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Advice replacing a 4 year old CPU

WLB79

WLB79

WLB79

Associate
Joined
16 Dec 2008
Posts
45
Hi, the question is similar to Spellcaster1972's but I've started a new thread as I have an older CPU so I may get different advice.

Anyway my system is:
Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB)
Gigabyte GA_965P_DS3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Kingston HyperX 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 6400C5 800MHz Dual Channel
Nvidia GTX460 768MB
Windows XP sp3

I would like to upgrade the CPU but not go to the expense of getting a new motherboard as well, this is because I'm also going to be getting Windows 7 and all together it would all be a bit too expensive.

I am looking at either
Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 2.93GHz (1066FSB) or Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.5GHz 4MB-cache (1333FSB)
I do not want to spend more than £100 but want to have something that will last another year or so before I upgrade again.

I generally use the PC for games and the age of the CPU is starting to show with new games like Shogun 2, and I intend to buy the Witcher 2 soon so will need a bit better CPU than I currently have.
 
WLB79 said:
Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 2.93GHz (1066FSB) or Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.5GHz 4MB-cache (1333FSB)
Click to expand...

personally i think the dual core would overclock better and be better for gaming, the quad core better for video rendering and converting :)
 
A Q6600 would be a worthy upgrade. A decent one can be had for around £60. I'm buying one to upgrade my E6400 next week :)
 
andy_mk3 said:
A Q6600 would be a worthy upgrade. A decent one can be had for around £60. I'm buying one to upgrade my E6400 next week :)
Click to expand...

I've had a look for a Q6600, they're about £200 new and, like you say, £60 second hand.
I'm not sure about getting a second hand CPU, is there much risk involved?
 
I would second the Q6600. The G0 (SLACR) version will give you 3.4-3.6Ghz when overclocked. They can be had for about £65 and are pretty much common as muck on ebay as they were so popular when new.

Now, others will probably come up with some horror stories, but I've personally never had a CPU fail on me, and I like to overclock them. I've also owned several 2nd hand CPUs and none of them have failed. My strategy with them is quite sympathetic though: generally you get good improvements in clock speed for marginal extra voltage, but there comes a point where you have to ladel on big slabs of extra voltage for relatively small improvements. I stop just at the beginning of that. Keep it under 1.4V and make sure your temps don't get out of the 60s when loaded and you shouldn't have a failure on your hands.
 
First thing you need to do is find out what revision your board is. You need rev 3.3 before you can even consider a 45nm cpu and even then they are not officially supported.

Q6600 would be your best bet as it works in all revisions of your board. I would'nt hesitate about buying a second hand cpu. I have bought several in the past and have had no problems.
 
My 45nm E7500 Wolfdale is chugging along nicely at 3.9ghz (1.37V & a £15 cpu cooler) and I really don't see the point of "upgrading" to a 65nm Q6600 which will clock to only 3.6ghz.

I nearly bit the bullet and bought a second hand Q6600, but I'm glad I didn't. I re evaluated and spent some cash on a 2gb 6950 instead.

BTW, if you do decide to go for a used Q6600, you can pick em up on the Bay for peanuts now. Forget £65, I watched SLACRs go for between £46 and £55 inc postage over the last couple of days.
 
Never had an issue with buying a used CPU. They're pretty bullet-proof and if the seller knows what they're talking about that gives me confidence too!

I want to upgrade to a quad for multi-tasking mostly. I often run several programs at once and VM's, so it should be a good improvement. I used to have a E8400, that would go to 4.2ghz on air no problem.

I personally think the Core2Duo series are some of the best chips ever made. Looking forward to getting a Q6600 now :)
 
I feel there is more risk in buying a used PSU or motherboard than CPU. A CPU either works or it don't where as other parts can be hit or miss. A Q6600 would be a fantastic upgrade because 965 chipsets may not support newer dual or quads.

For what it's worth, I'd rather a higher end dual than a mid range quad. Heat, power consumption etc.
 
Thanks for all the advice.

I'm looking at getting the Q6600 now, how is the SLACR version better than the normal one?
 
The SLACR version clocks better apparently. Just seen a used Q6600 go on ebay for £82 :o I stopped bidding at £60 and got one off the MM instead. Silly money they're going for still. Wolfdale chips are good though, 45nm and good amount of L2 cache.
 
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