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Old 775 socket CPU upgrade


stubbie

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Guys I have a bit of a dilemma that I would appreciate any input on.

I currently have a 4yr old pc that is starting to show its age with some games especially Guild Wars 2.

 

First off I have very limited funds so a new pc is out of the question.

 

My current pc set up is as follows;

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16Ghz

GPU - ATI HD 6870 1gig memory

MB - Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4

RAM - Corsair 4gig Xtreme DDR2

27" monitor

Windows 7 64bit

 

This pc was a high end pc when I built it 4 years ago and it it still in top condition. I clean it regularly and have never overclocked anything. It still plays most of the games that I play at good fps.

But it is struggling a bit with Guild Wars 2.

As GW2 is cpu intensive I was thinking that I will upgrade the cpu. I know that the cpu is the bottleneck on this pc as it is running at 99% usage when in GW2.

I cannot afford to replace the motherboard/RAM/CPU so I am very restricted on my upgrade choice.

 

Games these days seem to use quad cores. When I built the pc that was very uncommon hence the reason I went with a high end dual core.

 

I'm considering buying an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3Ghz. I can get one for approx $350AUD which is just in my price range.

 

My question is;

Will an upgrade from my current dual core cpu to the Core 2 Quad show much difference with a game like GW2 that I believe utilises quad cores?

Or is the old 775 socket stuff just too old for todays games?

 

I don't expect a massive increase in fps as the E8500 is an excellent dual core on the 775 socket anyway. And I feel that the rest of my current hardware has just about maxed the motherboards capabilities.

But if I could gain about 10 fps I would be most happy.

 

Thanks for reading. :)

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I did similar a year or two ago... upgraded my 775 to the max (non-extreme) CPU it could handle... the Q9650.

 

I just searched and found this discussion http://www.overclock.net/t/963382/q9650-4-05ghz-vs-e8500-4-05ghz-vs-i5-2500k-4-04ghz-benchmark-results which to me gives some credit to the idea that a game that uses the full quad core can benefit from it (a few people conclude the CPUS are the same, but a couple of scores show a marked difference, which says to me that if the cores are used then they help). I'd think you'd want to really confirm that GW2 will make use of the extra cores.

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I'd think you'd want to really confirm that GW2 will make use of the extra cores.

 

That is not so easy.

I have googled a lot about it and all I can find is beta results (the game was not cpu optimised at that point) and also a lot of speculation only about the games usage of quad cores.

An official response would be most welcome if there is one.

 

Though with that being said my upgrade would still be considered if I knew there would be a notable performance increase for games that do use quad cores, keeping in mind the upgrade will only be able to use the old 775 socket architecture.

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If that's the best CPU for that socket I guess thats the biggest upgrade you can make without upgrading your motherboard/ram too. It is more expensive than more modern cpu's though and you probably can squeeze an upgrade of all 3 into that price bracket of $350. I'm not particularly up to date on pc parts at the moment, but browsing through another forum I visit they have a list of suggested builds for price points for gaming pc's and it would seem that something like

Core i5 3570 @ $214

Asrock B75 Pro3-M motherboard @ $75

Leaves you $50 to spend on ram which can get you up 8GB of DDR3 from the same site.

 

Anyway, perhaps if you want to ask over at the forums I mentioned, Whirlpool (an aussie set of forums!), you might get some helpful advice for your budget. Otherwise I hope I've somewhat helped and not just stirred the pot a little...

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Stubbie.. have you updated ALL, and I mean all of your drivers? especially the gpu yet?

 

I have a 6 core processor, and so far GW2 only uses one of the six and yes at times it is at 100% usage. I found it odd, but since the game plays I haven't worried about it.

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Thanks Dragon Brother. That's the first I have seen that site, and the prices are very reasonable.

I will keep them in mind if I go with a new MB, etc. I didn't realise that going the MB/RAM/cpu path was in my reach. You have given me food for thought.

 

I'm going to join Whirlpool as well. I have used their site for info in the past. Time to ask them the question too I think. ;)

 

And yep Kiyeri. My drivers are all up to date. It was the first point of call for me. :)

Funny though that only one of your cores is being used. Both of the cores in my dual core are being used at almost 100%.

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Before you go hog wild spending money on a CPU upgrade, consider getting a better GPU...

 

If what you're wanting to do is squeeze a few FPS out of a game, you might consider a newer model video card. I've noted that having a decent video chipset makes a TON of difference. Plus, from what you've mentioned, a decent video card could also be cheaper than buying a new CPU.

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Jumping in real quick here. So sorry if I'm repeating what others might have said... :sweating: gogo mentioned your dilemma to me stubbie since yours is so similar to my very recent, last week, endeavor to get full graphic effects in GW2. Your system is very much like mine. Before my upgrade I had to run GW2 in lowest graphic settings because I was getting HUGE lag in large party event battles.

 

I bought a Sapphire 7850 2GB (Purchased locally for about $300 tax in) and now I play at highest settings. Done.

One difference in our systems is that I'm running 8GB DDR 2 ram which can make a big difference in games. Here's what I have:

 

PSU: 500W

CPU: E8400 3.00Ghz

GPU: Sapphire 7850 2GB

MB: MSI P35 Platinum Combo

RAM: valueram 4x2GB DDR2 800Mhz

Windows 7 64bit

 

Don't bother going through the process of upgrading your mobo and processor. I'm planning on skipping the entire i3/i5/i7 generation in fact.

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Thanks everyone. All your input has been seriously considered and appreciated.

After much agonising I have come to the following decision.

To upgrade my current cpu to a quad on the 775 socket will not give me good value for the money.

To upgrade my gpu will probably allow me more eye candy in games but will not have a great effect on frame rates.

My 4 gig RAM is only ever reaching around 70% usage with my games so I don't see that as needing an upgrade.

...........and I have over a hundred games that I either have only played a short time or not at all. They all will run fine on my current pc (except the witcher 2), so I should play them before I buy games that need more horsepower.

 

So I'm holding onto my money and saving up to get a whole new pc one day in the future.

 

As a side note: What started this was my, at times, dismal frame rates in Guild Wars 2.

I posted in another thread here what I did with the graphic settings (increased all the settings to high...yes high) and now I can play the game with acceptable (for me) frame rates.

 

Thanks again for all your responses. Hopefully it my also be of help to someone else in a similar position.

 

edit:

Oh I forgot to mention. jonny over at DA suggested overclocking by about 10%. I am more than willing to do that as the hardware in this pc is all able to be overclocked quite safely.

But I am totally without knowledge on overclocking. The one time I tried I failed miserably with a BSOD and never tried again as I was too scared.

If anyone knows of a good site on overclocking with a step by step guide for dummies I would appreciate it. :)

Edited by stubbie
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edit:

Oh I forgot to mention. jonny over at DA suggested overclocking by about 10%. I am more than willing to do that as the hardware in this pc is all able to be overclocked quite safely.

But I am totally without knowledge on overclocking. The one time I tried I failed miserably with a BSOD and never tried again as I was too scared.

If anyone knows of a good site on overclocking with a step by step guide for dummies I would appreciate it. :)

 

I would say google it, there's bound to be a multitude of overclocking tutorials out there for that CPU seeing as how well it's still holding up. As to specific sites, I can't suggest anything sorry.

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