Pentium D upgrade to a C2D

[Benny]

Hi Folks a few questions really with regards to upgradng from a Pentium D to a Core 2 Duo. My spec is listed below. I won't be doing a complete system upgrade until early next year so want something to my system a little more longetivity. I'am considering the E6700.


i. Are Core 2's supported on XP home?
ii. Would I see a beneficial increase in performance in games?
iii. My current bios is 1004 would I need to update it for CD2 support?

Win XP Home (yup but it's free and legal)
Thermaltake Kandalf Super Tower Case
ASUS P5B Deluxe WiFi AP
Hiper 730 Watt Type M ATX v2.2
Pentium D 945 3.4 ghz
Powercolor x1950xtx 520mb
2x1gb Kingston Hyper X 8500 DDR2 1066Mhz
74gb WD Raptor
X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS Edition
1 x Zalman 1v2 Reserator GPU & RAM
1 x Zalman 1v2 Reserator CPU
Dell Ultrasharp 2407WFP 24" Ws LCD Monitor


Any feedback appreciated

many Thanks

B

 

[Strider]

Is your current spec as above? P5b motherboard etc?

You should see a noticeable increase in games, and I'm 99% sure XP home supports C2D (Xp home only supports 1 single CPU, so I don't know what would happen with a Q6600 not being a "native" Quad")

If your spec isn't the above, what is your spec?

 

[steve258]

1) Yes XP Home supports C2D.
2) Yes you should see a decent increase in framerates, depending on games though - in graphical intensive games the performance increase will be smaller.
3) P5B Deluxe was designed to work with C2D so you wouldn't need to upgrade the BIOS to support the new chip, although having the latest version of BIOS won't hurt.

I think you should go for E6320/E6420/E6600 depends on how much you want to spend and how much you want to overclock.

 

[Benny]

Hi Folks,


yeah that is my current system as is......I play mainly battlefield 2142, ARMA and COH. I'm not a big overclocker to be honest. Which I was looking at going for the highest rated of the C2D's. I know the e6600 are supposed to clock really well from what I have read on here. Just I don't do much myself.
guess I would when games are really making my system tug. As I have said a complete rebuild is on the cards maybe at the start of next year. That will include vista, so I can get the best out of DX10. Oh and thanks for your replies. Think I might take the plunge.

Cheers

B

 

[snazzy_dazzy]

definitly worth it. I just did myself.

The amount they have gone down (have alook) makes it foolish not to. Added to that you will get a fair amount considering for your old chip, so its pratically a free upgrade. Well nearly


Then overclock it slightly. You say you dont like overclocking? Well limit your self to stock voltages and see how far you get. I wager your will be pleasantly surprised.

Thats one of the main areas where C2D excel. Their oc ability. You are wasting half the chip (literally) if you dont


Best of luck

 

[Benny]

Done it mate should be here monday, opted for the E6600. Peeeps were saying it would run at 2.67 speed anyway so might as well save my spending beans for something else. I will see how it performs at stock. Yeah thinking on flogging my old chip too... So happy days....


Cheers

B

 

[Benny]

It has arrived, quite a noticeable difference in performance. I haven't done any benchmarking. No need to be honest. Games just run smooth as silk now.

Happy Days

B

 

[schnipps]

Pentium D's are pretty slow compared to a conroe, the jump when i went from one was massive.

 

[Benny]

Yeah man, I have noticed it too. Seriosly chuffed with it. Haven't clocked it yet either. Was going to leave it a while before I do.....