Core 2 Duo Motherboard and CPU upgrade?

[booth_matthew]

Hello all,

Ok, I am basically looking for a little guidence regarding a budget Core 2 Duo upgrade. I want to be able to play the lastest games, crysis, call of duty 4 on a shoe string basiclly! No tall order then ;-)

I already have a BFG 8800gts a 580w Hiper PSU and 2gb Corsair DDR2 667mhz ram, skt 775 Zalaman flower hs/fan thermaltake armor case.

My old dual core P4 overclocks to 4ghz but is now too slow for the latest games stalker exposes it very badly :-(

I was looking at the following below:

For the CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E2140 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.60GHz (800FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E2140 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.60GHz (800FSB) - Retail

The lads on the overclockers forums have experienced 3ghz +
***The Official E2140/E2160 Overclocking Thread*** - Overclockers UK Forums

The Motherboard:
EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Motherboard
(i have a second chance offer on eBay at £49 inc postage)
Overclockers link: EVGA nForce 650i Ultra (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (122-CK-NF66-T1)

Will these components be up to the job? Money is a massive factor here people, Budget £150 tops! I would love to build a top pc again as i've done so in the past but the house is a cash magnet at the moment!

I don't know much about the EVGA mobo but at £49 it can't be that bad can it? I have always been a Asus / DFI fan. A google search and overclockers reviews seem ok though.

Also will my old zalaman flower cooler fit on these newer boards? its done a good job of cooling the hot skt 775 P4 @ 4ghz so I guessing so :-)

Any input very welcome, if you think you can swap and change the components or simply have some advice on weather to buy or not, or share your experiences with the above kit please let me know!

Many thanks for your time,

Matt.

[staffsMike]

Th 650i chipset is ok for budget stuff.It's very easy to overclock with it as it does "unlinked" overclocking so the RAM and CPU have independent FSB's

I have the EVGA 680i and its been a fantastic board for me. EVGA are very helpful if you need to get in touch with them and have a forum to keep you up to date with the latest bios revisions and help with overclocking.

with regard to the chip get it from scan here
Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

Saves £10 and if you get up to 25 posts here on hexus you qualify for free delivery from them (constructive posts though!!)

If ebay falls through ocuk have one board in the clearance section
EVGA nForce 650i Ultra (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (122-CK-NF66-T1) - OEM

not sure what's wrong with it though.

This is another good board on a budget.
Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

[booth_matthew]

Thanks staffsMike,

That CPU at scan is a crazy price! With a lot of overclocking do you think these games will run ok then?

Cheers for your fast input

Matt.

[staffsMike]

Yeah should run really nice

anything above the 2.4 mark on dual cores normally runs any game nice and smooth.

Games will eventually be optimised for quad cores but £30 for a dual core.. who's going to complain

[booth_matthew]

Well, to be honest not even the mrs at that price! Now that speaks volumes!

I have taken a look at the abit motherboard which looks good but I think I will go with the eBay option EVGA 650i as it's a brand new for £49 (and hope it turns up) as you stated that it can run the cpu and ram at different speeds! Very important feature that I had not thought about until you mentioned it, so many thanks for the tip! That way I can max the cpu and ram with out being limited along the way. Clever huh!

I've noticed but not supprised the CPU is on pre-order, I wounder i long it will take to be back in stock? Anyway just one more question, what CPU cooler do you recommend or do you think my Zalaman Flower cooler will fit and be ok? It is a skt 775.

Cheers again,

Matt.

[staffsMike]

From what i've heard of the chip you can normally overclock them to 2.8+ on stock volts and maybe even undervolt them so coolers shouldn't be a massive issue.

I would say give the zalman a shot first (sk775 is right ). If the results aren't pleasing then look into a new one.

I like the scythe range. Often use the ninja for builds I do for friends etc..

The thermalright range is very good to.

Ask scan here about stock
SCAN.care@HEXUS - HEXUS.community discussion forums

probably get them soon.

[booth_matthew]

Christ, undervolt them! never hear that one before! To be honest I would be happy at 2.8ghz, a great overclock and at £30 a bargin.

The power hungry p4 is kept under control with the zalaman so fingers crossed it will be ok. I was just unsure if the newer boards had a diffent fitting arrangement. Just anoyed I cannot use my current skt 775 motherboard for core 2 duo! Something to do with the memory controllers i belive.

Anyway cheers for your input and I will no doubt be posting my results later this week!

Ps, is it even possible to sell my old kit? I mean i know is possible but would it be worth it?. I have a Asus P5WD2 and a P4 Smithfield D805 2.66ghz overclocks to 4.00ghz
A Budget CPU At Top Speeds : A 4.1 GHz Dual Core at £79.95 - Can it be True?


Cheers Matt.

[staffsMike]

if you aren't going to use it then it's worth a shot selling it, someone might want it.

Theres a for sale section on hexus..you can stick it in there and see what happens..doesn't cost anything afterall

[Max Tractor]

650 boards, both boards well supported on various forums, I have the msi with a 4300@3.2, runs and runs, very impressed with it

Asus P5N-E SLI 650i
Asus P5N-E SLI 650i Socket 775 PCI-E Onboard Audio ATX Motherboard - Ebuyer

MSI P6N SLI-FI nvidia 650i
MSI P6N SLI-FI nvidia 650i Socket 775 ATX - Ebuyer

worth a look

MSI P35 NEO2-FR
Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

[Pob255]

CPU Charts | Tom's Hardware
That show the pentium d 805 vs the dualcore e2140 on Quake4
the e2140 is faster (but not but a massive amount) and thoes are ofcourse stock speeds.
What effect the over clocks would have . . .
the 805 was great as you could get 4gb out of it, around 40%OC is great, but then again you can get 3gb out of the e2140 which is also around a 40%OC
At £32 it may be worth it for that small extra.

As for cooler, if it a 775 cooler that can cope with an overclocked D then a dualcore or core2duo will hardly phase it

Might be worth pushing the budget to squeeze in the e2180 as the x10 multiplier will get better overclocks on it
Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK
If you do get that evga motherboard for £50 then your only just going over the £100 mark and the speed boost should be more noticeable.

Selling the P4 D 805? you should be able to get a good price on it considering it was such a good chip, have a look on ebay and see what they are going for.

[craigtrap]

Yeah, go and buy it tonight from overclockers!!

[BigFatCat]

My 2p's worth?

I'm running the IP35-E with an e4400, running at 3GHz with the RAM at 450/900 on stock volts. Not a problem operationally, apart from the issue with this chipset where the first post fails, then restarts but that's not really a hardship. And apparently, new BIOSes fix this anyway.

[booth_matthew]

Hi all,

Right, I got a Intel 2180 c2d cpu and clocked it to 3.3ghz which is plenty fast enough for all the latest games inc Crysis demo, Call of Duty 4, stalker etc.

All this with a £55 cpu. Easy overclocker as it has a multiplyer of 10.

I'm well pleased with my results, possibly lucky to have such a good chip but they all clock well.. The stepping is m40. Why pay over the odds for a E6600 etc when you can buy this for over half the money?

Cheers Matt.