Intel Pentium D worth anything?

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urbanium

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Hi,

A friend asked me to help him buy & install a new graphic card for his rig. However, after looking at the specs of the computer as a whole, I'm starting to wonder if it's even worth upgrading anything in there.

Mostly, my doubts come from his CPU which is a Intel Pentium D 820.

The mobo is a Asus with 775 socket and integrated graphic card (ASUS P5KPL-AM IN/ROEM/SI) which he planned to disable in favor of a standalone one. There was also plans to buy more RAM.

So, should he keep his money to buy a new CPU+gfx card+RAM (and possibly mobo) or is the Pentium D 820 good enough to keep up with a decent graphic card?

Cheers.
 
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marcellis22

marcellis22

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Check the ASUS site for BIOS upgrades and see what that may allow in upgrading the CPU... Depending on what your friend is wanting to play, check the Tom's monthly video card recommendations for something in the $100 range, you shouldn't need to upgrade the power supply, something you'd have to upgrade with a rebuild. If the machine has 2gb of memory, you can leave that alone, four would be nice, but leave that until last...
 
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jj463rd

jj463rd

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I remember a review of the Sempron Sargas 140 in which they recommended a graphics card no higher than a Radeon HD 4670 (if at stock speeds and the extra core wasn't unlocked).The Pentium D 820 is just a little below that Sargas 140 in the passmark bench so it looks as if something comparable to the Radeon HD 4670 or the HD 4650 would be adequate otherwise it could be bottlenecked.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Intel+Pentium+D+2.80GHz

You could find a similar Nvidia graphics card comparible to the HD 4650 or the HD 4670 here.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-recommendation-upgrade,2803-7.html

Edit- Here is a review of the Pentium D 820 banchmarked in games

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/pentiumd-820_10.html#sect0

rather poor in games even compared to old Athlon 64 3200+'s and 3500+'s

So I'll have to reassess this now and conclude that a $50 HD 4650 graphics card would be the better match for it and the HD 4670 would be overkill and probably be bottlenecked.It seems as if if the Pentium D 820 did much better in other areas but would have it's ass kicked by a Sempron Sargas 140 in gaming.The passmark bench didn't show this.


Yes, overall it looks as if it would be better for your friend to save his money towards a much better CPU+ motherboard and graphics card.
By much better it could even be a $50 CPU and a $40 motherboard.
However perhaps a $50 graphics card might make a nice upgrade during the mean time.
 
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hogan773

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I am typing this on a Pentium D 820 right now, and while I am looking to get a SB upgrade, this computer has served me well for the past 5 years. I can do some video transcoding just fine, and of course it surfs the web with ease! I'm not a gamer so that is why I haven't been forced to upgrade over past 5 years.
 
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urbanium

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Thanks all for the replies.

Yes, he does want to use the system for gaming. Probably not high end gaming but definitely not stricly for web browsing.

Thank you jj463rd for the graphic card suggestion. This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for (namely which card would be optimal before being bottlenecked by other components). That would be the first and cheapest option but wouldn't have a very long life span.

I know he is on a rather tight budget so a second option that comes to mind would be to keep the mobo and update for a better socket 775 CPU; a core 2 duo or quad. In addition to that a decent graphic card like HD 5670 and some more RAM would probably give him lots more performance for rather little money.

I think the most sensible option here seems to be to invest into a new system and get rid of that CPU. In the end the decision will be his but at least now I feel we've carefully weighted the possible options.

Thanks again for the valuable input guys!
 
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Reynod

Reynod

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Look at getting an E5300 and overclocking it which is dead easy.

cheap, powerful, and gives you a big boost in gaming performance.

A quad is a bit of a waste unless you can get one very cheap ... money is better spent on graphics as jsc suggests.

Good luck !!
 
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king smp

king smp

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Funny my Pentium D 945 3.4ghz/stock setting HD 4650 1gb runs BioShock 2 at highest settings 1920x1080 perfectly.
Also with Dvd Flick I get between 80-100 fps encoding and finish in an hour while running my older workstation from a remote desktop.
Now with that said of course I want to upgrade to the C2Q or C2D at a reasonable price.
If he doesnt have alot of money then upgrade CPU with C2D or C2Q used from Ebay with a decent DOA policy.
Remember with Sandy Bridge/Bulldozer coming out older C2D/Q will be selling cheaper and cheaper on Ebay because of people upgrading.
Go for a 5550 ($65 USD) or 5670 (80 USD).
More ram would be nice but not necessary.
He can spend around 150 USD and be seriously upgraded.
Then wait for sandy bridge/bulldozer and next year at this time start looking for CPU/MOBO etc
 
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urbanium

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So I've been trying to find the most profitable combo for his gaming needs on a very tight budget. Came up with 2 patterns:

Combo 1: Intel Pentium Dual core E5500 + HD 5750 (or GTS 250...) + 1 GB RAM
Combo 2: Intel Pentuim DUal core E6700 + HD 5570 (or GT 240...) + 2GB RAM

I'm thinking better graphic card is the way to go but also want to make sure he's not bottlenecked by the slow processor and lack of RAM...(2 GB DDR2)

Oh, and is a basic 400W PSU enough for any of the choices above?

