Upgrading.. what CPU?

dragotron · 02 Dec 2009

Hi, well i'm finding this site has the most knowledgable and helpful people in many factors so wanted to ask this here...

I have an ASUS P5NE-SLI and in it a Core 2 Duo CPU e7200 2.53 ghz... I want to be able to run Zbrush well. It runs well right now but what would you think I should upgrade my CPU to?

Here's my MB and list of supported CPUs... ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

Also, i'm runnin x64... should I upgrade my RAM from 4 gb to 8gb? Would all software benefit or only ones that are 64 bit?

thanks!

ignatzatsonic · 02 Dec 2009

My offhand opinion:

You will be disappointed by any change to any supported processor. It may make a noticeable difference, but probably less than you had anticipated.

Better idea: don't upgrade the processor until you can afford to upgrade the motherboard as well and then migrate to either i5 or i7.

pparks1 · 02 Dec 2009

I agree that I would not upgrade that until you can get to a corei5 or corei7.

As far as the RAM, you won't really notice much of a performance benefit from 4GB to 8GB...unless you are running apps which are really RAM intensive.

Orpheous · 02 Dec 2009

in the meantime, make sure ZBrush is configured for the best results with your system:
ZBrush Performance Tips -- Getting the Most from Your System

SlackerITGuy · 02 Dec 2009

ignatzatsonic said:

My offhand opinion:

You will be disappointed by any change to any supported processor. It may make a noticeable difference, but probably less than you had anticipated.

Better idea: don't upgrade the processor until you can afford to upgrade the motherboard as well and then migrate to either i5 or i7.

+1.

LGA775 has little to no upgrade path.

dragotron · 03 Dec 2009

Thanks for the tips all...could you guys recommend a motherboard CPU combo maybe? something that i might get in a couple months? something affordable but still good? that I could use with my current ram?

Orpheous.. do you know if I have hyperthreading or if I have to enable it?

ignatzatsonic · 03 Dec 2009

Look out:

Your current mobo uses DDR 2 ram. The mobos for i5 and i7 use DDR 3. Another reason not to buy more RAM for your current machine--you can't transfer ram from it to an i5 or i7.

General advice:

Good mobo brands: MSI, Gigabyte, Intel, Asus

Good brands for RAM: Crucial, Corsair, Kingston

Socket 1156 motherboards are noticeably cheaper than socket 1366 motherboards.

i5 are entirely 1156

i7 can be either 1156 or 1366

For processors:

900 series will be i7, socket 1366
800 series will be i7, socket 1156
700 series will be i5, socket 1156
600 series will be i5, socket 1156
500 series will be i3, socket 1156

best bang for the buck: 700s and 800s.

You don't need high priced memory unless you are going to overclock, which most people don't do.

I don't think the E7200 supports hyperthreading.

The 800 series has hyperthreading and turbo.

The 700 series has turbo, no hyperthreading

The 600 series has hyperthreading and turbo

The 500 series has hyperthreading, no turbo

I think the 900 series has both HT and turbo

The 700, 800, and 900 are quad core

The 500 and 600 are dual core.

Quad isn't necessarily better, depending on what you do.

Orpheous · 03 Dec 2009

dragotron said:

Thanks for the tips all...could you guys recommend a motherboard CPU combo maybe? something that i might get in a couple months? something affordable but still good? that I could use with my current ram?

Orpheous.. do you know if I have hyperthreading or if I have to enable it?

Hi dragotron, the e7200 unfortunately doesn't have hyperthreading enabled...

If I were in the market for a new mobo, cpu & ram, while keeping the costs down to a reasonable price I'd probably seriously look at something like a Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R ($150), Core i5 750 ($235) & Geil 4Gb DDR3 1600 CL7 ($155). These prices are current Australian pricing, and I've chosen them as bang for buck, it's about the best available here. I'd also choose this mobo/cpu combo as it has much room for upgrades (cpu/ram/pci-e). With this combo, you'd also need a pci-e graphics card, but something basic would do unless you're playing games...

dragotron · 03 Dec 2009

I think i'm going to take your advices and hold off on upgrading entirely for now.... and getting myself a new monitor. Since this one is craaaap. I'll be back. or just use the advice given if I upgrade sooner than later.

thanks!

Orpheous said:

dragotron said:

Thanks for the tips all...could you guys recommend a motherboard CPU combo maybe? something that i might get in a couple months? something affordable but still good? that I could use with my current ram?

Orpheous.. do you know if I have hyperthreading or if I have to enable it?

Hi dragotron, the e7200 unfortunately doesn't have hyperthreading enabled...

If I were in the market for a new mobo, cpu & ram, while keeping the costs down to a reasonable price I'd probably seriously look at something like a Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R ($150), Core i5 750 ($235) & Geil 4Gb DDR3 1600 CL7 ($155). These prices are current Australian pricing, and I've chosen them as bang for buck, it's about the best available here. I'd also choose this mobo/cpu combo as it has much room for upgrades (cpu/ram/pci-e). With this combo, you'd also need a pci-e graphics card, but something basic would do unless you're playing games...

Thanks i'll keep those in mind when i upgrade!

SlackerITGuy · 03 Dec 2009

For AMD:

Motherboards: AM3 only mobo's will only handle DDR3 memory, so you better start thinking about some AM2+ native boards (most of them will handle AM3 CPU's anyways).

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

Newegg.com - ASUS M4A785-M AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

Newegg.com - MSI 785GTM-E45 AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

CPU's:

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops (you could probably get this puppy up to ~3.8GHz if you wanted)

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Processors - Desktops

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops (~$100 Quad core, no L3 cache though)