Upgrading my CPU?

[legendsx]

Hey everyone! Im looking for help on upgrading my cpu. Right now my specs are;

Cores 1
Threads 2
Name Intel Pentium 4 630
Code Name Prescott
Package Socket 775 LGA
Technology 90nm
Specification Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GH.

What is the best cpu on the market compatible with my mobo right now? thanks in advance!

 

[cmi86]

Hey everyone! Im looking for help on upgrading my cpu. Right now my specs are;

Cores 1
Threads 2
Name Intel Pentium 4 630
Code Name Prescott
Package Socket 775 LGA
Technology 90nm
Specification Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GH.

What is the best cpu on the market compatible with my mobo right now? thanks in advance!

That would depend on what motherboard you have ..

 

[legendsx]

Woops sorry about that lol. Here are my mobo specs aswell;

Manufacturer Intel Corporation
Model D915GRO (J2E1)
Version R4972565
Chipset Vendor Intel
Chipset Model i915P/i915G
Chipset Revision B1
Southbridge Vendor Intel
Southbridge Model 82801FB (ICH6)
Southbridge Revision 03

 

[cmi86]

Woops sorry about that lol. Here are my mobo specs aswell;

Manufacturer Intel Corporation
Model D915GRO (J2E1)
Version R4972565
Chipset Vendor Intel
Chipset Model i915P/i915G
Chipset Revision B1
Southbridge Vendor Intel
Southbridge Model 82801FB (ICH6)
Southbridge Revision 03

915 chipset limits you to the P4 family, sorry man.

 

[legendsx]

Ah okay, if I do upgrade the cpu will I notice a huge difference in performance, or would it be better to upgrade the mobo and cpu completely? Im kind of tight in budget atm till I get my financial aid.

 

[cmi86]

Ah okay, if I do upgrade the cpu will I notice a huge difference in performance, or would it be better to upgrade the mobo and cpu completely? Im kind of tight in budget atm till I get my financial aid.

The amount of different you would notice from your current P4 to even the best P4 ever made would be peanuts compared to the difference you would notice by upgrading to even the most basic modern dual core CPU. If you had to throw out a number how much $$ do you think you could scrape together ?

 

[legendsx]

200-250 id say? im just trying to meet diablo 3 specs at least.

 

[cmi86]

200-250 id say? im just trying to meet diablo 3 specs at least.

Oh man I can get you rocking 4 cores and 8 GB of ram on a good mother board for $250 !

 

[legendsx]

really?! that sounds great!

 

[cmi86]

really?! that sounds great!

What do you have now for a graphics card an power supply ?

 

[tree319]

What graphics card do you have? with a $200-250 budget you should be able to get a nice mobo and cpu, but a good graphics card will also make a world of difference.

Here's a solid mobo/cpu combo that they have over at newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.882884

The AMD Phenom II series will probably get the job done if you can find them, and make sure the socket with your CPU is the same socket that's on your mobo when buying them.

Here's an intel combo in your price range if you are partial to them:
CPU $125: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078
Mobo $70: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131724

Personally I like this intel combo because the i3 processor has surprising gaming performance. The ASUS board with it has a GPU boost feature, that boosts your graphics card, and mouse controlled bios so that it's more convenient for you.

I'd recommend some sort of graphics card though, you may want to look into a cheaper ~$50 mobo and under $100 cpu for these to fit into your budget:
$110: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150540
$55: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121471

Now, obviously the $110 Radeon 6770 will run much better, but if your budget is that tight, the $55 GT430 should do bare minimum and help out a bit.

I hope I helped you out a bit! Good luck in your search =)

 

[cmi86]

really?! that sounds great!

Tree mad some nice recommendations but first I need to make sure you have enough of a PSU to power it all.

 

[kelthic]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078 i3-2100
$124.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078 H61 Motherboard $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231396 4GB Ram Kit $22.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&Tpk=Corsair%20430w 430W PSU $44.99

That puts you at $247.96. When you can afford it, add:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948 for another 179.99.

This would give you a decent Diablo 3 setup.

 

[legendsx]

Right now I have a, 512MB GeForce 9800 GT (EVGA) for my graphics, and for my power supply.. ACPI 1.0 Compliant, Power Consumption : 305W (max.)? I grabbed the specs off the site sorry if its not detailed.

 

[kelthic]

Right now I have a, 512MB GeForce 9800 GT (EVGA) for my graphics, and for my power supply.. ACPI 1.0 Compliant, Power Consumption : 305W (max.)? I grabbed the specs off the site sorry if its not detailed.

Do you know if you have an OEM windows? replacing the motherboard would mean you need another copy of windows if that is the case.

 

[legendsx]

yes I do have an OEM windows disk laying around somewhere. I cant believe that this is all so affordable! I always thought id have to cash out 500$ for a gaming spec haha.

 

[kelthic]

yes I do have an OEM windows disk laying around somewhere. I cant believe that this is all so affordable! I always thought id have to cash out 500$ for a gaming spec haha.

The OEM disk is a problem. It is illegal to install this on a new motherboard, so you are going to need another copy of windows. Unfortunately, that's another $100 more than you said you could come up with. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

that puts you at about $350 before the graphics card. The 9800 you have could be reused until you could come up with enough for a better card though.

 

[cmi86]

Do you know if you have an OEM windows? replacing the motherboard would mean you need another copy of windows if that is the case.

Hey man that 9800 GT is good enough for now ( I still rock as GTS-250 as a back up lol ) 305 W is definitely low though. A new power supply is a requirement for sure.

 

[kelthic]

Hey man that 9800 GT is good enough for now ( I still rock as GTS-250 as a back up lol ) 305 W is definitely low though. A new power supply is a requirement for sure.

yea, i agree. that's why i put the new graphics card in my build as a purchase later on.

 

[legendsx]

Okay for now I am going to get,

cpu- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=1la7ec976q5ot

power supply- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&Tpk=Corsair%20430w&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=lvjo5a695zsb

mobo- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157241

does that all match up?

 

[kelthic]

That looks good. Only thing is your OEM windows will not work after this upgrade.

 

[cmi86]

That looks good. Only thing is your OEM windows will not work after this upgrade.

Man I just hate suggesting anyone to a 2100. Yeah it's a good gaming processor but it's pretty much useless at everything else and the market is moving away from dual cores. I like the 1115 platform but i would just rater see someone go straight for the quad instead of waste the $125.00 on the i3 and the want an i5 a couple months later. Save the money, but the i5 and be set.

 

[kelthic]

With a $250 budget, there's not much option though. Could go AMD and get an equivelant gaming quad core that performs better with the other, but that eliminates much of a gaming upgrade path.

That path would be http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157215 and the psu/ram kit i suggested above.

Here is a benchmark http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/102?vs=289, and the AMD is generally better at non-gaming, while the i3 is generally better with gaming, but the price difference between the two sets is pretty negligible.

 

[cmi86]

With a $250 budget, there's not much option though. Could go AMD and get an equivelant gaming quad core that performs better with the other, but that eliminates much of a gaming upgrade path.

That path would be http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157215 and the psu/ram kit i suggested above.

Here is a benchmark http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/102?vs=289, and the AMD is generally better at non-gaming, while the i3 is generally better with gaming, but the price difference between the two sets is pretty negligible.

You really hit the nail on the head. It's either fast now and hope it stays that way (AMD) or so so now but upgrade your CPU a couple months down the road for a $125.00 loss and know it will be fast, it's really a hard suggestion..

 

[kelthic]

agreed, that's really tough.