CPU upgrade from E6550

[Gelly54]

Ok, so my uncle is a Sign Writer and his computer is running a little slow, he is only after an upgrade at the minute and i feel he would benefit from a CPU and RAM (i was shocked he only had 2GB of RAM!) upgrade.

What would be a good upgrade from an E6550 whilst keeping on socket 775 for graphic design work?

Unsure of exact mobo model

Thank you in advance

 

[s452]

depending on his Motherboard, q6600 or wolfdale quadcore?

 

[sw1ft]

Is the CPU really what's slowing the system down?

Would 4GB of memory and a small caching SSD not be more beneficial?

 

[CyberCrow]

Q6600 then overclock it, change the cooler if its running stock cooler.

Also add most of all a SSD!

 

[underworld00]

As above, a quad core if it will help in the programs he needs, or a higher clocking dual core maybe. I have a dual core e7400 running at 4.2 ghz. Biggest difference I have made to my system? Adding an ssd as the main drive. Amazing difference!

 

[Cromulent]

As above, a quad core if it will help in the programs he needs, or a higher clocking dual core maybe. I have a dual core e7400 running at 4.2 ghz. Biggest difference I have made to my system? Adding an ssd as the main drive. Amazing difference!

Yep. An SSD will probably make the most difference in terms of how fast the computer feels to use. Then bump up the RAM and see what difference it makes. If it still feels slow only then bother to upgrade the CPU.

 

[Gelly54]

SSD sounds the best option but im unsure his mobo and if it supports AHCI? or does this not matter?

He has a lot of work and applications on his HDD so any advice on how to transfer everything over to a new SSD please?

Thanks again

 

[Flying_Hellfish]

You can get a USB > SATA cable, in fact some SSDs do come with this as a kit, as well as the relevant imaging software. That would probably be the easiest option.

As for RAM, 2GB sounds about the expected for a E6550. You could look to get the Q6600 and a dual-channel 4GB kit, though it depends on the motherboard.

 

[Mrjobby]

2GB ram can get pretty painful on a poorly maintained system.

Then add a SSD is the motherboard supports AHCI.

 

[Gelly54]

If the mobo doesnt support AHCI could he expect to see decent gains in performance? I havent had a look inside the machine yet but i reckon he is rockin some 5400rpm HDD

 

[linktoinsanity]

Upgrade it to 4GB of RAM and install an SSD, reinstalling Windows as 64 bit. Doesn't matter if it doesn't support AHCI, you will still gain a massive performance boost.

Then see how it goes, doing this will give the greatest improvement. Don't skimp on the SSD as you can always move it into a newer PC further on down the line.

I'd only upgrade the CPU to a Q6600/Q6700 if you can get one on the cheap.

 

[GefGz]

I'm not sure of the pricing on the Q6600, might not be worth the outlay. But yeah definitely increase the RAM to 4GB and the best SSD you can afford, The Evo's are brilliant.