E5200 vs E7400 [@3.8Ghz+]

[Panda!]

The question is simple.
E5200 vs E7400

I have an E5200 clocked @3.83Ghz (mems @930)
This processor support only SSSE3 and has 2mb cache L2.

The budget is too low, but I could buy an E7400.
It could be overclocked to 4Ghz
Supports SSE 4.1 and the L2 cache is 3mb.

Is a good choice? Games like Red Steel 2 will run faster with less slowdown (this is applicable to other games as well)? Or should I keep the E5200 and change for an i5 in december?

With the E5200 I run Sports Resort, House of the Dead Overkill and Grand Slam Tennis with full speed. Red Steel 2 don't run well.

Thank's, guys.

[tuanming]

What's your full pc specs? Buying a faster gpu will improves your gaming experience.

[Panda!]

(01-13-2011, 09:26 AM)tuanming Wrote: What's your full pc specs? Buying a faster gpu will improves your gaming experience.

E5200@3.83
4gb DDR2@930
Radeon HD 4770@900/950
HD Seagate 500gb 7200.12

I think that the 4770 is good enough. What do you think, mate?

[tuanming]

Just try it out with your current pc specs and see if those games fps are acceptable for you. In most situation, a better GPU is a better choice then a better CPU for the most part, at least in terms of gaming. The E5200 is a Pentium brand, not Core 2 family so I really don't know how fast it is compare to a Core 2 at 3.8Ghz... That why I said try and see first. A 3.8Ghz Core 2 is way more than enough for most game, if not all. But you gotta have a good graphic card to match your CPU speed. The keyword here is Balanced.

[Panda!]

(01-13-2011, 09:40 AM)tuanming Wrote: Just try it out with your current pc specs and see if those games fps are acceptable for you. In most situation, a better GPU is a better choice then a better CPU for the most part, at least in terms of gaming. The E5200 is a Pentium brand, not Core 2 family so I really don't know how fast it is compare to a Core 2 at 3.8Ghz... That why I said try and see first. A 3.8Ghz Core 2 is way more than enough for most game, if not all. But you gotta have a good graphic card to match your CPU speed. The keyword here is Balanced.

Indeed. In PC gaming, a better GPU means a more fluid gameplay. But in emulation (in this case, with the Dolphin), a good CPU is necessary.
Although the E5200 is from Pentium brand, it is basically a Core 2 with less cache (E5XX - 2mb | E7XX - 3mb | E8XX - 6mb) and without SSE4/4.1 and VT Technology.

But I can't just try with a different GPU or CPU now.
To use the E7400, I've to buy it.

So the question could be this:
Will the SSE 4.1 and the 3mb make the difference (specially in Red Steel 2) in the dolphin?

[NaturalViolence]

Quote:Will the SSE 4.1 and the 3mb make the difference (specially in Red Steel 2) in the dolphin?

Hell no. And your video card is already sufficient unless you want to use a 3x efb scale + 4xSSAA. If you want a significant improvement your best bet is to upgrade the entire core system (mobo, memory, cpu).

[Panda!]

(01-13-2011, 10:41 AM)NaturalViolence Wrote:

Quote:Will the SSE 4.1 and the 3mb make the difference (specially in Red Steel 2) in the dolphin?

Hell no. And your video card is already sufficient unless you want to use a 3x efb scale + 4xSSAA. If you want a significant improvement your best bet is to upgrade the entire core system (mobo, memory, cpu).

Thank's!
That's all I needed to hear. In december I'll get an i5 system. Maybe Red Steel 2 run better in the new config.

[tuanming]

(01-13-2011, 09:52 AM)Panda! Wrote: Indeed. In PC gaming, a better GPU means a more fluid gameplay. But in emulation (in this case, with the Dolphin), a good CPU is necessary.
Although the E5200 is from Pentium brand, it is basically a Core 2 with less cache (E5XX - 2mb | E7XX - 3mb | E8XX - 6mb) and without SSE4/4.1 and VT Technology.

But I can't just try with a different GPU or CPU now.
To use the E7400, I've to buy it.

So the question could be this:
Will the SSE 4.1 and the 3mb make the difference (specially in Red Steel 2) in the dolphin?

I have a Core 2 E6300 @3.73Ghz with a GTX 460 768MB and it run almost all of my games at 1080p with 3x efb scale at full speed. I don't think 3.7Ghz is needed to reached max speed. 3.0-3.4Ghz should be more than enough, at least for dolphin.

[NaturalViolence]

Yes but some games can't be run at fullspeed on a core 2 regardless of clock rate. I'm guessing red steel is one of them.

[tuanming]

Core 2 have low L2/L3 cache, IPC, etc compared to Core i5 or i7. Not to mention, the architectural differences. Red Steel can't run full speed on Core 2? What was the specs on the person that ran it?

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Nevermind, the OP stated that, haha. Well, look at his GPU and CPU, and you'll see why.