Opinion Needed: e2180 or e4500 (both m0)

[lastig21]

I've been itching for a computer upgrade, so ran to frys yesterday and picked up the e2180/ecs combo for $99. The cpu is an m0 stepping with a pack date of 10/15/07.

Today i saw the updated frys ad, and grabbed an e4500/ecs combo for $130. The cpu is an m0 stepping with a pack date of 7/24/07.

I've been researching, and feel the e4500 "might" overclock a little better (once I buy a motherboard to support this). I'll be using the ECS board until after Christmas.

My main concern is if the additional 1MB cache in the e4500 will make a difference in multitasking. I realize it isn't a huge benefit in single applications, but what if you are running several things at once?

Any other thoughts? Which would you keep?

 

[SickBeast]

Well, the E4500 is 30% more expensive, but probably performs 10% faster overall.

That said, $30 is not much, and if you plan on keeping the processor for more than a year, I don't see the problem in spending a bit more.

I would personally buy the 2140 for $70. I know you did not list it, but I'm not sure why you're not considering it. It is an easy 100% overclock and your memory can run within spec with a 2:1 divider.

If you're going to spend the $130, then it's tempting to drop the extra $40 for even more cache (4MB). It never ends. Really you actually get pretty good value on the quad core Q6600. It's twice the CPU of the 6XXX dual-cores, but costs maybe 1.5x as much.

*edit* I see you got the motherboard with the CPU...those are both amazing deals. Keep the E4500...but you're probably going to have to sell the motherboard and buy a new one. You can pin-mod the CPU, but only for a 33% overclock on the ECS board AFAIK.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

I'd go with E2160 or E2180 ($70 to $75). The speed penalty of E21x0 is about 200MHz. Get the chip up to +3.0GHz and you'll be fine.

 

[myocardia]

I would take back the E2180, then sell the motherboard that came with the E4500 for $25-30, and get myself a nice IP-35 or P35-DS3x. That way, you'd actually get an overclock with that E4500.

 

[johnnyjohnson]

How much is $30 worth to you? The 4500 is a better chip because of the extra cache, though once overclocked you may not be able to distinguish the difference between the two of them. Just from what I've seen, those chips will overclock about the same. Are you planning to use the stock heatsink? In that case, you should be able to get a better overclock with the 2180 as it runs cooler because of the smaller cache. Keep in mind with any chip you can get a dud. Some can't get past 3Ghz while others can go past 3.6Ghz. I have an e4500 that can reach 3.8Ghz, but I would need a water cooler to run it at that speed. I need a Tuniq to run it at 3.4Ghz. With stock cooling I would probably only be able to run it as high as 3 Ghz.

 

[SickBeast]

There's a thought - buy a good motherboard and test each CPU to see which overclocks higher. Best SuperPi score FTW.

 

[lastig21]

Thanks for the thoughts/comments. I need to keep the ECS board until Christmas, then I'll be picking up some flavor of a P35. I won't have anyway to test the overclocks until then.

It seems the general consensus is for the e4500. That will probably be the route I go.

 

[Denithor]

You're only talking $30 difference here for twice the cache and 10% more speed. Look here at the impact of 1MB/2MB/4MB cache in a couple of games. Between the increased cache and speed boost you are probably looking at 25% more processing power at stock and about 15% more if both OC to 3GHz.

 

[lastig21]

Thought about it last night, and ended up going with the 4500. For only $30, it was worth the peace of mind if nothing else. Installed everything and will load an OS today. The 2180 is going back.

 

[Acanthus]

I hope youre not planning on OCing on an ECS motherboard :shocked:

 

[lastig21]

Not overclocking on the ECS. Just using the ECS temporarily.