Q8300 vs. Q8400

BLIXEMPIE

BLIXEMPIE

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Firstly, I want to know if the Core2Quad Q8300 and Q8400 are any good. Will mainly be using it for video editing and 3D animation renders, and also some gaming. And secondly I want to know if the performance difference between the two CPU's justify the price difference. I know due to the limited FSB the muliplier of both CPU's are locked at 7,5x, which doesn't leave much room for overclocking, but I do know that the Q8300 was overclocked to almost 3,2 GHz.

Here are the specs:

Q8300:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 Quad-Core Processor, 2.50 GHz Core Speed, 4 MB L2 Cache,1333 FSB, 45NM
R1230

Q8400:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Quad-Core Processor, 2.66 GHz Core Speed, 4 MB L2 Cache,1333 FSB, 45NM
R1458
 
Yes, they are both decent. Unless you go for a second-hand Q9xxx.

Go for the Q8400 if you plan on OCing.
 
BLIXEMPIE said:
How far does it overclock in comparison to Q8300?
Click to expand...

Not much, basically .5 of a multiplier, since the Q8400 does have a higher multiplier, so for example:

Q8300 @ 350 FSB x 7.5 multi = 2.6GHz
Q8400 @ 350 FSB x 8 multi = 2.8GHz

To be honest, if you want to OC you should rather look at the Q6600 with G0 stepping. They go for around R1,000 second-hand. 9 x multi. Mine is happily at 3.4GHz with increased voltage. Remember you will need a decent mobo if you want to OC well. If you don't have a decent mobo, then you can easily get the Q6600 to 3GHz on stock voltage.

Q66003_4.jpg
 
I would suggest looking at the Q9x50 CPUs, I know they are more expensive new, but you can get them for a decent price 2nd hand.
 
Went with the Q8300. Esquire had no stock on Q8400. The overclocking on that Q6600 is very impressive, but I have been looking on Gumtree and JunkMail, almost no CPU's on sell second hand.
 
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