Which Processor and Mobo for games

[Thamontas]

Alright, I had to put down one of my best friends. My poor, poor comp. It finally died after I cleaned my Graphics Card for apparently no reason, but we all know that things like this happen. Otherwise we couldnt call them computers.

So, It looks like I may just get the funds to get a whole new comp instead of just replacing the motherboard and CPU in this one(I am all but certain the old one shorted out. If I do get a whole new comp, what brand CPU and Mobo should I get? I have had a longstanding aversion from AMD, but I am keeping an open mind about this. The AMD fanbois say that AMDs are better for gaming, but I also hear that ppl actually think Hillary and Obama know what is best for the country, so I am gonna let that go out the other ear. So I have come down to asking you guys. What can you tell me about AMD vs. Intel. If I should go AMD, what Mobos do you guys suggest? I have an ATI X1800 512 right now, but I will upgrade to a newer model if I can. I am probably gonna stick with ATI just because I always have.

Fortunately I will not have to buy monitors as my originals are still running great.

[kaifus]

I play with a Nvidia 680i and Intel Quad Extreme QX6800. I know the quads are kind of overkill and you can get the same performance out of a cheaper overclocked core duo extreme but hey; I had a friend that worked for Intel that shot me his discount. Can't beat a $1100 quad for $550 :)

[Tekka]

quad = overkill as kaifus said.

A good Core2Duo and Motherboard (look through TomsHardware.com) will be plenty. If you are into overclocking get some decent 6400 or higher RAM and you're golden.

[WaTaGuMp]

CPU E8400, as for a mobo decide if you are ever going to run SLI or Crossfire then go from there, I have been using Asus for years and love them but EVGA also makes good boards and have awesome customer service. If you are going to run SLI then look into a 780 chipset or even a 680 to save some money, if not then the P35 Intel chipsets are very good for Crossfire or single GPU solutions. My current mobo is the P5K-E from Asus and does support the E8400 CPU and is 140 bucks. Intel has the performance lead so dont listen to the AMD claims about them being better for gaming.

[Balmoral]

For a motherboard, get an Asus Striker II Formula 780i board. As for cpu get the E8400 Wolfdale. That is just my two cents. As a matter of fact, I will list my comp specs, and you can take from that what you want (only listing new upgrades.).

E8400
Asus striker II formula
4gig of TWIN2X2048-8500C5D
BFG 8800 GTX OC (600Mhz)
BFG 800W PSU
Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 Case

I hope this helps. If you have any more questions, I would talk to Sentrus here on the forums. He knows a great deal of computer info, and I talked to him before I basically bought everything I listed.

[Notleh]

Thamatos, there is no debate between AMD and Intel at the moment. There was for many years (and will probably be again in the future) but once the Core2 came out it annihilated AMD. I run an AMD at the moment myself but since you are buying now get the Wolfdale 8400 as Wata and Bal said.

Other than the processor the video card is the most important. ATI still has some decent cards, but once again right now there is a clear winner. Nvidia cards are more powerful in every price category. I would recommend the 8800GTS 512 for the reasons posted here:

http://www.drow.org/forums/index.php/topic,39522.msg255737.html#msg255737

[Romuluas]

I have to agree with the others, right now Intel is the better chip when it comes to the dual cores. I personally and enjoying my new AMD Phenom 9850 BE, but it doesnt OC as well as the intel quads, but its pritty close to them. Since most games dont even use dual core, nevermind the quads, I would say its bet to go with a intel dual. As for a good board to use for it, you will have to ask someone that uses intel for that one.

[WulfRock]

Whenever you do decide on your MB and GPU make sure you get EVGA. They have great products and even better customer service. My 8800 Ultra went out on a thursday, I had a new one in my hands by the following Monday. They also cross ship so that can save you a lot of time should something go wrong.

[legslat]

i think my processor fried... what should i get for AOC for an intel board with slot LGA775? Someone said and E6600 but dont wanna spend 250, was looking at a few others any reccomendations?

i have nvdia 8800GT
2gb ram
vista home premium
ASUS P5LD2 Board as mentioned above

from srtest testing for age of conan reccommended tab

CPU
Recommended: Core 2 Duo E6600 or equivalent
You Have: 2 processors running - Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 2.80GHz
FAIL: Sorry, your CPU does not meet this recommended requirement. If you really want to make this product fly, click the 'We Recommend' button to check out some great computers.
System RAM
Recommended: 2 GB
You Have: 2.0 GB
PASS
Operating System
Recommended: Windows Vista
You Have: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, 32-bit (Build 6000)
PASS
Video Card
Recommended: 512 MB DirectX 9.0c Graphics Card with Shader 2.0 support (NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX or equivalent)


Any Ideas???

[Balmoral]

E8400 Wolfdale. 3Ghz. 200$. Enough said.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

[legslat]

any idea why its throwing that fail? AoC was laggy for me the other day, had a event today and havent had a chance to log on yet.

[sshatiza]

I am a fan of the Q6600 since they are one of the best processors for overclocking. With the right cooling can easily hit 3.6 and higher. I also have a link if I can find it again that shows quads outperform same speed dual cores and even higher speed dual core in games that are not designed for multicore because they have more cache and Windows will handle some of the multi threading even if the game does not.

[Obern]

I've been working on building a new rig for myself here so let me throw in a few comments.

I have found, that if you're building a lower end budget rig that AMD is actually still going to get you more performance for your dollar. Maybe since i've always been an AMD guy I just suck at building intel rigs but everytime I price out a "budget" intel rig I end up with an equal or even lower performing setup for more money.

Just my 2c, as I haven't actually built two similar budget rigs to compare their real world stats so this is entirely based on hard cold run of the mill spec sheets from manufacturer sites and from newegg.

[legslat]

ordered the E8400, dont let me down Bal =D

[Thamontas]

Wow, I havent looked at this in a while and now has twice as many posts as it did before. I picked both of the parts yall said were best without having read yall's advice. I suppose its good to know I got the best on my own though. Thanks for the feedback.