Upgrade E4400 or keep it?

[3far4shot]

I have a Core 2 Duo E4400 running at stock(and no i dont OC) and i mostly just game and go on the internet. I also plan to get a GTX 260 or somthing around there(maybe a 9800 GX2) and i am not to sure the my E4400 can handle those cards. But i really dont care about bottlenecks(as long as my games look good and run smooth).

Not upgrading my CPU will save me time, money and i dont have to risk damaging my Mobo( EVGA 680i SLi SE). But i could always get a Core 2 Quad. So what should i do?

My system:
Intel Core 2 Duo (E4400)@2.0ghz cooled with Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro

Evga 680i SLI SE

4GB OCZ Gold XTC DDR2 800 (4x 1GB Sticks)

Evga Geforce 8600 GTS 256MB

Western Digital Caviar 160GB SATA HDD/ Seagate Barracuda 160GB both SATA

OCZ StealthXstream 600w PSU

Combo CD/DVD Drive

CoolerMaster RC-690 Case.

 

[RonB]

Keep the E4400

 

[onedestinazn2]

keep it, i would at least try to overclock it a little bit before you plunge into a new cpu when youre just surfing the net/gaming

 

[Jakalwarrior]

quad isnt going to do you any good for going on the internet and gaming. Just stick with that chip until you feel it is holding you back in a game etc...

 

[3far4shot]

Good points. How do you think it will perform with a GTX 260?

 

[XboxodX]

I think it will perform fine at stock, but it will perform better if you overclock. Why don't you try and explore overclocking? I had a e4300 before my e8400 and I got a 3.0ghz overclock out of it (that's 1.2ghz over stock) and it was simple as cake to do. Just my $.02.

 

[3far4shot]

Ya, it plays all the games i have fine.

 

[harpoon]

My E4400 bottlenecks my 8800GTS 320 at stock. It needs to be pushed to about 2.5GHz to stop being the bottleneck. It'll be much worse on a GTX 260. If you are willing to overclock to 3GHz (mine does 3.3GHz+) then it'll make things a lot better, but at stock its going to be a massive bottleneck in certain games.

 

[3far4shot]

My E4400 bottlenecks my 8800GTS 320 at stock. It needs to be pushed to about 2.5GHz to stop being the bottleneck. It'll be much worse on a GTX 260. If you are willing to overclock to 3GHz (mine does 3.3GHz+) then it'll make things a lot better, but at stock its going to be a massive bottleneck in certain games.

But there are people running Socket 939 systems with a 8800 GTX. And i am pretty sure a stock E4400 is more powerful then Skt 939 CPU's.

 

[harpoon]

But there are people running Socket 939 systems with a 8800 GTX. And i am pretty sure a stock E4400 is more powerful then Skt 939 CPU's.

And they would be CPU bottlenecked in many games... an E4400 @ stock is only about as powerful as a S939 X2 4800+.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-scaling-in-games-with-quad-core-processors/4
http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-scaling-in-games-with-quad-core-processors/5
http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-scaling-in-games-with-quad-core-processors/8
http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-scaling-in-games-with-quad-core-processors/9

Look how badly the X2 4850e @ 2.5GHz bottlenecks those games, a stock E4400 would be roughly equivalent. The GPU tested was 'only' a 8800 Ultra, it'll be even worse on a GTX 260.

I know this is not what you wanna hear, but its the cold hard truth...

The good news is that all this could go away if you are willing to overclock. Cmon, you know you wanna.

