Intel Dual-Core E2160 to Core 2 Duo E6420 ?

[destrekor]

First off, is that a worthy upgrade?

My old desktop build is just sitting there collecting dust. I had the E6420 overclocked in that machine, but I figure it might find a good home in my parents Compaq machine, which houses an E2160 or 2140.

In addition to upgrading that, I'd give them the 4GB of DDR2 I have, compared to the 1GB they have (and the desktop is running Vista).

I figure with those upgrades, plus throwing Windows 7 on there (contemplating Win8, if they wish to spend money), that machine will get juiced up a bit. They don't use it for much...


The other question, aside from if the CPU swap is worthwhile, is if the stock HSF would be the same for both chips? I had a behemoth of a cooler on the C2D, but I wouldn't overclock it and am contemplating just cleaning off the current HSF in that Compaq, throwing new compound on it, and calling it a day. That is, unless the stock cooler for the E6420 is better than the stock in the Compaq (which I assume is the stock Intel HSF for E2160).

 

[pukemon]

The memory upgrade is definitely worthwhile.

 

[ElFenix]

The other question, aside from if the CPU swap is worthwhile, is if the stock HSF would be the same for both chips? I had a behemoth of a cooler on the C2D, but I wouldn't overclock it and am contemplating just cleaning off the current HSF in that Compaq, throwing new compound on it, and calling it a day. That is, unless the stock cooler for the E6420 is better than the stock in the Compaq (which I assume is the stock Intel HSF for E2160).

i would not assume compaq used intel's stock cooler. they buy CPUs by the 100s of thousands on trays and have their own heat sink supplier.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The memory upgrade is definitely worthwhile.

This. I'm not sure what they would be doing with the machine that that CPU upgrade would make a noticeable difference. More RAM might.

What about a nice SATA2 SSD? Did you get in on that deal from TD on the X25-M 80GB units for $40 AR?

 

[Denithor]

This. I'm not sure what they would be doing with the machine that that CPU upgrade would make a noticeable difference. More RAM might.

What about a nice SATA2 SSD? Did you get in on that deal from TD on the X25-M 80GB units for $40 AR?

Right on both counts. The CPU upgrade will be barely noticeable in typical 'light duty' tasks. The increased memory, Vista -> 7 or 8 and especially the SSD upgrade (if at all possible) will have much larger impacts on performance.

 

[destrekor]

Right on both counts. The CPU upgrade will be barely noticeable in typical 'light duty' tasks. The increased memory, Vista -> 7 or 8 and especially the SSD upgrade (if at all possible) will have much larger impacts on performance.

For light duty, is it generally only generation steps (Netburst -> Core -> Core2 -> "new Core" (i3/i5/i7) that then provides noticeable improvement?

I figured the 1.8ghz (iirc) Pentium Dual Core to 2.13ghz C2D (with more cache and whatnot) wouldn't be a huge upgrade, but still noticeable. Application load times, how fast the system recovers from high usage to low. It always seemed like even light duty improved tremendously with each generation - but I could see how that would be more related to each system build resulting in a fresh install of Windows. I never upgraded a system by only installing a new CPU - it was always new generation with new pinout, so new motherboard, new HDD, and a clean OS installation.

I knew immediately, when I discovered it had 1GB DDR2 on Vista, a Win7 upgrade with more RAM would be the most obvious improvement.

I guess I'll probably just focus on that.


I'm not sure I can convince them to buy an SSD. I showed them Win8, how it would make their usage that much easier (for them: email, internet, occasional webcam usage, sometimes an office app) and they seemed receptive. But even then, they aren't convinced they want to spend $40.

And I sure as hell cannot afford to go buy THEM an SSD (even an $80 deal). I'm broke enough as it is. I have been mulling the idea of making a Win8 upgrade a gift. If I did Win8, I'd want them to have some kind of touch device. I'd have to see if one of those mice where the whole surface is touch capable wouldn't be too awkward for them, but my ma did seem receptive to the idea of the Logitech T650 wireless touch pad (I had her play with it on my Win8 install).
I'd want to get a hell of a deal for them though - $80 for an input peripheral wouldn't register as sane to them.

 

[jihe]

yes, will see a lot of difference. Vista + 1G = trouble. OTOH win8 is not worth it unless they get a touch screen.

First off, is that a worthy upgrade?

My old desktop build is just sitting there collecting dust. I had the E6420 overclocked in that machine, but I figure it might find a good home in my parents Compaq machine, which houses an E2160 or 2140.

In addition to upgrading that, I'd give them the 4GB of DDR2 I have, compared to the 1GB they have (and the desktop is running Vista).

I figure with those upgrades, plus throwing Windows 7 on there (contemplating Win8, if they wish to spend money), that machine will get juiced up a bit. They don't use it for much...


The other question, aside from if the CPU swap is worthwhile, is if the stock HSF would be the same for both chips? I had a behemoth of a cooler on the C2D, but I wouldn't overclock it and am contemplating just cleaning off the current HSF in that Compaq, throwing new compound on it, and calling it a day. That is, unless the stock cooler for the E6420 is better than the stock in the Compaq (which I assume is the stock Intel HSF for E2160).