My current motherboard is basically a paperweight at this point, but it can actually handle these two processors I'm debating between: Intel Core i7 vs. Intel Core i5. Neither can go above 95W, so those high-end Black Edition chips are out of the question. Plus, the board itself is pretty junk—definitely not built for any overclocking.
I'm mostly trying to figure out the best bang for my buck here. The i7 is sitting around $100, while the i5 is about $65. I also have to factor in that the i7 has a 3.2GHz boost clock, whereas the i5 doesn't.
The goal: running Adobe Photoshop with a ton of layers and some gaming (not looking to break any world records, just want things to run) for the next year or two.
PS. Please don't suggest buying a new motherboard—I’d rather just save up and buy an entirely new system later. I'll probably be heading over to Dell $0.00 in about two years anyway. Until then, should I go with the i7 or the i5?
I gave it another shot yesterday, and honestly, the heatsink seated much better this time. I swear, Intel's mounting mechanism is spectacularly clunky and just plain imprecise. I also ended up using a bit less thermal paste than before.
Idle at 40°C, YouTube at 60°C, and hitting a max of 98°C during a Prime95 full load test. It still feels a little too high to me.
I think I got it mounted correctly (hopefully)—plus, I gave the heatsink a good cleaning. I might have gone a little overboard with the thermal paste, though. I’m going to give it another shot. If the issue persists with this same heatsink, then it’s definitely on me.
I just picked up a budget upgrade for my PC—swapped out my Pentium E5300 for an Intel Core 2 Duo E6800. It’s pretty much the top dog in its series, yet it pulls about the same amount of power.
Since it looked like they used the same cooling setup, I figured I’d just pop the new chip under the existing cooler, but now my temps are through the roof. I'm seeing an Idle 60 C, which jumps up to 90C under load. Considering Intel recommends staying under 75C, that's a bit concerning.
Did I mess something up during the install, or does the Intel Core 2 Duo E6800 actually require a different heatsink? I'm not doing any overclocking or anything fancy—I just want the thing to run reliably.
redhawk76 says: That’s why I feel like Stanković actually just used his guest—much like he’s done with others before him—to push this specific message about forgiveness. But unfortunately, the kind of "forgiveness" his guests offer isn't really the real deal; it’s more like the kind of closure you get from medical professionals or pharmacology... >
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The man said we need to hold individuals accountable—the actual perpetrators of crimes. It’s honestly gut-wrenching to see them walking free among the very people they victimized.
Forgiveness belongs to the nation, to religion, or whatever else they've been nudging us toward, both now and in the past...
I’ve been looking over this idea for a bit... and honestly, I have to admit, it makes more sense. There’s really no point in trying to max out an old rig when a modern entry-level build actually outperforms it for the same price tag. I think I'll just stick with what I've got for a while longer—it'll get me through. Once it finally gives up the ghost, I'll take that $700-$267 and put it toward a completely new
crimsonstag84 said:Personally, I’d rather grab a Pentium G4560 + H110 combo with 4GB of RAM for about $283 $283 than drop 400-$150 on an old s775 quad core. 🙂
Core 2 Quad Q6600 on eBay $90 🙂
Ryan Hayes82 said:Absolutely. A brand new Celeron G1610 comes with a 3-year warranty, integrated graphics that handle HD movies just fine, and a cooler $77 🙏 —it's practically a steal considering everything you get. Plus, that same socket lets you eventually swap in an i3, i5, or i7 later on.
Joseph Barrett said:Regarding the Q6600, if I were looking, I'd hunt for the G0 version—the one with the 95W TDP—for maybe up to $300, $117 but honestly, I wouldn't go a cent higher than .
Well, this is my final push with this current rig. My plan is to take that Q6600, bump the RAM up to 8GB, and toss in a small SSD just to keep the essentials running smoothly through the end of the year (all for about $233). Then, next year, I'm going all out with a beastly Octa Core, 32GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA RTX Titan. It's what I really need for work 😁
The Core 2 Duo E8400 is actually pretty solid—it’s got that 6MB cache and I can overclock it more easily than the Core 2 Duo E6800—but my motherboard won't support anything higher than a 1066 FSB, and this one is rated for 1333. Honestly, might just be throwing money down the drain here. The Core 2 Quad Q6600 packs 8MB of cache, though it lacks hyperthreading, and it's an older chip that pulls 105W compared to the 65W of those previous ones (is that extra cache and hyperthreading really such a game changer?). I'm also not entirely sure how much headroom I actually have left, since my power supply is only 400W. http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/495...ore_E5300.html
PS. According to what's listed here, running a Q6600 would put me at 392W out of my 400W total. That's assuming I don't plug in an external USB hard drive or any other small peripherals. What do you guys recommend?
