Best CPU for £120 new build.

[easyrider]

From reviews the onboard gpu looks to be pretty much the same. They both pretty much trade blows in everything.

Thanks

I apologise for being so lazy today,

But hey its sunday

 

[liquidex]

As the op says a new build would suggest he might as well step up and get the i5 750 for ~£140.

If he wants to save a few quid then a PII 550 and a mobo that has ACC. If the 550 unlocks to a quad its basically a 955 which is comparable to a q9550. Plus AM3 will outlast s775. All that for prob slightly cheaper than the i5 750 itself

 

[Rroff]

Rroff, the problem I have hear is you have stormed into a thread where a pleasant discussion was talking place, broadcasted to the interweb to "ignore" me and declared that a 2 year old 65nm chip is the one true option!

And the basis for your statement is an "Assumption"

Always, always, always *Clarify* something before letting of your big guns please! . . . at least when I'm involved!

I haven't stormed in anywhere...

...and its 45nm not 65nm...

...and it might be getting on now... but it barely costs more than the X3 setup your peddling, if not the same price by the time the OP comes to buy, will eat it for breakfast in most cases - newer games love the 4 cores and tons of cache and thats only going to become more of an advantage as time goes by... and tbh by the time you come to upgrading either platform there will probably be bigger and better things on a new socket and any upgrade path for either is meaningless.

 

[easyrider]

I haven't stormed in anywhere...

...and its 45nm not 65nm...

...and it might be getting on now... but it barely costs more than the X3 setup your peddling, if not the same price by the time the OP comes to buy, will eat it for breakfast in most cases - newer games love the 4 cores and tons of cache and thats only going to become more of an advantage as time goes by... and tbh by the time you come to upgrading either platform there will probably be bigger and better things on a new socket and any upgrade path for either is meaningless.

Yes it is 45nm not 65nm that Wayne states. Rroff, Wayne does have a habit of storming into threads and not reading them properly.

That aside...I admire your courage..You have suggested an upgrade path for the OP that is not AMD.

This will of course ruffle the feathers of the species that is Big Wayne.

 

[Rroff]

I don't have a problem with AMD setups... they serve a gap in the market.

I just don't think the OP is going to get a decent upgrade in that kinda price range - and the most cost effective way to get a decent performance boost, with minimal upheaval, is the yorkies if they will work on his board... otherwise he would be wise to save his money or put up a little extra for something that will be a step forward instead of sideways.

Now if the setup in his sig isn't the system hes upgrading from then we will have to go back to the drawing board.

 

[Trunks9486]

I kinda agree on Rroff on the concept that a tri-core is not that big of an upgrade to a conroe based chip. I wouldnt do it to be honest.

Sure they are great bang for buck for someone buying new gear, but not enough for an upgrade of the whole platform.

 

[Big.Wayne]

...and its 45nm not 65nm...

Oops!

...and it might be getting on now... but it barely costs more than the X3 setup your peddling,

I think a LGA775 platform is still great and more than capable of handling pretty much anything . .

If it turns out that RibTickler is indeed thinking of upgrading the system in his sig then it's a good call on your behalf and certainly opens up the discussion!

The only other *good* reason someone may want to swap out platform is of course they are a little bored with their older tech, they done all the tweaking, solved the puzzle if you will and fancy a chance, it's very geeky I know but still a good reason . . . at least for me!

if not the same price by the time the OP comes to buy

I'm prepared to discuss that one a bit further mate as I'm seeing things from a different perspective to you!

I'm seeing someone get a motherboard & processor for £100-£120 and then selling their older LGA775 kit to offset the cost . . .

will eat it for breakfast in most cases

Well if you have done the testing yourself then please tell me more . . . if you are just telling me what someone has told you then I'm not so interested as you have no personal experience . . . your a parrot!

I'm don't mind if a more expensive processor eats my one for breakfast, what I care about is that the processor in the machine is *more* than fast enough to Blaze through the daily tasks, make MinceMeat out of my games and have enough money left In Real Life so I can actually eat breakfast myself!

newer games love the 4 cores and tons of cache and thats only going to become more of an advantage as time goes by...

Yeah it's nice to see better support for multicore in games, can't say a triple-core is causing me one single problem but point taken . . . . Level 3 cache I'll get back to you on, I'm not so sure it's such a big deal, better performance yeah but not transforming anything in the *Real-World* . . .at least I'm [not] having a bad time running any games without it . . .

and tbh by the time you come to upgrading either platform there will probably be bigger and better things on a new socket and any upgrade path for either is meaningless.

