E6600 upgrade path

I have a

Antec Neopower 480W Power Supply ATX12V PS/2 Dual 12V Rails Active PFC W/ Detachable Output Cables
ASUS P5W DH Deluxe ATX LGA775 975X DDR2 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 GBLAN Sound Motherboard
EVGA E-GEFORCE 7950 GT KO 560MHZ PCI-E 512MB 1.45GHZ GDDR3 Dual DVI-I HDTV HDCP RoHS Out Video Card
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 4MB
Corsair PC2-5300 1GB 1X1GB DDR2-667 200PIN SODIMM Memory

Running XP

I was wondering what I can drop into this for an easy upgrade

So Motherboard is pw5dh deluxe rev 1.02g

According to asus all versions supported

http://support.asus.com/cpusupport [...] uage=en-us

BUT in asus faq

I’ve recently bought a Intel 45nm Yorkfield CPU Q9650. When I put it onto my P5W DH deluxe, everything is perfect, but L2 cache size shows 0 KB in BIOS. When I check it in CPU-Z, the problem persists. How do I re-solve it?

Due to chipset limitation, i975X chipset is not able to support all the features of 45nm CPU. The following is a list of the limitations:
1. VT function does not work.
2. The maximum FSB is capped at 1066MHz.
3. 0.5 CPU multiplier is not supported.
4. L2 cache size is not recognized correctly. However L2 cache is still functioning.

So whats the best chip I can just drop in here.... if my FSB is capped at 1066 and no .5 multiplier whats my best option?

Stick to a 1066 cpu which are cheap but will it make a dif in performance?

Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 Dual Core Processor LGA775 2.93GHZ 1066MHZ 3MB $120

Is this a 9 x 333 = 2997 at 1066 to follow the max specs of the mobo?

Or Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Quad Core Processor LGA775 2.83GHZ Yorkfield 1333FSB 12MB Retail Box $180

Seems I would be underclocking a Q9550 to 8 x 333 = 2664 on this mobo?

Which would preform better an underclocked Quad or a full speed Duo?

I could drop the quad into a new board when I get it is the only other benefit.

The only other thing is my OS, Im running XP PRO, I think I have to install 64 bit OS for Q9550 or does it matter?

I was gonna drop in a XFX Radeon HD 4870 750MHZ 1GB 3.6GHZ GDDR5 PCI-E 2XDVI HDCP Video Card also
to upgrade the vid card.

I run MS office, PDF, multitask with a mix of web, email, office, ftp windows open and gaming I play Warcraft, some FPS like battlefield, COD, but haven't in a while.

I'd prefer to avoid reinstalling an OS I have like 50 programs installed. If I have to redo the OS I may as well just upgrade everything.

Thanks what would be the benefit of the ram upgrade? (besides having 4 gigs which I never seem to use over 2) and I think my XP only supports 3gigs.

The E7500 seems to be a bit faster with the 3mb cache. I don't mind the $20 dif, more looking for fastest chip I can make use of them saving $30 etc.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115056

thanks !

Well, if the P5Q can handle some o/cing then I would get the Q6600 and push that chip as far as safely posible.
Technically the q6600 is 2- E6600s sandwhiched on top of each other but it is a quad core and very powerful....and has a huge cache!
One of the best o/cing chips made.....@1066 FSB.

No ones selling Q6600 anymore in Canada and not really into OCing anyways ty can't be bothered with the cooling mods and fiddling etc. Seems its also about $250

Also, if you're playing games with that setup.....then you want to get an E7500, since that's the best you're going to get on that board, and get a GTS250 or GTX260 video card as your 7950 GT KO is so old and dated, it is bottle necking your system right now.
I went from a 7950 GT OC to a Pallit 9600 SONIC and saw a 25 percent increase in performance on an E6400 processor.....
These are the things you need to consider as your grapics card also effects your performance.
JQ

I would just go ahead and upgrade your graphics card first before upgrading your CPU. An E7500 isn't going to give you much of a performance boost at all; I'd try overclocking your CPU just a little bit. There are plenty of guides online on OCing Core 2 Duos, and it shouldn't be too difficult.

Go ahead and buy the HD4870; you should see a massive improvement over your 7950GT, and you can always use the new card with a new motherboard and/or CPU.

The Ram link is broken, but if you want to OC, you might as well take advantage of the 800 ram. You will also need the additional ram if/when you upgrade your graphics card.

With those temps, you might want an aftermarket cooler, such as the AC Freezer 7- $34
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186134

I'm sorry, I just read that in your OP that you had 1 GB Ram. If indeed you have 2 or more, you could get away without the upgrade, but it would help with multitasking and gaming.

OS: Windows gets sluggish after some time unless you are REALLY a great user, maybe try to cleanup/maintenance atleast. 64bit Windows version main feature is support over 3.5GB of memory.

CPU: Why do you want to replace your E6600 ??? It is a great overclocker, i have mine stable at 3.6ghz with low voltage and a decent air cooler.If you want to change it, i would suggest any 65nm LG775 with 1066FSB processor (Core 2 Extreme X6xxx, Core 2 Quad Q6xxx or Core 2 Extreme QX6xxx) You can use, http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php great cpu chart comparison.

GPU: Your 7950GT is still pretty good, it would run most games, even current at pretty high settings...maybe not full AA or AF. Otherwise, the HD4870 runs very well, you can't be wrong with such a nice card. I am using the 4870 with my e6600 works flawlessly. FYI, directx11 cards are on the way, i would wait with my 7950 until then.

RAM: It is today's poor man upgrade. For most applications or games, 2GB are minimum recommended. 2x1GB DDR2-800 goes for 30-50$. If you run multiple applications at same time, doing multitasking...its not cpu or gpu you want but MORE RAM !

my 2 cents:
OS: Reformat, 64bit if you going 4GB+ of memory.
CPU: Keep your e6600 if you can, a good cooler and try some overclocking (thousands of guide on internet, mail me i can help)
GPU: For top notch performance ati 4870 but your current card is just fine.
RAM: Buy atleast 2x1GB DDR2-800, you can manage to get 4x1GB under 100$

WATCH OUT: if you upgrade your psu might not be enough, http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp