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Upgrading an E2160

Mr_S

Mr_S

Mr_S

Associate
Joined
7 Apr 2009
Posts
40
I have a Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R board with an E2160 1.8ghz overclocked to 2.4ghz running fine on stock cooling, I have had it up to 3ghz but it was getting a little hot.

I have a Gigabyte 4850 1GB Graphics card and 4GB of Corsair TwinX DDR2 8500, only 3GB seen under XP Pro SP3

So I think the CPU is the weekest part of my setup

Currently I want to improve my performance playing GTA4 wich apparently
needs more than 3 cores to run to its fullest so I think I need to go to a Quad core.

Was looking at the Q6600 but can now get a Q6700 for similar money but it seems that the Q6600 is a good one to OC.

What CPU is going to give me best bang for buck for around the £150 mark?

Also do you think it's worth changing to Vista at the same time as upgrading the cpu?

Cheers
 
Not sure about specific performance in GTA4, so can't comment on that.

However, for the rest of it, you may find better performance to be had from a higher-clocked dual core CPU. That may come in the form of a better cooler for your 2160 to see what mileage you can get out of it, or an E5*00 with more overclocking.

It all depends on the resolution at which you run your games, etc. You may well find that CPU makes very little difference.

Is GTA4 suffering from a lack of performance?

Can I say 'claimed', too? No idea what it actually means...
 
It means you are in trouble with Gilly, all newbies are his. ;)

I'd also say buy an E5200 or invest in watercooling should you wish to overclock the 2160 further.
 
well q8200 or q6600 i think q6600 is better but its price increased probably because they dont make them anymore. u can get once second hand cheaper
 
Mr_S said:
I have had it up to 3ghz but it was getting a little hot.
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Hey Mr_S,

Welcome to OcUK forums! :)

A 3GHz Dual-Core should see you good for most things so maybe you should work on some better cooling and get that chip overclocked! :D

Off Topic:

mrthingyx said:
Can I say 'claimed', too? No idea what it actually means...
Click to expand...
No that's a really nOObish way of welcoming someone to the forums and the sooner people stop doing it the sooner new people will stop wondering wtf it means! :o

Just welcome them and point them to the forum rules so they know how to avoid the Ban-Hammer! :eek:
 
Big.Wayne said:
No that's a really nOObish way of welcoming someone to the forums and the sooner people stop doing it the sooner new people will stop wondering wtf it means! :o

Just welcome them and point them to the forum rules so they know how to avoid the Ban-Hammer! :eek:
Click to expand...

Sorry - I'm not down with the kids' lingo, these days.
 
Big.Wayne said:
A 3GHz Dual-Core should see you good for most things so maybe you should work on some better cooling and get that chip overclocked! :D
Click to expand...

I don't really want to start getting into watercooling just yet..

so what would be a good air cooler for an E2160 and then possibly a Q6700 in the near future?

I am having to watch the pennies you see..
 
Mr_S said:
I don't really want to start getting into watercooling just yet..
Click to expand...
I didn't mention Water Cooling did I? :D

Mr_S said:
so what would be a good air cooler for an E2160 and then possibly a Q6700 in the near future?
Click to expand...
Keeping an overclocked Dual-Core cool and keeping an overclocked Quad-Core (especially a 65nm quad) are two different scenarios!

For an overclocked Dual-Core this is my fave budget option

Akasa AK-965 CPU Cooler + Thermalright LGA775 Bolt-Thru-Kit

If your likely to go Quad then its probably a better idea to spend a bit more on a premium heatsink.

The thing to look for in an Air-Cooler are a good amount of heatpipes and a decent sized fan, not to mention an improved mounting mechanism to the bog standard Intel Push-Pins. The LGA775 Bolt-Thru-Kit I mentioned above only costs a fiver and converts any heatsink that uses push-pins to a much more easier bolt-thru style . . .

Mr_S said:
I am having to watch the pennies you see..
Click to expand...
Yup I understood that much . . . which is why I am suggesting you overclock your chip instead of buying a new one! :p

£15-£20 should see you sorted! :)
 
How hot does it get at 3Ghz? If I was even thinking of buying a new CPU, I would clock the **** out of it and get the most free performance I can. If you know you want to buy a better CPU anyway I wouldn't even care what temperature the old 1 reaches.
 
Right in that case.. Bearing in mind I also have another brand new E2160 spare.

My new plan is to get this and 'clock the ****' out of my current CPU and see what that does to GTA4.

Cheers for all the replies
 
For dual core performance comparisons see my thread here. Does'nt have GTA anything in it as it's not my sort of game. It does have a E2140 clocked to 3.6Ghz though. :D
 
Although the E2160 is a decent chip, it does lack cache and decent FSB. As you mentioned £150 mark, the E8400 would be the obvious choice. Going to Vista 64bit would also be handy.
 
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