For 3d work a Q9550 would fit the bill. They're normally around $200 (for a used one). The jump to a e8400 would be pretty big too coming from that chip if you dont want to spend $270 for a new Q9550. E8400s can be found as low as $100 and will do 4ghz with no problems.
Questions about upgrading my CPU
Good day folks. As the Christmas season comes around (hooray for presents and giftcards!) and prices drop on higher end gear, I'm thinking about moving away from my trusty e5200 to something better.
As you can see by my build specs, I'm running my e5200 at 3.3ghz which I feel is a rather safe OC. The jump to a core2duo doesn't make sense to me since an overclocked e5200 seems to get as decent of a performance as a low grade core2duo (correct me if I'm wrong).
Since I want to stick with socket 775 as not to replace my mobo, that means I can go quad core. Is the jump from an OCed e5200 to a quad core worth it? I don't necessarily want to overclock it but I said that with the e5200 too and look where I am.
![]()
If I do, I believe the Dark Knight cooler I have should be sufficient for a minor OC, correct?
I do have a concern though. Most of the quad cores I see have a FSB of 1333MHz. My motherboard, the Gigabyte EP43-UD3L, will handle 1333MHz. My ram though is 1066MHz and since I have 8gigs of it for video and 3d modeling work, I really don't want to replace it.
The main questions are, will my CPU and Mobo back down to 1066MHz? Will I have to get new ram? Is it possible to overclock my RAM?
Oh and any recommendations on a quadcore that won't break the bank but easily OCed would be appreciated.
As you can see by my build specs, I'm running my e5200 at 3.3ghz which I feel is a rather safe OC. The jump to a core2duo doesn't make sense to me since an overclocked e5200 seems to get as decent of a performance as a low grade core2duo (correct me if I'm wrong).
Since I want to stick with socket 775 as not to replace my mobo, that means I can go quad core. Is the jump from an OCed e5200 to a quad core worth it? I don't necessarily want to overclock it but I said that with the e5200 too and look where I am.
I do have a concern though. Most of the quad cores I see have a FSB of 1333MHz. My motherboard, the Gigabyte EP43-UD3L, will handle 1333MHz. My ram though is 1066MHz and since I have 8gigs of it for video and 3d modeling work, I really don't want to replace it.
The main questions are, will my CPU and Mobo back down to 1066MHz? Will I have to get new ram? Is it possible to overclock my RAM?
Oh and any recommendations on a quadcore that won't break the bank but easily OCed would be appreciated.
1 - 20 of 22 Posts
2
Quote:
So I did some research of stock CPUs. This is what I found for stock chips:
e5200 @ 2.50ghz: CPU mark = 1329 and the score is 181 (lower is better for the latter). Price ~$60 USD
e8400 @ 3.0ghz: CPU mark= 2166 and the score is 124. Price ~$170 USD
The q9550 @ 2.83ghz: CPU mark= 4176 and the score is 40. Price ~$250 USD
The e8400 is nearly double the e5200 for 110 dollars more. The q9550 is nearly double the e8400 for 80 dollars more.
The next thing I think I need to do is see how much performance can be pushed out of the e8400 and the q9550 with my aftermarket air cooling and just for every day use. I'm not looking to break any records, just stable every day stuff.
I will search the forums but if anyone comparative charts like passmark does, I'd be grateful for that.
Quote:
Nothing against the user offering it for sale but I don't like buying used equipment. Thanks for looking for me though.
Originally Posted by kow_ciller Well, there would be a big jump to a high-end core2 dually, just not as big of a jump as if you went to quad. If you have the money get the quad though, but if you have to pay more than $200 IMHO its not worth it. There have been $200 i5/mobo deals at frys that are much better than getting a Q9550 for $260. |
e5200 @ 2.50ghz: CPU mark = 1329 and the score is 181 (lower is better for the latter). Price ~$60 USD
e8400 @ 3.0ghz: CPU mark= 2166 and the score is 124. Price ~$170 USD
The q9550 @ 2.83ghz: CPU mark= 4176 and the score is 40. Price ~$250 USD
The e8400 is nearly double the e5200 for 110 dollars more. The q9550 is nearly double the e8400 for 80 dollars more.
The next thing I think I need to do is see how much performance can be pushed out of the e8400 and the q9550 with my aftermarket air cooling and just for every day use. I'm not looking to break any records, just stable every day stuff.
I will search the forums but if anyone comparative charts like passmark does, I'd be grateful for that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by reezin14 There's a q9550 in the for sale sec,if you don't mind used says it will hit 4GHz.Maybe he'll make you an even better deal. http://www.overclock.net/main-compon...9550-780i.html |
Quote:
I'm not much of a gamer. I play games every so often but I'm not truly a gamer. I spend most my time in linux for 3d modeling and video editing.
