Pentium compatability

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blazorthon

Glorious
Sep 24, 2010
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I want to know if older socket 775 Pentium processors are compatible with current motherboards. what I would like to do is grab say a Pentium D 950 (3.4GHz 800MHz FSB 2x2MB L2) CPU and put it into a current Pentium dual core motherboard.

I'm pretty sure the memory interface is on the northbridge and not the CPU so I would expect this processor to work with DDR3 memory.

hypothetical setup:
Biostar G41D3C Intel G41 Socket 775 mATX
Pentium D 950
4 GB DDR3 1333 (dual channel)
AMD Radeon 6450
decent power supply
SATA 300 160GB HDD

I know this motherboard supports my FSB (aong with many others), my socket, and I think it supports my TDP so I can't find anything wrong just from the specs for compatibility.
 
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Newegg only sells more expensive new items and I'm not to worried about a used one from geeks.com or amazon but ebay is a no go most of the time. If something goes wrong on Ebay I lose money but if something goes wrong on Amazon I can get a full refund including original and return shipping almost effortlessly.

I really don't want to spend more than $45 and I refuse to spend more than $55 on a cheapy cpu for a short term computer that will almost certainly be replaced in 2 years and only used for light stuff. there may be deals on the E6500 but I don't think any good enough deals will pop up for the E6600. I'll still keep looking though.

On another note can you tell me the performance of the Pentium extreme edition 965 versus the E6500 and E6600? I saw a $50 deal on it once and was curious about it. I know its got two hyper threaded cores at 3.73GHz,2x2 MB L2 cache, FSB, and can be overclocked great but not much else. it it stacks up well beyond the E6500 and pops up cheap again I might prefer it if possible with a DDR3 MOBO.
 
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http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/93?vs=94

that shows a Pentium EE 955 vs a Pentium Dual Core E6300

about the closest I can find
while the 955 is 3.46
the E6300 is also a little slower than the E6500
so it is a decent comparison

the E6300 slaughters the Pentium 955

with that said
I had a Pentium D 945 3.4 and while it wont set the world on fire
it is perfectly fine for browsing,encoding,dvd/cd ripping,photo editing,gaming etc
as long as it light duty stuff
for example you could play games that are a little bit older
Far Cry 2 and BioShock 2 depending on you video card
you can rip a DVD in about a 30-45 minutes

as you said you will only be using it for light stuff
the Pentium D would be fine
but any Core2Duo or Pentium Dual Core will shred it
my old E4300 Core2Duo 1.8ghz would easily beat my Pentium D 945

the Pentium E6600 is $75 with free shipping
so for an extra $20 it would blow away any Pentium D EE

really if you want the system for two more years or so
the twenty dollars would be worth it IMHO
 
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the Pentium EE 965 is much faster than the 955 so I think it could be pretty close to the E6500. I'm also willing to bet it can overclock immensely and with its 4 threads versus the E6500's two it may even surpass it if its clocked beyond 4.4GHz. I bet a cooler I've got could handle such speeds as well. (I think it has an 18 or 20 cm fan that goes strait out of the case).

I must admit this would be easier if I just went with the E6500 or E6600 though. I just want to use ddr3 because it is faster at a lower price.

*edit*
After looking at the comparison of the Pentium EE 955 and the Pentium E6300 I notice how the 955 won in about half of the given tests. It only lost in graphics and a few benchmarks. Ill say that the EE 965 would have done much better than the 955 did.
 
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look at the benches again
the P 955 didnt win ANY
you got to look under the description of test
some tests higher is better
other tests lower is better
read them carefully
look here
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/midlow_range_cpus.html
if you look a Core2Duo at 1.86ghz tops the lowend cpu list
also Pentium D EE ran extremely HOT
not good for overclocking

dont get me wrong it will be fine for light duty use
but you can get a COre2Duo E2xxx or E4xxx series for under $50 used
which will beat it even at under 2ghz
much less if you overclock the Core2Duo

