Core 2 Duo

Hey 🙂

So, since building a new rig is basically happening right now, once I sort out the payment details, my PC should be here 😉. Now I'm just stuck wondering what to do with my old one. I’m thinking about upgrading it—maybe mix some new parts with some used ones—but I have a quick question.

For this motherboard
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I'm looking at swapping in a better CPU, and checking the list of what this board can handle
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I really liked those Intel Core 2 Duo options, so here's my question.

There are different Intel Core 2 Duo versions with X3 or X4 cores that this board supports, so I guess I'm wondering which one is actually stronger? Does the speed add up, or how does that even work?

Like, for example...

Intel Core 2 Duo 550 3100 Mhz
Intel Core 2 Duo X3 740 3000 Mhz
Intel Core 2 Quad series

And obviously, there are others besides the Intel Core 2 Duo stuff too.🙂

Basically, I just want to grab the best thing possible from the used market, since I'm assuming you won't find any new CPUs that actually fit this board anymore.

Thanks a bunch for the help! 🙂

If you're looking at Intel Core 2 Duo options, the rule is pretty simple—more cores are better. It’s not like they stack up mathematically, it just means you have 4 equally fast cores handling tasks simultaneously.

If I were you, I'd grab any Intel Core 2 Quad. Just a heads-up though, you really need to check things because your motherboard only supports CPUs up to a 95W Thermal design Power. Before you buy anything, maybe Google the part number; for example, if you search for an Intel Motherboard Model, you'll land on a page with all the deep specs here:

http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K10/AM...5FBGMBOX).html

You'll see at the bottom under Thermal design Power that it says 125W, and once you check that processor against the compatibility table, it'll probably say N/A, meaning it won't work with your board.

So, what's actually in there right now? What's the rest of the build look like, and what are you planning to use it for?

Why not just sell the old rig and put that cash toward a modern PC instead?

It’s pretty straightforward—the higher the count on the Intel Core 2 Quad series, the better you're doing (since X4 means quad-core). Just make sure your motherboard actually supports it (check if it says N/A next to the BIOS version); for your specific board, you can only run the 95W versions. Honestly, there's no point in shelling out more than $100 for these CPUs, though maybe $117 if you happen to track down a 95W Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550.

Super 🙂 thanks so much for all the replies 😉

Basically, I won't get much for it, and I've already picked out something new—Kimberly Gomez34 actually put together a build for me 😁. So, for this old rig, I'll probably just grab a processor next month. Right now, it's running an Intel Pentium Dual-Core, and by New Year's, I want to drop in a new 1GB GPU. It has 4GB of RAM and a 500GB HDD, plus the motherboard mentioned above. I might have to swap out some connectors because they seem a bit flaky, but I have another one similar to it that worked okay. I'm also planning to swap the power supply since I have no clue how old this one is, so I'll give it a little refresh. Plus, the case has two fans
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Once I finish all that, it should run way better than it does now. I was just a little confused about the core count thing for the processor 😉. I know about the 95w limit and which BIOS supports which chip 😉. I'll need to update the BIOS for the new processor, but I still have the original CD for the board with the upgrade utility, so that shouldn't be an issue 😉.

It’s mostly just been running League of Legends so far, and it'll stay that way—except now it'll be with me instead of my son, who's getting the new setup 😁. As for mine, I'll figure it out; my daughter can probably keep using it like this until she gets a tablet 😁. Her current PC is going over to her aunt's place, so it'll just be sitting there being used occasionally
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So yeah, everyone should be set for a while 👍.

Thanks again to everyone who helped me out with their posts and ideas
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'new 1GB GPU...' That doesn't really tell me much 😬

Maybe try giving us the specific model? You can always just download CPU-Z to check if you aren't sure.

