Intel Core 2 Duo Duel Core Processor.

[shepstar1]

Hello!

I wish to improve the performance of my machine so I can run some processor-hungry games such as Elder Scrolls:Oblivion, Half Life 2, Battlefield 2142 etc. So i'm thinking of investing in a good processor to compliment a Nvidia 8800 gts I'm getting. I currently have an Intel Pentium 4 processor at 3.1ghz, I've been looking at some of the processors around my budget and the Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Dual Core at 2.44ghz looks interesting.

Ive never had any experience with dual core processors before and I'm wondering if the upgrade will make any significant difference to the performance if running a single game.
So would the upgrade make my games perform even slower or faster than before?

Thanks,
Shep.

 

[apt403]

going from a P4 to an E6600 is like going from a bicycle to a dragster, the performance increase will be insane! along with an 8800gts that pc will make your old system look like the freakin' ENIAC.

 

[ak47is1337]

In gaming, the difference might not be huge.

Wrong. Especially if he tried to run that 8800gts on the Prescott...
But to answer your question, most games are multithreaded now anyway, so there is that and there's also the fact that the drivers are as well.
But even if that 2.4ghz E6600 was single core, it would lay a smack down on the Prescott nonetheless..

 

[darious00777]

I think what prozac was going at was, if he's at 50-55 frames per second now, a jump to 115 isn't going to seem like much, since his monitor will only show a max frame rate of 60 or 70 frames per second. Or something like that.

 

[dagonoth]

where did you find that most games are multi-threaded. I looked for a list and the only games I found that were multi-threaded were Quake 4, Call of Duty 2, Oblivion.

I do think that his P4 will choke that video card for certain games/resolutions and for future games so the core 2 duo would be a good option.

 

[Heyyou27]

Unfortunately, I feel you may have become prey to Intel's previous marketing campaign which stated that a higher clockspeed = a faster processor; one of the cores on the Core 2 Duo E6600 would be around 2x as fast as your Pentium 4.

 

[shepstar1]

Thanks for the replies , its time to go and get that E6600 and get down to some hardcore gaming!

 

[Heyyou27]

In gaming, the difference might not be huge.

Wrong. Especially if he tried to run that 8800gts on the Prescott...
But to answer your question, most games are multithreaded now anyway, so there is that and there's also the fact that the drivers are as well.
But even if that 2.4ghz E6600 was single core, it would lay a smack down on the Prescott nonetheless..Yeah, that's not at all true. Even the games that have "dual core patches" don't truly make full use of dual core processors. Oblivion, F.E.A.R., and the rest of PC's most graphically intense titles are still single threaded.

 

[shepstar1]

Would I need to buy a new mother board to accompany the E6600?

 

[Heyyou27]

Would I need to buy a new mother board to accompany the E6600?

You probably would if you're currently using a 3.1GHz Prescott. You could get a cheap P965 based motherboard for around $100.

 

[shepstar1]

What motherboard do you have?

I have an Asus P5PE-VM AGP 775 Motherboard.

 

[apt403]

this board? if so, it'll work, but you should seriously consider a new one, old tech like ddr ram and agp, and the 865G is by no leap of the imagination a bery good chipset for a c2d.

 

[shepstar1]

Yeah, thats the board, do you reccomend any mother boards for the core 2 duo?

 

[apt403]

a really good budget board for the c2d is the Biostar TForce965PT, its $105 over at newegg, a great board for the money. if you can spend a little more i would get a P5B Deluxe, great oc'ing abilty, stable, and its from asus, thats always a plus. the P5W Deluxe is pretty good, the gigabyte DS3 and S3 are both good, but ive always liked asus over gigabyte.

 

[shepstar1]

I wasn't expecting to be splashing out on a motherboard but I think this one is a good bargain.

http://www.computerorbit.co.uk/Itemdesc.html?ic=P5ND2SE&eq=&Tp=

 

[ak47is1337]

I wasn't expecting to be splashing out on a motherboard but I think this one is a good bargain.

http://www.computerorbit.co.uk/Itemdesc.html?ic=P5ND2SE&eq=&Tp=

NO Nvidia 775 boards suck unless you need cheap SLi and don't plan on overclocking the FSB at all

 

[shepstar1]

I've never overclocked anything before. :mrgreen:
Again as I said, I wasnt expecting to be buying a new mother board, so I want to keep the costs under £80

 

[shepstar1]

I could stretch it an extra £20 and get an Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe

 

[apt403]

I could stretch it an extra £20 and get an Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe

Now thats what i call a mobo! its pretty expensive here ($240 usd) but if you can afford to get one i say go for it! much better then that other mobo you link before, and worlds better then your current board.