Good Processors for LGA775 Socket?

[Ajay Shanmuga]

Hey Guys, I have a MSI MS7379 motherboard, which has an LGA775 socket. I'm currently running the Intel Core2Duo E4600(2.4GHz--overclocked to 2.7GHz). It has been working fine all these days.
I just thought of upgrading my processors, and I have no plan for changing my motherboard. I just googled and found that Core2Quad QX9770 Extreme is the best processor that my motherboard can have. But, I actually feel it is highly overpriced. At that price, I could afford to buy a new mobo and an i-series processor.
I just wanted to know are there any other good processors for my mobo, and also is it worth to upgrade or should I just get a new mobo? My requirements are that, I should be able to play some modern games(at least in the most most lowest settings), and should give me no lag, when I work with Music Production Softwares.
Any Suggestions?Thanks in Advance!

 

[Ecky]

If your motherboard takes 45nm quad cores (Q9xxx and Q8xxx), any Q9xxx or Q8xxx CPU would be a huge improvement. Even a Q6600 would be significantly better.

 

[TechyInAZ]

Don't get the extreme edition, they are overpriced even to this day.

I suggest the Q9550 or 9650 if possible.

 

[Wolfshadw]

If this is your motherboard, then the best processor for your motherboard is the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650.

Google seems to think the MSI MS7379 is the same as the MSI G31M motherboard.

-Wolf sends

 

[Ajay Shanmuga]

Hey Wolf, mine is exactly this MSI G31M

 

[Ivan96]

Don't buy Q9650 it's a waste of money go with Xeon E5450 it's cheaper,cooler and uses less power and actually gives better performance than Q9650 you can see that on passmark,also it's pretty good for overcloking but buy the one with E0 stepping

 

[Wolfshadw]

I would note that the Intel Xeon E5450 processor is a socket 771 processor and you would need to apply the S771 to S775 modification before being able to use that processor.

-Wolf sends

 

[Ajay Shanmuga]

Oops...I think I've hit a dead end! I just searched for q9650, q9550, and I find no new processors available for same. But I found some used ones. Can I go for them?

 

[DSzymborski]

Oops...I think I've hit a dead end! I just searched for q9650, q9550, and I find no new processors available for same. But I found some used ones. Can I go for them?

Realistically, most of the CPUs you find from this era are going to be made available from people's old PCs, so it's something you have to expect. Just aren't a lot of unused LGA775 boxes still in the pipeline.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Those processors were introduced eight years ago are have long since gone End Of Life. I'm fairly certain you won't find any processors for that socket that are still new for sale.

-Wolf sends

 

[Mightyena]

This, the 45nm Core 2 Quads are now around 8 years old. You're extremely unlikely to find one new for anything approaching a sensible price.

You should be fine to go with a used CPU though, CPUs tend to last for a long time, and unless the previous owner really abused it, it should have plenty of life left in it!

 

[Ajay Shanmuga]

I'm going with core2duo e8500. I found it quite better than mine. Someone comment on my decision please...

P.S.-The main reason which made me go for it was it is more affordable, and also that most of the core2quad cpus are out of stock;(

 

[Mightyena]

I would suggest that if you're upgrading, you go for one of the quad cores to really get the most out of both your money and that platform.

Yes, the E8500 will be a little faster than the E4600, but in my opinion it probably isn't worth upgrading to another dual core, unless you can find one really cheap.

 

[Ajay Shanmuga]

Actually I found that e8500 in a far better condition and 3.5 times cheaper than the q6600. Is it worth buying?

 

[Mightyena]

How much are the two options? The E8500 will be slightly faster than what you have now, but probably won't be all that noticable compared to the jump from a C2D to a quad core.