Worth upgrading from a 4300?

[Monkey Puzzle]

Currently using a 4300 at 3.2 - 3.33GHz.

I'm upgrading my graphics to a 4850 or thereabouts, and plan to make up a Core 2 Duo system for my brother, so need to get him a CPU to clock to around 3Ghz.

Is it worth getting something like a e5200/e7200/e6600 2nd hand - budget £50ish, or am I not likely to see much difference in games and general use? Btw, will be watercooled.

The alternative is just to stick with my 4300 and buy a cheap 2xxx for my brother...

 

[pastymuncher]

Not a E5200. The performance difference is'nt worth it. See my review here.

Out of all those i would go with the E7200. Probably the best for clocking.

 

[Monkey Puzzle]

Not a E5200. The performance difference is'nt worth it. See my review here.

Out of all those i would go with the E7200. Probably the best for clocking.

Yeah I remember seeing your results before - nice review. The 5200 doesn't clock that high does it?

What sort of clocks do the 7200's generally get?

 

[pastymuncher]

E5200 clocking seems very hit and miss. You may get a good one that clocks to 3.75Ghz or you may be stuck at 3.2Ghz, There's no telling really.

From what i have seen 3.8Ghz is quite good for a E7200. Most will do 3.6Ghz with quite low voltage. Need's to be kept below 1.4-1.45v ideally as they are also 45nm cores. Have a look in the E7200 clocking thread. Seem's to be more yapping going on than results though there are some good ones in there.