Upgrading To A C2D From A Pentium D - Need Help.

[Vanchatron]

I have just recently installed a brand new 640mb 8800GTS & after speaking to some people, they have been telling me that although I have a pretty good graphics card, it is crippled by my horrible processor which is a 2.8Ghz Intel Pentium D. They said that if I want to get the most out of my GFX Card I will have to upgrade to a Core 2 Duo.

The thing is, there's so many Core 2 Duos out there, I'm not sure which to go with. I don't want to end up getting a C2D only to find out that it isn't as good as my current Pentium D or just a tiny bit better. For me to justify having to buy a new C2D I want it to perform a lot better than my Pentium D & not slow down what the 8800GTS is capable of, so to speak.

I have around £110 ($223) to spend on a processor so I'd like to hear of some recommendations. I'll be buying one from here - www.ebuyer.com

I just thought I'd come here & ask first as I don't want to just go ahead and buy one when there are so many & I might get the wrong one or something.

Thanks people :)

[Spearball]

From what i know i think any core 2 duo outperforms a pentium d by a lot so yes you will have better performance with your 8800gts. Not sure on which one you should buy so wait for some other reasponses. I believe you can get them for as low as 80.

[Ajmukon]

Pentium D with a 8800GTS is FINE

- you will not notice a performance increase with a core 2 duo. there will be a performance increase, but it will be insignificant in gaming. Your primary Processor for gaming is the GPU and yours is one of the best GPUs on the market today.

[Vanchatron]

Pentium D with a 8800GTS is FINE

- you will not notice a performance increase with a core 2 duo. there will be a performance increase, but it will be insignificant in gaming. Your primary Processor for gaming is the GPU and yours is one of the best GPUs on the market today.

That's very reassuring, thanks :D

[George Hallam]

you will not notice a performance increase with a core 2 duo

ooo i beg to differ im not totally sure but there may be some difference maybe looking at some charts

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=946&model2=882&chart=422

but i wait to see if saph comes along and shed some light

[Ajmukon]

True, there is a performance increase, but the effect will be practically unnoticeable in most games. It is like the difference between a 3.2 Ghz P4 and a 3.6Ghz P4- yes it will run that much faster, but you pobably will not notice it.

43.x compared to a 53.x on the unreal tournament engine (10 points) WITHOUT ANY GPU if i read the info sheet correctly. With a 8800 GTS, i am sure that it will be a lot closer.

I think Saph would agree with me.
However, a core 2 duo will only Enhance your computer performance. But it is not really needed- i have the same processor you have and it still runs pretty fast ;)

Besides,
To upgrade to a Core 2 Duo could require a complete system overhaul
(replacing Motherboard, PSU, CPU And RAM- at least $400 prob. more)
at that point, it is not worth it. Maybe in a few years it would....

[jlreich]

Pentium D with a 8800GTS is FINE

- you will not notice a performance increase with a core 2 duo. there will be a performance increase, but it will be insignificant in gaming. Your primary Processor for gaming is the GPU and yours is one of the best GPUs on the market today.
I totally agree with this. Sure, a nice shiny new Core2 would be nice, but your PD is sufficient. It really isn't holding back your 8800GTS ;)

Now if you wanted to upgrade your CPU just to upgrade your CPU, then have at it.

By the way, how are you liking your new GPU? :)

[Vanchatron]

I totally agree with this. Sure, a nice shiny new Core2 would be nice, but your PD is sufficient. It really isn't holding back your 8800GTS ;)

Now if you wanted to upgrade your CPU just to upgrade your CPU, then have at it.

By the way, how are you liking your new GPU? :)

The new GPU is wonderful. Much more than I expected :D

At first I felt quite guilty spending that much on a graphics card but now I see the performance increase, I'm nore than happy.

The only reason I wanted to upgrade to a C2D was because I've had my current processor for more than a year & on the back of most new games the recommended CPU requirements are a C2D, not a Pentium D.

Somebody above mentioned the fact that I will need to spend around $400 if I wanted a new C2D & that I'd have to buy a new PSU, mobo etc. Well I'm not sure if that is correct. My current mobo can handle a C2D, my current PSU is working fine with my 8800GTS & I have 2gb of DDR 2 RAM. Isn't that enough?

[Ajmukon]

i did not know if you current mobo could handle a C2D, so i assumed the worse and told you you may have to do a major overhaul of your system. ;)

[jlreich]

on the back of most new games the recommended CPU requirements are a C2D, not a Pentium D.
This is true, but you are well ahead of the minimum requirements. No one is going to argue that a CD2 wouldn't be better, but you are doing pretty well with what you have. It's not like you are running on a Celeron or something. :p

If you are happy with the current performance don't worry about it. When you start to feel that you need a better CPU then it's time to upgrade. Or if you just got the upgrade itch and have to scratch it... :D

It wouldn't be a waste of cash to move up to, lets say, an X6750 (the current sweet spot), but it isn't necessary. Also if you are happy as things are right now you can wait to see what Intel will release next, and/or how much more the price will drop on current stuff. ;)

[Vanchatron]

i did not know if you current mobo could handle a C2D, so i assumed the worse and told you you may have to do a major overhaul of your system. ;)

Haha no worries ;)


Or if you just got the upgrade itch and have to scratch it... :D

I think that's it lol :D

I just feel like I've upgraded my Gfx card, monitor, RAM etc & bought a new mouse/keyboard, basically the only big thing left to upgrade is my CPU & like you said, it's like an itch and I just have to scratch it.

