Upgrading dual core to quad core (Gaming)

[SirSawo]

Hey there

A friend of mine put a new system together with the new E6700 wolfdale running at 3.20Ghz stock (was released 2Q'10)
Now it seems that the games he plays and the programmes he uses are multi core demanding, so i was wondering wich budget quad core cpu S775 could replace this dual core? I was thinking about the Q8300/8400 but they are already on the market for a few years and have rather low l2 cache..(4mb)
Any tips/comments/suggestions/recommendations?

Intel website:
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=42809&processor=E6700&spec-cdes=SLGUF
btw, if someone is interested in the E6700 let me know.

 

[amdfangirl]

Well, the E6700 is quite an old CPU arch. speaking. That is, the silicon design is quite old. It was built on a 45nm process for a socket now being phased out.

Yes, the Q8xxx series are upgrade options, but I do not recommend spending any more money on the rig, so long as it performs to his needs. Investing his money would be better put into a new Next Generation system such as Sandy Bridge, coming January or Bulldozer, which is even later next year.

With the Core 2 Quad series, your value doesn't scale proportionally compared to newer CPUs. It tends to cost more for smaller performance gains. I suggest that the E6700's frequency is enough to mitigate the quad-core advantage for the time being.

Current arch and chip design are far more efficent. More bang for the buck, however with Sandy Bridge on the corner, I'd say wait for it. It'll perform much better with a slightly higher price tag, but with a better return for your money.

 

[N.Broekhuijsen]

Yer what AMDfangirl said. Just wait a couple months until Sandy Bridge and Bulldozer come out and see what you want to buy then!

Cheerz

 

[SirSawo]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I have also thought of this but with new tech comes a price... Sandy will cost too much for him, im sure of that. Bulldozer is an option but is there anything known about the release date? I read it won't be on the market until 2012, and how about price tags?
My q9550 @ 3.4 keeps up great with the newer i5's..

 

[N.Broekhuijsen]

well if you really want something quickly and cheap AMD has some nice Athlon X4 CPU's at about 100 bucks, combine that with a cheap mobo and you've got a nice upgrade there. Use an AM2+ mobo and you can even use your old DDR2 RAM.
These Athlon X4's offer plenty of CPU power for games!

Yeah unfortunately not all that much known about bulldozer yet, except that it's gonna be awesome.

Hope this helps,

Cheerz

 

[SirSawo]

He has an MSI p43-c51 mobo i think with ddr3 1333 ram so id just like to replace the cpu with a better one otherwise he need to buy an am3.. will bulldozer run on am3 boards? Also it is said that amd is a generation behind intel.. so im not sure about amd.. iv'e always had intel but thanks for the reply.

 

[amdfangirl]

Well in that case, here are my picks for you.

Phenom II X3 OEM + heatsink (seperate):
Good for gaming, enough cores, enough cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103699
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

or

Phenom II X4:
Top performance, outdoes the Intel quads with a similar price + mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103656

AM3 mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128445

 

[N.Broekhuijsen]

Once again, what AMDfangirl said.

I'd personally opt for the X3 if your on a budget, since the extra cash spent on an X4 for gaming is not worth it IMHO.

Careful though, need to make sure you get an AM3 board, not AM2+ if you wish to use the old DDR3 ram from the old system. DDR3 Ram does NOT work in AM2+ boards.

EDIT: Just realised that amdfangirl wrote am2+.. ok now its corrected already!

amdfangirl personal question: are you actually a girl? if so, Kudos for the knowledge!!!

 

[amdfangirl]

^ I selected a nice DDR3 board for him

I personally think the Phenom II X3 is the best value for gaming and multitasking, it has the price/perf balance better than the X4, but the X4 is a tad more future-proof.

He has an MSI p43-c51 mobo i think with ddr3 1333 ram so id just like to replace the cpu with a better one otherwise he need to buy an am3.. will bulldozer run on am3 boards? Also it is said that amd is a generation behind intel.. so im not sure about amd.. iv'e always had intel but thanks for the reply.

Intel, for the budget market is just as behind, if not more than AMD, they sell last generation chips in the catergory. In the sub $200 catergory, AMD wins with offering raw cores for the buck. Yes, intel holds the medals for the fastest, but that's at the $200+ price range.

Bulldozer will not work on current AM3 motherboards, but you have upgrade options to a hexa-core Phenom II X6 if the need arises, also you can put these processors into the Bulldozer motherboards if you wish.

 

[N.Broekhuijsen]

Oh and you can always unlock the X3 to become an X4 if you want to. There is a chance of failure though, but no harm in trying, if it doesnt work you just revert back to 3 cores and whopla saved. If you get a working unlock though, nothing wrong with that!
I've unlocked plenty of X3's like this over the past few months, almost always worked for me

I don't see anyone complaining about an X4 for price of X3.

 

[amdfangirl]

The Phenom II X3 is a black edition. Slightly higher chances there

 

[N.Broekhuijsen]

I think we've just made this decision a no-brainer for this guy!

Good luck!

Cheerz

 

[amdfangirl]

*hi-5s xbeater*

On ya mate.

Cheers.

 

[SirSawo]

LoL was afk for a while nice teamplay here
thanks a lot it's very much worth considering

 

[N.Broekhuijsen]

eh no problem man your welcome!
It's what we are here for!

*hi-5s amdfangirl back*