CPU upgrade options for 6860fx?

Hi, I got the 6860fx when it first came out and still have the stock CPU. It's still fast enough but I wanted to see what my upgrade options are so I can keep an eye on proc prices with the new i7 chips being released.

Are there certian chip families I can use or should avoid? Are the 45nm chips OK to use?

Sorry, I know my stuff but just haven't looked into this much.

 

after a month i bought my 6860 i installed a T9300 and all i could say is its perfect for everything that i "need".....although i can give no comparison but games run smooth though some you have to tone down a bit to get a smooth gameplay.

games i play that are in top performance (NO OC)
prince of persia (2008)
dead space
tomb raider
call of duty world at war
call of duty moder warfare
assassins creed
grid
gears of war

games in med-high rating
need for speed undercover
far cry 2
crysis 1 and crysis warhead

if u want you can get those xtreme cpu's though i dont know how much "better" they are.good luck.

 

thanks for the suggestion...

do I have to stay with the mobile procs... or am I able to install any desktop grade procs?

I'd might consider a quad core (not sure if there are any that I can use). I know there's not much of a need right now vs my C2D but I figured quad core will help further down the road.

 

I'd go with an x7800 or t9300. I chose the x7800 because of it's good price/performance ratio and it's ability to be overclocked from the bios. I max it when i game and downclock it when im running on battery power, it's pretty nifty. The t9300 will run a lot cooler, however. And, your bios doesn't support quad core CPU's ='[

 

No quads huh?... are there any "working" modded BIOS files out their that allow the quads to run?

so pretty much the two procs to watch are the t9300 or x7800? I assume they're not planning on releasing any newer procs for our chipsets since the i7 is their baby now.

 

Would I be able to use a T9600? I ask since it's a 1066 proc.... on that note, am I able to move from 800 RAM to 1066 as well?

 

No go on the T9600 (or any ones with the 1066 fsb, afaik), and our ram is limited to running at 667mhz or something, so we can't even fully utilize 800mhz ram (as far as I've read, I'm still using the ram that came with my 6860).

Your main options:

T9300/T9500 - These are "Penryn" 45nm chips, so should have better power efficiency and run cooler (compared to the 65nm stock T5550). I dunno how prices are nowadays, but the T9500, for a 100mhz clock speed increase, had a ridiculous $200 price premium over the T9300. The T9300 is generally regarded as having the most bang for the buck, which is why I chose it.

X7800/X7900/X9000 - These extreme edition chips can be overclocked via bios settings in our 6860's (to a maximum of 3.0ghz), so I guess if you desire maximum cpu speed you'd need one of these. The 7800/7900 are 65nm chips like the T5550 but also use slightly more power too. The X9000 is a cooler 45nm chip, but I think still uses an increased amount of power.

 

Yeah the 45nm architecture of the x9000 keeps it cooler than its predecessor the x7800, But we still run off of a 44watt TDP, so its a power hog.

The t9300 or the x7800 is about the best performance range though.

The t8300 will give almost the t9300 performance for a bit cheaper and the x9000 will give the best performance but usually at a premium in price.

I got mine for 380 shipped though so i cant complain. Though i've almost convinced myself to spend 500 dollars for a hard drive so whats 380.00 for the top of the line CPU

 

Oh yeah lol forgot about the T8100/T8300. If you're on a tighter budget, the 2.4ghz T8300 is definitely a worthwhile upgrade.

 

I got an x7800 from ebay. Guy is still selling it for the same price and I've got mine oc'ed to 3.0 with idle temps of 32/35 and load temps of 75 running orthos. Came in 4 days from HK. Fastest shipping ever...seriously!

Can't beat it. 3.0 dual core laptop with an 8800gts. Better than the majority of desktops out there If you do go this way remember to get a cooler. Helps A LOT!

I would also upgrade to an 7200rpm hard drive. Makes a noticeable difference and they're not too expensive now a days.

 

thanks for all the great suggestions. Mostly I don't plan on upgrading for a little bit and wanted to know the better CPUs to watch for prices on.

I forgot that this was only 667 RAM... oh well. Has anyone placed 800mhz ram in and then O/C'd? Did it help much?

I thought about getting a faster HDD but I read some "5400 vs 7200" HDD reviews and found them to not be "tons" faster. I know I'll go 500GB (or larger) with 7200rpm at some point though.