Let me tell you, if you took a PC built around an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 with at least 4GB of RAM and paired it with a decent dedicated graphics card, it would absolutely crush that APU in gaming performance.

crimsonstag84 said:'Got a new 1GB GPU... maybe?That doesn't really say much, I guess. 😬

Just grab the exact graphics card model, maybe download CPU-Z if you aren't sure.

HTML Code : https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/graphics-cards/

So, I'm basically trying to track down an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550, but man, everything I can find around here seems to be stuck at 125W. I guess. 😢 This is about as close as I could get, I guess. 😉
HTML Code : https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/graphics-cards/

I think I saw it online for around $20, maybe?

Maybe I'll bump the RAM up to 8GB soon, I guess. 😉

Yeah, finding a 95W Q9550 is pretty tough around here. You're better off hunting down a 945; they've popped up before, so just scour the marketplace sections on the forums.

The GPU isn't exactly a beast for gaming, but for basic 2D work, it gets the job done just fine.

Timothy Kim60 said:The GPU is pretty weak for gaming, but maybe okay for basic 2D stuff

So, thinking about the upgrades planned, what kind of card would be decent without breaking the bank?

After reading those last posts and seeing how that setup might actually beat an APU build, I'm kinda spinning my wheels trying to figure out the math on costs 😉 and what games it could actually handle. Besides RTW2 and SC2, I wonder if it could even run the latest DOOM 4?

This is easily one of those budget cards that actually makes sense for the money.

http://www.amazon.com/graphic-cards/

It’s solid. It kicks way more ass than any integrated graphics in an APU, plus the price just dropped recently.

But let's be real—DOOM 4 is out of reach.

What specific power supply model are you running? (Can you check the label?)

Timothy Kim60 said:What’s the exact power supply model you're running (check the label)?

The PSU is:

CODEGEN 400W Model:300xx ATX 2.03 (P4)

and I was thinking about swapping it out for that one you suggested in the build
EVGA 400W Power Supply, 80+

I also had a quick question about coolers for an Intel Core 2 Quad... can I still find a decent new one (like, are they even still out there, and if so, what should I look for 😉 or am I stuck hunting for used ones?)

That power supply isn't going to cut it for any serious graphics cards; you might want to look into an EVGA 400W Power Supply instead.

Are you talking about aftermarket coolers? You can pick up some budget-friendly options here:

http://www.nabava.net/search.php?tp=0&q=lc-cc-95
http://www.nabava.net/search.php?tp=0&q=lc-cc-120

The second one is a bit more robust, but honestly, even the first one beats out the stock cooler—it runs cooler and stays much quieter.

Super 🙂

thanks so much for all the info and for taking the time to help me out 👍

🙂 hey again, haven't been around for long 😁

so I'm upgrading my current setup and picking up some RAM, but I've hit a bit of a snag. My current DDR2 2GB sticks say they're for dual processors, and apparently there are versions just for Intel or ones that work for both Intel and AMD. Right now, I'm running a dual processor setup, but I'm looking at grabbing an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 or maybe a 945—basically going quad core. So, I guess I need to find specific DDR2 for quad cores, or would the dual processor stuff work too? That part is kind of tripping me up

Are you talking about dual processors? Or Dual Channel? That’s when two sticks work together as a pair.

By the way, I’d steer clear of that "AMD only RAM" stuff—I'm guessing you're browsing eBay? There's no guarantee it'll actually work with your setup, so you're better off sticking to standard modules.

So I've got two different ones here:

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and then this one:

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I guess I have to buy them as a pair? Or they won't work?

Both are available for sale locally here.

You don't necessarily have to grab them as a kit.

RAM can run in Dual Channel or just single channel, and honestly, the performance gap is maybe a couple percent—it’s pretty much irrelevant. I guess it's best to check what you're running right now (two 2GB sticks if I'm reading you right?) and try to find the exact same ones, twice over, to hit 8GB total. Sometimes RAM modules can be picky about working together, and older motherboards sometimes struggle to recognize a single 4GB stick or whatever.