Whats a good CPU to buy ?

[Mlgkillahz]

I was wondering what would be a good CPU to use playing World of Warcraft for the cheapest?
I prefer Intel FtW!

[Erik765]

I5-750 4tw

[Moobious]

Wow will run on lots and lots of processors.
Runnin well is something else entirely.
General opinion is that the i5 750/760 has the best cost to benefit ratio.

[vesseblah]

General opinion is that the i5 750/760 has the best cost to benefit ratio.

If and only if you're going to overclock. When buying big OEM computer like Dell or HP that are locked down and can't be OC'd, or you're dead set against overclocking and will never do it, AMD x4 955 or 965 have advantage in price with same performance.

[Narshe]

Ive been very happy with my Athlon II x2 240 Regor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103714

2.8ghz stock but Ive OC to 3.6 so far without upping the voltage and have had no issues, using a Arctic Cooling freezer 7.

Pretty cheap especially in combo deals, good for a mid range build like I have.

[pansertjald]

atm the best gaming cpu for the buck is the i5-750/760.

but non of os knows waht the games will be like in 6 months or 1 year.

so i say if you have the money for it, then go i7....... i still say that games coming in a year will benefit from HT.

i could ofcause be wrong as there is no info out on games benefitting from HT. be as games get bigger and bigger i could defently see games going for HT to fit in more styff

but for now if you wanna save some money then go i5-750/760

[vesseblah]

so i say if you have the money for it, then go i7....... i still say that games coming in a year will benefit from HT.

Doubt it. Only thing in mainstream games (WoW excluded) that benefit from raw cores/CPU power are AI and physics modeling, and very few games are pushing AI at all with the exception of some RTS stuff. Physics modeling seems to be dominated by Nvidia's PhysX.

Everything points to mainstream gaming sticking to GPU dependance for the near future. i7 is so damn expensive that investing on it now for something that might come (but probably wont) in next few years is not smart bet.

[Reguilea]

He asked for the cheapest and your like suggesting I5's and Sevens..

[Bloodmayj]

An i5 isn't a super-expensive CPU. Newegg has them for $195 right now, which I would definitely consider a bargain chip. Now granted, he may have to do a full computer upgrade to be able to use it, but he was asking for the cheapest chip that would run WoW, and that's the one everyone recommends.

[Dethh]

An i5 isn't a super-expensive CPU. Newegg has them for $195 right now

Micro center if you live near one has had I7-930 for 199.99 for months.

[vesseblah]

An i5 isn't a super-expensive CPU. Newegg has them for $195 right now, which I would definitely consider a bargain chip.

It's damn far from bargain, and not cheap by any standards.

Cheapest way to make WoW playable today if you start from zero is going with AMD based system. It wont run as fast as i5, but the minimum price is few hundred lower. I paid for my AMD x3 720 and AsRock motherboard less than that $195 year ago, and you play at 25fps instead of 35fps on it, shaving off $150. That's what I'd call cheap, or bargain, or whatever.

Currently AMD x2 555 or something similar with AsRock motherboard is the absolute cheapest way you can raid 25-mans at reasonable speed (15-20fps with no shadows).

[pansertjald]

Doubt it. Only thing in mainstream games (WoW excluded) that benefit from raw cores/CPU power are AI and physics modeling, and very few games are pushing AI at all with the exception of some RTS stuff. Physics modeling seems to be dominated by Nvidia's PhysX.

Everything points to mainstream gaming sticking to GPU dependance for the near future. i7 is so damn expensive that investing on it now for something that might come (but probably wont) in next few years is not smart bet.

you are proberly right. but if the OP has the money for a i7 i would defently go for a i7. BUT only if money is not a problem. i still think that HT is the way to go and games will follow. but we still don`t know

[Moobious]

He asked for the cheapest and your like suggesting I5's and Sevens..

He said he likes intel. Of intel's current line of processors the i5-750 is the lowest priced processor that will run wow well.

