How does my processor compare to the new stuff?

[Quixote]

Here's what I have:
http://ark.intel.com/products/29765/ProductCollection.aspx?brand=34532

I'm looking to upgrade, if I even need to. Is my processor crap? Or could somewhat match up to the nice stuff out there? I'm a real novice when it comes to these things. What does it compare to i5 or i7? Should I invest in a new one to play Skyrim and future games?

I'm also planning on getting a Nvidia 460 or 560 GTX card if that helps at all.

Thanks a lot 

 

[Sushiman70]

What's your budget?

Also, I'm led to believe that the 560 Ti is worth the nominal price increase.

 

[Kevlar]

Depends on your budget and what you intend to do with a new cpu/gpu.

Your CPU is still fine for most modern games as not all games even use quad cores now (skyrim only uses two). A benefit of upgrading to something like an i5 2500k would be it would run faster and cooler and be able to overclock much much better.

Difference between i5 and i7 is only slightly better binned chips for the i7 and hyper threading. Basically, only get an i7 if you plan on doing heavy graphic or video editing work.

 

[bgfan]

It'll fall a bit short for some of the more high-end games out there, but provided you don't care overly much about visuals, you could probably get another 2-3 years of low-mid graphics gaming out of it.

 

[Revilo]

What's your budget?

Also, I'm led to believe that the 560 Ti is worth the nominal price increase.

560 Ti is most definitely worth it. Upped from a 9800GT to a 560Ti and the increase is just phenomenal - I've got Skyrim running at ultra high with no loss in frame rate at all.

 

[Kevlar]

Just a sidenote that if you intend on buying a new nvidia card, wait until December since nvidia announced price drops on most of their newer gpus.

 

[Lord Burgess1]

You may be able to overclock it to around 2.8. Which will make it fine for a while longer.

 

[Quixote]

Awesome info thanks guys! My budget I'd like to keep no more than $200-300 for a new processor. No more than $200 for graphics card preferred too.

I'd love to one day start making Let's Plays, or videos and stuff. I'm not EXTREMELY anal about speed when editing, but a smooth framerate with epic graphics is what I'm going for when playing.

How's the difference between the 560 and 560Ti fare? I've heard great things about the Ti

I also heard about a Black-Friday-like date called Cyber Mondays, that Newegg has, where all the new stuff comes and the previously l33t models are cheaper, so I'll definitely be into saving money come December

 

[Kevlar]

Awesome info thanks guys! My budget I'd like to keep no more than $200-300 for a new processor. No more than $200 for graphics card preferred too.

You might be able to get a i5 2500k and a motherboard for around $300 (sometimes with a free game in a bundle). Only thing you would then need is ram.

I'd love to one day start making Let's Plays, or videos and stuff. I'm not EXTREMELY anal about speed when editing, but a smooth framerate with epic graphics is what I'm going for when playing.

Something else you would probably want to do videos with taking less of a hit to your fps is a seperate hard drive to store the files. If you run fraps (or another game recording program) on the hard drive that also has your OS on it you will be basically throttling the HDD (unless you have an ssd).

How's the difference between the 560 and 560Ti fare? I've heard great things about the Ti

I believe the Ti is just an updated model, it's probably just faster. Here is a review on the difference I just found :

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-560-amp-edition-gtx-560-directcu-ii-top,2944.html

I also heard about a Black-Friday-like date called Cyber Mondays, that Newegg has, where all the new stuff comes and the previously l33t models are cheaper, so I'll definitely be into saving money come December

Newegg and a lot of other sites have them, even retail stores have decent prices on items they have on sale. Of course, steam also has their sales around the holidays in december as well.

 

[Quixote]

Awesome!

Would I really need a new motherboard for the i5 2500k? When I built my computer a few years ago I got one of the newest ones at the time.

 

[Elisianthus]

Yes. The i series processors use a different socket for the CPU, so they won't fit your current one.

 

[Revilo]

ASRock Extreme 4 Gen 3 is a very nice mobo. All black (was a big plus for me) and lots of nifty features.

 

[Sushiman70]

Also, make sure you get the 2500k, and not just the 2500, as I believe the latter doesn't allow for overclocking.

 

[Kevlar]

Also, make sure you get the 2500k, and not just the 2500, as I believe the latter doesn't allow for overclocking.

The k just means it is unlocked, so ya, don't get the 2500 :p

You could recoup some of the funds an upgrade like this would cost by selling your old cpu/mobo/ram on ebay or somewhere else. Looks like the q6600 can still fetch $100 or more on ebay, your motherboard (depending on model) would probably get some extra money as well.

Awesome!

Would I really need a new motherboard for the i5 2500k? When I built my computer a few years ago I got one of the newest ones at the time.

New i5's are two generations higher than your q6600, so ya, they require a new motherboard as the socket is changed. You would also need new ram too (unless you have ddr3 ram).

 

[Archonsod]

It'll fall a bit short for some of the more high-end games out there

lolwut? It's more than sufficient for any game released, and will be for several years. If on the other hand he was using the machine for cryptography or as a server then it might have issues

 

[Sir Prince]

It'll fall a bit short for some of the more high-end games out there

lolwut? It's more than sufficient for any game released, and will be for several years. If on the other hand he was using the machine for cryptography or as a server then it might have issues

Yeah I also have a Q6600, it is not overclocked and I have yet to have any game use it all up (except for memory leaks). BF3 is running like a charm with high settings (and with 4 gigs of RAM and a GTX260).

 

[bgfan]

For some reason i managed to get the impression that it was a dual-core  I apologize for my mistake.

 

[Quixote]

For some reason i managed to get the impression that it was a dual-core  I apologize for my mistake.

Too late, we already decided to burn you

 

[Kevlar]

If you decide not to upgrade (cpu, anyway) what you may want to look at are ssd's. After ram it is probably the cheapest thing you can buy that will make your computer just so much better.

Great for Skyrim or other single player games that have a lot of loading.

 

[Quixote]

If you decide not to upgrade (cpu, anyway) what you may want to look at are ssd's. After ram it is probably the cheapest thing you can buy that will make your computer just so much better.

Great for Skyrim or other single player games that have a lot of loading.

What are an ssd?