E5300 versus E8500

[clay1987]

Is it worth to replace my Pentium E5300 with a used E8500 I can get for $50. See performance comparison in the link below.

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/385/Intel_Core_2_Duo_E8500_vs_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_E5300.html


I have a Dell Inspiron 530 built in February 2009 with 3GB (DDR2) RAM and integrated graphics. Vista 32-bit. 300 W power supply.

As an aside, I am about to purchase an HD7750 graphics card (though have also looked at cheaper HD6670 GDDR5 or DDR3 versions).

 

[WR2]

Hello clay1987;

@ $50 it's probably worth it.
(even more so if you can manage to sell the E5300).

What prices are you seeing for the Radeon HD 6790 in your area?

 

[WR2]

THG article: Best Graphics Cards For The Money: May 2012


Also;
Gaming CPU Hierarchy Chart
THG suggests a 3 tier upward move is a worthwhile upgrade.
E5300 -> E8500 meets that criteria.

 

[clay1987]

THG article: Best Graphics Cards For The Money: May 2012


Also;
Gaming CPU Hierarchy Chart
THG suggests a 3 tier upward move is a worthwhile upgrade.
E5300 -> E8500 meets that criteria.

Thanks. The bid on E-Bay for the E8500 went to $50+.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-2-Duo-E8500-3-16GHz-Processor-CPU-1333MHz-6MB-SLB9K-Socket-775-/120928999056?pt=CPUs&hash=item1c27ee1690#ht_1501wt_1396


I notice other E8500's on Ebay less than $100.

 

[WR2]

Here are some listing on a non-auction sites.
http://www.pricewatch.com/gallery/cpu/core_2_duo_e8500

 

[clay1987]

Hello clay1987;

@ $50 it's probably worth it.
(even more so if you can manage to sell the E5300).

What prices are you seeing for the Radeon HD 6790 in your area?

I am not sure about pricing on the 6970 but I excluded it because of power requirements.

 

[clay1987]

Best answer selected by clay1987.

 

[clay1987]

Here are some listing on a non-auction sites.
http://www.pricewatch.com/gallery/cpu/core_2_duo_e8500

Thanks. I see one for $109. I might get it. Or I may limp along with the E5300 (and install say a cheap $55 after rebate 6670 DDR3) for another year or so, and save the $109 for a new system.

The computer (with integrated graphics) is used by my 12-yr old son at his Mom's house, and I was looking for something quick and easy to go with a discrete graphics card, so that he could do at least mild/medium gaming, until I get him a new system in a year or so.

But then when I get into it, it is hard to resist adding even more to his existing system, if the upgrade is relatively cheap and has a good performance boost per $ ratio.

 

[WR2]

I was thinking about the same thing about using a HD 6790 (not 6970) in place of the 6670.

You might want to try the GPU upgrade first.
You'd get decent gaming results with the E5300 & dedicated GPU.

 

[clay1987]

I was thinking about the same thing about using a HD 6790 (not 6970) in place of the 6670.

You might want to try the GPU upgrade first.
You'd get decent gaming results with the E5300 & dedicated GPU.

Agree. Thanks. It has helped to chat. I am sure it will be decent gaming results, especially with more forgiving games like Minecraft, Diablo 3, Portal 1, Sims 3, TF2, Amnesia, that he will initially play (he has a game console for stuff like BF3 and Skyrim, etc.) A dedicated card big improvement over the integrated graphics. I am going to stick with the E5300 for now and see how it goes with the new GPU, and it will likely be fine.

As for the GPU, I may flip a coin to decide between a 6670 DDR3 ($55 after rebate) that I would leave in the existing system (or could crossfire in new system?), versus a 7750 ($100 after rebate) that I may carry over to the new system in a year or so.