E7200 -> Q9550?

[murdoc]

Hello everyone. I've recently upgraded my gaming rig since it's been 4 years that my old rig was running. Let me give you a short break down of my new specs:

- E7200 Intel 2.53Ghz Dual Core C2D 3MB Cache
- 1 x 500 GB Hitachi 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
- 1x 640 GB Seagate 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (backup drive)
- 4GB (3.4 GB allocated) OCZ Reaper DDR2 PC-9600 1200Mhz
- XFX Alpha Dog 8800GT XXX edition (512MB memory)
- Cool Master 500W PSU

From what I see, the current price for Q9550 is too high at the moment and so I'm thinking of getting some performance boost from upgrading my E7200 to the Q9550 when prices drop. Do you guys think this is worth the upgrade? I usually game on TF2 and I'm planning on getting games like Bio Shock and I want the best possible frames while cranking up the graphics quality. I'm thinking of overclocking the Q9550 to at least 3.2 Ghz so I get some pretty nice speeds. What do you guys think?

 

[someguy7]

Just overlock the e7200. Its not worth it

 

[samuraiblade]

aye spend the money on a 4870 or 260gtx instead for better gains imo , and as said o/c the E7200 or go for an E8400 as there cheap and will reach 3.6ghz easily matching the quads in gaming.

also your running xp i guess with the memory allocation? , vista 64bit is worth having with dual core nowadays

 

[murdoc]

yeah except I don't know how many programs actually support 64bit... To me, 64bit is still a bit of a grey area.

Well if it's an upgrade to E8400.. I'm not sure if it's worth to trade it off cause I own a E7200 already.

As for the graphics card... I'm waiting for GTX260 to get a 55nm die first before thinking of buying it. That thing generates way too much heat.

 

[kamel5547]

Personally I would stick to a faster dual-core over a quad-core for most applications. You's have to take a look at what youa re running and figure out what if any benefit each application would see... still for gaming I think a faster dual core or video card will offer more gain. For what you specifically mentioned I'd just go with a video card as sanuuraiblade said.

 

[mossberg]

yeah except I don't know how many programs actually support 64bit... To me, 64bit is still a bit of a grey area.

Well if it's an upgrade to E8400.. I'm not sure if it's worth to trade it off cause I own a E7200 already.

As for the graphics card... I'm waiting for GTX260 to get a 55nm die first before thinking of buying it. That thing generates way too much heat.

Unless it something that is super old, Vista X64 should still be able to run it. It will run 32bit programs. E7200 is fine. You can get a 9800gx2 now for $285 on newegg.

 

[murdoc]

Unless it something that is super old, Vista X64 should still be able to run it. It will run 32bit programs. E7200 is fine. You can get a 9800gx2 now for $285 on newegg.

So you're saying that even if I'm on vista X64, I will still be able to install 32bit programs and run it? There's no need for it to be 64bit compatible before I can use it in a 64bit OS?

I'm getting a bit of a dilemma here.. 50% says yes... 50% says no =S

I have my E7200 Oced right now to 3.4 Ghz running stable so far (it's been about 9 hours so I have to keep testing). 3D Marks shows a 5% boost over the previous score. For the processor upgrade I can prolly wait till the price mark drops significantly (simiular to the Q6600 now) before I consider it. I've heard that Nvidia is releasing a DX10.1 compatible card just around the corner (around sept - oct 2008) so I'm sitting tight trying to hold myself back from buying the GTX260.

I'm worried that the next generation of the GTX260 equivalent level card would use more than 500 Watt psu as power recommendation since I'm running a 500W PSU only

 

[jimmysmitty]

Vista x64s problems were driver based not support based. Any x64 Windows can support 32bit programs. The only difference is that there are not as many fully 64bit programs as there are 32bit.

But from what I have heard 64bit driver support has picked up and makes it a viable tool.

 

[samuraiblade]

TF2 and stuff run fine on vista 64 , i still play battlefield 2142 etc , really old games can be an issue , but you can run quite a few in xp compatibility mode by right clicking on its executible and setting it to. since SP1 vista 64 has been great for me and i ditched my dual boot system , but thats the other option for you , run vista 64 on one harddrive or partition and xp on the other.

 

[Grimmy]

Just adding on.

The only real thing you need, 64bit wise, is 64bit drivers for your hardware, other then that it will act like 32bit.

It can get confusing when you see the driver as Vista, but you would need to remember to look for 64 not 32 Vista. :lol:. o O(ya.. I did that a couple of times)

 

[murdoc]

Thank you so much guys... I'm now considering Vista 64bit. I want to make use of every last drop of my 4 GB Ram! I doubt I will be playing super old games anymore but if old games mean Rise of Nation (The very first version) and games like CS1.6 and they're all supported then I will make the jump in no time