I can get a good deal on a dual quad core but i hear from some of my buddies that they are not very good for gaming (this is all i want it for), why would it not be good, and is it worth it to get one yet? if so what kind of OS should i run with it (i here vista would be best for it i honestly don't know). and what are some of the downsides to getting one (if any)

post note. i'm getting the computer (processors, monitor, memory(4 gigs), 300 gig. hard drive, graphics card and all) for 200 bucks

thanks for the help

my current computer:
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3800+
2.41 GHz 1.75 GB of RAM
160 GB Hard drive
NVIDIA GeForce 6100 nForce 405
Sony CD-RW

The most important factor you need to find out is the graphics card. Specific model that is.

Yes it is worth the 200 bucks and is better then the current rig you are usuing. Do you have a link for the type of CPU it is it would help.

The best rig for gaming at the moment (All things considered) is a intel C2D E8600 clocked to at least near 4Ghz with a good mobo and very high end GPU card. It will match an i7 rig for GAMES. But games only, Quad core are said to be not as good for games and they dont overclock as high as dual cores....with the exception of the Q9650 and Xtreme series. If you have a Quad 9650 clock past 3.5ghz you are just as good. As more and more games are taking advantage of multi core coding...the latest being ArmA 2.

First of all, the only way it could be a "dual quad core" computer would be if it had a Dual Xeons and a dual socket server motherboard. Now those motherboards run for about $400 and up, and the CPUs would easily be over $200 a piece at minimum. So I don't see how you could get that for $200, unless a friend of yours is just being really nice and giving away his $2000 computer to you. More likely though, it has a single quad core in it or possibly even a dual core. I'd double check on the specs of that machine and get the exact CPU (make and model) that is in the machine and check back with us.

Adam,

I think its safe to assume that he is referring to a Core Duo Quad. Well that what I am taking.

Adam Kolak said:


actually its a buisness thats going out and they are selling there high end computers for really cheap (i have a buddy on the inside getting me one )

and yes it is a dual quad core i have seen it myself (he is building it for me out of parts from his business that they are getting rid of

also the graphics card is what bugs me, they are "business graphics" (not for gaming he said)

but after buying this computer i will still have well over 400 bucks to my name and be able to buy myself good graphics card then (any recommendations?)

"Business Graphics" usually means mainstream unless they are a company that does graphics work, in which case they'll probably use the nVidia Quadro or ATI FireGL.

Whether or not you can get another videocard largely depends on what kind of motherboard it has. If it has a regular board then you are fine. But if it does have a server board, which it might very well have since it's a dual CPU board, then you have to check to see if it has a PCI-E slot. My guess is it probably has PCI-X slots but not PCI-E. Double check on that with your friend.

Matt Musselman said:
In that case your getting a great deal on a workstation/server class machine.

Plug & Play said:

I would wager that a 4GHz Core i7 with x3 GTX 285's would be faster in games than said C2D based system... although this would likely only be apparent in time demos and synthetic benchmarks since both would easily post frame rates well in excess of 40FPS.

The best rig for gaming at the moment (All things considered) is a intel C2D E8600 clocked to at least near 4Ghz with a good mobo and very high end GPU card. It will match an i7 rig for GAMES.


Yes it will with a single card but SLI orTriSLI / Quad SLI or CF and triple or Quad CF the i7 will smear a queer

this is all good and all but what are some things i need to keep in check or look out for when i get it (this wednesday its all mine )

You need to look for a PCIe slot as mentiond above... IF it doesn't have one of those it will be as good for gaming as a Pentium II since the GPU in most servers is something along the lines of an ATI Rage w/8MB GDDR which was new back in those days. You also need to make sure that Vista / XP drivers are available for the system because Windows Server is not meant to be used as a gaming platform.

You need to find out more about this computer before you buy it.

I wouldn't worry about the OS issue too much, as Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 use the same kernel and most of the drivers will work on both. I'm running Server 2008 x64 as my main operating system on my desktop for almost a year now and using all Vista drivers on it. Main thing is check for that PCI-E x16 slot. If it was built as a workstation it will more than likely have one, as the Quadro cards are all built for PCI-E x16 for the most part. If it was built purely as a server it may not have one. But either way I'd buy it for $200 if it really does have dual quad core Xeons. Hell take out the Dual Xeons, ram, etc. and stick them in new motherboard with a PCI-e slot.

For $200!? I say go for it! If it truly is an updated Dual quad core then the skulltrail comes to mind. really if you're not satisfied with gaming performance you can sell the damn thing for triple that price and buy a less powerful gaming Pc.

*Edit*

honestly though I believe that platform will give you a hel of a load of trouble to run games as not many programs are made to take advantages of four cores imagine 8 cores lol

Well it's past Wednesday. what did you get?