CPU/mobo upgrade

[popgunjustin]

My machine is starting to show it's age and I'm looking for an inexpensive upgrade (if possible).

Currently I am running a Conroe E6600 and Intel S975XBX2 board. They are both engineering samples and I have never been able to overclock them successfully.

Are there any good options for CPU Mobo combos in the 100-200 dollar price range that will outperform what I currently have? I see a lot of deals on here for combos on AMD parts but I have been out of the game for too long to know what is good anymore. I would also like to stay on DDR2 if possible to save money.

I mainly use my system for gaming and photoshop work.

Thanks,

Justin

 

[Blain]

$100-$200 budget is very tight.
* How much memory do you have?
* What video card are you running?
* What resolution do you mostly game at?

 

[popgunjustin]

Sorry, should have been more specific. I suppose I may be able to go as high as 300 but the cheaper the better. Platform doesn't matter, I'm guessing in my price range I am going to end up going AMD.

Video Card : 7950GX2 (planning to upgrade to 5850 within a few months)

Memory : 4GB Corsair 6400

Gaming resolution : 1680 x 1050

 

[mfenn]

Sorry, should have been more specific. I suppose I may be able to go as high as 300 but the cheaper the better. Platform doesn't matter, I'm guessing in my price range I am going to end up going AMD.

Video Card : 7950GX2 (planning to upgrade to 5850 within a few months)

Memory : 4GB Corsair 6400

Gaming resolution : 1680 x 1050

Athlon II X4 620 - $100

MSI 770T-C45 $70

Should be a nice bump up from what you have.

 

[Blain]

With the CPU, memory and resolution you want to play at, I'd look at buying a 5830 now.

 

[popgunjustin]

With the CPU, memory and resolution you want to play at, I'd look at buying a 5830 now.

My understanding of the 5830 is that it is overpriced for the performance it gives, not being much better than the 5770. wouldn't the 5850 be a little better as far as future proofing?

Thanks for the recomendation mfenn, I've had bad experiences with MSI in the past, but that price looks really good.

 

[mfenn]

My understanding of the 5830 is that it is overpriced for the performance it gives, not being much better than the 5770. wouldn't the 5850 be a little better as far as future proofing?

Thanks for the recomendation mfenn, I've had bad experiences with MSI in the past, but that price looks really good.

If you don't want to use MSI, there are ASUS and Gigabyte boards with approximately the same feature set for about the same price.

 

[SOSTrooper]

You know, you live 45 minutes from the nearest Fry's Electronics. I would plan a short trip out for some good CPU/mobo combo deals. They had the Phenom II X4 955/965 with Gigabyte/MSI mobo combo for around ~$180 total in the past few months.

Bay Area Fry's ad (updated daily)

 

[Axon]

Yeah, both Fry's and Microcenter have had tremendous combo deals of late.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Here is a C3 Phenom 955BE/Asus M4A77D AM2+ combo for $220 AR.

Should be a snappy little OC'er depending on how well your RAMs cooperate.




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[pcsavvy]

I agree if you live near Fry's Electronics, keep an eye out for their ads. They have been having great CPU and M/B combo deals especially with AMD.
This past winter I got a Gigabyte m/b (760G micro) with an AMD Athlon II X3 425 for about $76 with $10 mir.
Fry's has been having some great deals with the Athlon II X4's.

 

[popgunjustin]

Thanks for all the feedback, I will have to take another look at Fry's. I guess I was reluctant because I used to work there, and know how their sales practices go. That was years ago though.

My main concern was not being able to find something in my cost range that would outperform what I have. I also fired up CPU-Z this morning and realized that my processor is an E6700, not 6600, Doh. Does this change much of anything?

Edit: I may have just answered my own question. After looking at Tom's Hardware charts it looks like the E6700 is still a pretty solid option, and the only real upgrades are going to be more expensive. I may just try to pick up a new motherboard that I can use to overclock this thing, since all of the enjineering samples were unlocked. I think I should be able to crank this thing up to at least 3.0 with the stock cooler.

 

[pcsavvy]

With Fry's, you have to go in with all your research done and knowing exactly what you want. While wandering around, I sometimes overhear the sales people trying to make a sale to a newbie, sometimes its like they are blowing smoke.
Also be sure to take the ad with you cause sometimes what they advertise and what is on sale in the store can be slightly different.
When I got my combo, it was advertised as Athlon II X3 435 with a Gigabyte 760G microboard for $89 with $10 mir. But what was actually being sold in the store was the Athlon II X3 425 for $89 with $10 mir and same mb.
When I pointed this out to the manager and plus the fact the 425 was $10 less than the 435. I was able to get the combo for $69 + tax with $10 mir.
At the time the 435 was selling at $99 and the 425 was selling for $89. Although I didn't get the primo cpu, I still got a really good deal. And a couple months later I got my rebate so I am happy.
My previous cpu was the Intel 7200 with a Gigabyte p43 board and there was definite improvement in responsiveness with the upgrade. At that time I had Vista Ultimate 32 bit too.
Having an extra core can definitely help with the computer being perkier and though I haven't tried to unlock the 4th core, that is possiblity too.
I don't overclock but if I wanted to, I already had a third party cpu cooler that would handle the job, if necessary.