Hmmm . . . I can't say I've ever pimped *Upgradability* as a selling point . . . but now you mention it I suppose it is actually a plus point to some people . . . if AMD do release sex-core processors that fit in these AM2+/AM3 platforms that's great for some people!

There's always gonna be bigger and better things, I guess what is important is that each of us are happy with what we have now!

I'm *very* happy with the AIIX3/785G combo . . . now all I need is a low power GPU to get the running costs £££ down a bit!

 

[Big.Wayne]

I don't have a problem with AMD setups...

Well nobody actually said you did mate but as you brought it up . . .

On a personal level I do think you have a problem, in some kinda way the more people that jump on the AMD wagon the less relevant your old system becomes, of course that is nonsense but I guess you just want someone to talk with . . .

If there was a LGA775 subforum I doubt this conversation would be taking place . . .

they serve a gap in the market.

I don't think it's a gap . . I think it *is* the market

I just don't think the OP is going to get a decent upgrade in that kinda price range - and the most cost effective way to get a decent performance boost, with minimal upheaval, is the yorkies if they will work on his board

Obviously Rroff we have had this conversation before . . .many times!

If you think a two year old [45nm] quad-core is a great choice I'm fine with that, I don't agree with you but that's fine again . .

All you need to do instead of having asking people to ignore what I am saying is simply to pimp the Yorkie and highlight all the plus points that would appeal to the punter . . . I will do tha same with AMD kit if that is alright with you!

otherwise he would be wise to save his money or put up a little extra for something that will be a step forward instead of sideways

He would be wise hmmm . . . i.e if he doesn't do what you suggest he is unwise?

The whole point of my contribution to this thread is about . . . . saving money?

as soon as I moved from LGA775 to AM3 I saved money . . . never . . .ever have I swapped out a system before and ended up with a lot more money than I had before the swap-out!

Now if the setup in his sig isn't the system hes upgrading from then we will have to go back to the drawing board.

Your probably right mate but I hope my point is taken, I don't like to see someone spend money for no reason but I really do think the Yorkfield is gonna take some convincing!

 

[Rroff]

I'd forgotten he could sell his old LGA775 kit to fund the upgrade... I'm not one for selling my old kit personally heh so it skipped my mind.

I think he would be unwise to spend the amount of money hes talking about, on the kinda hardware thats available at that price point as an upgrade to what he already has - assuming his sig is what we are talking about... even if he sells it he just goes through the hassle of changing system for something thats not really a move forward with no clear upgrade path.

I don't have a problem with relevance... my Q9550 setup still does everything I ask from it and will match or beat most other systems out there with ease... I haven't stayed with this platform due to any particular attachement to it or lack of funds.

 

[Big.Wayne]

I'd forgotten he could sell his old LGA775 kit to fund the upgrade...

It's not such a hassle . .

I'm not one for selling my old kit personally heh so it skipped my mind.

That's good in some respects . . .

You obviously can resist the upgrade bug!

I think he would be unwise to spend the amount of money hes talking about

Couldn't agree more . . . £120 is big money for a CPU alone these days IMHO . . .

my Q9550 setup still does everything I ask from it and will match or beat most other systems out there with ease...

For the price I jolly well hope so!

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550

£169.99 inc + Motherboard

I haven't stayed with this platform due to any particular attachement to it or lack of funds.

How long have you had your current motherboard . . . how long have you owned that Q9550?

 

[easyrider]

I have changed my mind.

The OP should sell his Chip mobo and ram and get an i5 750 a new P55 mobo and some DDR3

I personally think that if you are going to upgrade you upgrade to get a faster PC.

I don't think its morally right to suggest to someone to sideways shift like wayne who said he really only changed to AMD from S775 because he was bored.

 

[Rroff]

Q9550 I bought 22nd Oct 09 - so I could give my dad my Q6600... otherwise I'd have stuck with the Q6600 but as it turns out I'm kinda happy I did.

Had my 750i board since March 09... upgraded from a gigabyte n650i - which was itself a replacement for the horrid ASUS P5N-E 32/Striker Extreme 680i board which I got through 3 + upgrade to the striker and none of them lasted long when overclocked and were never stable.

I never resist the upgrade bug tbh... I just haven't got it so far with the Q9550 - the i5/i7 just aren't enough of an improvement to tempt me away and the Q9550 more than meets all my expectations of it.

