The Core I5 and GFX Card

[Myros]

Hey guys

I have a question...

I have a Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz, and since I have a few bucks saved up, I've decided to upgrade to a Core i5, duo or quad... What would you guys recommend? Does an i5 Core2Duo make enough of a difference in performance to upgrade?

My second question, I've visited a hardware shop, told him I'm thinking about upgrading my desktop PC's processor.. He told me that I'll need to get rid of my RAM because the motherboards for the Core i5 processor use DDR3.. now, is that true?

Another thing he told me is that my current GFX card, XFX Nvidia 9600 GT (Green edition) would also not be compatible with new motherboard, and that I'll need to upgrade to the GT 2xx series..

In general, I tend to be really knowledgeable about such things, however, motherboards are seriously NOT my forte.. Whenever I googled the 9600 GT and i5 motherboard keywords, I didn't get any results that mentioned that the card are not compatible with the new processor's motherboards.. However, it never to asks a fellow human!

Thank you for your time!

 

[Darician]

Regarding the DDR3, that is actually a fact. You will need DDR3 RAM for the new i5 CPU as LGA 1156 chipsets require this. In regard to the Core i5 being a good upgrade, it would certainly be a great upgrade to a Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz. I recommend the Core i5 760 as it's a good quad-core performer. Any Core i5 6xx series is overpriced for what it actually is unless you're interested in the integrated graphics in the CPU.

As far as your current 9600 GT, if it's PCI Express, I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work on your new motherboard. It should be just fine. I've tried a 7950 GT (much older card) and it worked just fine so the 9600 GT shouldn't have any issues.

If you have any further questions, let us know.

 

[stormy13]

I've visited a hardware shop, told him I'm thinking about upgrading my desktop PC's processor.. He told me that I'll need to get rid of my RAM because the motherboards for the Core i5 processor use DDR3.. now, is that true?

Yes it is. The Core i5's are all socket 1156 and use DDR3, and pretty sure your old board is a socket 775 which even if it was one that uses DDR3 isn't compatible due to the socket change.

Another thing he told me is that my current GFX card, XFX Nvidia 9600 GT (Green edition) would also not be compatible with new motherboard, and that I'll need to upgrade to the GT 2xx series..

This part is pure BS. As long as the new motherboard has a PCI-E x16 slot on it, the card (or any PCI-E vid3eo card for that matter) will work.

 

[Myros]

Hey guys, thanks a lot for the very helpful replies!

So you guys think a Core i5 (Duo) wouldn't be such a great upgrade?

It's strange how some websites I visit state that even though the duo comes with hyper-threading, the quad core is still better (and some state that there actually isn't much of a difference, but that doesn't make much sense)

It's all so contradicting it has me confused! Then again, you can't trust all those damn blogs, some of them may be Intel employees using them as a promotional tool, for all I know >_>

 

[Fumz]

Going from a Core2 dual core to an i5 dual core would not be worth it; don't bother. However, going to a quad would be worth it.

As far as hyper threading goes, whether or not you'll see an advantage all depends on the software you run. Some software makes really good use of hyper threading, some does not. Games, for the most part, doesn't make good use of hyper threading, so if you plan on using this primarily as a gaming machine, go for the quad. Physical cpu > virtual cpu.

 

[Darician]

The i5 dual-core would definitely not be worth the price you'd pay for it. For that, I'd suggest getting an i3 dual-core as they also have HT and are more reasonably priced. If you get an i5, the quad-core is the better value. The only exception to this is if you intend to use the integrated graphics in the dual-core i5s, which in your case, I seriously doubt considering you have a 9600 GT.

 

[blackroseMD1]

I have to agree with everyone else. Making the switch from the dual core you have now to an i5 dual core would definitely not be worth the money you would have to spend. I would definitely go for the 750 or 760.

I'm running the 750, and it's a great processor with quite a bit of OCing ability, if you are into that kind of thing.

Also, as others have said about the video card, that's just BS. The guy is just trying to get you to spend money. It'll work on an 1156 Mobo.

 

[Myros]

Thanks a lot you guys!

Very enlightening and helpful stuff here

He's gonna call me today and let me know what are the prices for a Duo 3.2 / 3.4 (because these are the processors I wanted to buy, before I posted on this forum, that is) and a Quad 2.66

Hopefully he won't rip me off too badly >_> If I feel its WAAAY overpriced I'll check out some other shops to see just how much I can get it for