I want to upgrade my CPU,is it even worth it?

I currently have this CPU.This is already quite fast for what i use it for.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Intel-Pentium-D...25QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCPUs?hash=item2eaa5fd7e5

I want to upgrade to this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Intel-Core-2-Du...07QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCPUs?hash=item3efb9037af

I know my CPU i have now is a 1mb cache and the new one is a 3MB cache,so will i notice a bigger jump in speed? Thanks in advance.

 

It depends on what you are doing. If you are browsing the web and checking email, then no. But if you are gaming and video editing then it will help. If you built the computer yourself I would recommend overclocking your current cpu. The e2200 can easily do 3-3.2ghz.

If you choose to upgrade you need to make sure the computer supports it. You might have to upgrade your bios if it is an older motherboard.

 

Yeah my current motherboard supports this cpu,this is the highest chip i can put on this. I do alot of video editing/converting. I used to have a Dell intel pentium D 2.50 GHZ. Going from that dell to my current duocore 2.20 blows the dell away. Will it make my video editing any faster going to the duo core2 cpu? Thanks for your help.

 

Sorry you answered my questions above

 

Theres more to the cpus then just the cache. The Pentium was the lowest class processor back then. The Core 2 Duo was you mentioned was probably a mid level chip. Pretty sure your going to see a nice performance boost. Nothing to big but quite noticeable.

 

For video editing you need a quad. Even a entry level quad will speed you up in that area. I wouldn't build a video editing computer with anything less than a quad.
This is the speed I got with different cpus when encoding a movie using the h264 codec 2-pass mode.
amd semprom 2800 single core = 4 hours to encode
intel e6300 core2 = 3 hours
phenom 9750 quad = 1.5 to 2 hours.
The speed increase was very noticeable with my phenom, the intel quads are even faster.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-desktop-cpu-charts/Mainconcept-Reference-1.6.1,1385.html

For gaming even a semprom with a highend video card will work.

 

Need? Not really, a core 2 can get the job done but obviously a quad or a quad w/ HT(AKA Core i7) is going to get the job done more efficiently, not to mention faster encoding times.

 

I forgot to say that you need a quad only if speed to finish your project faster is a issue for you. But a core2 can definitely do the job, just not as fast.
But once you experience the speed of a quad you never want to go back to a core2.
That is the only really use for a quad (video encoding), using a quad on anything else will be overkill. Especially since they are very power hungry compared to the slower cpu's.

 

Um the Core2 Line was Core2Duos and Core2Quads.

Not really, anymore the quad is becoming standardized. Just look at Intel line up atm. Core i3, is a duo core, and the i5 and i7 are both quads.

I agree though quads are awesome. With my 860 I can have a 700MB AVI file converted to a DVD(using ConvertXtoDVD) in about 10-15 minuets on high quality. My Q6600 took about an hour.

 

The Q6600 is a quad as well, so not sure what your point is :S

Not so, only the i5 750 is a quad. The i5 600 series are dual core CPUs.

fandr:
The best approach for you is to buy a Core 2 Quad CPU, if your motherboard supports it. If it doesn't, then you should buy a Core i5 system, which will mean a new motherboard and RAM. Core i5s are even faster than Core 2 Quads, but having to replace those three components makes the upgrade expensive (typically around 400-450 USD). Buying a Core 2 Quad like a Q9550 is half that much.
Upgrading to an E7600 is a reasonable upgrade, but it pales in comparison to what the other two options offer.

If you don't care about horrendous lag
Most people don't understand that CPUs are important for gaming. They are, almost as much as the graphics card.

 

Never said it wasnt. I was simply comparing the two cpus in terms of speed in convertxtodvd.

 

Unless massively overclocked, the 860 is nowhere near 3-4x as fast as a Q6600, I'm guessing ConvertXtoDVD uses Hyperthreading well.

 

That must be true, but I still notice a massive difference between the two in anything cpu intensive I do.

 

there is a Gaming CPU Hierarchy Chart here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu,2492-6.html
it seems like a considerable improvement in gaming use
Note: upgrade within three levels is just a waste of money

 

Isn't i3 just as viable as some of those on there? It doesn't even show them.

 

The chart isn't up to date enough to show i3s, they've only just been released.