CPU Upgrade Advice

[archp2008]

I have an Asus P5B-VM Mobo with P4 3.4 CPU and Nvidia 7300 Graphics with DVI out. I'm looking for advice on upgrading my system for better performance. I may be looking at playing HD to an HDTV as well as video editing. OC'ing is not a priority, nor is gaming. Stability is important to me I have only installed a couple of mobo's before and am nervous doing that. I notice that I can purchase a case/ps and mobo with the cpu installed and tested and under warranty for only around $100 more than buying the cpu chip alone, but then again, I already have two computers running besides several obsolete ones taking up space in the basement.. I am most concerned about stories I read where cpu's are purchased but don't work on the mobo even though they are listed as being compatible with the mobo. How big a performance boost would I expect replacing the P4 3.4 with an Intel Q6700 Quad at 2.66.? What CPU would you suggest to give the best bang for the buck in the P5B-VM and the most likely to be compatible?

[Chris134]

Im just going to say i think an AMD CPU might be cheaper for the same quality.

[Aaron_8015]

Well here is the support list for that motherboard.

CPU-Upgrade: ASUS P5B-VM cpu support and features

The Q6700 is supported and will be a massive boost from that pentium you are running now... Especially in video editing.

I would look for a cheap Q6600 or similar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris134

Im just going to say i think an AMD CPU might be cheaper for the same quality.

That would require a replacement motherboard which will cost more than just the cpu.

[cksboy15]

AMD is the cheaper option for cpu's the problem is the OP said he has an intel board. In order to get an AMD cpu he will have to get a new mobo which eliminates the best bang for buck ideal.

Quads are perfect for video editing the problem is that I couldn't find a Q6700 or lower so I'm not sure if this one will do or not.

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

[Aaron_8015]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cksboy15

AMD is the cheaper option for cpu's the problem is the OP said he has an intel board. In order to get an AMD cpu he will have to get a new mobo which eliminates the best bang for buck ideal.

Quads are perfect for video editing the problem is that I couldn't find a Q6700 or lower so I'm not sure if this one will do or not.

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Well I did provide the cpu support list above. Which the Q8200 is not on so could'nt guarantee it would work.

[JLK03F150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by archp2008

How big a performance boost would I expect replacing the P4 3.4 with an Intel Q6700 Quad at 2.66.? What CPU would you suggest to give the best bang for the buck in the P5B-VM and the most likely to be compatible?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_8015

I would look for a cheap Q6600 or similar.

[archp2008]

Thanks a lot for the replies. I saw that cpu list before. It's just that I would be a little concerned by the fact that I'm not sure if the list comes directly from Asus. I don't know what problem this guy had with his DO version that it had to be replaced. ASUS P5B-VM DO says support Q6700 but can't get to work!!!. I'm currently watching a few deals on eBay including this used cpu, but it doesn't look like it's going to be much cheaper than a new one: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.66 GHz Processor on eBay.ca (item 120468107219 end time 13-Sep-09 02:54:46 EDT)
I live in Canada and find this deal attractive because it is (almost) a complete new pc. BEST EBAY DEAL QUAD CORE BAREBONE COMPUTER $339.99 on eBay.ca (item 250496673680 end time 10-Oct-09 17:07:04 EDT) I've dealt with this store before both directly and via eBay and had no problems with them. I'm not in a hurry to do the upgrade right away, though. Right now I'm just researching what's out there and reading up on how to do the cpu replacement. Apparently, it's real easy to bend the mobo pins or damage the cpu contacts during installation, also there's the usual risk of bios updating. My existing case is quite a bit the worse for wear, and, for some reason, it takes a long time for my hard drives to get detected sometimes, probably related to the IDE drive being installed along with 4 sata2 drives. I think the IDE drive is the one that is sometimes slow to get detected and I have no idea if that indicates there might be anything wrong with the controller or IDE socket.

[cksboy15]

I run a IDE dvd burner and sata2 hdd's and I don't have problems with them getting detected.