Advice nneded with CPU choice

[Black Sheep]

Hi,
I need some advice regarding which CPU to choose.
I will be running a dedicated MS SQL Server 2005 box with 4 Gig Memory.

I need to decide between the following CPU's to get the best performance out of
SQL Server.

Intel® CPU Q8400 Core 2 Quad LGA775 2.66GHz, 1333Mhz FSB 4MB Cache, 45nm
Intel® Core i5 650 Processor - 3.20GHz, 1333MHz, Socket 1156, 4MB L3, 2.0Gb/s
Intel® CPU E8500 Core 2 Duo LGA775 3.16GHz 1333Mhz FSB 6MB L2 Cache, 45nm


Any direction would be appreciated.

 

[Y'all Qaeda]

i5. It's the newer chip.

 

[Black Sheep]

I reckoned the same, but found it strange that the 8500 still cost more than the i5

 

[PostmanPot]

I reckoned the same, but found it strange that the 8500 still cost more than the i5

They still sell E8xxx?

 

[The_Other]

Just remember the Q8400 and E8500 are LGA775 CPU`s. Do you already have a MB?
the Q8400 has a FSB of 1333. the E8500 is FSB1066. Also the Q- is Quad Core.

 

[The_Other]

Also Remember that databases are more I/O intensive on the HDD`s... Than CPU limited.

Next question.... How big is your database? More that 3 gig.... -> get more RAM... that will help with the Disk I/O.

 

[Jladan]

Also depending on your budget and amount of users seriosuly consider getting a SSD

 

[Fuma]

Have SSDs made their mark in the server market?
I read some horror stories about SSDs crashing more often. That could be a few years ago story any way.

 

[Black Sheep]

Database size is currently 1.4 Gig
No, have not purchased motherboard yet, all depends on CPU choice.
What would be a good mb option if I decide to go the i5 route, also keeping in mind that it does not need any bells or whistles, but onboard vga would
def be a plus.
I would've loved a SSD, but there are budget constraints unfortunately. Maybe in future...

 

[Black Sheep]

Looking on prophecy it will probably be between the following:

Intel "Hunter Cove" DH55HC LGA1156 DDR3 PCI-E x16
MSI H55M-P31 LGA1156 Dual-Channel DDR3 PCI-E x16
Gigabyte H55M-S2 H55 LGA1156 Dual-Channel DDR3 PCI-E x16
Intel "Whitesburg" DP55WB LGA1156 Dual-Channel DDR3 PCI-E x16

Thing is, as mentioned, don't want to pay more for features that are not going to be utilised.

 

[Pada]

I would recommend the i5 760 instead of the i5 650 ! Otherwise if that is above your budget, go for the Core i3 540 @ ~R1000.

You can get a 60GB SSD from Wootware for R1200, but for now I guess lots of RAM + normal hard drives should suffice.