upgraded cpu's?

[jonathan]

i wanted to upgrade my processor from a dual core to a quad core, i was wondering if anyone can reccommend one to upgrade too and if my specs limmit me to anything?

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-660 Dual Core (3.33GHz, 4MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P7H55D-M EVO: MICRO ATX, USB 3.0 & SATA 3.0GB/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB CORSAIR XMS3 DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (4 x 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB ATI RADEON™ HD 5770 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)
Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£25)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

 

[Meds]

The most popular Quad Core CPU on that socket was the i5-760. You can get them for around £160 inc VAT at the moment.

 

[JakAttack]

Hi there Jonathan,

you should be able to put any of the modern Intel Core i5/i7 7xx/8xx series quad core GPU's in this system, your motherboard and PSU should be able to handle it.

There are still alot of places that sell them, here is a list of the different CPU's your motherboard can support so you know what will and will not work! http://support.asus.com/Cpusupport/List.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=P7H55D-M%20EVO&p=1&s=32

 

[jonathan]

wow thanks mate thats an extremely good list im thinking of these 2 but im confused, i dont know much when it comes to tech im somewhat of an eager learner though, whats the difference between these 2 processors? i was comparing the specs and the more expensive one seems to have less things

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=41315

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=48499

thanks

 

[Nemesis]

the i7 875k is a special version of the i7 870 made for overclocking

 

[jonathan]

the i7 875k is a special version of the i7 870 made for overclocking

so if im not planning on overclocking then go for the cheaper one?

 

[Nemesis]

Yes you shouldnt notice any difference

As i recall it the i7 870 was never very good value
Do you really need the extra features (The main one being Hyperthreading)
because most programs dont utilize more than four cores

 

[jonathan]

Yes you shouldnt notice any difference

As i recall it the i7 870 was never very good value
Do you really need the extra features (The main one being Hyperthreading)
because most programs dont utilize more than four cores

i dont know what that meens!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Nemesis]

Fair enough

Hyper-Threading
Put simply it is the technology that lets each core do two things at once
So if you have a quad core processor you have 4 cores and 8 threads (Like virtual cores)
This is the case for the i7 870

Dual-core = 2, Quad-core = 4

This may all sound good but most programs havent been made to take advantage of all these "cores"
so unless you know you will be using programs that can use this tech, then you may as well save yourself dome money and get a processor without it

 

[Meds]

I still stick to my recommendation of the i5-760 CPU. It offers the best value for money on that socket.