Pentium D + 8800GTS-320

rodr

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hey all i currently have a pre-built sony vaio (I KNOW I KNOW, didnt think it would give me this much trouble) and i wanted to upgrade a few things, such as RAM, vid card (PSU also), and sound card.

Ive been told that it is possible that my cpu will bottleneck a gts-320, but i should get it nevertheless, because it would increase my minimun FPS and would let me turn un AA and stuff like that.

My 1st question is:

- do you think my CPU is enough for this card?

2nd:
- considering i have a pre built, would it be possible to upgrade my CPU to a C2D? i know its unlikely but im lookin for opinions..




edit: Pentium D is 2.8 ghz, and i would be gettin 2 gigs of DDR2 RAM 667 mhz
 

Viperabyss

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hey all i currently have a pre-built sony vaio (I KNOW I KNOW, didnt think it would give me this much trouble) and i wanted to upgrade a few things, such as RAM, vid card (PSU also), and sound card.

Ive been told that it is possible that my cpu will bottleneck a gts-320, but i should get it nevertheless, because it would increase my minimun FPS and would let me turn un AA and stuff like that.

My 1st question is:

- do you think my CPU is enough for this card?

2nd:
- considering i have a pre built, would it be possible to upgrade my CPU to a C2D? i know its unlikely but im lookin for opinions..




edit: Pentium D is 2.8 ghz, and i would be gettin 2 gigs of DDR2 RAM 667 mhz
humm... I would say that your processor may bottleneck your videocard. However, I'm not entirely sure on that. Maybe someone wise could answer your first question.

However, I can answer your second question. Unfortunately, the answer is no. Your chipset should be 945, or even the previous versions, which will not support C2D.

I'm sorry bud :(
 

m25

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Maybe sometimes it will do, I don't know how much though, however, you might get a cheap E4300, OC it to 2.4GHz and never ask yourself this question again.
 

rodr

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Yeah my chipset is i945P. So no C2D huh?

heh, oh well i kinda saw that coming. I had no idea buying a pre-built would bring me this much trouble, but oh well.

what else can i do? pretty much just upgrade ram, vid card, and PSU.

i have a question about RAM tho. I was hoping i would get these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820134046

will those work with my mobo? i know you'll be more like guessing, but im just looking for more opinions
 

m25

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Maybe sometimes it will do, I don't know how much though, however, you might get a cheap E4300, OC it to 2.4GHz and never ask yourself this question again.

:lol:
I am pretty serious; at 2.4GHz it would still consume less power, run way cooler and perform about 1.8X better than your Pentium D oven. Sincerely, I'd not sleep well knowing that there is a CPU out there, that performs 2X better running at the same frequency as mine. And this is the case with pentiumDs;a 3.2GHz PentiumD performs more or less like a 1.6GHz Core2 :roll:
 

rodr

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believe me, i would buy one, specially around $130, which is pretty decent for a C2D.

but i cant since i have a pre-built. :? :? , like i said, i didnt know i would have this much trouble.

My CPU temp at idle is like 55°C... lol. my "oven"

actually if i buy the vid card, and everything else, i thought it would be a good idea to buy one of those zalman fans.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118004

would this help? how many °C's would it go down?
 

ajfink

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believe me, i would buy one, specially around $130, which is pretty decent for a C2D.

but i cant since i have a pre-built. :? :? , like i said, i didnt know i would have this much trouble.

My CPU temp at idle is like 55°C... lol. my "oven"

actually if i buy the vid card, and everything else, i thought it would be a good idea to buy one of those zalman fans.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118004

would this help? how many °C's would it go down?

Make sure you can mount a third party fan on the motherboard. If nothing else, re-seat the HSF and use some better thermal material like AS5 or AS Ceramique after a thorough cleaning. That alone would probably drop temps. I'd have to know the layout of your internals to get a better idea. Links to product specs?

