Best CPU for my X1950 PRO AGP?

[almighty]

Hi guys ive been thinking now that its time to throw out my tired socket 478 P4 and upgrade to somthing that does'nt bottleneck my ATI X1950 PRO AGP.

Ive decided to get this mother board :

http://www.xcase.co.uk/p/298461/asrock-skt-775-4coredual-vsta-sl-1066fsb.html

Ive got my mind on that mother board as i can slowly start to change over the PCI-E and DDR2 and its cheap

At the moment my 478Pentium 4 is serverly starving my X1950 PRO so i want a CPU that wil be able to give it all the stuff it needs and not bottlneck it. The mother board ive chosen supports the following CPUs :

Intel Celeron D 365
Intel Pentium 4 571
Intel Pentium 4 672
Intel Pentium D 840
Intel Pentium D 960
Intel Pentium Extreme 840
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600

Now the question is, which CPU is best suited to my GPU? This is an upgrade to last me atleast another year then il do a COMPLETE system rebuild with new everything.

So what would you people suggest? Im slightly interested in maybe slightly overclocking but not an extreme overclock. Ive been looking at the core 2 duo E6300, is it anygood?

Regards, almighty

P.S I live in the UK and buying CPUs from abroad is not an option i want to explore.

Peace out

 

[Zaphod]

E4300? The combination of low FSB and high multiplier @ stock should be be best bet for a 'budget overclock' on a cheaper motherboard (that tend to be less than stable at high FSB settings). I've been eying this combo myself for a cheapo + spare parts HTPC, so any comments from others on your question would be appreciated.

If you get the board, please also post post back your experiences with it using an AGP card and DDR memory.

 

[Skrying]

I used the younger brother of this Asrock board, the Asrock 775Dual-VSTA. I can tell you right now you will not get anything even looking like an overclock most likely. What you will get however is a extremely stable board that works in some crazy configurations.

My system with the 775Dual-VSTA was a E6300, 1GB DDR, and a 6800GS. That went to a E6300, 2x1GB DDR2, and 6800GS. Both combination were very stable. There was no performance difference between DDR and DDR2 (other than the extra space, but at 1GB each, same).

As of right now I'd recommend you looking into a E4300 if you can find one. It will be more than enough CPU wise for another year and really anymore money and you'd want to carry on, which would just lead you back to where you're currently at.

 

[Zaphod]

I can tell you right now you will not get anything even looking like an overclock most likely.

Not even bumping an E4300 from stock 1.8 to 2.4GHz (200->266Mhz FSB)? Personally I wouldn't expech many MHz over 266 on such a board, thus I considered the E-series a the best bet for the processor.

 

[Skrying]

Not even bumping an E4300 from stock 1.8 to 2.4GHz (200->266Mhz FSB)? Personally I wouldn't expech many MHz over 266 on such a board, thus I considered the E-series a the best bet for the processor.

I'm talking more like 200Mhz to 205Mhz. It was utterly pointless on my board to even mess with it. Anything more would require a reset of the CMOS which was no fun at all. The VIA chipsets in these just simply don't OC, they are very stable at stock but stock is where they're going to stay... unless something has changed drastically since I had my Asrock.

 

[Zaphod]

Ah, well. Thanks for the input.

I figured since the board apparently is stable on 266MHz with the E-series and the C2Ds tend to do well at stock voltage, there might be a chance to step directly up to the next 'official' FSB. My experience with stepping outside the 'proper FSB speeds' and into overclocked buses territory is less than stellar (to say the least).

Edit: A quick google seems to indicate that this board can run async, and thus is a much better overclocker than it's predecessors.

 

[BRiT]

Let me be one to bring reason to the discussion. If you want to overclock and build a proper system, you should SELL your current cpu, motherboard, memory, video card, and PSU. Then pickup a nice Intel Core 2 Duo, a P965/P35/680i motherboard, 4Gig DDR2, a 8800 GTS or GTX, and a 550 Watt PSU. Otherwise stick with your current system not changing a thing then do the full upgrade in the fall.

 

[Zaphod]

Let me be one to bring reason to the discussion. If you want to overclock and build a proper system, you should SELL [...]

Not to hijack the thread, but why? If you're looking to spend $200, then saying that it's better to spend $600 is a completely different discussion.

At least personally, I'm not talking exotic stuff here with squeezing every last bit of performance out of the components; rather seeing if there's equipment out there that will give good-bang-for-little-buck with a minimum of effort. Much like the nForce2 XP2500->3200+ overclocks that served many budget minded people, including me, well a couple of years ago.

 

[BRiT]

As soon as you get into the realm of replacing a motherboard and cpu you might as well go full on. He'll likely have to upgrade the PSU as well if it doesn't support the 24Pin PSU standard too. If that's the case, then there's only Video Card and Memory left to replace. The time spent in backing up and tearing down the old system, setting up the new system, installing the OS, software applications, and games twice (once for the "full upgrade" later and once for the first "mini-upgrade") I view as time wasted. Doing it once minimizes the time spent and any possible headaches that could occur. I consider the time saved as well worth the price paid now. It'll also be easier to sell off the old kit today than months from now.

