Upgrade advice

[Darician]

Yeah, technically my current ASUS motherboard can run Core 2 Duos however, it can only run the first generation Conroes. It cannot run the Wolfdale CPUs and I can't find any new Conroes for sale. I've found used on eBay but I don't know about purchasing a used CPU and even then, the prices are a bit high for these CPUs such as the Core 2 Duo E6600.

 

[Darician]

MOBO:

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard

With DDR2

CPU:

AMD Athlon x4 635

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX635WFGMBOX

Under $200.

You really want me to jump to AMD don't you? Still though, this is a good value. I'll definitely have to think about it as a quad-core is always tempting.

 

[NTFS]

Links I posted - AM3 setup with DDR2.

 

[NTFS]

MOBO:

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard

With DDR2

CPU:

AMD Athlon x4 635

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX635WFGMBOX

Under $200.

You really want me to jump to AMD don't you? Still though, this is a good value. I'll definitely have to think about it as a quad-core is always tempting.

Can't help myself. It always Intel Intel Intel.

 

[win7clutz]

NTFS, this is a Windows 7 forum, not a Intel vs. AMD war zone... There's no reason why a simple request has to turn into pages of nonsense. We could all be better served to stay on topic which was an opinion of his upgrade choice, not a request for platform debate.

 

[NTFS]

NTFS, this is a Windows 7 forum, not a Intel vs. AMD war zone... There's no reason why a simple request has to turn into pages of nonsense. We could all be better served to stay on topic which was an opinion of his upgrade choice, not a request for platform debate.

Pages of nonsense? The OP has to make up his mind, and every PC has chosen a side whether AMD or Intel. I suggested AMD within his budget and on topic.

 

[Faladu]

OK, so why go E6600 (confirmed that ASUS P5DL2 will take it, but not higher Wolfsdale) AND buying a new motherboard?

Looks like you can get away with under $100 here with just CPU upgrade.

 

[Night Hawk]

Yeah, technically my current ASUS motherboard can run Core 2 Duos however, it can only run the first generation Conroes. It cannot run the Wolfdale CPUs and I can't find any new Conroes for sale. I've found used on eBay but I don't know about purchasing a used CPU and even then, the prices are a bit high for these CPUs such as the Core 2 Duo E6600.

I won't rush at any used cpu as a rule to start with. While the situation here is a bit different I was looking for a good deal on a new board to replace the one on the old build rather then a full upgrade of the case at this time and suggested the cpu upgrade as something to consider in order to put the rest in the bank for use later once you perform a full upgrade.

The Phenom II X4s are still priced as you would expect for any new cpu by AMD as found when putting the new build together here. The break in prices is mainly seen for the new line up of dual core model as far as AMD is concerned and not going to match the new I3s, I5s, or I7s now being seen.

A new cpu like a Core 2 would removed worry about the present cpu wearing out while waiting to get into a new build later. That would simply be refreshing that single item on the present board or possibly adding more ram for the 64bit concerns on the existing hardwares.

For a move to AMD that would be a consideration when planning a new build at that time not for a partial upgrade on the present Intel based platform you have now. That would be a major not minor step for that.

 

[Darician]

Yeah, I've thought about just making it a CPU upgrade but again, I am a bit weary of buying a used CPU online as you don't really know what you're getting.

As far as buying the new motherboard, the reason is again because only the Conroe Core 2 Duos are supported on my motherboard; unfortunately though, I really can't find them for sale new anywhere anymore and their prices are far too high for what they are compared to the Wolfdales.

 

[NTFS]

Yeah, I've thought about just making it a CPU upgrade but again, I am a bit weary of buying a used CPU online as you don't really know what you're getting.

As far as buying the new motherboard, the reason is again because only the Conroe Core 2 Duos are supported on my motherboard; unfortunately though, I really can't find them for sale new anywhere anymore and their prices are far too high for what they are compared to the Wolfdales.

So are you going AMD or Intel?

 

[Faladu]

Now I see what got me confused, I didn't realize there was a Conroe E6600 and a Wolfsdale E6600, *twaps Intel*.

OK So either new mobo that takes DDR2-667 and CPU.

or

Whatever CPU, Mobo and RAM can be had all 3 for $200 out the door max.

