My E8400 seems fast enough, can't seem to justify an upgrade

[sxr7171]

My main computer currently is an Intel Core 2 E8400. I have been wanting to upgrade to a Nehalem core i7 860 or better, ever since it came out 1 year+ ago. Problem is every time I seriously think about upgrading to a new CPU/MB, I can't seem to justify the need for it. My E8400 seems idle most of time when I am using. Now I did use do some video transcoding for my handheld since can't handle 720P. But I quickly realized the best, quickest and fastest, solution to that would be buy handheld device that plays back 720P! Other than that I really can't thinking of anything I do that uses 100% of my CPU.

That said, I have a lot of other areas that could use upgrades. I keep on running of storage space, and what I really should do is build a 4 TB+ Raid10 for my videos. Also, potentially getting adding a SSD and more memory would be helpful. Getting a faster CPU is probably last thing that would have any affect on my computer usage. So I guess I should hang on to my E8400 for a long time?

If you have money you want to put into a rig buy an SSD. That is the first thing I would do.

Also, I agree with centralized storage. I like ZFS based systems myself, and there is a lot of good discussion in the Memory and Storage forum about that.

When I look at the idle CPU time on my i920 @4GHz, it's pretty much a waste unless you are a gamer who likes everything maxed out.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I'm in exactly the same boat op. Even in games I find myself gpu limited more than cpu limited most of the time. Still, I've had this rig more or less exactly as it is for a couple of years now and it feels like it "ought" to be time to upgrade.

I've been getting itchy lately to upgrade, but I have trouble justifying it due to the fact that this next upgrade will require a new mb, processor, and memory and I just plain don't need it yet. My conclusion is that now is a pretty bad time to upgrade anyway with new things right around the corner, so I'm holding out until at least next year.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Me too. The crazy thing is that my next platform upgrade will probably last me significantly longer than my current C2D rig. I game and multitask but won't be playing any newer games for quite awhile. Should probably pick up a gen 3 SSD then see if a CPU upgrade would be worthwhile.

 

[Josh123]

Count me in with the "wtf do I do!?!" group. I have $200 to spend to buy my Christmas present from my mom and I can't decide if I want to pick up a GTX 460. Right now my e8400 is clocked at 3.6ghz I believe and seems great. Mainly all I play is WoW and I read that if you have a DirectX 11 card you can get a boost. If I wanted to put together a new layout it would cost more than $200 for sure.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Count me in with the "wtf do I do!?!" group. I have $200 to spend to buy my Christmas present from my mom and I can't decide if I want to pick up a GTX 460. Right now my e8400 is clocked at 3.6ghz I believe and seems great. Mainly all I play is WoW and I read that if you have a DirectX 11 card you can get a boost. If I wanted to put together a new layout it would cost more than $200 for sure.

GTX460 all the way.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. My Q6600 with 5850 seems easily able to run the current gen games. I even have 8 gigs of ram and a SSD.

It seems almost wasteful for me to get a sandy bridge cpu when all I do is game at 1680x1050. I would love to upgrade just to have a new toy, but I also don't like throwing money away. Part of me thinks it would be better to wait another year and just get an entire upgrade. New monitor, Video card, Ivy Bridge etc.

 

[amenx]

I used to have an e8400 and was reluctant to upgrade since it was doing super well with anything I threw at it. Even in games that were multi-core optimized (GTA4 ,SupCom, etc). But I did upgrade (i5 760) mainly because I found myself multi-tasking more than before, esp with virtual machines. Glad I did because I think I benefited quite a bit. Not only with CPU, but with the 1156 platform as a whole which I think is better than old 775 one and its numerous chipsets. Only a personal observation but I think this is the most stable rig I ever built in my life. Also seems more tolerant to OC'ing with 4 DIMMs than my earlier rig. But I agree, the e8400 still has a lot of life in it and kicks ass with anything that is not multi-core optimized.

 

[Throckmorton]

Just leave it alone. Don't waste money

 

[Arkaign]

For all of you with E8400 and a Micro Center nearby, the Q9300 is a free upgrade if you sell your E8400, check the auction prices. You might even make money on the deal, lol.