Yes, the Pentium D would bottleneck the video card, but the power of the video card would probably be so much of a jump over what you have now you wouldn't notice. I'm not saying it's a bad idea at all, you would notice significant improvement. It wouldn't be a bleeding-edge system, but it will be a dual-core rig with a decent video card and 2GB of RAM. That alone makes it a decent system for most things, even relatively serious gaming (just don't expect to be pulling down the numbers that people are with X6800's and 8800GTX's in SLI).

Some 945-based boards could support C2D, but I doubt yours is one of them, unfortunately. An E4400 would make a nicer, cooler, faster replacement for your Pentium D. You could always buy a new motherboard as well, keep the old Pentium D until you save up for a new processor, and then add that.
 

zenmaster

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If you want to upgrade the processor, PSU, Video Card, and memory it appears you only want to leave the Mobo, Case, and HDD.

Sounds as if your best bet is to just try and Sell your system As/Is and use those funds to build a nice system from scratch.
 

Tostino

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Umm dude, if your buying a new Power Supply, Video card, RAM, that is pretty close to a whole new system. It's just a CPU and mobo that you'd need. Sell your current stuff and get a new mobo and cpu as well as the other stuff.
 

rodr

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the thing is i bought this like 4 months ago, i dont know if i can get a good deal selling it. i Will look into it and see what would b the profits.

I would rather not upgrade the processor tho, i just hope the cpu bottleneck isnt too big. im just exploring my options regarding the C2D.

however, ive been told that my current CPU wount bottleneck the card that much. i would be using like 80% of the card and i probably wouldnt even notice it. as ajfink said.

You say you have an 945 chipset? Then Core 2 Duo's are still in your future my friend.

i do, my chipset is i945, what info do you need to c if C2D are compatible?
 

zenmaster

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No, your Mobo would not be compatible.

Depending on what you doing, it likely would not matter that your GPU was throttled. There is a good chance the card is more power than you need.

You may also be able to get by on an 1900pro or 7900GS for only $130 or so. These would liekly be huge upgrades and possible more than you need.
 

rodr

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ok... im not sure i can find my mobo in that list because as you know, its not sold to the general public. so i dont know which exact model i have, all PCWizard gives me is this.

General Information :
Manufacturer : Intel Corporation (Intel)
Product : PRAGUE
Version : AAD12395-206
Serial Number : BTPR55203382
Support MP : Yes, 1 CPU(s)
Version MPS : 1.4

and couple other things that seem useless.

I'll think about selling it altho i dont know if its gonna be possible.


I mean, i can accept to get 80% of the full potential of a gts-320, because any upgrade from what i have right now is good, but i still want to do a good buy, since i dont want to upgrade in a while.
 

CaptRobertApril

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believe me, i would buy one, specially around $130, which is pretty decent for a C2D.

but i cant since i have a pre-built. :? :? , like i said, i didnt know i would have this much trouble.

My CPU temp at idle is like 55°C... lol. my "oven"

actually if i buy the vid card, and everything else, i thought it would be a good idea to buy one of those zalman fans.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118004

would this help? how many °C's would it go down?

I know you'll find lots of guys to disagree with me, but 55C at idle is not out of the range for a Pentium D. They and the Prescotts are steel smelters. I doubt you'll get below 50C idle even with the best Zalman air. I'm massively unimpressed with my new AMD dual-core but the sucker does idle at a ridiculous 27C and I've never seen it above 35C!!!
 

rodr

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hahah nice

if i do buy a zalman, should i replace the stock fan for the zalman i should i place both of em inside?
 

dagoth_ur

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General Information :
Manufacturer : Intel Corporation (Intel)
Product : PRAGUE
Version : AAD12395-206
Serial Number : BTPR55203382
Support MP : Yes, 1 CPU(s)
Version MPS : 1.4

"Product : PRAGUE "?
nice to see a product called after my home city :p or did you buy it there? Off topic anyway, I'm sorry : )
 
G

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thats pretty hot, i idle at 37-38c and max at 55-58c with d820 to 3.4ghz with a scythe scnj 1000 and as5.