I think I'd wait till the budget was $300, it's just such better hardware with that jump, but I am still going to squeeze and see what's possible.

 

[Night Hawk]

So are you going AMD or Intel?

He's not planning an entirely new build and swapping over from Intel to AMD but looking for a partial upgrade on the present hardwares. I think this is where people are getting tripped up on here.

Unfortunately the best cpu upgrade isn't supported by the board while a less suited model may have to be selected just to perform the partial upgrade on the present board. You are in a kind of "catch 22" while attempting to spare the expense of a new build unfortunately.

I know that one here simply trying to replace a board with the exact same model but forced to look over others. You will likely find that with the fast pace of hardware turnovers you will end up heading in that direction anyways and may as well as simply plan out a new build to come while saving now for it.

 

[Faladu]

Well if $200 is the max, here's where you can wind up, though $210 would be nice.

AMD because it's cheaper, once you can really upgrade, this thing is spare fodder.

$14 more gets you into the Athlon II X3 Rana 440, $8 over that to the 445.

 

[NTFS]

Well if $200 is the max, here's where you can wind up, though $210 would be nice.

AMD because it's cheaper, once you can really upgrade, this thing is spare fodder.

I thought the OP had memory and in that case, a 770 chipset would be better than a 740, with cash saved toward an Athlon x4.

 

[Darician]

Wow, that's cheap I must say, even with the included DDR3. I've tried the Athlon II X2 250 though and it's kind of weak in my opinion. I don't expect the best on a budget but even then, kind of weak. But getting DDR3 already in is not bad though.

I found this though, I think it's pretty decent. Motherboard is ASRock P43D3 with a Core 2 Duo E7500.

Motherboard: Newegg.com - ASRock P43DE LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Newegg.com - Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor BX80571E7500

And yeah, I could stretch to $210.

 

[NTFS]

I have a 250 and its fine, as long as you do any encoding or heavy image editing or gaming.

 

[Faladu]

I'd try those other pieces with the X3 Rana 440/445 then.
BUT, that E7500 with that mobo is OK too! 8)
I only fear that 25% DOA rate of reviewers, though I bet 2/3 of those blew out the motherboard themselves with USER error.
Either way you'll be satisfied til next build.

That Foxconn mobo I picked has 0 1 eggs in 30 reviews, compare and contrast, and it's a $50 motherboard, shocking!

My original picks for my wife's PC, if I was going to just upgrade hers was $275, those 3 I think I originally posted, including the Rana X3-445, though $55 more gets the Phenom II X4 945 which has to be a huge leap for that $55, budget then is $330, but either way she'd be a winner for her needs.

RAM cost is just too high right now since if you up the speed the price difference is under $20?

 

[jchase520]

Whose looking for cheap, I am looking for balance, I spent hours looking at reviews and other sites reviews of hardware, that X3 445 is excellent for a typical user, not us 3d gaming addicted chuckleheads.

i7s supposedly are superior to the AMDs right now. i7s get rather confusing, 1156 i7s and 1366 i7s are not created equal, and how important is TDP to you, the techie babble never ends.

I am hoping to have my wife's PC survive long enough for the i7-950s to drop to $300ish range, where they aint atm, but that's just me.

I am totally biased toward which CPU is at the best price point when I am buying...

AMD just came out with there new core Sixes , you could get one of those

 

[Darician]

True. I've used ASRock before for customer builds as well as some PCs I've built for others and they've lasted for years with about the same failure rate in the reviews so it may indeed be user error or bad luck. I don't intend to overclock at all, maybe 5% at most so I'm not too worried.

In regard to going AMD or Intel, as tempting as a Quad-Core is, I would rather get a Core 2 Duo E7500. It seems that could really tide me over for a while or at least until my next upgrade, which would be a whole new machine.

 

[Night Hawk]

It depends on what you want to settle for a board manufacturer as far as make as well as the chipset you would favor. For AMD model cpus anything from 3ghz upward is more of a performer in general. That applies to dual, tri cored models as well as quads.

I know that one well from previously moving up from a 2.2ghz model into the last 3.1ghz dual core and now a 3.4ghz quad. Yet 7 still ran very well lately when tossing a temp install of the 32bit on a 2.0ghz single core Socket A build with only 1gb of memory there plus an old, older 128mb GeForce FX5200 vid card for a laugh!