 

[Elios]

But there are people running Socket 939 systems with a 8800 GTX. And i am pretty sure a stock E4400 is more powerful then Skt 939 CPU's.

i was one of them btw and going to a E7200 from a 939 A64 X2 @ 2.5 and the E7200 nearly doubled my frame rates with the 8800GTS i have

if you have the money the E7200 is really cheap right now and OCs well you have a good HSF for it

 

[3far4shot]

And they would be CPU bottlenecked in many games... an E4400 @ stock is only about as powerful as a S939 X2 4800+.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-scaling-in-games-with-quad-core-processors/4
http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-scaling-in-games-with-quad-core-processors/5
http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-scaling-in-games-with-quad-core-processors/8
http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-scaling-in-games-with-quad-core-processors/9

Look how badly the X2 4850e @ 2.5GHz bottlenecks those games, a stock E4400 would be roughly equivalent. The GPU tested was 'only' a 8800 Ultra, it'll be even worse on a GTX 260.

I know this is not what you wanna hear, but its the cold hard truth...

The good news is that all this could go away if you are willing to overclock. Cmon, you know you wanna.

, So should i upgrade my CPU?, But then i have to take my mobo out of the case and put it on somthing to upgrade it. What kind of performance would a Q6700 or Q6600 at stock with a GTX 260 get me?

 

[Elios]

, So should i upgrade my CPU?, But then i have to take my mobo out of the case and put it on somthing to upgrade it.

shouldnt have to
but you will have to take the HSF off
the HSF you have is the same as mine and it uses the stock intel mounting stuff
so you can take it off with out taking the mobo out of the case

just see if the mobo you have will take a 45nm cpu like i said the E7200 is dirt cheap and will OC well with that HSF you have now
just get some new TIM for it like AS5

 

[3far4shot]

shouldnt have to
but you will have to take the HSF off
the HSF you have is the same as mine and it uses the stock intel mounting stuff
so you can take it off with out taking the mobo out of the case

just see if the mobo you have will take a 45nm cpu like i said the E7200 is dirt cheap and will OC well with that HSF you have now
just get some new TIM for it like AS5

If i keep it in the case i have to do alot of pushing inside the case tho(when putting on the HSF and lowering the CPU latch. What is the mobo bends and touches the back of the case? Will the bending damage it much?

My mobo supports the 45nm CPU's with a BIOS update.

 

[harpoon]

, So should i upgrade my CPU?, But then i have to take my mobo out of the case and put it on somthing to upgrade it. What kind of performance would a Q6700 or Q6600 at stock with a GTX 260 get me?

Can I ask why you are adverse to overclocking? It really is quite easy, and the most cost effective way (free!) to get a significant upgrade in performance. Really, it takes 30 seconds to change the FSB from 200MHz to 266MHz in the BIOS, and in an instant you have a 2.66GHz CPU instead of a 2GHz one. You don't even have to change the HSF, and you won't need to tinker with voltages either since 99% of E4400s will do 2.66GHz at stock volts.

That being said, if you are looking to upgrade the CPU, I'd look at a dual core, not a quad. Most games don't take advantage of quads, for the price of a Q6600 you can get an E8500 which will be significantly faster in most games.

 

[3far4shot]

I find no need to OC. Plus i am unable to OC since it wont let me change it int he BIOS. The FSB is locked.(Even tho my motherboard is ''Engineered for Core 2 Duo Overclocking'')

 

[onedestinazn2]

well if theres no need to oc then theres def no need to buy a new cpu yet . if you ever wanted to try to overclock even if they ont allow it in the bios you can always try to do the bsel mod.

 

[3far4shot]

well if theres no need to oc then theres def no need to buy a new cpu yet . if you ever wanted to try to overclock even if they ont allow it in the bios you can always try to do the bsel mod.

Well i know for sure my board can OC, i have a 680i SLi SE board(TR) which is the one that can't overclock Quad Cores, but is supposed to be a great Core 2 Duo OCer.(It even says'' ''Engineered for Core 2 Duo Overclocking''). But i cant type in a new FSB number tho i think its the multiplier.

 

[Zero82z]

Try posting a thread in the Overclocking section maybe? I have no experience with 680i BIOS configuration, but I'm sure there are people around here who could help you get your O/Cing set up nicely. There's really no need to waste money on a new CPU when you could remove any bottlenecking by going up to around 3-3.2GHz, which should be easily doable with your CPU and board.