Processor Upgrade

[Schnozzinkobenstein]

I'd like to upgrade the processor on a motherboard with an LGA775 socket. This rig is used almost exclusively for gaming, so obviously I don't need a quad core. Is the Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 a good choice? Do I have to watch out for anything besides matching up socket types between the motherboard and processor?

 

[Sylvanas]

On the contrary if it is exclusively for gaming you will most definitely benefit from a quad. Farcry2, UE3 games, Empire:TW, Fallout3 ...the list goes on for the latest games that make use of Quads. It makes no sense to 'upgrade' to a dual core, I think you'll find something like a Q9550 will be a good option.

 

[Denithor]

You win the "Longest Name on the Anandtech Forums" award. Congratulations!!



Tell us what specific motherboard you have and we will find you the CPU compatibility chart so you make sure to get a chip that works. Depending on the age of your board it may or may not support quads and/or even just the current generation of dual core chips.

And contrary to what you think - many games today seriously benefit from a quad-core cpu.

 

[Idontcare]

^+1

And tell us what your vid-card is because upgrading that might be better than upgrading the CPU at this time if it turns out your GPU is the bottleneck moreso than the cpu.