Update for C2D E7400

[choliscott]

Hi Everyone,

Have a friend who is looking to upgrade their system. However they are not sure if they should just get a graphics card & bump up the ram (from 8 GB to 8 GB) or get a new Board/Cpu/Ram & possibly a graphics card.

Their current system is a Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 with 4 GB of DDR 2 ram.

When I looked at cheap cpu's that would be an improvement, I didn't find much in the "under $100" range (for the cpu). However I noticed that AMD X4 640 would be somewhat of an improvement, which I could give to them.

Can someone recommend a decent CPU upgrade to the E7400 (unless the 640 is a nice little jump)? As far as budget goes, I'm not sure that that will be, but thinking around $150-$200 for a board & cpu.

The main purpose of the system is doing simple video editing (open video & remove part & resave using ffmpeg) and playing simple games.

Thanks!

 

[crashtech]

For what you describe I would probably spec a G3420 or G3430, even though with fully threaded loads their performance falls slightly behind the AMD X4 640, their single-thread performance is much better, like 60% better or so, which will result in most common tasks being completed faster.

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Pentium-G3420-vs-AMD-Athlon-II-X4-640

 

[superrockie]

You could look for a second hand quad core for socket 775. I think they're pretty cheap now and it would be a decent upgrade.

 

[AtenRa]

What GPU they use now ?? and what is the Monitor resolution ???

 

[swilli89]

i7 920 used good condition at amazon. This is a pretty nice upgrade and they will definitely feel it.

70$

Only issue could be finding a lga1366 motherboard for an equally good used price.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001H5T7LK/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1392755663&sr=8-1&keywords=i7+920&condition=used

EDIT: also I just checked and you could grab an E8600 which would net 500 mhz, double the cache, and faster FSB for $50 or you could pickup a Q9400 and double the cache and cores and faster fsb.

 

[choliscott]

They are using integrated graphics, which was one of the issues: Getting a graphics card & using the same cpu or getting a newer CPU with better integrated graphics

What GPU they use now ?? and what is the Monitor resolution ???

 

[crashtech]

With a very low budget, an AMD FM2 unit like the A10-5800K starts to look pretty good if integrated graphics are to be used. Guess I didn't pick up on that part.

 

[EliteRetard]

Wait, do you already have an X4 640 just laying around?
If so, then get a cheap MOBO (and maybe RAM) and GPU and it will be a good upgrade.

Like this MOBO:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131795
Good brand and rating and a low price, but would require new DDR3 RAM.

Or, in order to use the RAM he already has you can get an older DDR2 board like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131795

Still decent, but obviously outdated...cheapest way to "upgrade" if you have the CPU.

What PSU does he have currently? If it's a decent 300+ watt unit he should be able to handle a 75w GPU like the newly released GTX750. They don't need a power cord.

Here's the card just reviewed on this site, OC's good and easy, runs cool and quiet:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814500326

If you have the CPU, the cheap DDR2 board and this GPU would be under $200 and you could reuse everything else.

If he can go a little more, I would suggest getting a DDR3 board and at least 1x4GB stick now...and he can easily add a second 4GB stick later if/when he goes 64bit if he needs it or has more funds.

Of course if I read that wrong and you don't actually have a free CPU laying around then you can ignore all this

 

[choliscott]

Actually I have the CPU & a MB for it. Can't remember the exact model, but I believe its a MSI 760GM-P23. I'm not sure of the model, as it's at my parents currently.

Wait, do you already have an X4 640 just laying around?
If so, then get a cheap MOBO (and maybe RAM) and GPU and it will be a good upgrade.

Like this MOBO:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131795
Good brand and rating and a low price, but would require new DDR3 RAM.

Or, in order to use the RAM he already has you can get an older DDR2 board like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131795

Still decent, but obviously outdated...cheapest way to "upgrade" if you have the CPU.

What PSU does he have currently? If it's a decent 300+ watt unit he should be able to handle a 75w GPU like the newly released GTX750. They don't need a power cord.

Here's the card just reviewed on this site, OC's good and easy, runs cool and quiet:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814500326

If you have the CPU, the cheap DDR2 board and this GPU would be under $200 and you could reuse everything else.

