Looking to Upgrade my Processor

[WinnieThePujols]

I have a GeForce 7800 GT (PCI Express) and 2 gigs of Kingston DDR2 533 RAM. I used to play Morrowind a lot; if you're familiar, you would know that Morrowind had an incredible mod scene. I played the game with mod upon mod upon mod -- I probably had hundreds of them.

At this point, I started experiencing some slowdown...

Basically what I'm saying is the mods were taxing my processor more than my video card. They weren't necessarily graphics-intensive mods, but rather scripts that were continually running in the background that would cause slowdown.

I do a lot of multi-tasking, too... I can't really complain about the speeds, but a dual core processor would still help out here, wouldn't it?

What do you recommend I upgrade to? Like I said, I currently have an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (939 is the socket). I really know nothing about processors, or the quality of them (eg: what's the best out of AMD's Venice, Denmark, San Diego, Toledo?). What would you recommend for me if I just want better performance all-around? I don't want to spend a whole lot, so recommend something that would be cost-effective while still giving me a boost in performance, if possible.

Thanks, I appreciate the help!

 

[BlueWeasel]

If that's a Venice, overclock it to 2.4 - 2.5Ghz for a free boost.

 

[WinnieThePujols]

It is a Venice. Sorry for not mentioning that in the first place.

Would I need to worry about buying any coolant devices if I were to overclock to that?

 

[WinnieThePujols]

I guess what I'm wondering is... is it worth upgrading to a dual core processor (not necessarily upgrading via overclocking), or should I wait for a while?

 

[myocardia]

You've really already waited too long, unless you get a used one from the FS/FT forum. The new ones have gone up in price, while their availability is getting pretty scarce. I agree with BlueWeasel; overclock, while saving up for a Core 2 Duo based system.

 

[WinnieThePujols]

Originally posted by: myocardia
You've really already waited too long, unless you get a used one from the FS/FT forum. The new ones have gone up in price, while their availability is getting pretty scarce. I agree with BlueWeasel; overclock, while saving up for a Core 2 Duo based system.

Get what? Waited too long for what?

A dual-core AMD processor, or are you talking about something in particular?

I'm confused...

 

[myocardia]

Dual-core Socket 939 processors, of course.

 

[Skitzer]

Originally posted by: myocardia
Dual-core Socket 939 processors, of course.

Hmmmm ........ I just bought a Retail Opteron 175 at the Egg for $233 shipped. Was it ever any lower than that in price? Is it not a good socket 939 chip?

 

[aelfwyne]

I would've gone for the 170 at $184 myself... save $50 and basically the same overclocking potential.

 

[MadScientist]

Originally posted by: Skitzer

Hmmmm ........ I just bought a Retail Opteron 175 at the Egg for $233 shipped. Was it ever any lower than that in price? Is it not a good socket 939 chip?[/quote]
From the Price Graph Chart for an Opty 175 at Pricescan it hasn't been any cheaper. Will its price go lower?

I went with the Opty 170 from Newegg to replace my 3200. Price Graph Chart for Opty 170

 

[swtethan]

how are you running ddr2?

 

[MadScientist]

Originally posted by: swtethan
how are you running ddr2?

That's gotta be a typo by the OP.

 

[Noubourne]

Originally posted by: aelfwyne
I would've gone for the 170 at $184 myself... save $50 and basically the same overclocking potential.

I went for the 165 at $156. Even cheaper. Same OC potential.

 

[MadScientist]

Originally posted by: Noubourne

Originally posted by: aelfwyne
I would've gone for the 170 at $184 myself... save $50 and basically the same overclocking potential.

I went for the 165 at $156. Even cheaper. Same OC potential.

I thought about getting the 165, but my Epox board tops out at 320 FSB so the 170's 10x multiplier may give me a little more headroom.

 

[Eska]

im still happy with my 3000 venice @ 2.7ghz for a while...

 

[Skitzer]

Originally posted by: aelfwyne
I would've gone for the 170 at $184 myself... save $50 and basically the same overclocking potential.

Yeah, you're probably right, wasn't thinking clearly, thought the 11 multiplier would come in handy. Looking at the various reviews it seems the 170 and 175 are pretty close in overclocking potential. I'm currently running mine at 250x11 at 1.52v. I decided to keep my memory at 1:1 (no dividers) and it tops out at around 255 so to play it safe I'm running at 250. I know I could have saved a few bucks but I'm happy with the 175.