Currently have X2 6000-Should I wait for faster CPUs before I upgrade?

[jamesrwright]

I have a HP Desktop with an updated X2 6000 processor. It is plenty fast for most tasks, but I would like to have better multi-tasking abilities i.e. edit photos while watching DVDs and doing other tasks, and I want everything to run a little faster.
May sound like a dumb question, but how much would a quad core help with this situation. Does Windows 7 use all four cores when multi-tasking? Any suggestion on which processors would be worth my while in terms of a speed increase?
I don't want to do it if it is just going to be a little faster.

Jim

 

[BadTrip]

Depends on what processors your HP will support. Might have to be a new build. Here is a comparison between what you have now and the i5 750. HUGE difference.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=28&p2=109

 

[buzznut]

If it were me, I would drop a quad core in there. I'd recommend the X4 940, although I think you could do a bios update and do an AM3. Those X2's are really showing their age at this point.

I would say that win7 is more adept at using multi cores, although I don't have evidence to show you that. But it actually depends more on the applications. You could be running xp and see a benefit of 4 cores if you use the right app.

For more info, check out this article on "How many core do you need" Also take a look at the best gaming cpu's for the money for october.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-cores-performance,2373.html

 

[BadTrip]

I agree with you buzznut, but HP, Dell, Gateway, etc... rarely release bios updates for new cpus, making upgrades difficult. No upgrade = Buy new PC = Profit.

 

[englandr753]

Thats the main reason I never buy a prebuilt system. It will cost you a good deal of money to upgrade your system so I would say keep that rig in tact and start from scratch if you think you actually need a faster cpu.

How much ram are you running in that system? Sometimes they put just enough in it to make it run to sell to you. I would recommend 2gigs of ram to be sure to have plenty to spare for most apps.

 

[jamesrwright]

I have checked on Ebay and have contacted one of the barebones systems sellers.
I can salvage a lot of parts from my current unit. DVD/CD Drives-possibly hard drive (it is a 500 GB), the TV tuner card, and my video card. I have a multiple license copy of Windows 7. I just hate the thought of having my system down while putting this one together, but I do have a laptop that could hold me over for a day or two.

 

[BadTrip]

putting a system together shouldnt take more than a couple of hours, and thats including data back-up/restore and updates.

 

[jitpublisher]

^Bingo, if you prepare and do correctly, it should not take more than a couple hours. Its not hard to assemble a PC. If you have never done it before, enlist the help of a friend who has maybe had some experience, but it is not hard at all and only actually takes a few minutes to assemble everything, the reloading software and restoring your data from backups is the time consuming part.