I’m looking to swap out my processor, but after spending two hours down this rabbit hole, I feel like I’m understanding less and less with every new model name and codename I encounter. It turns out just because something is "faster" doesn't mean it's actually an improvement for my specific setup.
Here’s the gist:
My motherboard is an ASUS motherboard, and these are the supported processors
Right now, I’m running an Intel Core 2 Duo E5300. Compared to the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, mine is technically newer, pulls less power, and actually wins in single-core performance—which covers most of what I do. So, how do I choose? Any advice would be a lifesaver. 🙂
To give you some context, Adobe Photoshop is my main heavy hitter, but I definitely don't want to go broke trying to hunt down an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9775. Thanks!
PS. I did find this one: the E6800. It’s from the same family and uses the same architecture and power draw as mine, just with a higher clock speed. I’d love to move up to a quad-core, but honestly, it feels like everything for the 775 socket is basically ancient history—huge power hogs that run incredibly hot.
Is there some kind of gadget for Windows 7 that can track total data usage? My buddy doesn't have an unlimited data plan—so I want to set him up with something useful so he can actually keep an eye on his consumption.
The story in the game itself is freaking intense, but that's because you’re getting about 30 hours of content. I honestly don't see how they expect to cram all of that into a two-hour movie—trying to maintain that same level of depth, the backstory for every single character and race, the history of the war, and the actual consequences of the main character's choices... I just highly doubt it'll work.
I’ve noticed Nvidia just has such a massive head start with their tech stack—stuff like DirectCompute, CUDA, and DirectX—so they’ve always been my go-to. But man, these reviews keep pulling me toward AMD, which is a real struggle. In the end, though... I think I'm sticking with the GTX 460!
Thanks, everyone! Now I’m off to hunt down the rest of my parts.
Edit: Does anyone know if there's a 1GB version of the GTX 460? How much of a headache is that 768MB limit going to be?
What about this one? http://www.nabava.net/graficke-karti...b-ddr5__816781
Alright, let's look at this from another angle... it’s actually a bit more layered than I first thought.
First off, my main thing on the computer is Photoshop—that's my bread and butter. It's how I fund my life as a student and all that. Now, I know you don't strictly *need* a high-end graphics card for it, but since Photoshop touches almost every aspect of multimedia, you never know when you'll get hit with a sudden 3D render or some heavy video encoding task. I've been around the block enough to know that some newer software really swears by GPU acceleration. So, I might as well be prepared. On top of that, I like to unwind with a modern game every now and then, so that's part of the equation too.
Here’s the situation: my dad runs a company where computers are passed down through the office hierarchy. The lead designer gets the powerhouse rig, the secretary gets the second-best one, and the guy handling basic tasks—like playing Solitaire or checking emails—gets something from two or three generations ago. Since my current machine is actually the top-tier one, I have this idea to slide my old setup into the hierarchy so the designer can take it over. My current PC has been handling the exact same workload as the designer's for two years now without breaking a sweat. If I do that, I could use the budget $1000 he has set aside for the designer to build myself something new—basically, within that $3,000, everything should be covered except for the graphics card.
So, there you have it—all the pieces of the puzzle. Now, tell me: is the 6850 actually worth it?
Well, I'm running at 2048*1152—so if it runs, it runs.
There’s definitely a chance I’ll just build an entirely new rig—up to $1000 beyond this current GPU. Honestly, I haven't felt the itch until now, but here we go... if this 6850 really offers better value than the Nvidia GeForce GTS 450, and if it means actually hitting my full performance potential, then yeah, I'd pull the trigger. It’s not like I'm looking to just throw money away, though—this setup has been a total workhorse for me ever since my 4850 bit the dust. My thought process is basically to squeeze a little more life out of what I have before I commit to a whole new configuration and just swap in a beefy graphics card.
Corsair 400w Asus P5B VM Asus P5B VM SE Intel Core 2 Duo E5300
Is there anything else worth noting? Don't worry about the power supply if it's a bit weak—I'm planning on swapping that out too if it turns out to be necessary.
I haven't been keeping up with the market much lately—my current card is pretty much on its deathbed, so I need an upgrade. Looking at these options, what would you recommend and why? Or maybe there's a better third option out there that I'm missing? p.s. This is mainly for gaming.