Worth upgrading OC'd e2160?

Joined
Sep 24, 2001
Messages
696
Here's my current specs.

e2160 @ 3ghz 333fsb
Abit IP35-e
Evga 8800gt 512mb
2gb of DDR2 800 (4-4-3-8 I think are the timings)
I try to run at 1920x1200 but usually drop to 1650x1080 if I can't get a good mix of eye candy and fps.

Would I really see a noticable improvement in games like COD4, Witcher, TF2, ETC by dropping in a newer chip like an E8400? which I think is clocked stock at 3ghz? but has more cache. The q6600 is also an option.

Would having the extra cache really make a big diff?

or would it be better to upgrade my 8800gt? Get a new M/B and another 8800gt for SLI? or just go for a 9800GX2 or something?
 
An 8800 GT isn't enough for 1920x1200 in many titles. It's just not that strong a card. I'd personally recommend selling your 8800 GT while it is still worth something and waiting a month or two to pick up one of the newer, faster single cards coming out soon from Nvidia or ATI rather than spending money on a SLI motherboard and another 8800 GT.

I don't believe the CPU is the issue. At 1920x1200 you are pretty much certain of being GPU limited.
 
Thanks for the replies guys!

Looking at the cache stuff it doesn't seem like it makes that huge a difference. maybe between %5-10. Looks like a video card upgrade will be in my future.
 
CannibalTrout, your rig is almost exactly like mine. we just have different boards with the same chipset and our video cards are different (9600GT). i don't have a problem playing CoD4 @ 1920x1200 w/2xAA, i haven't tried 4xAA since i haven't had the time to game in the last couple of weeks due to school. my 9600GT is oc'ed to 740/1850/2000 core/shader/mem. so i'm kinda surprised you said your 8800GT can't hang @ 1920x1200 in CoD4. but of course, everyones' preference of "eye candy" is different.

as for TF2, if your experiencing dips in fps, a faster cpu will help that from what i've read. its a source game and we all know source games love fast cpus. i have TF2 just haven't installed it yet, don't wanna get hooked :p.
 
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