Dead Core2Duo E6400 - What to upgrade to?

[mphartzheim]

Either my motherboard or CPU has failed, and I don't know how to figure out which one. (I've put every other piece of hardware in a different machine and they all work. These are the only 2 pieces I can't put in another machine because I don't have any other Socket 775 hardware.)

Anyways, I figured I would replace one or the other, or both... all depends on the price. About the only thing I use this for is gaming (FPS), so that's all that matters to me. I want it to be future-ready, as well.

Considering this is an unexpected purchase, I don't want to spend *too* much.

My best LGA775 CPU choice right now is going to be an E8400, correct? I suppose I could go with the Quad core Q9550, but that's a bit pricey. I'm not stuck to Intel, but at my price points they do make better gaming CPUs.

Would I be better off just getting a new CPU and mobo and changing to a more current socket type?

Currently have DDR2 PC6400 RAM (2x2GB sticks), and I know those are getting dated now with DDR3. There are a few mobos that support both DDR2 and DDR3, correct?

The heatsink I already have is an older version of the Thermalright 120Rev.C. It supports multiple socket types (LGA1366/775, AM2/AM2+/AM3), and I'd like to be able to keep using it.

Sorry, lots of questions, I know. Thank you for reading and giving your thoughts.

 

[mphartzheim]

Can get the following for $425 before rebate:

Combo of i5 750 Lynnfield and EVGA P55 for $334.99 - with $40 MIR for mobo after
4gb G.SKILL DDR3 1600 for $89.99

Take the rebate and that all comes to $385. That's about the max I'd want to spend, and would prefer to spend less.

Cons:
Wouldn't be able to use my current heatsink.
I currently have 2 video setups to choose from: 2xHD4850's in crossfire or 1xGF8800OCX. Wouldn't be able to use the Crossfire setup in this.

 

[Arkaign]

Unless you overvolted the bejeezus out of that 6400, I'd be willing to bet it's 99% just a dead mobo. Dead mobos are common, dead CPUs are fairly rare outside of people o'cing them beyond sane limits or suicide runs.

Personally I wouldn't upgrade right this second, unless you really have $ burning in your pocket. E6400 is more than enough for most things, and replacement mobos are cheap.

AMD's Bulldozer and Intel's Sandy Bridge are coming soon, which will be a better time to upgrade from C2D class stuff.

Grab something like this :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813131650R

I've used open box from newegg many many times with no issues, and you obviously already have all of the cables/etc. That's a decent mobo as well, had an E7500 @ 3.6ghz on one with no issues at all.

 

[Termie]

Assuming you want to avoid paying $100 for 4GB of DDR3 and were relatively satisfied with your e6400, the absolute best bang for the buck would be a quad-core AMD PII 940 with a 785G motherboard:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103471
MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131595

You'd be out $200, and it would be a huge upgrade, actually. You couldn't run crossfire, though. To do that, you'd need something like the 790x chipset, which will run you a bit more: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130265

Of course, i5/i7 is better, but as you've already found, it will cost you nearly twice as much to step into.

As an owner of an e8400, I can say with some confidence that buying an e8400 today would not be the best investment.

 

[Markfw]

Unless you overvolted the bejeezus out of that 6400, I'd be willing to bet it's 99% just a dead mobo. Dead mobos are common, dead CPUs are fairly rare outside of people o'cing them beyond sane limits or suicide runs.

Personally I wouldn't upgrade right this second, unless you really have $ burning in your pocket. E6400 is more than enough for most things, and replacement mobos are cheap.

AMD's Bulldozer and Intel's Sandy Bridge are coming soon, which will be a better time to upgrade from C2D class stuff.

Grab something like this :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813131650R

I've used open box from newegg many many times with no issues, and you obviously already have all of the cables/etc. That's a decent mobo as well, had an E7500 @ 3.6ghz on one with no issues at all.

I agree on the good open box mobos. I am running 75% or better success rate. As for which to do, the E6400 is very long in the tooth right now for many things, other than word processing and web browsing, so its all a matter of money. And those are decent choices, although there are a zillion more (including an X6 Thuban hexcore and mobo for even less money)

 

[Termie]

Also, if you're willing to pass on crossfire, EVGA has some excellent deals on socket 775 motherboards: http://www.evga.com/products/prodlis...namitedata.com

This is assuming that your CPU is not the culprit - buying a $40 MB to test the theory isn't a crazy idea.

 

[Markfw]

BTW, ditto on the culprit. Your odds are like 99.5% that the motherboard is bad unless you overvolted it a LOT.

 

[Arkaign]

I agree on the good open box mobos. I am running 75% or better success rate. As for which to do, the E6400 is very long in the tooth right now for many things, other than word processing and web browsing, so its all a matter of money. And those are decent choices, although there are a zillion more (including an X6 Thuban hexcore and mobo for even less money)

Good point. I was thinking that for about $50 shipped, he could get a decent mobo and get back running for now, then sell the whole shebang from top to bottom sometime in 6-12 months and do it right at that point.

A 6400 stock is getting pretty outdated, but overclocked to around 3ghz is still a decent match for most midrange GPUs and games, like say a 4850/5770/GTS250 kind of card, and MW2 or whatnot.

