Intel Core 2 Duo E4700

aleks94

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My brother Slobodan wants to upgrade his processor.

He has an Intel 945GC chipset on his motherboard.

I'm helping him decide which processor he should purchase, it's between the core 2 duo E4700 and the pentium D 945.

Which one would be better in terms of performance and why?

I already know that the core 2 duo would be better, i just want solid advice to back it up so i know for a fact.
 
The 2160 (which is lower rated than the e4700) beats the 945d in several benchmarks. The core2 duos are a newer, more efficient design than the old smithfield pentium 4 processors and run cooler. They also use less energy. If your brother can shop around, his board might run the e6600 which is faster than the e4700, but the motherboard you're using is too old for anything newer or any of the quads. (the benchmark link I tried to post wouldn't transfer, so you'll have to take my word for it).
 

aleks94

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I know the motherboard wont be able to run the e6600.

I was browsing on intel's site and I found a list of compatible processors for the chip set my brother has.

Here's the link http://ark.intel.com/products/chipsets/28994

if you can direct me towards the cpu you think would achieve optimal performance, that would be great.

From personal knowledge I assumed it would be the core 2 duo since like you said it is newer and more efficient.

but the best core 2 duo that is supported is the e4700.
 

87ninefiveone

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The e4700 is your best best on that board by far.

You'll want to be careful though, just becuase the chipset supports the CPU doesn't mean your board does. For instance, your board may have been released when Pentium 4 and Pentium D's were new and Core 2 was still a year or two off in the future. So, if the manufacturer never added support it doesn't much matter what Intel's data sheet says. So, check with your board manufacturer to make sure they've written a BIOS that does support the CPU you get.
 

aleks94

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I was thinking the same thing, that the mother board might not support it even though the chipset allows it.

Anyway, i found the model number and name of my brothers mobo. (coconut creek mobo, model: D945GCCRG1)

The latest BIOS update was released in 2009, heres the link for it on the manufacturers website.

http://support.gateway.com/us/en/emac/product/default.aspx?tab=1&modelId=1622

I also found this site, with a list of compatible processors. and the core 2 duo E4700 falls under that category. So it should be able to run it.

http://www.e4allupgraders.info/dir1/motherboards/socket775/D945GCCR.shtml