 

[perdomot]

SSD is the most notable performance booster although its hard to convince people until they see it for themselves. Went from a Velociraptor to and OCZ SSD and it was clearly noticeable right away.

 

[Termie]

SSD is the most notable performance booster although its hard to convince people until they see it for themselves. Went from a Velociraptor to and OCZ SSD and it was clearly noticeable right away.

Yup, I'd say it will do a heck of a lot more for everyday use than a quad core, but a graphics card and even a CPU is a much easier upgrade than an OS drive.

 

[Anomaly1964]

I usual follow the simple rule of:

If it can do what you want, as fast as you want, you don't need to upgrade.
If it can't do what you want, as fast as you want, then you need to upgrade.

GOOD rule...

 

[nydennis]

I'm in the same boat. I am itching to upgrade but don't really need to. My OS is on the X-25g2 ssd and I have two other ssd's in my computer. Have a GTX285 and 8gb ram.

I don't play computer games anymore and don't do much if any video encoding. Just bored and wanted to upgrade.

Thought that maybe I will just most my computer into a new case and maybe new CPU cooler and keep it for a bit longer.

 

[Zenoth]

I've had my E8400 since December 2007 and it still serves me well to this day.

I will upgrade for a Sandy Bridge next summer.

 

[jjmIII]

I have been wanting to upgrade to a Nehalem core i7 860 or better, ever since it came out 1 year+ ago.

Build your dream rig! It's ok that you don't need it. Sell the old stuff, and you'll only be out a few dollars.

Buy yourself a Christmas gift. I always do!

 

[Patrick Wolf]

If upgrading would give you any sort of benefit then I'd say do it. Even if it's for just 1 game. Use that as an excuse to justify it!

 

[Emo]

I have a system sitting around (turning it on once a month) with E8400@4.3Ghz and and a GTX 285 @710Mhz and for the little time I play games it is not worth any upgrade. Most of the time I use my XPS 1645, heck I can even play most games on it. How times have changed!

 

[Linflas]

I am pretty much in this same situation, E8400 in a P5K Deluxe and so far it does everything I want it to do without straining. For those saying go with an SSD upgrade what are the most important things to look for when getting one? Figured I would ask here since the thread already exists and SSD upgrade seems to be the popular choice. The only thing I know for sure is I want at least a 120GB drive, can't see trying to deal with a 60GB limit on my OS drive.

 

[Anubis]

Count me in with the "wtf do I do!?!" group. I have $200 to spend to buy my Christmas present from my mom and I can't decide if I want to pick up a GTX 460. Right now my e8400 is clocked at 3.6ghz I believe and seems great. Mainly all I play is WoW and I read that if you have a DirectX 11 card you can get a boost. If I wanted to put together a new layout it would cost more than $200 for sure.

this is out of the scope of your budget but a I7 will boost your performance much more then a DX11 capable vid card

 

[OBLAMA2009]

this is why you should always buy the best chip you can. if you bought the 8400 or the 9550 three years ago, youve had basically the fastest chip/best computing experience the whole time. its much more cost effective that getting a $100 chip and upgrading it later

 

[Vdubchaos]

I'm on the same boat as OP and many others.

I was going to buy a new rig in Jan/Feb upon Crysis 2 release/reviews....but honestly, I decided no too.

# of reasons for that

- Can't justify new rig for 1 game. I will wait and see what else comes out in 2011 and MAYBE just MAYBE buy something in 3rd/4th Q
- My current CPU hardly EVER tops out. My PC is fine, I can't even justify Memory upgrade from 4gb. I did go with 460 as I would like to move my 4870 to 2nd PC.
- Sandy Bridge (so far) doesn't offer me ANYTHING that justifies a purchase. Integrated Graphics tells me Intel spent more time into GPU end of things then actual CPU improvement.

Meh, holding onto my money.

Kind of disappointed with CPU progress to be honest. I'm surprised that my 2+ year old E8400 still doesn't need an upgrade. Is it me or CPU makers are running out of ideas/stuck?

