Solved: Is upgrading my CPU worth it with my MoBo?

MPope1 · ‎12-13-2014

Hello, and thanks in advance!

tldr: is it worth upgrading my CPU? If so, to what?

So I am currently using a P5N72-T Premium which I got about five years ago. I'm taking the opportunity to do some upgrading since it's all being a bit sluggish lately. I'm currently using 4 GB of DDR2, but will be upgrading to 8 GB (the max this mobo can take). I'm running Windows 7, btw. The full specs of my system from CPU-Z are at the bottom of the post.

I'm wondering if it's worth upgrading my processor. The one I currently have is an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200. This is not a new processor by any means, so I was hoping to be able to upgrade it. Unfortunately, it's looking like this board isn't going to let me make a huge jump in terms of the CPU. The list of quad core cpus that are compatible is also at the bottom of the post.

My question for you all is this: is it worth updgrading the CPU at all at this point? Will the jump in performance from mine to the best of these be worth the cost and hassle? If so, which would be the best? I should note that I don't really feel like upgrading my mobo at this point.

Thanks again! Here are the compatlble cpus (full list at http://www.pc-specs.com/mobo/Asus/Asus_P5N72-T_Premium/296/Compatible_CPUs http://www.pc-specs.com/mobo/Asus/Asus_P5N72-T_Premium/296/Compatible_CPUs )

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300, Q400, Q9300, Q9400, Q 9450, Q9500, Q9505, Q9550, Q9650, Q9700, Q9705

And here are my detailed specs:

Motherboard:

ASUS P5N72-T Premium

Chipset 780

CPU socket - LGA 775

Max Ram 8 GB 4xDDR2

CPU:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 @ 2.33GHZ

Max TPDP - 95W

Core Speed ca: 2000 MHz x6

Bus Speed 333.33 MHz

Memory:

PC2-6400 (2x2GB, upgrading to 4x2GB)

Graphics:

AMD Radeon HD 6850

1024 MBytes

Core clock at 775 MHz

Cache - 4x32 Kbytes, 8 way

Windows 7 (6.1) Home Premium Edition 64-bit

Service Pack 1

Silvia_L_Intel1 · ‎12-15-2014

Hello Counterpoint, thanks a lot for posting your question at Intel communities and also for all the complete information provided.The following link will show you a list of Intel processors so you can compare them. http://ark.intel.com/compare/35428,42920,35365,39107,36547 http://ark.intel.com/compare/35428,42920,35365,39107,36547

The current processor, the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 has a speed of 2.33GHZ. The faster processor from this family is the Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9650 which has a 3 GHz.

The Q9650 will provide you a better performance; however the change may not be noticeable, since there is not much difference between these two.

You will be able to see a big difference in your system if you also upgrade your hard drives to hdd with more RPMs and add more memory, something that you already did.

Please beware of where you purchase the processor, since there are a lot of counterfeit processors and engineer samples for sale on the web.

View solution in original post

Silvia_L_Intel1 · ‎12-15-2014

Hello Counterpoint, thanks a lot for posting your question at Intel communities and also for all the complete information provided.The following link will show you a list of Intel processors so you can compare them. http://ark.intel.com/compare/35428,42920,35365,39107,36547 http://ark.intel.com/compare/35428,42920,35365,39107,36547

The current processor, the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 has a speed of 2.33GHZ. The faster processor from this family is the Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9650 which has a 3 GHz.

The Q9650 will provide you a better performance; however the change may not be noticeable, since there is not much difference between these two.

You will be able to see a big difference in your system if you also upgrade your hard drives to hdd with more RPMs and add more memory, something that you already did.

Please beware of where you purchase the processor, since there are a lot of counterfeit processors and engineer samples for sale on the web.