Quick question on CPU's

Bomber6

I currently have two pc's that need updating, my one (a minor update) and the "family" Packard Bell iMedia one (Big time work here)

Quick Specs:
My Rig:
Phenom II X4 940 (Not currently overclocked)
4 GB DDR2 OCZ Reapers (PC2-6400 or 800MHz)
Gigabyte GA-MA790-UD3 (I think) mobo
[My GTX 260 and case/psu/hard drives will be staying)

"Family PC":
Pentium D (Unknown specs, will check tomorrow)
1GB DDR2
Some unknown mobo
The 160GB hard drive and nVidia 6200LE will do I guess (for aero?)

Generally I upgrade my PC every year to stop things getting stale (i.e. I'm stuck with DDR2 at moment). I'm considering throwing my stuff into the family pc but I'm looking for a decent chip and mobo to replace it.
I was considering the Core i5-750 or the PII x6 1055t (this isn't black edition though). Both seem decent but do either warrant an upgrade. I would like to get rid of DDR2 asap too but not if we're talking 5% increase for 300e or so.
Board choice would follow after processor.

Btw, as for whatever I rip out of the packard bell, I always wanted a HTPC :P

Solitaire

Even if the hexacore isn't a BE model you can still OC it the "old-fashioned" way by boosting mobo bus speed and dropping memory divider and HyperTransport multiplier to maintain stability.

IMHO the i5-750 is a tad better for games and the X6 is better for everything else and may still be a tad cheaper to boot (mostly as AM3 mobos are still cheaper than LGA1156). Both have solid futureproofing as they both OC well, the i5 OCs higher and has greater processing power per clock cycle but the X6 is a native hexacore (none of that hit-or-miss HyperThreading malarkey, which the i5 lacks anyway). So its a pretty tough choice IMHO

uberpixie

Bomber6 wrote: »

I currently have two pc's that need updating, my one (a minor update) and the "family" Packard Bell iMedia one (Big time work here)

ah no they don't....:pac:

MAIN RIG:
Your main rig will see no great increase in games or day to day tasks moving from a Phenom II X4 940 to a new X6.

There will also be sod all difference moving from DDR2 to DDR3 unless you are a benchmark whore.

All in all a waste of money upgrading your main rig: unless you have software that will fully utilise x6 cores for some crazy video editing.....

Also there will not be a night and day difference in games moving from to an i5 or i7 over the Phenom II, not enough to justify the cost anyhow.

Family Rig:
A pentium D is plenty of poke for day to day tasks. Give it a fully wipe and add another gig or 2 of ram and you are sorted for the day to day stuff.
Windows 7 will run fine on it.

All in all I would hang onto your money: the longer you wait the cheaper/more up to date tech gets. (except this year where stuff seems to more expensive if not the same price as last year :eek:)

Bomber6

uberpixie wrote: »

ah no they don't....:pac:

MAIN RIG:
Your main rig will see no great increase in games or day to day tasks moving from a Phenom II X4 940 to a new X6.

There will also be sod all difference moving from DDR2 to DDR3 unless you are a benchmark whore.

All in all a waste of money upgrading your main rig: unless you have software that will fully utilise x6 cores for some crazy video editing.....

Also there will not be a night and day difference in games moving from to an i5 or i7 over the Phenom II, not enough to justify the cost anyhow.

Family Rig:
A pentium D is plenty of poke for day to day tasks. Give it a fully wipe and add another gig or 2 of ram and you are sorted for the day to day stuff.
Windows 7 will run fine on it.

All in all I would hang onto your money: the longer you wait the cheaper/more up to date tech gets. (except this year where stuff seems to more expensive if not the same price as last year :eek:)

Ha well put. I've been mulling it over all day and I'm coming to the same conclusion. It seems a waste to put a Phenom quad core in that pc, never mind a BE phenom II.
How come DDR2 seems to actually have gone up though if anything? Supply and demand? €50+ for some cheap ass 2x1GB sticks is mental. I paid over €80 for the 2gb before alright but they was Ballistix and were for a e6320 setup (2-3 upgrades/years ago ). If I find money I want to blow then it seems the poor GTX260 might be getting the shove :P
@Solitaire, thanks for that. Very handy to know. It's time I became an internet junkie for the week and get up to date on all the stuff that's come out in the last 6 months (Which suprisingly isn't a HUGE amount). Tom's Hardware...here I come!!!

uberpixie

Bomber6 wrote: »

. I find money I want to blow then it seems the poor GTX260 might be getting the shove :P!

sadly you are paying silly money for atleast a 5850 or a 470 to make a good jump over a 260. Tis a tough market with these prices to be bothered upgrading for a bit of a speed increase.

Mr. Presentable

Bomber6 wrote: »

How come DDR2 seems to actually have gone up though if anything? Supply and demand? €50+ for some cheap ass 2x1GB sticks is mental.

RAM is very fluid in price. What happens is, when RAM is expensive it becomes profitable to manufacture so more small producers in the East start supplying. As production increases and meets then exceeds demand it becomes less profitable and market prices for RAM falls, so these factories move to something else and gradually the supply falls away versus demand and the price goes up again.

cherryghost

nipplenuts wrote: »

RAM is very fluid in price. What happens is, when RAM is expensive it becomes profitable to manufacture so more small producers in the East start supplying. As production increases and meets then exceeds demand it becomes less profitable and market prices for RAM falls, so these factories move to something else and gradually the supply falls away versus demand and the price goes up again.

I thought it was because of a lack of NAND chips, and the fact that one manufacturer went bankrupt?

Bomber6

uberpixie wrote: »

sadly you are paying silly money for atleast a 5850 or a 470 to make a good jump over a 260. Tis a tough market with these prices to be bothered upgrading for a bit of a speed increase.

Yes I noticed. For a "mid-range" card the 5850 does cost a fair deal. Hopefully nVidia's entry to top again might help drive down prices again. I'll have to wait it out and see how it goes, I'm not being robbed for oldish tech (as tech goes).
I will read into the memory thing. There must be some decent reason. Both ideas sound plausible.
Thanks for the help!

Solitaire

HD5850?

Mid-range?



You're funneh!

Bomber6

Solitaire wrote: »

HD5850?

Mid-range?



You're funneh!

Harsh. Ok, not very high end (5870, 5890) and not mid-range so...mid-high range?

Solitaire

High-end

HD5870 is "Very High-End"

HD5890 is "Lunacy Booth"

Bomber6

Solitaire wrote: »

High-end

HD5870 is "Very High-End"

HD5890 is "Lunacy Booth"

lol ok then