Upgrading my Processor Question-

[BaldEagl]

First the E6xxx Intel CPU's are Core 2 Duo processors unlike tigger stated in his first post.  They are based on the Conroe core.  The E7xxx IIRC are the lower FSB (1066) Core 2 Duo Wolfdales and the E8xxx are the higher FSB (1333) Core 2 Duo Wolfdales.  The Wolfdales generally use less power, run cooler and have larger caches (more on that later).  The E6xxx Conroes run the same 1333 FSB that the E8xxx Wolfdales do.  Celeron CPU's and their newer equivalents typically run 800 FSB's by comparison.

The same CPU speed with a faster FSB will run faster and generally, within the Intel family, higher FSB speeds mean bigger caches which add speed to speed.  Within limits I'd get a lower CPU speed with a higher FSB/bigger cache.  It allows for more options.

FSB speed plays right into RAM speed.  A Core 2 Duo CPU @ 1066 FSB only requires DDR 2 533 RAM.  A 1333 FSB only requires DDR 2 667 RAM.  So why do they make higher speed RAM?  To accomodate overclocking of the CPU without bottlenecking it.

Fortunately, Intel makes very overclockable CPU's.  A 20% overclock on stock cooling is pretty easily achievable.

I've got an E6750 (2.66 Ghz) overclocked to 3.2 Ghz (1600 FSB) synched to 4 Gb DDR2 800 RAM.  It's run flawlessly for several years at around 50C under full load.  I had it clocked to 3.6 Ghz or thereabouts for a while but backed it down for daily use.  I can tell you for a fact that the E6xxx Conroes and E8xxx series Wolfdales are overclocking beasts.

Make sure you have all the information you need before making a decision.  This will likely be the last upgrade to the machine you have before you'll have to transition to the newer generation Sandy Bridges.  Make it count.

[YamaRaja]

Thanks for all the info, fellas.  It is appreciated.

The local computer shop has an Intel Core Duo E7600 (3.06GHz) for $127, which is the same price as Tiger Direct's E7500 (2.93GHz), so I'm going to go ahead and get that for an CPU upgrade (it is compatible w/ my MB as well).

The same shop also has the ATI Radeon HD 5750 for $105, which is $10 cheaper tha nTD, so I'll go for that too [unless I hear Darth Vader howl out "NOOOOOOO!!!" hinthinthint].

Thanks again!

If your going to get the 5750 you need to get either a E8XXX or Q95XX to see the full potential of the card without bottlenecking it with an E7XXX CPU.
An E6850 Conroe is a better CPU than that E7600
A QXXXX will likely be held back by that board to make it not worth the $$ over an E8XXX

The best way to go with what you have would be the 5750 and an E8400, bang for buck in my opinion.

Of course ram, FSB, power supply etc. all come into play to.

Yama

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[SmokinLoon]

UPDATE!!!

Holy Moses!  I bought and installed the Core Duo E7600 and the Radeon HD 5750 graphics card...     What an amazing change!  I can run AH with ALL of the graphics maxed out, and the difference is quite impressive.  The FPS has yet to dip below 60, but I have not dive bombed in to fully smoking vehicle base yet, either.  The local water reflections add a nice touch!   

Yeah, I spent $240 total in the upgrades but I will be good to go for a few years.  The next thing will be to upgrade from 2 sticks of 1G DDR2 RAM to 2 sticks of 2 or 4G of DDR2 RAM, it is dirt cheap right now.   

[Tigger29]

First the E6xxx Intel CPU's are Core 2 Duo processors unlike tigger stated in his first post.

When did I state that the E6xxx CPU's weren't Core 2 Duo?  For sure my old E6300 was (at 1.86GHz)!

I did notice that later on another "E6300" processor was released that ran at 2.8GHz but was NOT a C2D processor.

Maybe this is what has confused you.

[Tigger29]

UPDATE!!!

Holy Moses!  I bought and installed the Core Duo E7600 and the Radeon HD 5750 graphics card...     What an amazing change!  I can run AH with ALL of the graphics maxed out, and the difference is quite impressive.  The FPS has yet to dip below 60, but I have not dive bombed in to fully smoking vehicle base yet, either.  The local water reflections add a nice touch!   

Yeah, I spent $240 total in the upgrades but I will be good to go for a few years.  The next thing will be to upgrade from 2 sticks of 1G DDR2 RAM to 2 sticks of 2 or 4G of DDR2 RAM, it is dirt cheap right now.   

That's awesome!  I laugh when I see people on here recommend i7 processors and dual video cards for $1500+ systems to run AH on.  It really doesn't need all of that and I'm still not sold on SLI/Crossfire technology (unless you run multiple displays).  If the most intensive thing you use your computer for is AH you can have a system that runs it quite well with nearly all settings maxed for a few hundred dollars.

