Thinking about upgrading CPU to E7500

[nibblonian]

Currently, the system I have is:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+
nForce 590 SLI
8 GB DDR2 PC2-6400
GeForce GTX 460 1024 MB

I was thinking about upgrading the CPU to an Intel Core 2 Duo E7500, and subsequently upgrading the motherboard to a GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L.

I was wondering if that pair was worth the investment, or is there a better combination in the ~$200 price range. The motherboard and CPU are the only two items that I'd like to upgrade, and I would like to avoid upgrading any other components to accommodate them.

Any insight that could be offered would be greatly appreciated.

 

[p4nz3rm4d]

y do u need to upgrade?
can u still accomplish the things u want to?
maybe the easiest salution(and cheapest) would be a bit of OCing?
try to wait for a while till the intel i series prices go down, then buy 1 of those...

 

[Stardude82]

Um.. an AII x3 440 or an A2 x3 630 would be a much better choice.

Right now New Egg has some good combos with a 965 in your price range!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.500547

 

[Stardude82]

Actually, have you checked what CPU's are compatible with your motherboard? You might be able to just drop in something modern and awesome.

 

[nibblonian]

It's an AM2 socket. I'm not sure how much further I can go with my current motherboard.

 

[hell_storm2004]

Reasons why the upgrade is not useful:
1. You are changing the platform. AMD --> Intel.
2. You are changing to something that is already outdated.
3. If you are looking at gaming and a little of future for you PC, then dual core maybe not good anymore.

I would suggest overclock now a little. Last it till January. Save some cash. Get SB or Core i7/i5. I am guessing a price drop for them after the SB comes out.

 

[doive1231]

Your mobo mfr website should tell you if you can just drop in a newer chip.

 

[Stardude82]

Seriously, some AM2 boards can take AM3 chips. I find, cpu-upgrade.com handy.

If Phenom II x4 works, this system can hold out until Bulldozer.

 

[dEAne]

Don't change it.

 

[hell_storm2004]

If you are inclined towards the AMD side, I would say a $150 now would be good and if you can last till Bulldozer which is rumored to be delayed till second half of 2011. But since SB is coming out earlier i would say wait till then and get one of those.

 

[hasappra]

well, better to upgrade to i3 530 rather than e7500 since it sells at the same price as e7500 (or cheaper).

 

[nibblonian]

Seriously, some AM2 boards can take AM3 chips. I find, cpu-upgrade.com handy.

If Phenom II x4 works, this system can hold out until Bulldozer.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-motherboards,1749-9.html

Unfortunately, it does not.

If you are inclined towards the AMD side, I would say a $150 now would be good and if you can last till Bulldozer which is rumored to be delayed till second half of 2011. But since SB is coming out earlier i would say wait till then and get one of those.

Is there a particular CPU/Mobo combination you would suggest?

 

[hell_storm2004]

If you can out $250 now... It think this would be good for a year or more on games and other apps you run. If you are good at overclocking. Then you can make it last till early 2012!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=965+black+edition&x=0&y=0

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138158
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131618