BleepingComputer.com: CPU upgrade

I was planning to upgrade my CPU to an Intel Core 2 of some sort and adding 2 GB more RAM.

Socket 775
Current CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E5400 @ 2.70GHz Total
Current RAM: 2 GB DDR2
Current Graphics: GeForce GTS 450
Will get Windows 7, currently on XP Home Premium SP3

I was hoping to not spend more than $150 on the CPU, but I will spend more if it's worth it. I was wondering mainly what kind of performance difference I would get by spending more, say if I got a $330 Quad @ 3GHz instead of a $130 Dual-core @ 3 GHz. For the $200 extra I would spend on a quadcore, I could get two 4 GB RAM sticks. Also, for about $140 I should get a 3GHz dual core or a 2.5GHz quad core. What would be the most cost effective solution?

EDIT: My immediate motive is to be able to play Crysis 2, which needs a Core 2 processor.

This post has been edited by fish0: 28 April 2011 - 08:10 PM

This will get the specs of your computer.
Publish a Snapshot using Speccy

If $400 is your ceiling, then you are pretty much limited to a good video card, and maybe a processor upgrade. I am not a big fan of sinking money into a system that has no future, and anything socket 775 falls into that category.

If it was me, I would first see how much headroom I have on that CPU. I have a lowly E5200 at 3.0 ghz on the wife's system, at stock voltage and cooling, and it runs like a top. I did have it to ~3.3, but really didn't see much improvement, and it tended to get a bit warm with stock cooling. Better safe than sorry, especially on a system that isn't mine. No reason that E5400 cannot get close to 3.2ghz without a sweat.

After that, I would put my money into a good video card, something that could be carried forward to my next build. I would be tempted to up my budget to around the $200 mark for a GTX560. I looked on the Egg, and they were close to the $200 mark after rebate.

With a CPU running at 3+ghz, and a new video card, you should be good to go on most new games. Some games are CPU crushers, flight sims, WOW, and GTA4 etc. If you can get a quadcore cheap, that's one thing, but spending money on a new CPU that is EOL just doesn't make sense. If the CPU is really limiting you, it is time to save up the cash, and build a Socket 1155 system, or see what AMD has to offer in the next couple months. I just quickly put together prices on a 2500K/P67/4gig mem and it came out to just under $400.

This post has been edited by dpunisher: 28 April 2011 - 09:55 AM

My immediate motive for this upgrade is that I need a Core 2 CPU to play Crysis 2... Sorry I didn't mention that. From what I've read, the game isn't as GPU-intensive as I would expect, and people say they still get excellent framerate in high detail with GPUs like my GTS 450, but Core 2 CPU is still a minimum requirement. I may build a new computer in the $700-1500 range in a few months, but I will still use my current computer alot and want it to be able play games like Crysis 2 well on LAN multiplayer.

This post has been edited by fish0: 28 April 2011 - 08:10 PM

I don't quite know what you are trying to say. Crysis 2 runs decently on an E5400, even better overclocked. I stand by my post, overclock now, get a good video card, save for a future CPU/motherboard/memory upgrade.

Oh wow, I didn't think it could even run without a core 2. I had the Crysis 2 demo (haven't bought the game yet) and it crashed on the menu after the cutscene. I thought it was because of my CPU, as the minimum reqs said you need a core 2.
I'll just save my money to build a 1156 system later.

Thanks for your help.

You might want to save up on building a 1155 not a 1156 because 1156 is phased out and 1155 is cheaper to purchase.

Oh ya, of course.