Originally Posted by Phaedrus2129 An i5 is a bit better than the Q9550, but it isn't a huge margin, and probably not worth the cost of a new motherboard and DDR3 RAM. If this is a gaming machine an E8400 or E8500 would be a great investment. The reason I mentioned the Q9550 is because at Microcenter's price of $170 it costs about the same as the E8400, and will get similar gaming performance better performance for things like video editing and multitasking. |
Quote:
This is going a bit off topic and I mean no disrespect to anyone but...
I just don't like buying stuff off of people online. It's nothing personal, I've just had bad experiences in the past.
Originally Posted by kow_ciller Well, I suggest you pickup a used chip. Everything in my rig is used except the case and drives. As long as the seller is reliable theres nothing to worry about. Saving $60 on a processor is worth it to me. You can always sell that e5200 for $50 and end up getting a e8400 for $60. |
I just don't like buying stuff off of people online. It's nothing personal, I've just had bad experiences in the past.
Quote:
There isn't a microcenter in my area. In fact, I can't think of ONE decent computer store anywhere near me.
The price isn't really that important if it's within reason. If I can capitalize on a deal, that would be cool too but if not... what can ya do.
Originally Posted by Phaedrus2129 Well, for 3D work a quad core is great. I'll repeat once more, if there's a Microcenter within an hour's drive of you the $170 Q9550 there is the best bang for the buck. If not then you can probably pick up a Q8400 or Q9400 for around that price range on newegg.com. i7 is the king for 3D stuff right now, but you'd need a new motherboard and RAM, so you're looking at a minimum cost of around $400, vs. $150-250 for a good LGA775 quad core. I don't feel that the difference between a Q9550 and an i7 would be worth the additional cost in your case. |
The price isn't really that important if it's within reason. If I can capitalize on a deal, that would be cool too but if not... what can ya do.
2
Quote:
Well, that's good news. Right now, I'm using The Dark Knight cooler. I plan on just replacing the chip and putting it back on. That should be sufficient, right? I mean, the bracket as an i7/5/9 side too so it should be good enough.
Like I said earlier, I'm not one of these guys who needs to squeeze every MHz out of a chip. I don't have the patience for that. I just want something a little above stock without getting crazy. 3.3GHz to 3.6GHz would be more than enough for me.
Quote:
I'm not really a gamer. I do play games every so often but I'm not hardcore. This probably will be a long term build with minor upgrades here and there. When I switch to i7/5/9, it will be a brand new build.
Originally Posted by Phaedrus2129 P43 isn't quite as good for overclocking as P45, but as long as you have good CPU cooling I would be surprised if you couldn't at least manage 3.6GHz or higher. Any one of these CPUs would be good: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ore%202%20Quad I would avoid the S models, they're just the lower power models, it isn't worth the extra cost. The Q9400 or Q9550 would be my choice. The Q8200 is a bit on the weak side (low clock speed), and the Q9650 is overpriced. |
Like I said earlier, I'm not one of these guys who needs to squeeze every MHz out of a chip. I don't have the patience for that. I just want something a little above stock without getting crazy. 3.3GHz to 3.6GHz would be more than enough for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lordikon Not sure what has and hasn't already been said in this thread, but, what do you use the machine for most often? If you're mostly gaming, most games will not benefit from a quad-core. More games will start using more cores down the road however, so if you're upgrading for a long-term benefit than a quad-core makes sense. |
4
Quote:
take it from me... as you are now with that E5200, then you will be very good with the E8400, I do encode some videos as well, and my CPU E8400 never got me down, so if you already felt OK with your E5200 on video encoding stuff, then change to an E8400 will be a good shift, and I don't think that you need some thing past the E8400
though now I am upgrading my build to an i5 one, which will require me to replace the motherboard and RAM as well, but this doesn't mean that I am now not satisfied with my E8400 E0 ( in spite that it's still on its stock speed )
but I am upgrading just because that I am obsessive about speed
![]()
![]()
and I like to have more speedy system, and not to mention that I want to try that i5 on games as well
![]()
Originally Posted by TFB I'm not much of a gamer. I play games every so often but I'm not truly a gamer. I spend most my time in linux for 3d modeling and video editing. |
though now I am upgrading my build to an i5 one, which will require me to replace the motherboard and RAM as well, but this doesn't mean that I am now not satisfied with my E8400 E0 ( in spite that it's still on its stock speed )
but I am upgrading just because that I am obsessive about speed
and I like to have more speedy system, and not to mention that I want to try that i5 on games as well
3
Quote:
1- don't you see that saying "a bit" is not fair for an i5 ??? merely replacing the FSB with an integrated DDR3 memory controller has doubled the speed, and this seems to be enough and I am not going to talk about the whole manufacturing process that Intel made within its shift to their i7~i5 series.
![]()
2- "not worth the cost" it is up to him.
![]()
Originally Posted by Phaedrus2129 An i5 is a bit better than the Q9550, but it isn't a huge margin, and probably not worth the cost of a new motherboard and DDR3 RAM. . |
2- "not worth the cost" it is up to him.
1 - 20 of 22 Posts