 

[Termie]

The e8400 is still a great CPU, but saying that new CPUs offer no advantage is simply not accurate.

The i5-750 kills an e8400 not only in the video editing tasks you'd expect it to, but also in gaming: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/cpu-benchmark-mainstream_6.html#sect1. And it costs much less than the e8400 did on release and about the same as an e8400 today: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

Play a moden demanding game and look at your CPU use vs. GPU use. If your CPU is pegged at 100% and the GPU is not, you're CPU limited. My e8400 is strangling my GTX460 in games like BC2 and Dirt2. My i7-860 never hits 50% in the same games.

I still say the SSD route is the best option for improving the overall feel of the computer, but if you're looking at task processing time or FPS, an e8400 is holding you back.

As background - I bought my e8400 the month it came out, replacing an e6600. If I were to do it all over again, I would have waited on the q9550, which I think would have been a better investment. At the time I did not think quad core was going to make a big difference in the 2-3 year timeframe. It has. That being said, my e8400 uses less energy than just about any mainstream processor made today, so I'm happy with it in its new role as an HTPC CPU.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

My e6750 cost $213 when I bought it on 08/03/07. The same price as a 760 or a 2500K. How things change, but I'm still not really needing an upgrade. Though I'd like one.

 

[Vdubchaos]

The e8400 is still a great CPU, but saying that new CPUs offer no advantage is simply not accurate.

The i5-750 kills an e8400 not only in the video editing tasks you'd expect it to, but also in gaming: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/cpu-benchmark-mainstream_6.html#sect1. And it costs much less than the e8400 did on release and about the same as an e8400 today: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

Play a moden demanding game and look at your CPU use vs. GPU use. If your CPU is pegged at 100% and the GPU is not, you're CPU limited. My e8400 is strangling my GTX460 in games like BC2 and Dirt2. My i7-860 never hits 50% in the same games.

I still say the SSD route is the best option for improving the overall feel of the computer, but if you're looking at task processing time or FPS, an e8400 is holding you back.

As background - I bought my e8400 the month it came out, replacing an e6600. If I were to do it all over again, I would have waited on the q9550, which I think would have been a better investment. At the time I did not think quad core was going to make a big difference in the 2-3 year timeframe. It has. That being said, my e8400 uses less energy than just about any mainstream processor made today, so I'm happy with it in its new role as an HTPC CPU.

You are correct, I'm just saying what I have +$200 and new MB is simply not worth the difference at this point.

Just waiting a year or so before new PC. Upgrade path is complete on all of my rigs at this point.

 

[TekDemon]

For all of you with E8400 and a Micro Center nearby, the Q9300 is a free upgrade if you sell your E8400, check the auction prices. You might even make money on the deal, lol.

The reason why the E8400 sells for so much is because it's still faster than the Q9300 in lots of stuff. Unless the only thing you do is encode videos all day you're probably gonna get similar or worse performance in a lot of programs. Audio encoding actually goes faster on the E8400 since most audio encoders aren't very multi-threaded at all.
Someone who has an E8400 would really only be upgrading if they went to one of the 12MB cache C2Q's and overclocked the living daylights out of them. I could see it being kind of worth it if you get a Q9550 or Q9450 on the cheap and your current E8400 isn't an E0, since you'd probably get slightly higher clocks (with the right cooling) and 2 extra cores. It's not really an upgrade if you're now faster in multi-threaded programs but slower in a lot of other programs so the slower quads make no sense

I have the Xeon version of the E8400, the E3110 and it's been a champ for almost 3 years now. I can honestly say that it's the best CPU I've ever bought as far as longevity goes. I've basically just upgraded the video card and went to SSDs but there's really been no reason to upgrade the CPU yet. I did go out and buy a Phenom II setup for my parents and even though I unlocked all 4 cores and OCed it to 4Ghz it's not really faster than my C2D. I do have an upgrade planned but it's not really out of necessity so much as just wanting to have a really fast Sandy Bridge system. Practically speaking though I'll hardly be able to see the difference.