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CPU Upgrade recommendation? (LGA 775)

C

Crowsnose

n00b
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
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Specs are:

500W Antec Smartpower
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R
C2D e6300 OC'd to 2.33GHz
2x1gb corsair ddr2 667
8800gt 512mb

I'm looking for a decent, affordable upgrade that will work on my current motherboard. I'd prefer to stick with 2 cores but am open to all suggestions especially if there's an awesome quad-core deal. I'm really not looking to spend more than $200 and would love something in the $120-160 range. I don't even know how much of a performance boost you can expect out of a CPU upgrade alone, but I just want something that will run well with the next graphics card I purchase. I'm sure any gfx card I'd purchase now would be bottlenecked greatly by my current e6300.

Also to take into consideration is my power supply. Should I buy a more powerful PSU when I upgrade? I'm paranoid about having a good enough PSU since an old mobo of mine fried because of insufficient wattage. I think 500W is close to the limit with what I'm running now. (My computer makes a very loud BEEP sound if I don't plug in the extra powercord on the end of my 8800gt) So how many watts should I go for to guarantee adequate power for my upgrades in the future?
 
A good quality 500W PSU would A good quality 500W PSU would be enough for that setup. However the Smartpower is not of good quality:
The Truepower I and II series as well as the Smartpower series were well known for their above average death rates due to a poor choice in caps and cooling design. In more specific terms, Antec/CWT specified/used caps (Fuhjyyu caps) that did not respond well to heat. Unfortunately, Antec made the decision to have the PSU fan only ramp at really high temps in an effort to keep the PSU quiet. However, just medium to high temps were enough to screw up the caps so really high temps were murderous. Over time, this degraded the quality and performance of those PSU series.

So I recommend replacing the PSU, especially if you hear a squeal, whine, or any odd noise coming from the PSU. Those are usually the first signs of those particular PSU lines dying. A good PSU choice:
$80 - Antec Earthwatts 650W PSU

I'm assuming that you want an increase in gaming, correct? You sure you can't OC the E6300 to 2.8Ghz to 3Ghz or so? That's all you really need to avoid any potential bottleneck. If the E6300 can't be OC'd to 2.8Ghz - 3Ghz or so, then try to find a USED Q6600 or E8400 for about $100 to $120. Either of those CPUs would be a good choice. Any more than $120 for those CPUs and you're getting ripped off. No, there are no new Intel CPUs in the $120 to $160 worth buying IMO since you can find cheaper AMD CPU + mobo combos that performs just as fast if not faster.

For example, for $160, you can pick up this AMD CPU + mobo combo:
$160 - AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE CPU + Asus M4A785-M AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI mATX motherboard

The closest Intel equivalent to the X2 550 is the $168 E8400. So keep that in mind when buying a CPU. Though the Q9550 for $170 is a good deal.
 
You need to replace the PSU ASAP. First- and second generation SmartPower PSUs were designed poorly and are known to fail more often as they get older (and used longer). The newer Antec Earthwatts design is made to be more energy efficient than its "predecessors," and though newer, better PSU models are available, the Earthwatts series PSU are oftentimes competitively priced well.

The AMD Phenom II processors perform on par with Intel's Core 2 series processors. But the Phenoms are a better choice as Intel's Socket 775 boards and processors have reached end-of-life status.
 
In general, they both perform about the same. AMD has a higher energy usage, especially compared to Intel's newer Core i5/i7 platform, but it is newer technology.
 
tiraides said:
In general, they both perform about the same. AMD has a higher energy usage, especially compared to Intel's newer Core i5/i7 platform, but it is newer technology.
Click to expand...



to add on to what tiraides said.. AM2+ is also not a dead end socket "yet" like LGA-775 is.. so if you ever decided you were sick of dual cores.. you could upgrade to the phenom II x4 955 or 965.. while still using the same ddr2 ram you already own.. the only current unknown is if AMD will still use the ddr2 IMC on the phenom II x6 processors or if they will go with the DDR3 IMC only..
 
AM2+ is at its end of life status as AMD road maps don't show any new CPUs with a DDR2 controller past next year.
 
Alright, I've decided to buy a q9550 and just have one more question.

Will it be compatible with my pc2-5300 (ddr2 667mhz) ram sticks?

Do I need to upgrade to at least pc2-6400?
 
Crowsnose said:
Alright, I've decided to buy a q9550 and just have one more question.

Will it be compatible with my pc2-5300 (ddr2 667mhz) ram sticks?

Do I need to upgrade to at least pc2-6400?
Click to expand...

DDR2 667 RAM will be just fine.
 
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