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View Full Version : I'd like a new C.P.U.



HiLift
01-16-2008, 10:49 AM
Recommendations please!
I'd like to upgrade within my budget of $125.
Computer usage will ultimately be for Home Theatre, very limited gaming.
Will I need a new Bios as well?

Current motherboard:
ECS 945GCT-M3 (V3.0)
<table style="width: 524px; height: 76px;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td class="TXT_BLOD" valign="top" width="19%">
</td> <td valign="top" width="78%"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="400"><tbody><tr><td valign="top">http://www.ecsusa.com/ECSWebSite/images/ECS_buttom_03.gif </td><td style="height: 19px;" valign="middle" width="98%">LGA775 socket for latest Intel Core 2 Duo / Pentium D / Pentium 4 / Celeron D processor</td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="400"><tbody><tr><td valign="top">http://www.ecsusa.com/ECSWebSite/images/ECS_buttom_03.gif </td><td style="height: 19px;" valign="middle" width="98%">FSB 1066/800/533 MHz</td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="400"><tbody><tr><td valign="top">http://www.ecsusa.com/ECSWebSite/images/ECS_buttom_03.gif </td><td style="height: 19px;" valign="middle" width="98%">Support Hyper-Threading Technology


</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Current CPU:
Intel Celeron D 360
3.46Ghz, 512Kb L2 cache
533Mhz FSB

flabum1017
02-05-2008, 10:11 PM
How much memory do you have now? More memory will give you the most bang for the buck.

Slider
02-05-2008, 11:22 PM
I'm not sure what you can do with that budget. The Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 would be my suggestion at $190. I had to upgrade my bios to support a 64-bit OS, but wouldn't do it unless you have to.

Here are your options:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2+50001157+40000343+1051707842+1050722265&name=Core+2+Duo

Again, it also depends on what kind and how much memory you currently have. Also, are you looking to upgrade to Vista? Wouldn't do it without at least 2GB of memory. If you don't know, download and run CPU-Z (http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php) and post the screenshots.

HiLift
02-06-2008, 08:05 AM
Thanks for the reply guys!
I'm maxxed out on my ram with 2 gig DDR2 @ 533Mhz.

My motherboard will not support processors with a FSB of 1333Mhz so it looks like the E6750 is out of the question.
Should I look to max out my motherboard FSB capabilities with a processor that will run @ 1066Mhz? I guess I'll have to upgrade my ram too with matching frequencies (1066Mhz)?

Again, thanks.

flabum1017
02-06-2008, 05:21 PM
You said you want to set this up for home entertainment. The setup you have now has plenty od cPU and RAM, but you will not be able to find a hi-def video card for that board. All hi-def cards are PCI-Express which requires a newer motherboard set-up. You can get decent movie playback using the setup you have by getting a good video card that had s-video out or rgb out. That coupled with a surround sound audio card and you are good to go, but without hi-def.

HiLift
02-06-2008, 05:43 PM
Well this motherboard has got exactly one PCI-E slot available to me!!
I was thinking of filling it with just what you said and adding a decent audio card later too.
I replaced Vista as soon as I got the machine up and running with XP Pro as I use XP at work and didn't want to re-learn another OS.

This little machine does alright if I just give it a couple of light tasks to do but seems to bog down when I try to push it to do more. That's why I want to go with an affordable core 2 duo that's a good bang for the buck. The machine's about two months old by the way.

flabum1017
02-06-2008, 10:59 PM
Sorry, I guess I looked up the wrong MB. Even so, with that much Ram and CPU, you should not be bogging down. Something is eating up your resources. With a healty machine with that much power, you should be able to multitask easily not to mention run a movie or music with litlle or no slow-down.

I am running an Intel 4 3.0gig, 4 gigs of DDR on a MSI 965Pe board and a ATI dual head vid card running 256 megs of ram and I can watch a movie, run IE, play online games and check e-mail all at the same time witout lag. In fact, I'm doing it now. I have three 500 gig hard drives (two are loaded with movies).


Check to see what is hogging your resources.

HiLift
02-07-2008, 06:47 AM
I appreciate your help!
We had a good snow-fall last night and my driveway is filled to the tops of the tires on my car so I'm officially calling a snow day! I'll have plenty of time between shovelling sessions to check for TSR's.

I thought a day off of work would've been a hellava lot more fun though!:D