Help me pick a replacement for an old e4300

[DuffmanOhYeah]

So my computer is fast becoming a dinosaur that I;d like to blow some new life in to.

Its a Gigabyte DS3 (LGA-775) with 2 gigs of ddr2 800 5-5-5-15 and an 8800GS. I'm thinking I may pick up some more ram in the future, but atm would like to focus on the cpu.

Any suggestions for a good value upgrade that will give me a decent boost but not cost an arm and a leg?

 

[Jd007]

Look for a cheap C2Q like Q8200 then OC the hell out of it.

 

[DuffmanOhYeah]

Look for a cheap C2Q like Q8200 then OC the hell out of it.

I'd prefer to stick with a normal clock--emasculating as that is. The older I get, the less patience I have in playing with tech.

ANy suggestions for a good non o/c?

 

[zerocool84]

Well how much do you want to spend?

 

[DuffmanOhYeah]

under $100 if thats feasible

 

[Jd007]

The best LGA 775 CPU you can buy for under $100 right now is the E6500 ($86.99), which, at 2.93Ghz, should be a healthy speed boost from the E4300, considering that you don't OC. There really isn't much to choose from in the sub $100 area. Why not hold off the purchase for a bit and save up till you can get a C2Q?

 

[zagood]

I'd recommend the e7500 for $106 but you need to check your board revision. The first model of the DS3 doesn't accept 45nm CPUs.

Gigabyte product page with links to dif. revisions...check CPU support list.
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2314

 

[DuffmanOhYeah]

Interesting. Sisoft Sandra doesn't pull the info, but when I look at my invoice from newegg in 10/07, it lists this as rev 1.3.

Any idea what that gets me?

It also appears that my ram is 800 mhz. if I switch to a cpu that is 1066 fsb, do I have to upgrade ram as well?

ps. sorry for all the questions, as I get older, I seem to forget almost everything I used to know.

 

[alyarb]

no, your memory will work fine. there are memory dividers in your BIOS that you can pick out to match with your memory speed. i would just get the E6500. The extra 1MB of L2 isn't worth the extra $25.

 

[Maximilian]

I actually wouldnt bother until you can go quad.

 

[Soulkeeper]

I agree with Maximilian

 

[VirtualLarry]

Interesting. Sisoft Sandra doesn't pull the info, but when I look at my invoice from newegg in 10/07, it lists this as rev 1.3.

Any idea what that gets me?

I think that there was a 1.3 and a 3.3. If you have the 1.3, you might be out of luck, I don't think that one supports 45nm chips.

 

[Farfrumhumpn]

Should be an E6850 or 2 floating arround on the forums, put up a WTB and limit the ammount you want to spend to $80 - $100. I sold mine about a month ago for $60 shipped so it shouldn't be too hard to procure one for $80 - $100. Thats 3ghz with 4mb L2 cache and a 1333mhz FSB. It'd be pretty danged close to an E8400 albeit at 95w vs 65w.

 

[Arkaign]

Should be an E6850 or 2 floating arround on the forums, put up a WTB and limit the ammount you want to spend to $80 - $100. I sold mine about a month ago for $60 shipped so it shouldn't be too hard to procure one for $80 - $100. Thats 3ghz with 4mb L2 cache and a 1333mhz FSB. It'd be pretty danged close to an E8400 albeit at 95w vs 65w.

That's a great idea and will make a large difference. I recently upgraded my HTPC from an E5200 @ 3ghz to an E7500 @ 3.5ghz, and it helped a bit. Going from a stock E4300 to a stock E6850 would be tremendous.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

no, your memory will work fine. there are memory dividers in your BIOS that you can pick out to match with your memory speed. i would just get the E6500. The extra 1MB of L2 isn't worth the extra $25.

you also dont get sse3.

the 7500 deal looks good. that same website has the e8300 for 126, also a nice deal

 

[DuffmanOhYeah]

So with the quad, I assume I'd need to upgrade my board as well? Are there any cheap combos out there that would make upgrading everything worth it? Could the RAM at least carry over?

 

[Markfw]

So with the quad, I assume I'd need to upgrade my board as well? Are there any cheap combos out there that would make upgrading everything worth it? Could the RAM at least carry over?

I had 3 sifferent DS3 boards with Q6600 CPU's all over 3.2 GHZ OC. If you get that chip, just plug it in, and you are done. And OC to 3.2 (at least, that easy, 8 x 300, 1.35 vcore)

 

[Skott]

So with the quad, I assume I'd need to upgrade my board as well? Are there any cheap combos out there that would make upgrading everything worth it? Could the RAM at least carry over?

Yes, entire upgrade. CPU, mobo, and ram. How much you spend depends on which type of quad you plan to get. Personally, I'd say get a i5 750 or better if you are into gaming. Unless you can put a Q6600 on that mobo like Mark suggested.