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CPU - Worth an Update?

nheather

nheather

nheather

Associate
Joined
19 May 2004
Posts
1,037
Location
Horsham, West Sussex
My current system is based on an Intel Duo E6750. Stock speed is 2.66, it will run at 3.0 but I tend to run it at 2.8.

The only area where I feel my PC is challenged is with modern games such as Arma II.

My graphics card is a Geforce 8800 GTS (with 320MB RAM) with I accept is probably the weak link.

But some people say my graphics card is being bandwidth limited by the CPU and I should get a quad CPU.

What I don't understand is that I thought that even today, most games are still using a single core only so faster clocked 2 core will beat a slower clocked 4 core.

If I look at the CPU charts on Toms Hardware for games like Crysis, my E6750 comes way up the list - beating all the AMD quads.

So what advantage will I really see if I upgrade to a quad?

Cheers,

Nigel
 
If i was to change anything it would be your graphics card. The 320mb GTS will be struggling with modern games. Go for a GTX260 (one on this week only), 4870 or similar and you will see a decent gain in performance. Your E6750 should be capable of hitting 3.4Ghz at least.
 
pastymuncher said:
If i was to change anything it would be your graphics card. The 320mb GTS will be struggling with modern games. Go for a GTX260 (one on this week only), 4870 or similar and you will see a decent gain in performance. Your E6750 should be capable of hitting 3.4Ghz at least.
Click to expand...
agreed, your cpu is fine, as pasty says go for a nice 260, should see you through for another 18months to 2 years Id say
 
Thanks for the info.

Yep I haven't tried pushing the E6750 - it went to 3.0GHz fairly easily - didn't try any higher.

Will look at graphics cards then.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
the e6750 will do 3.4-3.6ghz at least if you have decent aftermarket cooling.

..but as stated, changing the GPU for something better will make a huge difference. GTX 260, 275, or 4890 is what you want.
 
The GTX260 was recommended but looking at the cards on offer would the 4890 be a better choice for more or less the same money.

How do the 260 vs 4890 compare?

Cheers,

Nigel
 
I had exactly the same combination as you before I upgraded to a GTX280 when they were going cheap on the OcUK site quite a few months ago now. It made a large difference to all my games, and I only feel CPU limited in a handful, but that's probably because I can't seem to clock my E6750 beyond 2.8 without stability problems. I also upgraded my motherboard to a P45, which gave me more bandwidth to the gfx card, but was more of a preparation for getting a 45nm chip possibly in the future. My next upgrade would probably have to be an E8400 clocked to at least 3.8 or a q9550.

Moral of the story is, upgrade the gfx first before you think about CPU unless you know you're massively CPU limited. That GTS will be holding you back as mine did me, particularly when I upgraded to a 22" monitor.
 
Hi, I have a E6850, a bit faster I know, but I also used to have a 8800GTS 320. I bought a 4870, and with my CPU at stock speeds the difference in games was night and day. So I would say it is def your graphics card that is the weak link. If you OC your CPU even further, you'll get a good few FPS extra too.

So, like alexhull24, I'd say upgrade the graphics card to a 4890 or similar, the CPU has got a bit more life in it yet.
 
Lol at quad recommendation! You just need a better graphics card and it would help if you overclocked your cpu some more but it is not essential. The 320mb on your card is the main problem in modern games.
 
No my PSU does have two 6pin PCI plugs.

They plug into the Red sockets that you can see in one of the pictures.

And in the 'Features' on the website it says

Cable 3 & 4 > 1PC x 6 pins PCI express
Click to expand...

i.e. Cable 3 and Cable 4

Power might be marginal though - depends on how well the PSU lives up to it's specs.

Here's a question though. One 4890 requires 500W PSU minimum. Two 4890s require 600W PSU minimum. This means that the power requirement of a single 4890 must be 100W.

So 400W for the rest of the system - should be easy if they have their maths right.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
Last edited:
My son's [email protected] stock volts with an Artic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro -

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-017-ARhttp://forums.overclockers.co.uk/Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775)

If your strapped for cash get A Sapp-4850-512MB:-

MODEL= http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-179-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=938

Flash it with the Asus 4850 Bios, mine OC's to GPU = 675 / MEMORY = 1100(Matchs the Sapp-Toxic-4850-51SMB) Temps are idle AV= 48c / load AV =68c. Fan Speed 48% on Auto-Fan + stock cooler been at that setting for awhile no prob's.
 
Thanks for the help guys.

I almost went for a 4890 but in the end split the difference and got a 4870. Just got an eMail to say that it's been despatched.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
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