I think you made the right decision!  Congrats!

[Dragon]

UPDATE!!!

Holy Moses!  I bought and installed the Core Duo E7600 and the Radeon HD 5750 graphics card...     What an amazing change!  I can run AH with ALL of the graphics maxed out, and the difference is quite impressive.  The FPS has yet to dip below 60, but I have not dive bombed in to fully smoking vehicle base yet, either.  The local water reflections add a nice touch!   

Yeah, I spent $240 total in the upgrades but I will be good to go for a few years.  The next thing will be to upgrade from 2 sticks of 1G DDR2 RAM to 2 sticks of 2 or 4G of DDR2 RAM, it is dirt cheap right now.   

WTG Loon.

[BaldEagl]

When did I state that the E6xxx CPU's weren't Core 2 Duo?  For sure my old E6300 was (at 1.86GHz)!

I did notice that later on another "E6300" processor was released that ran at 2.8GHz but was NOT a C2D processor.

Maybe this is what has confused you.

If you want my honest opinion you should consider spending a few extra bucks and at least going for a Core 2 Duo processor instead of a Pentium (if your motherboard supports it).  This is the next generation past that and the improvement of speed is well worth it.  For example my 2.8GHz C2D E7400 will run circles around the 3.2GHz Pentium E6700 - and I actually have it overclocked to 3.15GHz with stock cooling and no ill effects.

E6700 is also Core 2 Duo.  I'm not confused.

[Dragon]

Bald, you still running your 6750?  I'm about to retire mine due to instability issues I can't put my finger on.  The comp only screws up running AH so I'll be donating it to my daughter.  Long live the under-appreciated 6750!

[BaldEagl]

Bald, you still running your 6750?  I'm about to retire mine due to instability issues I can't put my finger on.  The comp only screws up running AH so I'll be donating it to my daughter.  Long live the under-appreciated 6750!

Yep.  Mine's still going strong.  If the game ever dropped under 60 fps for me I might consider doing something but it doesn't so no need until it does. 

Been thinking about trying to OC my video card though to see if I could run smooth shadows.  That's the only thing my old 512 mb 8800 GTS won't handle.  Otherwise I'm maxed graphics at 1024 hi res textures and it looks fine.

[BoilerDown]

That's awesome!  I laugh when I see people on here recommend i7 processors and dual video cards for $1500+ systems to run AH on.  It really doesn't need all of that and I'm still not sold on SLI/Crossfire technology (unless you run multiple displays).  If the most intensive thing you use your computer for is AH you can have a system that runs it quite well with nearly all settings maxed for a few hundred dollars.

I think you made the right decision!  Congrats!

On the other hand, I tested the same video transcode on my i7 2600k vs. my older E8400, and it did in 1 hour 20 minutes what took the older computer 12.5 hours.  I call that extremely significant.  But the gains in AH are much more limited.

[Tigger29]

E6700 is also Core 2 Duo.  I'm not confused.

I just don't understand what you meant when you said the following:

First the E6xxx Intel CPU's are Core 2 Duo processors unlike tigger stated in his first post.

When did I state that the E6xxx Intel CPU wasn't a Core 2 Duo?

[BaldEagl]

I saw 5870 video cards on sale for $120 new ($125 with shipping) on a deal-a-day website a couple weeks ago.  I really wanted to pick a few up but just couldn't foot the bill for it.  It was an incredible price that's for sure!

Those are LGA775 processors so technically you should be able to pop in any LGA775 processor and be good to go.  The problem is that some motherboards simply don't work well with processors that were made after the motherboard.

I ran into that problem with my old system.. after upgrading from an E6300 to an E7400 processor it refused to boot, even with its newest bios installed.  I eventually found a "custom" bios that made it work but it was buggy with frequent lockups and crashes.  I ended up putting the E6300 back in and giving that system to my brother while building a new system around the E7400.

If you want my honest opinion you should consider spending a few extra bucks and at least going for a Core 2 Duo processor instead of a Pentium (if your motherboard supports it).  This is the next generation past that and the improvement of speed is well worth it.  For example my 2.8GHz C2D E7400 will run circles around the 3.2GHz Pentium E6700 - and I actually have it overclocked to 3.15GHz with stock cooling and no ill effects.

From what I've read the E8400/E8500 are the best two C2D processors ever made in the socket LGA775 standard.  Just keep in mind that even if you were to buy an E8500 you're still a couple of generations behind so you need to decide if the money spent in upgrading is even worth it. (versus putting that money aside for saving up for a new build)  Also make sure your motherboard is 100% compatible with anything before you buy it.

If you can tell us what motherboard you have we may be able to help.