TBH my buying pattern is pretty random... I might see an i5 motherboard tomorrow that looks fun to play with and spec a new rig out... who knows.

 

[Big.Wayne]

I personally think that if you are going to upgrade you upgrade to get a faster PC

I agree, I have got a faster PC now all we need to do is confirm what RibTickler has! . . .

I don't think its morally right to suggest to someone to sideways shift like wayne who said he really only changed to AMD from S775 because he was bored.

Haha, only easyrider can twist someones words to come up with a completely different meaning!

easyrider, I am an overclockling/tweaking enthusiast, that's why I am posting on these forums . . I enjoy playing with hardware and after running an LGA775 system for three years I felt like a change!

It's as simple as that, I got £100 back, I got an extra core and I got a new *puzzle* to solve, life is good . . . .

Now my suggestion to you is get yourself some hardward together and join in the fun, your really missing on not have a overclocking machine to play withm you know this is the truth . . .

The only thing that is stopping you making a purchase is your confidence!

 

[easyrider]

The only thing that is stopping you making a purchase is your confidence!

You maybe right

Its the first time where I am coming to an upgrade and have told myself I am sticking to a budget.

Before cost didn't really matter...But now it does...I have more things to buy than just the PC itself.

I need money over to buy some quality microphones and let me tell you these don't come cheap.

i3 or i5? if I go i5 then I have to buy a GFX card.

AMD 550? But what if the cores don't unlock?

Its a tricky one...I can tell thee

 

[Big.Wayne]

TBH my buying pattern is pretty random... I might see an i5 motherboard tomorrow that looks fun to play with and spec a new rig out... who knows.

Good info thanks!

I sat here last year with an overclocked (£120) E8400 to my left and an overclocked (£55) Pentium E6300 to my right . . .

Aside from the benching and aside from the numbers I could not tell the difference . . I got my mate to swap the machine about so I didn't know which was which and I did *blind* A/B testing . . .

Could I tell the difference? . . . . no of course I couldn't heh!

Off Topic:

Rroff, can you remember the first time we started tasling on the forums? . . . I seem to think it was the *Official* Radeon X1950 Pro thread I made, was that you? . . .did you have a Radeon X1950Pro?

I was very excited about those £130 wonders because at the time anything decent from nVidia was about £200+ IIRC . . . . I simply feel the same way about the Athlon II's

 

[Big.Wayne]

You maybe right

Your really not yourself without some uBer hardware . .

Its the first time where I am coming to an upgrade and have told myself I am sticking to a budget

You got a budget . . . £120 for processor and chipset inc IGP

Before cost didn't really matter...But now it does...I have more things to buy than just the PC itself

congrats, that is a *Huge* revelation . . . took me a while to reach that point also . . I need a new floor!

I need money over to buy some quality microphones and let me tell you these don't come cheap

I've worked in the music industry on and off over 25 years, I quite familiar with the costs of high end audio production . . .haven't you got any mates doing the same thing as they normally have good hand-me-downs . . .

i3 or i5? if I go i5 then I have to buy a GFX card

In your boots I would probably have bought both AMD & i3 . . . doesn't seem that long ago you were happy to spend £350 on a processor alone!

Now you can get an AMD chip/mobo and an Intel chip/mobo for that price!

Its a tricky one...I can tell thee

Your like a hungry person sitting down at a restaurant licking their lips looking at the menu! . . .

In that situation what you must do is:

• Order a starter straight away or
• Let someone else help you order

Garlic Mushrooms for one sir?

 

[Rroff]

Nah I had a Gainward 6800* Golden Sample GLH special edition yada yada with 512MB clocked to around 7800GT performance then 7950GX2.


*limited run - was basically an ultra ultra extreme - and ran hot as hot - 105C load lol.

 

[Big.Wayne]

Ah I thought that was you, we deffo had the same hardware at some point in the past? . . . I can remember when you first joined the forums but can't remember the detail?

So are you cash rich atm Rroff i.e do you have money?

any chance of you cashing up your LGA775 for something more suited to your needs?

 

[Rroff]

I dunno what hardware you've had off hand as to if we had the same... I've been through a massive number of motherboards in the time I've been here, but a smaller selection of CPUs.

GPU wise I've only stuck for any length of time with 6800->7950GX2->8800GT(SLI)->260(SLI).

 

[craptakular]

955/965 AMD ***.