Upgrading CPU benefits

Sleeve · 29 Mar 2011 at 22:14

Right, i know upgrading my CPU will boost my overall PC performance, but im mainly a gamer, and im currently pretty happy with the way my Athlons holding up...

So, the question I pose is, will i see any major performance within games, and across the board, besides speed?

Tonester007 · 29 Mar 2011 at 22:21

What chip were you thinking of upgrading to - maybe quad/hex core?
I have a Phenom II x4; comparison of mine vs yours:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/121?vs=102

Disco Boy · 29 Mar 2011 at 22:23

I can't read which gpu you have because of the ridiculously small text in your sig so am unable to offer any advice.

Sleeve · 29 Mar 2011 at 22:26

I have an Athlon x2 250 and a gtx 460.

An debating a phenom
X4 955

Reaper 392 · 29 Mar 2011 at 22:28

most games these days are console ports and work best on 3 or more cores, so the phenom 955 will be great

Sleeve · 29 Mar 2011 at 22:30

Will i see more FPS then? Or other benefits?

Lemin · 29 Mar 2011 at 23:32

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/121?vs=102

Athlon x2 250 not in list.

smiley1987 · 29 Mar 2011 at 23:42

It would be a worthwhile upgrade especially as it would give better multi-tasking and in certain games you would see a boost in your FPS .

Mnemonik · 29 Mar 2011 at 23:43

I recently upgraded from a similar spec CPU (Core2Duo @ 3.6ghz) to a Sandybridge last week, keeping the the same graphics card that you have between builds. I've seen a massive improvement. Most games before were maxxing out both cores at 100%, now I'm GPU limited. Crysis went from ~20fps to ~40fps on enthusiast settings 1920x1200 - I'm not happily playing through it properly for the first time. Starcraft 2 is definitely a lot smoother, as is Mass Effect 2.

It seems most games are designed for triple or quad cores these days.

I'd definitely recommend the upgrade, you'll get a lot more out of your GPU.

olivier renault · 30 Mar 2011 at 01:34

Core 2 duo to 2600K. Like stepping out of an Ford Mondeo and stepping into a Ferrari.

...Which maybe overkill depending on the games you play.

The CPU load can be an indicator, but not always. If you feel you are CPU limited, turn the graphics right down and check the FPS again. If it's still not as smooth as you might like, then your CPU is struggling to keep up.

SouthEastBlue · 30 Mar 2011 at 08:00

I upgraded a last yearfrom an Intel E5200 @ 3.2Ghz (very similar to an Athlon II X2) and I now have an Athlon II X4 unlocked to a Phenom II X4 and the FPS boost in Bad Company 2 was definitely noticeable with the 2 extra cores and L3 cache.

A Phenom II 955 would be a nice upgrade for gaming and see you being able to play all the newer games comming out without being bottlenecked.

If you want a proper upgrade though you could always buy into a Sandybridge CPU/motherboard setup or wait it out for Bulldozer with either pulling you right up to date with the latest technology.

Mnemonik · 30 Mar 2011 at 08:12

olivier renault said:
Core 2 duo to 2600K. Like stepping out of an Ford Mondeo and stepping into a Ferrari.

Funny you say that - I always felt the old C2D was doing things (and it was, for most). The main reason I upgraded was for Adobe Lightroom which struggled on the old CPU. Plus it was 4 years between major builds - time for a new one

More like stepping out of a Golf RSi into a Ferrari, I think

Marine-RX179 · 30 Mar 2011 at 08:36

You would definitely see much better frame rate by moving from your current Athlon X2 to a Quad, or even a new platform such as SandyBridge...considering you have a GTX460, not something at the level of 4850 or GTX250.