Core 2 Duo upgrade

[Raziel-Zero]

G'day everyone,

First off I just registered . I have decided that it is about time to upgrade my P4 3.2 GHz. I have a few questions regarding compatibility. Firstly, my current motherboard has a 775 LGA socket, does this automatically mean that it will accommodate a Core 2 Duo or are there further issues? It is a Intel D915PWK model. I am actually quite worried about my motherboard because Intel does not seem to have any documentation for it on their website. I bought it in 2004 when I first got my terrible little Packard-Bell before I knew anything about computers.

Also, would it be worth going for a QX6700 or would an E6700 suffice and would my mobo take both?

And lastly, if I do upgrade my motherboard which would you recommend? It would need to be compatible with a P4 and a Core 2 Duo/Quad Core because I would not have the money to upgrade all at once.


Oh oh and, I think my Hard drive is SATA1 does that mean I'll have to upgrade it too or will the motherboard be able to handle it.

Thanks in advance,

Raziel-Zero.

[meat_helmet]

Welcome Raziel,

Your mobo is very unlikely to support the core 2 duo processors. This would mean an upgrade and i would suggest a Gigabyte P35-DS3R mobo (i have one and im very happy with it) and either a Q6600 or for a cheaper option an E6700. I wouldnt bother with the QX6700, its hefty premium is not worth the unlocked multiplier and the speed (which can easily be achieved by an oc'ed q6600).

Also, wait till july 22nd for a price drop on intel processors.

[Raziel-Zero]

Thanks very much for the helpful reply.

I have a few more questions, firstly what is it about the motherboard which determines the processor it can accept, secondly would the motherboard you suggested support the latest speeds of DDR2/3(are they up to 3 yet) as I am looking to save for a while and go all out . Thank you.


::EDIT:: A few more questions came to mind,

What is required when upgrading mobo/processor and RAM apart from the physical side of things, do I need to do anything software wise?

Also, is Vista worth the upgrade and which version should I try for?

Very nice system meat_helmet!

One last thing haha, Would this be cheaper than buying a new processor, mobo and 4 gb of DDR2 RAM eBay Australia: BRAND NEW INTEL CORE 2 QUAD Q6600 / 320 GB/ 4 GB RAM (item 230146276612, end time 05-Jul-07 07:16:58 AEST)

I would throw in my current geforce 7900 GTX and use that if I bought it.

[meat_helmet]

1)Motherboards support different cpus at the time of their release - i think there are alot of factors here.

2)The P35-DS3R is one of the newest and best performing mobos with support for 1333fsb and the P35C-DS3R model supports DDR3, but that wont be mainstream for at least 2 years i doubt.

3)Upgrading you mobo/cpu requires a clean reinstall of windows. Some people recon you dont need to, but i wouldnt suggest trying to simply switch motherboards over.

4)I like vista, but there are still some driver problems, and problems with older versions of programs. I suggest reading reviews.

5)That system isnt to bad a price for what it is - although i could get those parts for about $100 cheaper. Also, there are better parts you could get for the money.

So if your planning to put you 7900GTX (which is faster than that 8600 btw) then there is not use paying for another card.

Try this site - Loading.. there pretty good and cheap.

[jonny_uk]

Stick with windows xp for a while.
When i tried vista a few weeks ago my newish x-fi sound cards software(the control panel) wouldnt install so i couldnt tweak my sound settings for best sound, and also my labtec webcam wouldnt work even though i downloaded the vista drivers, so i got abit cheesed off and reinstalled win xp, its nice to have everything working agian!

P.s no you wont need any other software for the upgrade, just make sure you have an xp cd to reinstall windows and then your good to go. Only things that would require extra software is hardware like graphics cards/sound cards etc, which you'd get in the box and you just install, so dont worry about having to buy anything else other than win xp if you dont already have it

[Raziel-Zero]

So judging by the stats in my signature, do you guys reckon I should upgrade the parts or go for a package PC (pricewise).

[fastrandstrongr]

i would say upgrade. you have a decent psu, case, and gfx, plus you can reuse the hard drive. that would no doubt be the cheapest way to improve performance.

[Sora]

All you need to do is Pick up a C2D board and CPU and some DDR2 ram and you will have a nice system.

I suggest upgrading when the C2D price cuts come out with an

E6750
Gigabyte DS3R
2x1Gb G.Skill HZ

Your looking at around a 430-450 buck upgrade but your 7900GTX is still a nice card as well as the Antec Nine Hundred is an awesome case. The HDD is an HDD and it won't help you too much but you could grab a 250GB SATA 3.0 16MB cache for around 65 bucks.

[vernong1992]

wait til July 22nd and get the following:

xfx 650i Ultra Mobo (great mobo for 100$ but no Scalable Link Interface)
e6750 (gonna be less than 200$ if u wwait till July 22nd)
2 GB Kit of Crucial Ballistix (equal to the HZ's but with the 45$ rebate its cheaper)

[Sora]

Even if you can find an E6300, E6400 for around 110 bucks when price cuts happen they are still very fast chips..