Looking for a significant e6750 @ 3.5ghz upgrade

[severus]

I'm looking to upgrade my computer within the next month or so. I built this machine back at the end of 2007 and it's run great thus far. Theres nothing I can't play, but I do notice it's sluggish especially compared to my fathers unlocked x2 550be. I'm covered in the graphics department with a 4870 which is more than enough for my measly 1440x900 monitor (the largest monitor that will fit on my desk). Would jumping to a high powered phenom ii x4 or x6 be worth it? I've looked at benchmarks but still can't really decide. I'm going to avoid the i5 and i7 for now as their platforms don't look like they'll have much longevity. I'm the type of person that's willing to just upgrade CPU's.

 

[richierich1212]

how about any of the LGA 775 quad processors?

 

[severus]

I was looking at some of them, but at the current going rate of a 9550 I could sell my ip35 and get a 965BE which slightly outperforms it.

 

[EliteRetard]

Yeah it sounds like theres going to be a whole set of new processors from both AMD and Intel at the end of the year or begining of next. Perhaps a cheap upgrade would hold you off untill then, perhaps there will be a new platform or some better processors to choose from to give you a larger upgrade.

Im wondering if maybe just buying an SSD would be a good idea (since you said your performance is still fine)...itd give you some of that snapiness and could still be usefull in a new system later on.

If you were building from scratch, I do personally think an AM3 platform right now is a better option than Intels...

 

[Vesku]

I agree with EliteRetard, should probably upgrade another part of your machine. Looks like a SSD or fast current HDD is the one area that you could port onto a new system in a years time.

 

[severus]

Yeah, that might be a much better option. I know am3 will be here to stay for at least another year, but the current lga platforms look dead by the winter. Not to appealing for somebody who actually likes to upgrade casually.

 

[jtisgeek]

Now if you can swing for say a 955 x4 it will be a nice boost don't ways believe the benchmarks overall fps may not be much of a difference but game play will be much smother.

This is coming from my wife's computer which was a e7600 highly over clocked to a stock 965 made a world of difference.

 

[HumblePie]

For a significant upgrade you would have to go with a 980x and overclock it to 4.0+Ghz. That would be a "significant" upgrade.

 

[Ayah]

The best solution for you right now would probably be to wait just a bit longer for the platform refreshes.

 

[betasub]

Sluggish? Doing what?

What sort of apps / usage profile are you looking to improve? CPU or I/O limited? Would an SSD help?

BTW, can't access your sig "my machines" link.

 

[alyarb]

you need to be more specific about exactly which apps a 3.5 GHz dual core is too slow for, and if you can't give us a good answer then you need to just get an SSD.

 

[severus]

My machine is used for a variety of purposes. Making music, games (bad company 2, cs 1.6, avp, starcraft 2.) I watch blu rays on it as well and stream HD video. I notice the load times in Bad company 2, which I believe is optimized for quad cores, are slow compared to my friends and my dads machine. I could join a game before a friend, and still not beat him into the server. Granted most of my friends are using 965BE's.

My system specs are
e6750 @ 3.5ghz
IP35-E
4 gigs g.skill 4-4-4-18
250 seagate & 500 hitachi
XFX 1gb 4870
450W corsair
Win xp professional / 7 professional

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Go to newegg and click on the processor section close your eyes and point in any direction and you will find a better CPU than the e6750. I can't believe all the recommendations for wait till the intel refresh. That's crazy. My i7 oc'ed to a mild 3.6ghz barely breathes when gaming maybe 20% usage pushing a 5850. Encoding takes no time at all especially with hyperthreading. I just can't see any reason the i7 won't be relevant for a few years to come.

If you had a quad core I'd say youre probably okay but an old school dual core just ain't gonna cut it anymore.

 

[Carmen813]

You sure you are running the 10.4b preview drivers from ATI? They substantially decreased load times.

 

[NoSoup4You]

i7 for sure, I just moved up from an E8400 @3.6Ghz and my i7 860 @ only 2.93Ghz is much smoother in games. The frames are drastically better (they are in Bad Company 2 though) but the smoothness is off the charts compared to the old dual core.

 

[LucJoe]

My system specs are almost the exact same (E6850) and I've been researching everything from Q9550 to 1055T to i7-930. Easiest upgrade is obviously the Q9550 (plug in and go), but it also seems to be lowest performance / highest cost of the three chips!

Seems like the best option right now is to wait?

 

[happy medium]

I just seen a used q6700 go for 120$.

 

[v8envy]

I thought an i7 wouldn't be a big upgrade from my 3.2 ghz E2180. Booooy was I wrong. My wife was at microcenter so I impulse upgraded without having a need. Even at stock the i7 was just... smoother at everything. Much faster at transcoding (the PS3 is 2x faster than that though), loading pages with a bunch of flash, etc etc.

Realize that a dual core running a typical virus checker and a bloatload of background barnacles is eating into CPU you have for gaming.

Future upgrades is the worst thing you could optimize for. Sell your current hardware and get new hardware. More reliable, faster, better features and in the end -- cheaper.

My recommendation is an i7 930 if you have a microcenter nearby. If not, whatever the newest quad you can afford and don't worry about cpu-only upgrades.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Upgrading the wife's Q6600 @ 3.1 to a stock i7 felt like the computer came to life. The i7 is a beast.

 

[tweakboy]

You will get it there as long as theres proper cooling.. glhmm I felt a topic change here in this thread hmmmm.

 

[severus]

Been thinking about a q9550 since I live near microcenter and it will only be $180. I can probably get $60 for my e6750 and I'll only have to spend $120. Is the q9550 a good overclocker like the e6750?

 

[happy medium]

Been thinking about a q9550 since I live near microcenter and it will only be $180. I can probably get $60 for my e6750 and I'll only have to spend $120. Is the q9550 a good overclocker like the e6750?

Yes it's one of the best and is worth every penny. .

 

[mazeroth]

Grab the 630 bundle for $96 and call it a day. I have mine overclocked to 3.5 ghz. and it's very capable. You will likely get close to that much for your current stuff.

Then, in a few years when you REALLY need to upgrade you can. The 630 will likely hold you over for a long time. I don't think mine has ever shown 100% useage when gaming, even in games that take advantage of more than 2 cores.

http://www.microcenter.com/specials/...namitedata.com

 

[severus]

can't use all my ram with that bundle, i'd have to sell the board and my ram and get a 890fx and ddr.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Did you know that an E5200 @ 3.6 is as fast as am Athlon II X4 630 at stock (2.8)?