Anyways, that's how I view system upgrades as my time is more valuable than the minor cost of the hardware now.

 

[Zaphod]

Anyways, that's how I view system upgrades as my time is more valuable than the minor cost of the hardware now.

Fair enough, although I see that as a different ballgame. Replacing also RAM, GFX and the PSU will cost three times as much - for far less than 3x the performance. Sometimes going the budget route for a significant boost in CPU performance might just bee good enough if $200 is what you have to spend. Different strokes I guess.

PS: The Asrock runs with a 20 pin ATX power connector plus the auxiliary 4 pin 12V power connector.

 

[almighty]

Guys im not gonna replace or sell my GPU, ive just brought it. I just want to know whats the best CPU for my GPU and in about a years time ill just build one from scrach and leave this system as a spare one. Ive got no intension of selling my memory or GPU and starting from new at this moment in time. I plan to do that once i feel that Vista has had all the kinks ironed out and DX10 is support by alot more software. Until then im just doing this cheapo upgrade to last me. Alos my current PSU has both 20 and 24pin for the mobo

Let me be one to bring reason to the discussion. If you want to overclock and build a proper system, you should SELL your current cpu, motherboard, memory, video card, and PSU. Then pickup a nice Intel Core 2 Duo, a P965/P35/680i motherboard, 4Gig DDR2, a 8800 GTS or GTX, and a 550 Watt PSU. Otherwise stick with your current system not changing a thing then do the full upgrade in the fall.

Yea that sounds like the Budget upgrade ive been looking for.

 

[BRiT]

I prefaced that with "if you want to overclock and build a proper system".

Out of curiosity, how much did you spend on the 1950 PRO AGP? Personally, I would have put that money towards the non-obsolete upgrade path to PCI-Express.

 

[almighty]

Deleted because of double post

 

[almighty]

I prefaced that with "if you want to overclock and build a proper system".

Out of curiosity, how much did you spend on the 1950 PRO AGP? Personally, I would have put that money towards the non-obsolete upgrade path to PCI-Express.

It was about £120 i think, round about that mark anyway and that mobo ive selected has BOTH and AGP and a PCI-E slot. Thats why i chose that particular board, so it makes it easyer to upgrade. When the 1950 PRO is no longer able to perform in performance terms i can just buy a PCI-E card as the mobo will have a slot for it. Same for the memory aswel, i will slowly change the GPU and memory over to PCI-E/DDR2 then when i have got :

A PCI-E GPU
DDR2 Memory
And a decent CPU, well what ever CPU i get recomended from you guys.

I will then change the motherboard, im not someone who upgrades every few months, i make my PC components last until the very end.

Im not a hardcore PC gamer, im happy with playing games at medium settings at say 1024x768. Useing AA does'nt bother me either. I just want a decent CPU to match my X1950 PRO and ill slowly change components over when i feel that there not performing at a reasonble level.

Now back to my orignal question, out of the list of CPU that my selected mother board accepts what is the best match for my X1950 PRO?

 

[BRiT]

The following can be eliminated due to lack of performance for their price:

Intel Celeron D 365
Intel Pentium 4 571
Intel Pentium 4 672
Intel Pentium D 840
Intel Pentium D 960
Intel Pentium Extreme 840

As for which CPUs will work, that leaves the Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad lines. The Core 2 Quad / Core 2 Extreme cpus will be obscene to place on your budget system.

You should look into a lower end Core 2 Duo like the E4300 (1.8Ghz on 800-FSB). NewEgg lists it for $115, while the E6300 (1.8Ghz on 1066-FSB) is $167. Not really worth the 45% price premium.

 

[almighty]

The following can be eliminated due to lack of performance for their price:

Intel Celeron D 365
Intel Pentium 4 571
Intel Pentium 4 672
Intel Pentium D 840
Intel Pentium D 960
Intel Pentium Extreme 840

As for which CPUs will work, that leaves the Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad lines. The Core 2 Quad / Core 2 Extreme cpus will be obscene to place on your budget system.

You should look into a lower end Core 2 Duo like the E4300 (1.8Ghz on 800-FSB). NewEgg lists it for $115, while the E6300 (1.8Ghz on 1066-FSB) is $167. Not really worth the 45% price premium.

I can get a core 2 duo E6300 for about £80, so should i go for that 1?

 

[Cheezdoodles]

Hi guys ive been thinking now that its time to throw out my tired socket 478 P4 and upgrade to somthing that does'nt bottleneck my ATI X1950 PRO AGP

Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600

Any of those will do =) Faster the cpu = less cpu bottlenecks.