Intel Core i5 650 2.93Ghz (Clarkdale) (Socket LGA1156) Processor Overclocked to 4.4GH

nukemdukem · 2 Mar 2010 at 23:37

Hi,
I've seen a bundle for sale that is the older i5 650 Clarkdale overclocked to 4.4ghz. Now this bundle is about £120 cheaper than a similar i5 750 lynnfield bundle overclocked to 4ghz. They use the same motherboard and ram.

So my question is, is the older cpu overclocked to 4.4ghz a better deal? Will the newer cpu give me any benefits? so far i'm definetly leaning towards the older i5 650 Clarkdale cpu.

Mostly i play computer games on a 23 inch monitor.

Thanks

OrphanBoy · 2 Mar 2010 at 23:56

I'm pretty sure the Clarkdale is dual core, but the 750 is quad core. So dual core at 4.4 vs quad core at 4.0...you need to decide which is best for you!

RJC · 3 Mar 2010 at 06:50

i5 650 is the new dual core with Hyperthreading, the 750 is the older cpu which is quad core.

nukemdukem · 3 Mar 2010 at 09:51

ok thanks, so would you say its better to get the i5 650 clark and spend the £120 saving on a better graphics card (ati 5850) or get the quad core and get an ati 5770.
thanks

HeX · 3 Mar 2010 at 10:44

If you are going dual core don't bother with the 650, just get an i3 530, it is essentially the same CPU and will clock about the same.

Save you an extra £50 to put towards something else.

PhoenixUK · 3 Mar 2010 at 10:47

I'd get quad or x3 from ati and 5850 at same price if it's for gaming mainly but then it's just me ; ).

Also either way, you might want to build it yourself as that should work out cheaper and I'm personally not satisfied with some of the parts they use for bundles... but then again it's just my opinion ; ).

What res do you play at mainly and what's your current rig ?

nukemdukem · 3 Mar 2010 at 11:22

Hi,
I have an intel core duo 6400 @ 2.13ghz, 8800gt (640mb) and 2gb ram, my monitor res is 1680 * 1050.

I'm pretty sure the i5 650 @ 4.4ghz will show a massive perfomrance boost, but i'm looking for an option that will last a good couple of years, so maybe 4 cores is better?

ideally i'd go for an i5 750 @ 4ghz and an ati 5850, but need to think about value and performance.

thanks

Redmint · 3 Mar 2010 at 11:27

If you want to make sure it does last a good couple of years then it's definitely worth going for the 750, imo it's still a pretty good value setup. The difference in gaming performance between dual and quad cores is just going to grow over the next few years.

PhoenixUK · 3 Mar 2010 at 15:14

Dont lie yourself, it won't last you 4yrs, you'll get upgrade itch in a year, max two and upgrade anyways ;-)

.

If you play on that res only I'd give a shot OCing your CPU to around 3ghz, adding 2gb of ram and just put 5850 in there and see how that works for you tbh.

As much as you'll get good boost from proper new quad, it might be not necessary just yet. I'm sure an e6400 @ 3-3.2ghz paired with 5850 will handle any game at that res so it's worth a try : ).

Big.Wayne · 3 Mar 2010 at 15:23

nukemdukem said:
Intel® Core™2 Duo E6400

Mobo (Unknown)

2GB Ram (Speed Unknown)

nVidia® Geforce™ 8800GTS 640MB (G90)

23" Monitor 1680x1050

Hey nukemdukem,

seems like you potentially have some decent kit there, wouldn't mind knowing what Mobo and Memory you have?

If you have a mobo with an overclockers BIOS and DDR2-800 memory then getting that chip juiced up to 3.2GHz would definitely improved things! . . . throw in an updated GPU and you may be sorted nicely! :cool:

Redmint · 3 Mar 2010 at 15:46

That might be a good point actually, if you want to check your motherboard and RAM info then CPU-Z is quite a handy program.

nukemdukem · 3 Mar 2010 at 16:56

Hey, thanks for the advise, this is the mobo i have and other info:

i have a Gigabyte 965p-ds3 motherboard. FSB is 1066mhz and bus is 266mhz. My cpu is th 6400 @ 2.13 family 6 model f revision B2, socket 775 LGA. RAM IS DDR2 DRAM FREQ 400MHZ FSB RAM 2.3

So if i overclocked to 3ghz then a 5850 would be good and not bottlenecked? I'm hoping i dont need to update my bios as never done that before.

thanks

reflux · 3 Mar 2010 at 16:57

Check this out:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2010/03/03/overclocking-intel-core-i3-530/1

Basically a dual core i3/i5 is great but not as good as a true quaddie.

