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CPU Upgrade Help for an Older MOBO

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Hello, I have an Intel d975xbx2 motherboard that supports LGA 775 socket processors. Currently I have a Q6600 2.4 ghz core2 quadcore processor in it. I would like to upgrade this processor for gaming without spending too much money. Can anyone give me some options? It seems like 90%+ of the games I play can't even effectively use 4 processors including ones that aren't even released yet (like the new Simcity, which they said can only use 2 cores) so a really fast 2-core processor might be better for me than a slower quadcore.

I did some basic browsing but it seems like the LGA775 processors are hard to find these days, and even used ones are going for more than a brand new better processor which makes no sense. Anyone have any tips, advice, or links to some cheap processor upgrade for me? Thanks!

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A lot/some games do only utilize 2-cores or so, but that doesn't mean you have to swap CPU's. If anything, you can try buying a new/effective heatsink and OC your current cpu to a higher clock. I had a friend who uses the same CPU as you and had a 9800GT in it and could run games like SC2, L4D2 fine on medium/high-ish settings with no/little fps drops.

And you can always upgrade your GPU, that'll help with gaming performance for sure.

I have an Nvidia 560 TI+ 1GB GPU atm, can't really upgrade that without spending far more than my budget. I have a good heatsink and fans but OC-ing is pretty much out of the question since I'm not that computer savvy, and all the advice over on the OC forums is basically "Don't OC unless you've read hundreds of pages of articles and know exactly what you are doing."

So that leaves upgrading the CPU.
CPUs Master

Here is a link to the cpu's that are compatible with your motherboard:
http://processormatch.intel.com/COMPDB/SearchResult.asp...

The top unit is a QX6800 which has a passmark number of 3765. It will go for $150 or so used on e-bay.
That compares to a Q6600 which is 2958.

But, my thought is that it is time for you to upgrade a cpu that is several generations old.

A modern i3-3220 duo has a passmark number of 4272 and sells for $135.
A i5-3570 quad has a passmark number of 7018 and sells for $200 or so.

A socket 1155 motherboard can be less than $100, and 8gb of DDR3 ram will be about $40.

Your Q6600 will fetch $50 on ebay, and you might actually get more for your DDR2 ram than the replacement will cost.

Appreciate the info Geofelt. What about a good LGA775 socket 2-core processor though? As I mentioned, pretty much all the games I play now and even those in the near future can only use 1 or 2 cores maximum, so getting a 2 core 3.0ghz+ should be a big upgrade over my 4 core 2.4ghz, for gaming at least.

Unfortunately I think changing out the mobo, cpu, and ram (and possibly case depending on the mobo?) is a bit out of my budget atm. I was hoping I could snag an older processor upgrade cheap, as I don't understand if the processor is several generations old why it costs more than a current gen one.
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