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| Thread ID: 126391 | 2012-08-24 11:05:00 | Upgrading an older PC | pine-o-cleen (2955) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 1296640 | 2012-08-24 11:05:00 | I have a 3ghz P4 530 PC, with 2Gb of ram. Motherboard is an Intel D945GCL. I found this compatibility list on Intel's site that shows compatible CPU's with my motherboard. processormatch.intel.com As far as I can tell from the tables on the above site, the best CPU I can get for it is a Core 2 Duo E6420 at 2.13 GHz, or a E6600, or E6700 depending on the revision. I found a second hand E6420 on Trademe for $55. Question I have is, will it make any appreciable difference? In other words, is it worth it? |
pine-o-cleen (2955) | ||
| 1296641 | 2012-08-24 12:02:00 | Depends entirely on what you use the system for. I recently did a Celeron to Core 2 Duo upgrade for a single reason - to stop the CPU from maxing out when loading virtual machines. For most other things I was doing = no difference. [SInce then found the Core 2 Duo I had did not support 64 bit virtualization so bought a new MB/CPU combination]. | johnd (85) | ||
| 1296642 | 2012-08-24 12:10:00 | I have a 2.33 Quad Intel, 4GB even running some of the Adobe software with film scans up to a size of 100MB. I don't feel I need a new computer. Had for 3.5yrs now. Depends what you want to do thou - games, video software or batching editing photographs may be different though .. |
Nomad (952) | ||
| 1296643 | 2012-08-24 12:41:00 | The CPU you have doesn't seem to be on that list..... Generally a core 2 duo is a much better CPU than a pentium 4 and dual cores tend to feel much more responsive than single cores. A lot of software these days benefits from multiple threads. I wouldn't spend much on hardware that vintage (you can get a basic MB/CPU/RAM combo brand new under $300 easily) but if you can get one cheap then it might be worth a try. Whether it will make enough difference for your requirements unfortunately probably comes down to try it and see. |
dugimodo (138) | ||
| 1296644 | 2012-08-24 12:53:00 | I'm not so sure that you are going to gain much from a P4 3.0GHz HT cpu to a C2D 2.13GHz cpu especially with the same motherboard and memory. There are some advantages like Intel® Virtualization Technology, Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology, etc and faster Lithography and of course 64bit. But a trade-off in processor power. So, unless you can make use of the few features the E6420 offers, personally, I dont think I would bother, but put a few extra dollars into a more recent combo where you would notice the difference. | Iantech (16386) | ||
| 1296645 | 2012-08-25 00:17:00 | Largely agree with the views above, but like dugimodo says, you will notice a greater responsiveness with dual cores in spite of he clock speed drop. Whether it is worth $55, who can say. Depends on how long you want to run with this setup I guess. If you are going to keep this comp for a couple of years $55 wouldn't be a bad investment IMHO. |
linw (53) | ||
| 1296646 | 2012-08-25 00:26:00 | Upgrading is always good. But when I go up a CPU I always do MB, CPU and RAM in one go. | pctek (84) | ||
| 1296647 | 2012-08-25 08:09:00 | Thanks guys (and girls), lots to consider. | pine-o-cleen (2955) | ||
| 1296648 | 2012-08-25 09:03:00 | Maybe consider what is holding you back. You could delay for a $300 upgrade later on .. | Nomad (952) | ||
| 1296649 | 2012-08-26 09:19:00 | The benefit of the Core 2 Duo is that is a dual core. You'll be able to multitask easier. Things should feel quicker. My CPU is 2.11 GHz AMD Athlon 64x2 and it feels far more responsive than a LGA 775 Pentium 4 2.8 GHz. Loading times are far faster with my CPU than the P4. | ChazTheGeek (16619) | ||
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