Which CPU?

[Swifty55]

I'm considering upgrading my CPU as I think my E6600 just doesn't cut it any more..?

What CPU would you recommend around the £100-130 and maybe a decent cooler also to keep it cool when overclocked.

Rest of spec;

E6600 @ 3.33ghz (370x9)
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
6GB DDR2 800 (2 x 2GB Kingston + 2x1GB Geil)
XFX ATI HD 4890 XT 1GB

I play on a 24" Dell at 1920x1080 and I think maybe my CPU is bottlenecking my GPU, or not?



I'm currently unemployed right now so I can't afford a whole system upgrade.


All advice welcome. Thanks.

 

[HW91]

just get a Q6600

 

[Eclectic]

Yep, second the Q6600. Mine was OC' to 3.8 and I barely see a difference from it to this 920 in game.

 

[Cycrow]

a Q6600 is the only possible upgrade really. its one of the better chips for that platform.

anything better will need a change of socket, which means new ram and motherboard as well

your other option would be a high end dual core, but i think u'll notice more a difference going from 2 to 4 cores, than u would getting a slightly faster cpu than u have.

have u tryed playing the games at a much lower res, and seeing how well they room ?
its a simple test to determine if the bottleneck is your cpu or gpu.
if it runs noticably quicker by reducing the res, then it means ur gpu is maxing out, if not, it means the cpu is not quick enough for your gpu to perform at its full potential

 

[Jimbo Mahoney]

You're almost certainly GPU bottlenecked at that res.

If you're unemployed, I wouldn't even bother upgrading. That system is fine.

 

[macfanuk]

The Q6600 seems to be very popular for every suggestion regarding socket 775 builds.

 

[Redmint]

If you're unemployed, I wouldn't even bother upgrading. That system is fine.

This, your system isn't _that_ bad, save money for food and upgrade when you've got some cash again.

 

[JimboJet]

I'm unemployed and have just ordered i7 930, Asus P6X58D-E and 6Gb Patriot Ram... Hey ho, need something to fill my time right? Should come on Tuesday, so looking forward to DPD's knock on my door!

I had an E6600 OC'd to 3.3Ghz (Corsair H50) with 4gb ram and a Radeon 5850 on a DFI Infinity 975X/G, so taking a similiar upgrade path to yourself. I had looked at the AMD option, but couldn't bring myself to go down that road after looking at all the benchmark comparisons. The i7 930 should do me for 2 years and I bloody well hope I'll have a job by then!!

I found somewhere selling the i7 930 for £195 which was a great price, yet ordered from OCUK due to peace of mind, previous experience, and reliable stock indications. Besides If I had split my order up between retailers to get the best price, I doubt I'd have the patience to wait to build it as I waited for the separate orders to be delivered!!

 

[dfour]

+1 for the Q6600 if you really have to upgrade.

What FPS are you getting with it and what games do you feel are getting bottlenecked??