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upgrade: Core 2 versus dual Pentium?



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 16th 10, 07:12 AM posted to comp.sys.intel
Orson Cart
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Posts: 54
Default upgrade: Core 2 versus dual Pentium?


My child was given a HP desktop which has Pentium dual core 2.5 GHz and 800
MHz FSB. According to HP support pages, it can be upgraded to a Core 2 with
1066 MHz FSB. They appear to make a similar model which has the Core 2 and
slightly bigger disk, but same mainboard. The mainboard is made by MSI, but
they don't provide any documentation for it, since it is a bespoke product
for the OEM. Will the Core 2 improve the performance much?
P.S. I had some spare DDR2 modules, and was able to double the RAM, but
that did not speed it up, as the applications used are not memory gobblers.
  #2  
Old December 16th 10, 09:59 PM posted to comp.sys.intel
Robert Myers
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Posts: 606
Default upgrade: Core 2 versus dual Pentium?

On Dec 16, 1:12*am, "Orson Cart" wrote:
My child was given a HP desktop which has Pentium dual core 2.5 GHz and 800
MHz FSB. According to HP support pages, it can be upgraded to a Core 2 with
1066 MHz FSB. They appear to make a similar model which has the Core 2 and
slightly bigger disk, but same mainboard. The mainboard is made by MSI, but
they don't provide any documentation for it, since it is a bespoke product
for the OEM. Will the Core 2 improve the performance much?
P.S. I had some spare DDR2 modules, and was able to double the RAM, but
that did not speed it up, as the applications used are not memory gobblers.


You haven't really provided enough information. Intel has called so
many different things "Pentium" by now that there is no way of knowing
what's in the computer your child was given.

Same problem with "Core 2," which spans a wide range of chips with
differing capabilities.

I just gave away a 3GHz single-core P4 box because it was annoyingly
slow even to bother with compared to a Core 2 E8200 sitting right next
to it.

So the answer to your question is "maybe," depending on what's in the
box you have now, what you're considering replacing it with, and what
the replacement would cost.

Robert.
  #3  
Old December 17th 10, 01:24 PM posted to comp.sys.intel
Orson Cart
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 54
Default upgrade: Core 2 versus dual Pentium?


Robert Myers wrote:
s.

You haven't really provided enough information. Intel has called
so
many different things "Pentium" by now that there is no way of knowing
what's in the computer your child was given.

Same problem with "Core 2," which spans a wide range of chips with
differing capabilities.

I just gave away a 3GHz single-core P4 box because it was annoyingly
slow even to bother with compared to a Core 2 E8200 sitting right
next
to it.

So the answer to your question is "maybe," depending on what's in
the
box you have now, what you're considering replacing it with, and what
the replacement would cost.

Robert.


further:
it has Pentium E5200 Wolfdale which is dual 2.5 GHz/2 MB/800 MHz
I don't know if it is SLB9T or SLAY7
It does not do hyperthreading.
I believe Intel did put out a few "Pentiums" with a faster FSB that
would not be worth upgrading, but it is not one of those.
The mainboard has Nvidia 9300 chipset. It allows for FSB up to 1333 MHz,
but the fastest memory listed as an option is PC2-6400, so I ponder
if a faster CPU-northbridge frequency will help if the memory bandwidth
is already on the plateau.
Supposedly it supports Core Duo E4??? and E7???
I have a friend in the trade who considers these "obsolete" and will
sell them to me for a peppercorn, however he only seems to have the
slower end of the spectrum in his clearance bin.

  #4  
Old December 17th 10, 07:10 PM posted to comp.sys.intel
Robert Myers
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 606
Default upgrade: Core 2 versus dual Pentium?

On Dec 17, 7:24*am, "Orson Cart" wrote:
Robert Myers wrote:
s.


You haven't really provided enough information. *Intel has called
so
many different things "Pentium" by now that there is no way of knowing
what's in the computer your child was given.


Same problem with "Core 2," which spans a wide range of chips with
differing capabilities.


I just gave away a 3GHz single-core P4 box because it was annoyingly
slow even to bother with compared to a Core 2 E8200 sitting right
next
to it.


So the answer to your question is "maybe," depending on what's in
the
box you have now, what you're considering replacing it with, and what
the replacement would cost.


Robert.


further:
it has Pentium E5200 Wolfdale which is dual 2.5 GHz/2 MB/800 MHz
I don't know if it is SLB9T or SLAY7
It does not do hyperthreading.
I believe Intel did put out a few "Pentiums" with a faster FSB that
would not be worth upgrading, but it is not one of those.
The mainboard has Nvidia 9300 chipset. It allows for FSB up to 1333 MHz,
but the fastest memory listed as an option is PC2-6400, so I ponder
if a faster CPU-northbridge frequency will help if the memory bandwidth
is already on the plateau.
Supposedly it supports Core Duo E4??? and E7???
I have a friend in the trade who considers these "obsolete" and will
sell them to me for a peppercorn, however he only seems to have the
slower end of the spectrum in his clearance bin.


If you are willing to shell out $89.99,

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0332290

you can up the speed by a tad less than 20%, add a megabyte of cache,
and get hardware virtualization technology. You'd never notice the
speed difference, but the extra megabyte of cache might count for
something in some circumstances. The virtualization technology is
worth considering if (as I do), you'd like to keep an XP box alive in
the afterlife but don't want to commit an entire computer to the
enterprise.

Jumping up to an E8400 by spending twice as much money

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115037

gives you a walloping 6Mb of cache, VT, and a passmark score about 50%
higher than what you have now. The usual rule of thumb is that users
will not notice a speed increase of less than about 100%.

There are other imponderables. Maybe shelling out money, opening the
case, and installing a new processor is worth any amount of money in a
parent/child relationship.

Your "Pentium," by the way, is just a rebranded Core 2 Duo, with Intel
trying to get some extra mileage and gross margin out of recycled
brand names. So far as I can tell, Intel downgraded the name to
"Pentium" to lure you into buying a newer generation of hardware.

Robert.
 




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