Q6600 Kentsfield or E8400 Wolfdale?

James^.^

New Member
I'm going to do my first build (for gaming) and i have a few questions...

1. Is the Q6600 Kentsfield Quad core better for gaming or the E8400 Wolfdale Duo core? I don't know exactly what makes a processor good, but if it helps the Kenstfield 2.4ghz and the Wolfdale is 3.0ghz.

2. Which one of these two processors is the best to choose when Overclocking?

3. How do you check if a motherboard and gpu are compatible?

4.There are really no obvious picks for motherboards since they all typically don't have perfect reviews so i picked out the XFX MB-N780-ISH9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI Intel Motherboard , and they said that I'm going to have to "flash" the bios. Is there a better motherboard to choose?

5. (pertaining to "flashing" the bios) Will flashing the bios be hard? and will i need a floppy drive? (i heard on reviews that you need a floppy drive to do it)
 
i have no idea why, you would have to flash the bios on such a recent board, but i believe you can do it with a cd or a flash drive, currently i believe the e8400 would be better for gaming but, you should be able to get the q6600 to 3.0ghz on stock voltage
 
Thanks for the info, I'm guessing that when my mobo comes in it will be have the newest flash, Hopefully. I have heard that its not very fun to do seeing as you can totally screw up your mobo.
 
if your only gaming and that is your sole intent then the E8400 will be better.
it will also overclock higher then the q6600.
 
go for the Q6600, and post your GPU + Mobo and we will be able to tell you if they are compatible.
 
I'd go for the E8400 as well. I've had both the Q6600 and the E8400, and I prefer the E8400 because it can overclock much higher with lower voltages, run cooler, and clock for clock the E8400 performs better.
 
e8400 for gaming. and if you use the search button, you will see a hundred other threads asking the same question as you
 
i know it's been stated many times already, but like everyone says, yes go e8400 since it's strictly a gaming machine. it has high clocks, uses less power, better for an FSB overclock, and doesn't generate as much heat. stay away from nvidia chipsets unless you absolutely need SLI. p35 and the newer p45 chipsets are the most stable OC'ers
 
I'm going to do my first build (for gaming) and i have a few questions...

1. Is the Q6600 Kentsfield Quad core better for gaming or the E8400 Wolfdale Duo core? I don't know exactly what makes a processor good, but if it helps the Kenstfield 2.4ghz and the Wolfdale is 3.0ghz.

2. Which one of these two processors is the best to choose when Overclocking?

3. How do you check if a motherboard and gpu are compatible?

4.There are really no obvious picks for motherboards since they all typically don't have perfect reviews so i picked out the XFX MB-N780-ISH9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI Intel Motherboard , and they said that I'm going to have to "flash" the bios. Is there a better motherboard to choose?

5. (pertaining to "flashing" the bios) Will flashing the bios be hard? and will i need a floppy drive? (i heard on reviews that you need a floppy drive to do it)

1. Q6600.

2. Q6600 G0 can easily overclock.

3. Is the motherboard slot (for Intels, usually LGA775 these days). PCI-E x16 is also the usual interface these days. You want to look for these in a motherboard. Also 45nm compatibility for future upgrades.

4. P43, P45, X38, X48, 780i, ect...
 
VERY SORRY about the late response my pc got infected with this adware 2008 virus, so i just went ahead and reinstalled my OS (xp sp2 pro) since i have a bunch of crap on it, but anyway for my gpu i am going to start out cheaper with an EVGA GeForce 8800GTS (G92)
and upgrade to alot more powerfull gpu like a BFG tech 9800 GSX.
And as for the mobo... I was thinking about a Asus P5K deluxe.


Wait I think im going to change the motherboard to a 780i.
Although... I've heard good and bad stuff about this motherboard inculding RAID settings not being saved. Will this be that big of a deal for me?
 
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128345

That's also a fair motherboard to consider.

Default
VERY SORRY about the late response my pc got infected with this adware 2008 virus, so i just went ahead and reinstalled my OS (xp sp2 pro) since i have a bunch of crap on it, but anyway for my gpu i am going to start out cheaper with an EVGA GeForce 8800GTS (G92)
and upgrade to alot more powerfull gpu like a BFG tech 9800 GSX.
And as for the mobo... I was thinking about a Asus P5K deluxe.


Wait I think im going to change the motherboard to a 780i.
Although... I've heard good and bad stuff about this motherboard inculding RAID settings not being saved. Will this be that big of a deal for me?

780i? Also good motherboard, albeit a bit expensive.

If you don't use RAID, then you should have no problem with that scenario.
 
Thank you for all the replies, now I just need to gather all my money together and buy the parts (I have about 700$) and I'm applying at Wendy's (fun!). One more thing, is the 780i easy to overclock the E8400 with?
 
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like i mentioned earlier, dont get nvidia chipsets (680i, 780i, 790i) unless you're for sure going to do SLI. p35 and p45 chipsets are more stable and generally doesn't heat up as much
 
I am planning on using SLI with my GPUs so I can deffinitley get the maximum amount of power eventually.
I think i can compensate with the heat by using liquid cooling, but I'll have to learn to build custom liquid cooling systems because I've heard they're more effective. Omega has a few tutorials on it i think.
One more thing though, should i get 64bit xp or 32bit? any suggestions?
 
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Budget? There are many. From budget coolers, like Arctic Cooler 7, then going up to the Zalman 9700, Tuniq Tower, ect...
 
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