Upgrade dilemma

Pilgrim57

Pilgrim57

Pilgrim57

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Joined
20 May 2006
Posts
1,029
Location
London
Hi Guys - I trust you had a got time at the meet.

Current PC is 4600 x2 Manchester core running at 2730MHz with AC Freezer Pro
1GB Corsair ram @ 214MHz 2-3-3-6-2T
ASUS A8N-Sli Premium [haven't used the RAID or 2nd LAN or SLi]
2GB of Crucial Ballistix has failed today for 2nd time in a year:(:confused::mad:
As current rig is 2 yrs old what should I upgrade to for lots of Foldy fun?

Intel seems best E2180 or 2200 cheap & o/c or should I go straight for a Wolfdale or Yorkfield.
RAM: DDR2 looking at OCZ reaper or the 6400 water cooler option. Would the +8500 be that much better for folding?
Mobo: ASUS, Gigabyte or the Abit IP35
Case with 12cm fans?

Thanks for your help.
 
While the E2xxx versions will probably be OK, I believe most of those have 2MB L2 cache. Since more L2 seems to be better - often a lot better - spending the extra on a 4MB E6xxx or 6MB L2 E8xxx will likely show rewards.

As for the RAM, PC6400 has proved more than enough for me even with mild overclocks. If you have a choice between a more expensive CPU or more expensive RAM, go for the CPU.
 
Thanks for that Berserker. Any thoughts on the mobo? I see you like Antec case from yr reply to the heyes. I have a 1080 at the mo but want the better cooling from bigger fans.
Should I stick with a Freezer 7 pro or go for a Thermalright ultra extreme?
 
The E2xxx range have only 1mb of cache are aren't good for SMP folding (I've an E2140 at 3.45ghz and it's a waste of time SMP folding on it. The lack of cache kills it. It folds at 25% of the speed that my Q6600 did. Doesn't have Virtualization either).

At a minimum you'll want a 4mb E6420, tho you can pick up E6600's for ~£55 from the Members Market these days. Or spend a lot more on an E8200 or E8400.

Any of the ASUS, Abit or Gigabyte P35 boards will do the trick.
 
Thanks for that,Cob, very illuminating. I had an inkling that cache was important. It also reminds me to look to see what's on offer in the MM, so thanks again.
 
I'm with cob - best results I've had with smp is with a E6420 and my current E6600.
Cashe is uber important with smp - ram very minimal differance speed or timings with these chips. E6300 was affected by ram but not the 4mb cashe chips.

the J&W ip35 mobo looks to be a good clocker and one of the best bang for buck boards.
 
Cob said:
The E2xxx range have only 1mb of cache are aren't good for SMP folding (I've an E2140 at 3.45ghz and it's a waste of time SMP folding on it.
Click to expand...

Strange as my E2180 @ 3.2GHZ folds very well. (1650PPD for a £50 CPU isn't bad IMO)
Ok it's not as good as my E8400, but then again that cost nearly 3x the price.
 
I'm using a GA-P35C-DS3R (but I don't like the bios, but it does uses about 30w less at load)
was using a Abit AW9D-max before (which I really liked)

J&W - one of china's medium weight players
 
Robzere31 said:
Strange as my E2180 @ 3.2GHZ folds very well. (1650PPD for a £50 CPU isn't bad IMO)
Ok it's not as good as my E8400, but then again that cost nearly 3x the price.
Click to expand...

Whereas a Q6600 @ 3.5ghz gets about 5000 per day. Its ppd per core is significantly higher because of the cache.

The 4mb dual-cores are a happy-medium.
 
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