Question about PC's

[Stunna]

I was looking to upgrade to a custom made pc in the near future and what I was wondering was whats better for a gaming CPU a 6 core or 8 and with liquid cooling or no?

[FR4NOx]

I don't recommend an 8 core for gaming, at that point it's only for multitasking, as the Bulldozers shine in multitasking in multithreaded programs yet perform poorly in single threaded programs.

I would prefer a quad core for gaming actually because I doubt most games would use more than 4 cores. A 6 core is good for gaming and of course multitasking, the sweet spot for gamers and video editors alike.

I personally would go with liquid cooling no matter what, but air cooling is fine if you aren't overclocking.

Summary: Depending on your needs, a 6 core may be optimal and Inwould suggest liquid cooling if you plan on excessive overclocking (like an old Pentium 4 2.8GHz OC'd to 3.6).

You said 6 or 8 core, what processors are you looking at?

[Stunna]

(2011-10-30 04:36)Kenwood Wrote:  You said 6 or 8 core, what processors are you looking at?

Well, which one is the best for gaming Intel i5 or i7 or AMD? Plus, I'm looking to get a pretty good video card as well. Does the power supply have to be a certain wattage?

[KaraK [T]]

I'd go for the i5-2500.

[Johan.]

(2011-10-30 16:57)KaraK Wrote:  I'd go for the i7.

The i5 2500k is just as fast as the i7 2600k.

[KaraK [T]]

(2011-10-30 17:11)Johan. Wrote:  

(2011-10-30 16:57)KaraK Wrote:  I'd go for the i7.

The i5 2500k is just as fast as the i7 2600k.

True, my bad.

[Kayla]

the i5-2500K is more than enough and easy overclock-able to a clock of ~4.0 GHz, which is more than enough for gaming. If you got time you wait till next year for the Ivy-Bridge getting released for the LGA1155 Socket (if you want / have this socket)
If you have to buy a Motherboard to the i5 don't go for the H61 socket, look for P67 or z68 or similar, since they're overclockable to higher values than the Intel Turbo.
Liquid cooling? You want an own loop or watercooling like the Corsair H100?
6 / 8 Core CPU's aren't even supported from the games, so it's senseless atm, except if you want to do stuff like Folding or BOINC in the background.
To the GPU: depends on your money available, the more money the better the GPU ofc.

PSU Wattage:
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
use these settings:
Motherboard: High End Desktop
CPU TDP - 90%
System Load - 90%
Capacitor Aging - Leave blank as "Select"
This will show you a good result as recommended, go a bit higher than it ofc.

[Tom]

i am using the i5-2500k and is more than powerful enough for a gaming PC.. stock is 3.3ghz x4 6mb l2 cache plus the new sandybridge, yes michi is correct if u want to overclock more than 3.7ghz go for something different than a h-61, i am using the h61 atm... but why would u want to over clock it to like 4ghz when your more than likely not gonna use that extra power and unless u get good cooling your more than likely gonna kill the cpu over time...
so if your not to worried about overclocking above 3.7ghz with out by passing the bios with software H-61 is a perfect board.. i would definitely recommend the i5-2500k its a very powerful cpu and perfect for gaming

[Stunna]

So your saying get the i5-2500k processor along with liquid cooling?

[Kayla]

i5-2500K is a 100% yes imo, liquid cooling depends on your personal preference mainly.
Aircooling: Noctua NH-D14 is a really really good cooler and keeps the CPU cool.
If you want to overclock much I'd recommend liquid cooling, but there again it depends on the available money.
Much available money: build an own loop (Reservoir -> Pump -> CPU-Block etc. -> Radiator -> Reservoir)
Little available money: buy a Corsair H100 or similar (you can also go for H80 e.g.)

[FR4NOx]

A quad is best for gaming.

I do like Intel because they are proven performers with newer technology than AMD, don't forget that Ivy Bridge will be released in two weeks and the base Ivy will be around $300USD, same as a 2600.

The choice between Intel and AMD is yours.

Go for a quad core. If you want Intel, go for the 2500k. If you want AMD, you can experiment with the FX-4100 or go for the Phenom II x4 955BE and overclock to save money. Quad core is plenty of power for a gamer's needs.

Personally, I wouldn't be caught dead without liquid cooling because I usually test the limits of my hardware when overclocking. Also I would personally use a 6 core because I do a lot of hi res video editing, and quote a bit of multitasking.

If you aren't planning on a lot of overclocking, stock cooling or a moderately priced hsf will do fine.

Also, for a power supply, more than 600 is too much for most people, more than 600 would be for people running SLi with a 990x or something similar.

Edit: Saw Michi's post, I you want to save money on liquid count and/or want a simple installation, the older H50 is fine and only takes up one 120mm fan slot compared to the H100.

If you want an example...

A gaming enthusiast that would overclock a 2500k to 5GHz (well if he can), he'd be best suited with the h100. If he overclocked to 4.2GHz, an H80, or H50 if you don't mind a bit more heat, is good.

If you simply want a quiet system without a lot of overclocking, an H50 would be perfect in my opinion.

[Fujioshi]

I suggest you wait t'll thanksgiving and order your parts from newegg. They've got some great offers/discounts for such

[Johan.]

(2011-10-30 18:26)Kenwood Wrote:  A quad is best for gaming.

Since when do you know something about computers?

[FR4NOx]

(2011-10-30 18:36)Johan. Wrote:  

(2011-10-30 18:26)Kenwood Wrote:  A quad is best for gaming.

Since when do you know something about computers?

What do you think I've been doing for 6 months, especially the past two?

[Johan.]

(2011-10-30 18:38)Kenwood Wrote:  

(2011-10-30 18:36)Johan. Wrote:  

(2011-10-30 18:26)Kenwood Wrote:  A quad is best for gaming.

Since when do you know something about computers?

What do you think I've been doing for 6 months, especially the past two?

Being annoying on skype?

[FR4NOx]

Nah that was a month ago when I was trying to get my old computer to work. I've been researching the parts pretty much, just a bit obsessively.

[Johan.]

Hehe.