If he can go a little more, I would suggest getting a DDR3 board and at least 1x4GB stick now...and he can easily add a second 4GB stick later if/when he goes 64bit if he needs it or has more funds.

Of course if I read that wrong and you don't actually have a free CPU laying around then you can ignore all this

 

[EliteRetard]

Actually I have the CPU & a MB for it. Can't remember the exact model, but I believe its a MSI 760GM-P23. I'm not sure of the model, as it's at my parents currently.

That's a DDR3 board, if nobody is using it that would be a perfectly fine upgrade.

Could charge him $200 for the MOBO, CPU, 1x4GB DDR3 1600 stick, and a GTX750 (depending on his PSU). Reuse everything else.

 

[NTMBK]

Get them an SSD. It will really help with video editing, as well as startup times and general system responsiveness.

 

[EliteRetard]

Get them an SSD. It will really help with video editing, as well as startup times and general system responsiveness.

To expensive (or not enough space) on that budget...a newer CPU and an actual GPU are going to provide a much bigger performance gain.

 

[R0H1T]

They are using integrated graphics, which was one of the issues: Getting a graphics card & using the same cpu or getting a newer CPU with better integrated graphics

I think it's better to get a dGPU like the new 750(or Ti variant) & up the RAM to 8GB, however if you can get a cheap core 2 quad then you're better off upgrading the CPU as well. I realize it'll probably increase the budget to $ 200+ but if the work is of a given(professional) level then you're better off spending a bit more rather than being on the safe side. If it isn't work related then you can skip the RAM/CPU upgrade, depending on the budget you're left with after getting the GPU.

 

[Blue_Max]

Not sure what motherboard you have or if you can overclock with it.

Not sure if your software is capable of using multiple cores - this will determine which CPU would help you most. What's your critical software?

Not sure what video card you have now in order to improve your apps and games.



If you're really that tapped out for cash, I'd suggest you grab a $50 used Q6600 CPU and upgrade your current rig with it. This would also give you some cash to get a video card -- the new GeForce 750TI is a very good average card, can improve certain applications through CUDA, and won't require you to change even the smallest power supply.

It'd be a VERY cheap upgrade and allow you to continue saving for a BIG upgrade which needs about $300 to do right.

Even for a single thread, the Q6600 has a better architecture than the simpler & cheaper E7x00, so it'll likely perform a single thread just as well, despite being 2.4GHz to your current 2.8GHz. It'll even add more resale value to your combo - people want quads.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Even for a single thread, the Q6600 has a better architecture than the simpler & cheaper E7x00, so it'll likely perform a single thread just as well, despite being 2.4GHz to your current 2.8GHz. It'll even add more resale value to your combo - people want quads.

I think that you have that backwards. The 45nm E7400 is a more advanced architecture than the older 65nm Q6600.

 

[sm625]

I would not bother "upgrading" from an E7400 to an X4 640. The athlon is cache starved and he will barely notice any speed improvement. Even in video editing there wont be much difference. It is a very slow quad core. I would look for a used i5.

 

[crashtech]

It's hard to know what to recommend for just a couple hundred, when an entire platform upgrade is needed. The proposed solution of the MSI 760GM-P23 and X4 640 is just not enough of an upgrade to bother with, and that board barely meets the specs for the lower power Visheras (95W max), so it's not really a good option. maybe OCing the existing Wolfdale and buying a GPU that will be able to slot into a platform upgrade later is the way to go for now.

 

[Blue_Max]

I think that you have that backwards. The 45nm E7400 is a more advanced architecture than the older 65nm Q6600.

But it's got less cache and isn't as good of a performer... it's the "cheap" version in the lineup.

 

[choliscott]

Hi Everybody,

Thanks for all the responses. I figured I would wait & see what the exact budget will be before proceeding.

 

[Zardnok]

Budget upgrades to what he has now would definitely be a used Q6600 for $35-$50 and aftermarket cooler for $30 to overclock it. An SSD and a new video card would be my next purchase. He may also get lucky and find another pair of 2GB sticks to bump up to 8 Gig total, but I wouldn't buy them new as they are overpriced.