Worthy Pentium E5800 upgrade?

[gman_42]

As the title states, I have a Pentium Dual Core E5800. It's fine for everyday things, but I want to GAME! Not quite in the budget to start fresh, tho. Does anyone have a good 775 socket replacement CPU? Would an i3 fit?

EDIT: No on the i3 (stupid sockets), but I'd still like to know what would be better.

 

[Pinhedd]

Most of the LGA775 quads are quite nice. See if you can get your hands on a Q9650 or Q9550

 

[gman_42]

How much $CAD should I be looking for? Also, do they OC well with a new cooler? Because anything under 3GHz isn't worth it.

 

[$hawn]

If u get the core2quad's for cheap....then get them....yes they can OC beyond 3GHz, but it will take some effort.

However, if u are willing to sell off ur current rig, and put in some fresh money, a simple LGA 1155 based Core i3 system sure is the way to go

 

[gman_42]

I suppose a new MOBO would be the way to go. Anything cheap and reliable?

 

[rds1220]

Well if you got a new motherboard you would be best off with a newer CPU socket, problem is you would be forced to get a new CPU. I don't think you are going to be able to get a new socket 775 motherboard since the 775 has been out of production for years now.

 

[Pinhedd]

How much $CAD should I be looking for? Also, do they OC well with a new cooler? Because anything under 3GHz isn't worth it.

Core2Quads are kinda hard to find on store shelves and even the ones on Ebay are expensive. Reason being they're still extremely good by today's standard and lots of people in your shoes are looking to upgrade without replacing everything. Good luck

 

[$hawn]

I don't think you are going to be able to get a new socket 775 motherboard since the 775 has been out of production for years now.

You'll still find plenty of new 775 boards, that too supporting DDR3 RAM, if you look around properly. But that's not the point. Like u said, he shud start a fresh LGA 1155 socket build

 

[InvalidError]

EDIT: No on the i3 (stupid sockets), but I'd still like to know what would be better.

It isn't only the 'stupid socket', LGA1155 CPUs have integrated memory controller while LGA775 uses north-bridge memory controller.

The IMC on new CPUs which cuts DRAM access latency by dozens of CPU cycles is one of the key reasons why LGA1155 CPUs perform significantly better than LGA775 ones.

Since LGA775 boards lack modern IOs and use DDR2 which is quite expensive today, I would have a hard time recommending sinking any money in it. If you cannot afford a platform upgrade, I would strongly recommend waiting until you can unless your current PC is unbearable.

 

[rds1220]

By the time you spend the money on a 775 socket motherboard and DDR2 Ram (Which can be pretty expesive since it's older technology) you can just get a cheap socket 1155 motherboard and an I3.