really think about Ebay
I have bought many items with no problems on Ebay
I bought a E4500 2.2 C2D for $51 with shipping
and a Western Digital Velociraptor 10k 160gb hard drive $53 with shipping
plus many other items
just use top rated sellers with many transactions
and use Buy It Now
you could get this for under $50
http://cgi.ebay.com/Intel-Core-2-Duo-2-4GHz-E4600-SLA94-Processor-/110706260598?pt=CPUs&hash=item19c69b7a76
that is a C2D E4600
would destroy any Pentium D Extreme Edition

true enough you are taking a chance
but it is worth it IMHO
 
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that is the problem
I was going to say that not all LGA 775 will support all of the C2Ds
really if it is just a light duty computer
the Pentium D is fine
actually for a browser computer,social site and email checker
a high end Pentium 4 with HyperThreading can actually handle that

watch out on Toms
alot of members will tell you that you need a Quad Core to check email LOL
 
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might want to look at this for a cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103933&cm_re=regor-_-19-103-933-_-Product
faster than a Pentium D
only $45 with free shipping
and here is a page of am3 boards for under $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000022%204025&IsNodeId=1&Description=am3&name=%2425%20-%20%2450&Order=BESTMATCH

for under a $100 it would be a good build
much better upgrade path than LGA775
I have a LGA775 and the upgrade path sucks
LGA775 is dead
 
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I was exaggerating a little :)
but I have really seen members say a Core2Duo was only good for browsing
 
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I played World of Warcraft for years on a Pentium 4 630. that is a single core 3.0 GHz with 2MB L2. That thing ran HOT. the cooler I mentioned having earlier actually kept it under 120 degrees F only because it is huge even by today's quad and six core cooler's standards. I must agree that, after careful consideration, an am3 or even an am3+ build may be the best possible route. This machine is only intended to last around 2 years (as stated earlier) but it needs to play at least entry level gaming.

I figure a radeon hd 6450 can do this if my ancient crap Radeon whatever (32MB ddr) could play WoW well.
 
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I just found a Phenom II x2 545 going for $20 + $8 shipping. It is an auction but it has been unlocked to quad core. If I can get a quad for $28 I think I should jump at it. the seller has 100% positive feedback so I would hope he is trustworthy. If it doesn't go beyond $50 with shipping I'll try for it at least. I know I don't need a quad or six core CPU but if I can get one so cheap I might as well enjoy it right?

Does this sound too good to be true?
 
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Would the fact that the phenom has 4 cores (with an unlocking motherboard) and the L3 cache? I know L3 is slower than L2 but with four cores, the L3, and a fair amount of L2 the phenom SHOULD be faster. Its also for a lower price (suggesting it stays lower).

I think I'll go with the Radeon HD 5550 as you suggest.
 
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unlocking cores is not a definite thing
and can cause your computer to be unstable
also unlocking mobos that are decent cost more

if you want to give it a try
go for it
but be warned there are alot of people on Toms
complaining that their unlock went bad
 
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I'll just go with an Athlon II or Phenom II dual core... no unlocking if it's so unreliable.

I'm also thinking of grabbing a 790GX or 890GX board for the integrated graphics instead of a discrete card. I figure it will be enough since I have lived with crappy graphics like the Radeon express 200 integrated or Radeon x300.

LOL now that I think about it my best graphics ever is an integrated Radeon HD 1270 in my laptop...
 
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might want to think about this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130293R
it is an open box but a nice deal and there is a return polich
gives you HD 4250 onboard graphics which is way better than your used to
it is a HD 4xxx ati series graphics
also has 8 channel sound
also has core unlocking (it can be done-people have had it work)
good overclocker
4 ram slots
solid chipset
uses DDR3
only $68 with the shipping included
if you like it
buy quick because open boxes disappear fast
also it is MSI
MSI is great because of solid caps and military grade parts like chokes
just a thought
then later you can add GPU
also will support many CPUs
this way you dont have to worry about changing systems in a year or two
with the regor chip I linked you
and that board
you are looking at a little over a $100
and it can last you a long time
just would do a CPU upgrade later
and a GPU later
why spend 80-90 now and have to change later
when you can spend about a 100
and have a system that can last awhile
 
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lol by the time I read your reply it was gone.. thanks anyway.
I have found an integrated video am3 socket... but it is the older 790GX chipset. I believe with a radeon hd 3300 integrated. It should be enough but is a little older than I was hoping for. it is about $55, should I go for it?
 
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