PhoenixUK · 3 Mar 2010 at 23:01

nukemdukem said:
Hey, thanks for the advise, this is the mobo i have and other info:

i have a Gigabyte 965p-ds3 motherboard. FSB is 1066mhz and bus is 266mhz. My cpu is th 6400 @ 2.13 family 6 model f revision B2, socket 775 LGA. RAM IS DDR2 DRAM FREQ 400MHZ FSB RAM 2.3

So if i overclocked to 3ghz then a 5850 would be good and not bottlenecked? I'm hoping i dont need to update my bios as never done that before.

thanks

I don't think it will get bottlenecked at this res : ), tbh even slower card will do for that res fine, could do with 4890 if you're not fancy with DX10, they are around 90-100 2nd hand now and will give you a massive boost.

For OC, read the beginners overclocking guide in the Overclocking and Cooling section of this forums.

However I remember that those CPUs OCed quite well so it should be as simple as increasing the FSB, setting ram to unlinked (so it doesn't OC along with CPU which might cause instability if your ram can't handle increased speeds) and maybe a slight bump in vcore should set you easily at 3ghz mark.

Also, what cooler have you got ?

nukemdukem · 4 Mar 2010 at 00:13

Hi,
I have a stock cpu cooler, but i am thinking of ordering this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-002-CS

Do you think that will do the job for o/c the cpu?

So for res of 1680*1050 i can o/c my cpu to 3ghz and get a 4890 or 5770 and be able to play bad company 2 maxed out?

thats my aim really, to play the games coming out this year at the best detail setting at my native res.

Thanks

PhoenixUK · 4 Mar 2010 at 01:27

Looking at this:
http://www.yidio.com/battlefield-bad-company-2-benchmark-ati-5770/id/2108463387

Maybe it's not all maxed out but he gets 70-120fps with just 5770.
And the CPU is just pII [email protected] so it looks like it's not that CPU hungry : ).
Not sure how it's gonna do with dual but you should just get 2nd hand 4890 and give it a shot tbh, might play just fine, and if it doesn't then you can always upgrade later : ).

h50 is not bad but there are better performing air coolers, tho it depends on your case airflow. If you want to spend 60quid on a cooler then it's fine.

Something cheaper like TT Extreme or Baram would do fine too if you wanna save yourself 20-25quid : ).

eatcustard · 4 Mar 2010 at 07:41

Most games are GPU hungry not CPU hungry

I went for the 750 over 661 as most tests show it to be quite a bit faster than its newer 2 core younger brother.
Just make sure you get the best G Card you can afford.

nukemdukem · 4 Mar 2010 at 10:33

lol, ok i've decided...

I'm going to get the thermolab baram cpu cooler and a saphire 5770... i will benchamrk my pc before and after and put the results on here.

Thanks

HeX · 4 Mar 2010 at 11:07

Yeah, just OC that E6400 of yours, will do 3.2 easy as pie.

Redmint · 4 Mar 2010 at 12:44

PhoenixUK said:
Looking at this:
http://www.yidio.com/battlefield-bad-company-2-benchmark-ati-5770/id/2108463387
And the CPU is just pII [email protected] so it looks like it's not that CPU hungry : ).
Not sure how it's gonna do with dual but you should just get 2nd hand 4890 and give it a shot tbh, might play just fine, and if it doesn't then you can always upgrade later : ).

According to a friend of mine (running an E6600 at 3.1GHz) BC2 is quite CPU hungry, he's thinking of upgrading to a quad because of it. But you can at least try it with your new card and the E6400 and see how it goes ofc.