Best bang-for-buck CPU upgrade for me.....

[StevieP]

My current setup is in my sig and I'm toying with the idea of upgrading the weakest part of my system, which I see as being the CPU!?!? (correct me if I'm wrong!) - btw I'm currently overclocking the CPU to 2.7GHz!

So essentially I am looking for the best value upgrade for me at present, ideally without having to swap out any other components! (ie. motherboard, cooler or my 460W Akasa PSU)

All recommendations welcome although ideally I dont want to be spending much more than £100 if possible!

Cheers,

StevieP

 

[gurusan]

you should be able to squeeze some more out of that CPU....3.2GHz at least...

 

[cmndr_andi]

you should be able to squeeze some more out of that CPU....3.2GHz at least...

I dunno, 2.7GHz is pretty good on a 1.8GHz CPU. I was playing around with an e4400 a while back and I was able to get it a touch over 3GHz and stable.

I would suggest finding a second-hand Q6600 or Q6700, should be able to get one for around £100. If you want new, then I suggest upping the budget and looking at this or this.

However, as you are playing at 1920x1080 - it may be your GPU that is letting you down. Adding another 4850 to your board would yield some nice improvements but i'm not sure your PSU will play ball. A faster single card (like a 4890 or 5850) is obviously well out of your budget.

 

[StevieP]

I've tried it above the current 2.7GHz but with my limited knowledge of RAM timings and voltages etc it wast very stable so I'd rather look at possibly getting a Quad core or similar!

StevieP

 

[gurusan]

In that case a 2nd hand q6600 from the members market would do you nicely. Either that or get a 2nd hand wolfdale (e8400)....the p35 should get it to 4ghz or so

 

[StevieP]

I'm tempted by the Q9400, especially since it is bundled with Operation Flashpoint!!!

But will my PSU power such a beast?? And also, anyone have any ideas what sort of % performance increase I'd get going from my E4300 to this with my existing cooler??

Thanks....

StevieP

 

[feeddagoat]

Best value is probally a Q6600. If your upgrading might aswell go quad. As said below, you could Overclock but with C2D socket practically dead, now would be the time to upgrade before processors sell out. Still life in LGA775, until quads become standard (or in my case games require them) theres no point in upgrading to LGA1156 or 1366 unless you do video encoding/multi graphics gaming and have some money.

 

[Th3D0n]

playing batman game all on full at 1280*1020 and my cpu only hits 80% load and at 1980*1020 it hits 75% load and with my spec all most the same as yours id say overclock your cpu and get a better gfx

 

[StevieP]

playing batman game all on full at 1280*1020 and my cpu only hits 80% load and at 1980*1020 it hits 75% load and with my spec all most the same as yours id say overclock your cpu and get a better gfx

My system isnt struggling too much but I want to get a faster processor - I appreciate the advice but the question was what is the best bang-for-buck CPU upgrade!

Anyone know if the Q9400 will run OK with my existing Akasa 460W PSU??

StevieP

 

[cmndr_andi]

Anyone know if the Q9400 will run OK with my existing Akasa 460W PSU??

StevieP

I just ran it through a PSU calculator, with a Q9400 (@stock) you will be drawing ~310W (I added a few HHDs and DVD drives and fans in too). therefore you should be absolutely fine with your current CPU and you will have some headroom for overclocking.

I had a look at a few reviews for your CPU cooler, it looks OK but not brilliant. I suggest giving it a go with the new CPU and if you find you have temperature troubles when overclocking, upgrade to something like this.

 

[Gin0rm0]

Best bang for buck is a 2nd hand Q6600.