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I have an E2140 & P35C-DS3R - what's my best CPU upgrade option for an all-round CPU

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Caporegime
Joined
13 May 2003
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Warwickshire
Hello all

I'm currently running an E2140 at 3 GHz and am looking for a new CPU to handle a variety of tasks - gaming, Photoshop, video encoding with ConvertXtoDVD, HD video viewing, and all-round media / office use.

The main reasons that I want a new CPU are that I've noticed the CPU struggling a bit in modern games with some juddering in certain places, it takes an age to encode video, and I'm upgrading my display to 24". The framerates themselves are ok at the resolutions I run (currently 1440 x 900) and I'm happy with the GPU for the moment.

I just want a good all-rounder for a family PC that can do a bit of everything well, and I want to prolong the life of my system before the CPUs it can accommodate start disappearing from retailers' shelves. What's my best upgrade without having to upgrade the motherboard? Call the budget £100, but more or less is possible.

Recommendations please? Thanks.
 
You have just described what I have been through with an upgrade. I have an e2140 @ 3.2ghz (been like it for about 2 years) and it has been an absolutely amazing good value CPU, but the lack of cache is starting to put it way behind modern day dual and quads. I also wanted to get a bit more out of my socket 775 platform for another year, and since I already have 4gb of ram and a GPU I am happy with I set myself a very similar budget. I went for a q6600 second hand for about £90 as was a good clocker. Very capable CPUs as you may well know.
Make sure you select a CPU that has VT technology so that it can do XP Mode if you want to use that on Windows 7. (virtualisation technology for XP virtual machine). The q6600 does this.
 
photoshop and encoding?

its gotta be a quad

i take it a platform upgrade is out of the question?
 
Thanks both.

jaybee - was a Q6600 the most modern CPU that a P35 board could handle? Are there any chips from the following 'generation' that would work in it? Would the Wolfdale or Yorkfield range work, or is the value still in the Q6600s?

rjkoneill - not entirely out of the question, since I'm considering building an HTPC when our new TV arrives and I could use my current gear for that. However I don't plan to do that quite yet, so I at least need a stop-gap chip. My current system I assume would be pretty ideal as an HTPC. I'd get a fanless 9600 or something for the HTPC and keep the 8800GT as the gaming card. I'll look towards the quads in any case.
 
Robbie G a Q6600 with a nice clock to 3.2ghz will give you a huge boost.

That would be the chip I would get in your position.

Cheap, Fast and clockable.

Cheers

easyrider
 
easy has got a point - the q66 would be ideal
and many can be had 2nd hand

if you wanted a platform upgrade an i5 750 would be an ideal midrange option

depending on how often you encode it may be worth considering a 920

all depends on how far your budget can stretch
 
I have the same motherboard, and went for the Q6700 which I've had stable at just over 3.4Ghz. I do not agree it will give you a huge boost encoding video, but yea a fair boost. TBH I'm still not satisfied and want an i7 :]
 
Thanks guys.

I'll get on the lookout for a second hand Q6600 I think.

And thanks pastymuncher for the helpful info re: compatability.
 
If buying new id say The Q8's ok there not brilliant but will help encoding and stuff, but as others have said, a 2nd hand Q6600 would probably be best, especially if u can get from the members market here, as u will get far more info about the cpu then else where.
 
I have the same motherboard as the OP and changed from a E2180 running at 3.2 to a E8500 running a 4ghz. The biggest, and only really noticeable, difference was with video encoding. That alone made it a reasonable upgrade for the cost of the CPU. I did not bother with the quad as I thought the increased mhz that the E8500 could offer was more than enough to meet my needs.
 
Interesting views, as you can see from my sig I've a similar set-up and have also been looking at upgrading the cpu.

At first I was just going to throw an E7xxx in for a little boost but I'm now considering a Q8400, as my biggest concern is keeping the rig as silent as possible (45nm=less heat= less fan noise).
 
I forgot to mention above I have the same mobo as well, and got the q6600. Let us know how you get on OP, as you'll probably get yours installed and clocked before I have time to do mine.
 
Thanks all, I will indeed keep you posted.

Time to start the hunt for a second hand Q6600. If unsuccessful, I'll start looking at a new Q8***s.

Edit: blimey, the Q6600s are all going for £100.
 
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