The thing is, my current mobo can't support the E6750 because of the 1333FSB. My mobo can only support up to 1066FSB apparently. I was recommended an E4500 by somebody, is this any good do you know?

If I can get something better with my current mobo I'd be buying it from here - www.ebuyer.com

If you could have a quick look through at the C2D's & point me in the direction of a decent one that will be compatible with my motherboard I'd be grateful. Obviously I'd want to get the best C2D that is compatible with my motherboard :). Thanks for your help so far anyway & thanks to everybody else who has given their $0.02

[saphalline]

Core-based CPU's are much more advanced than any NetBurst-based CPU. There would indeed be a significant performance increase with upgrading from a 2.8 GHz PD to any C2D, but mainly because it's only a 2.8 GHz PD. ;) I won't bore you with the core microarchitecture details, though. They'd fill several posts! :p

I agree with jlreich. The performance increase would be worth upgrading, but the upgrade itself isn't worth it. :D Without 1333 FSB support, you pretty much missed the boat on a nice C2D upgrade. I wouldn't recommend it. Not for a subpar upgrade. Especially since we're so close to Penryn and everything it implies. You're better off waiting at this point for a cheap true quad-core CPU sometime next year (maybe even from AMD this time). It's always rough being hit with "the itch" at the exact time that you should be holding off. :rolleyes: ;)

Furthermore, I don't know what you were told by whom, but they obviously have a lot to learn! CPU's do hold back GPU's these days, but not nearly as much as GPU's hold back gaming performance!! You did the right thing - you spent a lot of money on a vid card upgrade and left your CPU alone. That's what you should have done. That's what you found out. And anyone who tells you that a 64-bit dual-core CPU is holding back an 8800 is an idiot! Take a look at the charts for yourself. Do you see any gaming performance increases related to CPU upgrades that can compare to a vid card upgrade? From the bottom to the top of the CPU heap is not even a 3x improvement! Now ask yourself what "from the bottom to the top" means with current vid cards. How does a GeForce 8400 or Radeon HD 2400 compare to a GeForce 8800 Ultra or Radeon HD 2900 XT 1GB? And that doesn't even include SLI and CrossFire!! How did your 7600 GT compare your shiny new 8800 GTS 640MB? Now check the prices on "from the bottom to the top" for both CPU's and GPU's. $1000 USD is a sum of money better spent on a $300 CPU and $700 for a pair of vid cards rather than a $1000 CPU and onboard video! ;)

I've said it once and I'll say it again: any dual-core CPU is good enough for current games! It's the vid card that truly separates the "have's" from the "have not's".

[Vanchatron]

Core-based CPU's are much more advanced than any NetBurst-based CPU. There would indeed be a significant performance increase with upgrading from a 2.8 GHz PD to any C2D, but mainly because it's only a 2.8 GHz PD. ;) I won't bore you with the core microarchitecture details, though. They'd fill several posts! :p

I agree with jlreich. The performance increase would be worth upgrading, but the upgrade itself isn't worth it. :D Without 1333 FSB support, you pretty much missed the boat on a nice C2D upgrade. I wouldn't recommend it. Not for a subpar upgrade. Especially since we're so close to Penryn and everything it implies. You're better off waiting at this point for a cheap true quad-core CPU sometime next year (maybe even from AMD this time). It's always rough being hit with "the itch" at the exact time that you should be holding off. :rolleyes: ;)

Furthermore, I don't know what you were told by whom, but they obviously have a lot to learn! CPU's do hold back GPU's these days, but not nearly as much as GPU's hold back gaming performance!! You did the right thing - you spent a lot of money on a vid card upgrade and left your CPU alone. That's what you should have done. That's what you found out. And anyone who tells you that a 64-bit dual-core CPU is holding back an 8800 is an idiot! Take a look at the charts for yourself. Do you see any gaming performance increases related to CPU upgrades that can compare to a vid card upgrade? From the bottom to the top of the CPU heap is not even a 3x improvement! Now ask yourself what "from the bottom to the top" means with current vid cards. How does a GeForce 8400 or Radeon HD 2400 compare to a GeForce 8800 Ultra or Radeon HD 2900 XT 1GB? And that doesn't even include SLI and CrossFire!! How did your 7600 GT compare your shiny new 8800 GTS 640MB? Now check the prices on "from the bottom to the top" for both CPU's and GPU's. $1000 USD is a sum of money better spent on a $300 CPU and $700 for a pair of vid cards rather than a $1000 CPU and onboard video! ;)

I've said it once and I'll say it again: any dual-core CPU is good enough for current games! It's the vid card that truly separates the "have's" from the "have not's".


First of all I'd just like to say that the two people I know I can rely on & am happy when I see the replies are jlreich and yourself. Whenever I have doubts about my PC you two reassure me that everything's fine haha.

Thanks man, much appreciated http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/icons/icon14.gif

[sillabus]

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Sillabus