 

[faxon]

Can get the following for $425 before rebate:

Combo of i5 750 Lynnfield and EVGA P55 for $334.99 - with $40 MIR for mobo after
4gb G.SKILL DDR3 1600 for $89.99

Take the rebate and that all comes to $385. That's about the max I'd want to spend, and would prefer to spend less.

Cons:
Wouldn't be able to use my current heatsink.
I currently have 2 video setups to choose from: 2xHD4850's in crossfire or 1xGF8800OCX. Wouldn't be able to use the Crossfire setup in this.

uh yea you would be able to use the crossfire setup on that board. it has support for at least 2 way crossfire, possibly 3 way, im not sure if that 3rd slot supports crossfire or not. i would definitely go with that combo if thats what you can spend, especially since that memory is a fucking great deal, and the board will do well overclocking that i5 750 as well. sucks it doesnt have USB3 or SATA6G but if you send in the 40 rebate thats still hard to pass up, especially if you dont care about those features just now

 

[Spikesoldier]

have you tried a CMOS reset on the board?

 

[nenforcer]

I would identify what is wrong with your current system before deciding to upgrade to anything else.

EVGA B-Stock motherboards are steals and you could turn around and resell it if you decided to.

Its worth holding on to IMO until something like Crysis 2 actually comes out. You won't need a new system to play Starcraft 2 later this month. (not FPS I know)

 

[mphartzheim]

I would identify what is wrong with your current system before deciding to upgrade to anything else.

That's my plan, but to do that I have to buy *something*. I kind of conceded that I might as well upgrade if I have to spend any money at all. So I'm looking for options.

Newegg Open Box looks good.
EVGA B Stock looks good.

I'm not sure on the AMD processors. From what little I've read about them, I need to get up to the Thubans before they're going to compete with the Intels.

For the record, I've done zero overclocking or volting. I run stock, don't mess with clocks and volts. And with what you all have said pretty confidently, you're saying it's 95% the motherboard. No one else I talked to would give me that much confidence.

Thanks for the input, everyone. Very, very helpful. I think I will go the cheap route and just try another 775 mobo on the cheap side.

 

[Arkaign]

This says it supports Crossfire :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813157164R

$72.99 + ship open box.

 

[MyLeftNut]

I agree with the others that it's almost certain that it's the motherboard that's dead and if you can buy a cheap motherboard to replace it, it'd be far better than upgrading at this point in time. Once you do get a new motherboard though, have your e6400 overclocked and it should hold you over fine until the next line of cpu's from Intel and AMD are out. I'm still running my e6400 from the time it was released at 3.6ghz 1.55 vcore.

 

[mphartzheim]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813157175R

That's the only currently available open box motherboard that meets my needs (Socket 775, DDR2 1066).

I know this is the CPU forum, not mobo... but... any objections to that mobo? Never used ASRock before.

 

[Termie]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813157175R

That's the only currently available open box motherboard that meets my needs (Socket 775, DDR2 1066).

I know this is the CPU forum, not mobo... but... any objections to that mobo? Never used ASRock before.

Stop, don't touch that "buy" button...the retail version is cheaper (after shipping) than the open box:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-175-_-Product

While you're at it, you can check out the reviews, which are a bit mixed.

 

[mphartzheim]

Haha, wow... thanks Termie! I never in my life would have thought the retail board would be less (even if it is about a buck less) than an open box.

Newegg reviews are mixed, but other reviews on the web seem to be good. For someone that needs a cheap mobo with the basic set of features and the ability to OC, this board gets good reviews there. (The negative Newegg reviews were all the 1-line type where all they said was "DOA".)

I think I'll grab this, and I might even venture into OC'ing for the first time.

Thanks for the help everyone. *Crosses fingers* Hope it really is the mobo that's bad!

 

[MustangSVT]

I might have missed the answer somewhere but.. you did say you tested all the other components. Have you also tested psu ?

and please update us after you get your mobo

good luck!

 

[evolucion8]

I agree on the good open box mobos. I am running 75% or better success rate. As for which to do, the E6400 is very long in the tooth right now for many things, other than word processing and web browsing, so its all a matter of money. And those are decent choices, although there are a zillion more (including an X6 Thuban hexcore and mobo for even less money)

My brother's in law has a Pentium Dual Core E2200 at stock and can max any game at 1280x1024 coupled with an HD 4870 1GB, and a E6400 should be faster and better. Besides of some weird CPU hungry games like GTA4 or Arma 2, it should be enough for gaming. But I think that the best price/performance ratio for gaming currently would be a Phenom II X4 940 with a decent 785G motherboard.

 

[stevf]

i have the same basic problem, E6600 & 965 chipset motherboard, pretty sure it is the motherboard but am probably getting the phenom II x4 and 785 or so mb. the biggest question I have is do i get ddr3 mb or use the ddr2 I have now (6gb). How much faster is ddr3 in real use. only gaming I do is wow (yes, I now) at 1920x1200 on 8800gtx when I get it back up

 

[richierich1212]

Just use your old ddr2 and save some cash

 

[stevf]

Thanks - that is the way I am leaning (ordering friday) - just making sure the difference isnt significant

 

[richierich1212]

nope for AMD the difference between DDR2 & DDR3 is pretty insignificant esp. for gaming

 

[stevf]

is that the case for the x6 too - just in case I feel like spending 60 more?

 

[richierich1212]

is that the case for the x6 too - just in case I feel like spending 60 more?

yes that's why I said AMD