CPU/Mobo upgrade

[Insomniator]

Hey I currently have an X2 5000+ BE on an Abit KN9 SLI board.

I was wondering if there are any CPU/SLI mobo upgrades in the 200-250 price range that would be worth it over the pair I have now? I figure I could get 100 bucks for my current combo so if I could get a decent boost for 100-150 I'd take it. Don't mind messing with new stuff either :laugh:

I have 4 gigs of DDR2 1000 that I plan on bringing over to the new setup.. not too interested in going DDR3 right now.

I'd have to guess that a Core 2 at like 4ghz would rape my X2 right now, same for a similarly priced lower clocked Quad...

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Phenom II X3 710/720BE & a Nvidia 750a/780a-based motherboard.

 

[Arkaign]

Honestly at this point I'd recommend grabbing an E5200, a good cooler, and an open box P5Q for $55 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16813131335R

You could keep your extra $$, run the 5200 icy cool in the mid-3ghz range, and drop in a Quad when you need it later on. 3.5Ghz E5200 (same cache size as the 6300/6400 C2D), will be a tremendous upgrade from that 5000+.

 

[Insomniator]

Originally posted by: Arkaign
Honestly at this point I'd recommend grabbing an E5200, a good cooler, and an open box P5Q for $55 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16813131335R

You could keep your extra $$, run the 5200 icy cool in the mid-3ghz range, and drop in a Quad when you need it later on. 3.5Ghz E5200 (same cache size as the 6300/6400 C2D), will be a tremendous upgrade from that 5000+.

That seems like a good idea but I'm most likely going to be using SLI so how does this board look?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16813131232R

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Insomniator

Originally posted by: Arkaign
Honestly at this point I'd recommend grabbing an E5200, a good cooler, and an open box P5Q for $55 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16813131335R

You could keep your extra $$, run the 5200 icy cool in the mid-3ghz range, and drop in a Quad when you need it later on. 3.5Ghz E5200 (same cache size as the 6300/6400 C2D), will be a tremendous upgrade from that 5000+.

That seems like a good idea but I'm most likely going to be using SLI so how does this board look?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16813131232R

Checking the reviews here : http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131232

Seems like a mixed bag, some people love it, but lots of others have had a lot of trouble (seems focused on the PCIe slots being too close together, and the sata ports being covered up by the cards.)

Do you already have a card you're going to be pairing up with another one in SLI? It'd be helpful to know. If you are going with a new setup, a GTX260, 4850x2, or any number of other possibilities might do the trick depending on resolution. A 22" 1680x1050 LCD for example would be beautifully smooth without having to use SLI.

OTOH, if you already have a 9600GT, 9800GTX, or whatever, and are planning on grabbing a cheap 2nd one to go SLI, that sounds reasonable.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

The last couple of times I bought "open box" from Newegg, things have not worked out too well. Proceed with caution.

 

[Insomniator]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
The last couple of times I bought "open box" from Newegg, things have not worked out too well. Proceed with caution.

Yeah... I can imagine... I think for a difference of 60 bucks it could be worth it in this case...


As for the cards, I have a 4850 but also have 2 9600gso 768's that I have yet to test out because I'm waiting for an sli bridge in the mail. I game at 19x12; the 4850 has been fine I just wanted to check out SLI. Another even trade really, the gso's were 50 each and I could get ~100 for the 4850.

Looking at pictures of the board, I dont see how the sata slots could be covered by the second card, mine are only single slot coolers also.

hmmm! thanks for the replies so far

 

[geokilla]

What are you using your rig for? My sis is using my old AMD X2 3800+ setup @2.65Ghz and it's running great still.

Instead of upgrading, OC your 5000+ BE to 3Ghz. 3Ghz is faily common for that CPU.

Btw, this shoulda been in General Hardware.

 

[Insomniator]

Originally posted by: geokilla
What are you using your rig for? My sis is using my old AMD X2 3800+ setup @2.65Ghz and it's running great still.

Instead of upgrading, OC your 5000+ BE to 3Ghz. 3Ghz is faily common for that CPU.

Btw, this shoulda been in General Hardware.

I'm mainly upgrading because I'm bored, if it only costs 50 bucks and gives me a chance to drop in a core 2 quad later on it makes sense to me.

My 5000 is running at 3 right now no problems and I imagine a core 2 duo around 3.5 would still be somewhat of a jump.

 

[Arkaign]

3.5Ghz C2D would be a pretty big upgrade from a 3Ghz X2.

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
The last couple of times I bought "open box" from Newegg, things have not worked out too well. Proceed with caution.

I have gotten about 10. One bad one. Most don't have the back plate, but some do, thats the only real downside. I just run without it.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

My 1st 6 or 7 experiences were primo. Always got all the accessories, reliable operation, etc. Then, recently, I got a bare mobo with dead USB port and a loose sata connector, and a video card with a broken fan. Maybe the law of averages just caught up with me.

I miss the $1 shipping on open box items.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Markfw900

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
The last couple of times I bought "open box" from Newegg, things have not worked out too well. Proceed with caution.

I have gotten about 10. One bad one. Most don't have the back plate, but some do, thats the only real downside. I just run without it.

Same here, or similar .. have had 5 or 6, no problems