[Insomnie]

So something along the lines of i3 550 wouldn't be considered good enough for a brand new pc?(it stands@3.2 without overclocking).It is preety much 70 euros cheaper on the local stores than a i5 760

[Dethh]

So something along the lines of i3 550 wouldn't be considered good enough for a brand new pc?(it stands@3.2 without overclocking).It is preety much 70 euros cheaper on the local stores than a i5 760

Its not a quad core though here are the specs:

SPECIFICATIONS
Essentials
Status Launched
Launch Date Q2'10
Processor Number i3-550
# of Cores 2
# of Threads 4
Clock Speed 3.2 GHz
Intel® Smart Cache 4 MB
Bus/Core Ratio 24
DMI 2.5 GT/s
Instruction Set 64-bit
Instruction Set Extensions SSE4.2
Embedded Options Available No
Supplemental SKU No
Lithography 32 nm
Max TDP 73 W
VID Voltage Range 0.6500V-1.4000V
1ku Bulk Budgetary Price $138.00
Memory Specifications
Max Memory Size
(dependent on memory type) 16 GB
Memory Types DDR3-1066/1333
# of Memory Channels 2
Max Memory Bandwidth 21 GB/s
Physical Address Extensions 36-bit
Graphics Specifications
Integrated Graphics Yes
Intel® HD Graphics Yes
Graphics Base Frequency 733 MHz
Intel® Flexible Display Interface (Intel® FDI) Yes
Intel® Clear Video HD Technology Yes
Dual Display Capable Yes
Expansion Options
PCI Express Revision 2.0
PCI Express Configurations 1x16, 2x8
# of PCI Express Ports 1
Package Specifications
Max CPU Configuration 1
TCASE 72.6°C
Package Size 37.5mm x 37.5mm
Processing Die Size 81 mm2
# of Processing Die Transistors 382 million
Graphics and IMC Lithography 45 nm
Graphics and IMC Die Size 114 mm2
# of Graphics and IMC Die Transistors 177 million
Sockets Supported FCLGA1156
Halogen Free Options Available Yes
Advanced Technologies
Intel® Turbo Boost Technology No
Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology Yes
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) Yes
Intel® Trusted Execution Technology No
AES New Instructions No
Intel® 64 Yes
Idle States Yes
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology Yes
Intel® Demand Based Switching No
Thermal Monitoring Technologies No
Execute Disable Bit

The I5-760 specs:

SPECIFICATIONS
Essentials
Status Launched
Launch Date Q3'10
Processor Number i5-760
# of Cores 4
# of Threads 4
Clock Speed 2.8 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency 3.46 GHz
Intel® Smart Cache 8 MB
Bus/Core Ratio 21
DMI 2.5 GT/s
Instruction Set 64-bit
Instruction Set Extensions SSE4.2
Embedded Options Available No
Supplemental SKU No
Lithography 45 nm
Max TDP 95 W
VID Voltage Range .6500V-1.400V
1ku Bulk Budgetary Price $205.00
Memory Specifications
Max Memory Size
(dependent on memory type) 16 GB
Memory Types DDR3-1066/1333
# of Memory Channels 2
Max Memory Bandwidth 21 GB/s
Physical Address Extensions 36-bit
ECC Memory Supported No
Graphics Specifications
Integrated Graphics No
Expansion Options
PCI Express Revision 2.0
PCI Express Configurations 1x16, 2x8
# of PCI Express Ports 1
Package Specifications
Max CPU Configuration 1
TCASE 72.7°C
Package Size 37.5mm x 37.5mm
Processing Die Size 296 mm2
# of Processing Die Transistors 774 million
Sockets Supported LGA1156
Halogen Free Options Available Yes
Advanced Technologies
Intel® Turbo Boost Technology Yes
Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology No
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) Yes
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) No
Intel® Trusted Execution Technology No
AES New Instructions No
Intel® 64 Yes
Idle States Yes
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology Yes
Intel® Demand Based Switching No
Thermal Monitoring Technologies No
Execute Disable Bit

SO the I3-550 is 2 cores vs the I5-760 which has 4 cores. I would get the 760 iirc it is the cheapest chip Intel offers with 4 cores.

[Insomnie]

Its not a quad core though here are the specs:

SPECIFICATIONS
Essentials
....
SO the I3-550 is 2 cores vs the I5-760 which has 4 cores. I would get the 760 iirc it is the cheapest chip Intel offers with 4 cores.

Ah i see your point,the "build your own pc" department of the online store i've been visiting didn't provide much info about each product(just the "build your own pc" though,if you looked speccifically for cpus/gfx cards etc you would get a preety good idea bout em)

[Moobious]

the i3 and i5 dual core processors are intended for lower cost typical use computers - ie not gaming. They don't fair as well as the i7 an i5 quad cores in cpu intensive tasks.