gav Wrote:
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> Core i5 is still quicker than the Q9650 despite
> the lower clockspeed, lack of cache and
> HyperThreading, even in multithreaded
> applications, so it'll be that bit quicker than
> the Q9550.
Ah thanks for that I thought it must of been as it was newer technology but the numbers didn't add up.
> It's also cheaper and will overclock up to around
> 3.8GHz - 4.0GHz if you want to and get a suitable
> motherboard and cooler. It probably won't be
> cheaper when you factor in the motherboard and
> RAM, but that's where you weigh things up.
I did plan on overclocking when I needed the extra performance so thats good to hear!
> Have a to see whether it's worth it. If you can't
> stretch to a P55 motherboard, Core i5 and 8GB of
> RAM, I suspect the spec you listed would give a
> more rounded result (it does have 8GB there,
> right?)... but there's only around £10-15
> difference between the P45 (Q9550) motherboards
> and the P55s (Core i5) ones. RAM is around £20
> between DDR2 and DDR3 for 4GB). BTW, that RAM you
> specced is way over the top unless you intend on
> massively overclocking, and even then there is
> very, very little difference (certainly not worth
> the extra cost).
Yep I did have 8GB listed there, what is a good DDR3 spec then? Lower speed?
> You're not going to get any faster graphics at the
> moment unless you buy 2 5870s (not exactly value
> for money!), so whether or not it is fast enough,
> who knows... but it's as fast as you can buy
> without buying dual-GPU solutions. I've got no
> idea how rFactor 2 will run on it... I doubt many
> of us will since it's not out yet. I can't comment
> on the rest, but of course they'll all be playable
> at high settings - maybe not top settings, but
> certainly very high. I'd consider the 5850 myself
> though - it's about 5-10% off the performance of
> the 5870, at around 70% of the price. The next
> NVIDIA cards are still some way off, and the
> rumours breaking out aren't too positive.
Will have to look into it then, see if the price difference is worth it and look at some benchmarks.
> Hard drive - I'd go for single-platter 500GB
> drives if you can. They're quite a bit faster. If
> you can do that, I'll find out which are
> single-platter.
If you can list me some with the prices that would be great
> PSU - get the TX650W (non-modular) or HX650W
> (modular). They're made by Seasonic rather than
> CWT and will easily be enough.
That could be quite good actually, I know Seasonic is a good make and it could save a few £.