[robina80]

ive got a choice to build a pc or to buy one, i like building as i find it enjoyable etc etc if i was to build one id buy a Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83 GHz 1333MHz 12MB Cache

or this bad boy its from a company called overclockers they mod pc's, i could overclock but i dont trust myself i may blow it up or burn it up in flames the link to the pc is here

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...0DDR2%20System

this is a q6600 with only 6mb Cache but its overclocked as hell, so will my cpu that im building be better more faster or the one im going to buy considering its got 6mb cache more

[thingie2]

Well cache doesn't make as much of a difference as you would think, I remember seeing some test on it (they got the same CPU but with cache's ranging from 1mb to about 6mb) If you were to overclock yourself the self built system would be faster. I didn't trust myself before, but I decided to go for it, and I succeeded and it's not actually as hard as you think it will be. As for blowing the CPU, it will be hard to blow, if you have good cooling (just a decent hsf) and don't go straight to the BIOS and increase the CPU voltage to 5V or something, you will be fine. Just have a read through some tutorials etc and you will get a feel for what it is like.

[robina80]

so you say build, and also the q6600 is 65nm and the new cpu is 45nm?

[thingie2]

If you are confident enough to overclock, yea defiantly build it yourself, however you will need the right stuff for it, so I would take a look at the recommended build thread. Also, yes, the Q6600 is 65nm and the Q9550 is 45nm

[robina80]

is there a huge advantage if both the cpus were the same clock but one had 12mb cache 45nm and the other was 65nm with 6mb cache

[thingie2]

Wouldn't be a huge difference, but there is some, even with the same cache each family of CPU's clock speeds are different. The main difference should be in heat produced, as the 45nm CPU uses less power it generates more heat (thus allowing a greater overclock)

[Carbon]

Why would you want to overclock to that extreme and get a 45nm quad..even the Q6600 is only a mediocre overclocker.

Get a E8400 and push it to 4.0ghz+ on a good motherboard.

[robina80]

i want to get quad for future proofing ive already got a dual core

[Bubba]

Back to the basic question. If you know how to build why would you even contemplate buying? you can build what you can buy at 1/3 the cost unless you are doing a low end crap machine.

[Carbon]

Originally Posted by robina80

i want to get quad for future proofing ive already got a dual core

Saying a quad is "future proofing" is about as valid as saying a P4 with hyperthreading is "futureproofing". By the time you start harnessing those extra cores your CPU is going to be outdated anyway, so you might as well get the best dual you can now.