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what upgrade for a E2200?

davethe11

davethe11

davethe11

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Joined
3 Feb 2008
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uk
here are my specs:

E2200 (running at stock, little luck overclocking this chip anywhere near 3GHz - I oc'd with only the ballistix in btw)
8800GT 512 MB
P5k-E WiFi
Vista Ultimate 64
4 GB ram (2x1GB ballistix (1066) and 2x1GB GSkill (800) running at 800MHz)

I've got some pennies to burn (call it retail therapy) and want to upgrade my cpu. The only reason for upgrading is gaming, I like the idea of a quad but really cant see the point so i'm thinking a new dual core. I suppose i'm looking for a cpu that will compliment my 8800GT, as i'm sure that my E2200 is the bottle neck in my system.

Looking at E8200, E8400, E8500, but any suggestions at all are apreciated. Also, would you recommend a RAM upgrade too?
 
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If you're using the standard HSF I'd recommend upgrading to something a bit more substancial and aimed at overclocking. My E2200 currently runs and 3.0Ghz with temps at mid 50's under load test. 3.3Ghz was achieved but higher temps of mid 60 with my tuniq HSF setup.

If you're already running a decent HSF one of the new 45nm chips would be the next step. I'd go for the E8400 over the E8200 as prices difference is only about £15 on OC's website. The E7300 is another worth while chip if you looking for something a little cheaper.

But you will definitely need a good overclocking HSF setup to get the most out of these chips.
 
If you can get your CPU to 3GHz I'd go for a better Graphics Card as the GT will be your bottle neck...

sorry just re-read and it seems you can't get near 3GHz! sorry...
 
See how far you can overclock it, if its anywhere near the 3ghz you aiming for then there is no chance it will bottleneck a 8800.
 
thanks for the advice chaps, i've got an Arctic cooler freezer 7 pro at the mo btw. Interesting that you suggest a better graphics card, hadn't thought of that. I purchased my E2200 with the intention of upgrading some point and didn't consider upgrading my 8800GT for a while, i'm not up on how good graphics cards are in comparison, but will have a read and consider my options, thanks again.
 
The GFX card option depends on what resolution you play at. My 8800GT hasn't struggled with anything i've through at it yet. but I'm hooked up to a 720 HDTV so the resolution isn't that high.

Maybe see what you can do with your current cpu before upgrading anything. If you still can't get close to 3.0 Ghz then i'd go with a new cpu. if you can reach 3.0 Ghz which you should be able to with a FP7 then go with the GFX Upgrade.

Or you could go a different route all together and modify the GFX card with a upgraded cooler. the Artic coolers are pretty good. Then overclock the card.
 
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I'm playing at 1900x1280, which definately takes its toll on my 8800GT, but will try another overclock on my E2200. Not sure about an upgrade now, think it may be better to save the cash and upgrade in the new year, I thought my cpu running at stock (2.2) was holding my system back, but it's not a very informed opinion. Thanks for the advice and help everyone.
 
I have to agree with everyone here, at that resolution I'd be tempted to upgrade the graphics. Something like a 1gb 4870 or gtx260-216 would be better suited. Alternatively, if you have an SLi mobo, then you could always source a 2nd hand 8800gt, a bit of a cheaper option if you can go down that route.

If you can get your CPU up to 3.0ghz then it should do you well, anything over, even with a more expensive CPU is a minimal upgrade, at least in comparison with a new graphics card.
 
E7200 + 4850.
If you can't afford that, don't upgrade at all, neither graphics or CPU upgrade alone itself will help you much, both your CPU and GPU are slight bottleneck there.

Tweak around with memory as well, might give you few extra % performance, try get tightest timings on highest fsb (4-4-4-12 880-920mhz ie ).
 
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