

 

[BigJ]

Not to thread jack.... but...

I was wondering something similar. My desktop is starting to take a shit, viruses. Bios problems, corrupt partitions on the HD, etc.

I have an antec case, with a 550w huge powersupply in it, adjustable fan etc.. I forget the models but it cost a pretty penny. For now I have a 4000+ and an asus k8n4e delux.

I keep seeing deals at fry's for a mobo and phenom for around 170. Ram for around 80 for 4gigs. Is this a good deal and would it slap in where my old mobo was, plug and play? I know it sounds general and generic, I just don't have specs in front of me.

 

[endlesszeal]

blah, they dont even come close to drawing that much power. i think the amd quads draw a max of 125watts. with the all other other parts, itll be very close to psu limit. its just nice to not have your psu running at 80% load 24/7 and not recommend. a good quality 450watt unit will run anything other sans a killer gfx card. but one thing is, those quad do kill alot of mobos that arent spec to run higher than 89watt for cpu. id check the manual.

if your case can take full atx units, fry's been having crazy good sells on corsair psu's. they are freaking awesome. 200 minus 60 is freaking killer price for a quad, just to let u know.

slamteg, it depends on your psu and ur case. if your case is bigger than a micro-atx, then it will fit and most likely any antec case is bigger than a micro-atx unless its one of those box type ones like the aria's. as for the power supply, it needs to be a 24pin atx with another 4pin for the cpu. if its an antec case from the past 2-3 years, its good to go.

for cpu selection, if you game or dont do much, a faster dual core will out run a quad-core because apps just arent optimized for them. given the price how much quads cost now aday though, if you plan to keep the upgrade or buy a cpu and keep it for a while, a quad is a better investment. if you do any multimedia, a/v or encoding, quads will leave duals in the dust. and i would really suggest an intel cpu over an amd right now because amd cant get their shit straight. only market they are competitive in is the server market. id plunker down the extra 50-60 bucks for an intel quad because its just that much faster. you can upgrade the mobo when u get more cash and overclock those beasts because with fry's usually the board is free anyway with those combos.

 

[BigJ]

Sounds good.

I've been running some business programs on there for school, that I wish I had licenses for. Sometimes, its been taking minutes to use a macro when I wish it was seconds in even things like Excel for POSIM applications and such.

 

[YouKnowWhoIBee]

Ill just keep my dual core than I am sure the prices will go down, and I can try again later. The good thing with most AMDs though is... they have the same am2 socket, so the current processors are interchangeable. Thanks for the insight and help!

 

[phunky.buddha]

i wouldn't run a dual proc with less than 450 now, and quad, 550+

blah, they dont even come close to drawing that much power. i think the amd quads draw a max of 125watts. with the all other other parts, itll be very close to psu limit. its just nice to not have your psu running at 80% load 24/7 and not recommend. a good quality 450watt unit will run anything other sans a killer gfx card. but one thing is, those quad do kill alot of mobos that arent spec to run higher than 89watt for cpu. id check the manual.

Get a Kill-A-Watt or other power measurement device. It's an eye opener. I'm running a Q6600, 8800GTS (G92) and 2 power hungry Seagate hard drives plus a bunch of fans and a water pump. With all 4 cores on the CPU and the video card running at 100%, I only draw 306-310 watts from the wall. Even assuming a really efficient power supply at around 80%, that's only about 250 watts of power consumption for the entire PC. I run a 550W Antec TruePower, and I'm not even close to taxing it. Maybe if I get a second 8800GT for SLI and overclock the hell out of everything I'll start to get close, but I doubt it.

 

[GSRCRXsi]

im running a q6600 OCed to 3.6, 5 hard drives, 1 optical, 7300GT, and 6 fans, and my machine (from a calculator) only pulls like 400W. im running it on a coolermaster 550W. no problems

 

[phunky.buddha]

Get a Kill-a-Watt! They're only about $20 from Newegg!