Thanks again :)
 
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hitec16

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400W PSU will not be able to powerup a GTS250. i dont think GTS250 will be bottle necked by a E5500. Iu cannot get a better PSU then get a HD 5670 i think it doesnt require any external power connector. at what resolution do you want to game ?
 
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urbanium

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Around 250 USD

To hitec16: not sure what resolution exactly, but the screen he has isn't massive (around 19"). Thank you for the PSU advice...
 
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hell_storm2004

hell_storm2004

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A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB).
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300/Q8400.
SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W.

I think this is the best i can do. As per newegg this comes to something around $270 to $290 depending upon the processor. Check if you can get some combo discounts which may help.

Although a complete revamp is advised.



 
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urbanium

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No graphic card? He's got an integrated graphic card on his motherboard atm....logically that would be the first thing to change.

Quad core might be a bit too costy if we want to fit in a GPU so I'm now aiming at E6700+new PSU+decent GPU (maybe HD 5750) and 2GB of RAM (he already has 1GB and only 2 RAM slots) for a total of 3GB. I think that'll bust his budget a bit but I don't see a way around that if he wants to do some gaming on his rig.
 
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hell_storm2004

hell_storm2004

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I did not know that he need a GPU in that budget. It is tough to fit all that in $250 budget. Let see... It would be better if he did the step by step upgrade. HD5750 isn't much of a card even for a 19 inch monitor. I would say get a good card and a decent PSU now. Save some money and a then get a new CPU+Mobo+RAM combo later. Or the other way round for that matter. That is... only if he is willing to spend further on the PC in the future.

PC maintenance is an expensive hobby! :(
 
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ionut19

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I made something for you but you will have to help your friend a little :

Video card sapphire vapor-x 5750 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102865

PSU seasonic 430W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151074

G.Skill 2x1Gb of RAM at 800Mhz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098

CPU Intel pentium E5500 at 2.8Ghz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116367

Grand Total:* $284.96

The PSU will be able to handle more then the components i posted above. It is bronze 80%+ efficiency. The video card should stay cool. The RAM is at 800Mhz, if the speed of the 1Gb stick that is inside your friend's PC is at a lower speed please post and i can adapt the components. The CPU is not the strongest or the fastest but should speed things up a little. The older CPU he can sell.

EDIT: on second thought i would not buy any new CPU. Buy the rest now and in 1-2 months buy a core 2 duo CPU or a cheap quad. And that should be the final investment in that PC.
In that case the upgrade should lock like this:

Video card EVGA GTS450 superclocked: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130573

PSU Corsair 550w: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

RAM 2x1Gb: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098

Grand Total:* $259.97

If you want you can buy this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121393 to fit your 250$ limit.
 
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hitec16

hitec16

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ppl are upgrading to i3 i5 and will upgrade to new sandy bdrige proccy aswell so try if u can find second hand core 2quad proccy otherwise u can easily get C2D proccy.
i wud go for 2nd hand products if u want a decent gaming rig in that budget ;)
Otherwise try step by step upgrading :)
 
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ionut19

ionut19

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True, a second hand LGA 775 socket CPU would be the best solution from a financially point of view. As he is trying to get rid of that pentium D many are doing the same with core 2 duo or core 2 quads and buying new i CPU's.
 
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jj463rd

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Worth anything? Not a chance. Makes a nice paperweight tho
Click to expand...

You would be surprised.Back in 2000 I purchased Pentium 1 systems at thrift stores for $10 and resold them for around $100 for good pocket change so I could buy a 1 Ghz Athlon system for myself around the the end of the year 2000.

Online I see people asking for $200 for an antiquated 2006 era budget emachines PC at craigslist etc.
Probably only worth perhaps $30-$50 at best.
 
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hitec16

hitec16

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i have pentium D 820 aswell and believe me its not upto the mark for latest games :( even with a GPU like GTS 250 or something (bottleneck)
i m also upgrading to i5 760 and GTX 460 1GB next week :)
get a second hand quad 6600 they r like all over the place and u will be happy for a while :) u can get it around 67$USD and it wont bottle neck ur GTS 450
 
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urbanium

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Thanks a lot for the time you took to come up with that suggestion. I also agree with the fact spending money in an aging CPU generation isn't the most clever idea. Considering he's a student and doesn't foresee any noticeable money income in a near future I wanted to build him something that would work now but I change my mind after reading what almost everyone here seems to agree on. A new PSU and graphic card combo will still be a step up over his integrated graphic card.(even if seriously bottlenecked for the time being) I actually have the ENGTS450 and that exact corsair PSU myself and totally agree with the suggestion...The mobo+cpu+ram can wait a bit...his mobo can handle 775 quad cores and price will probably go down even more;)
 
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