CPU upgrade question...

I currently have a Core Duo 2GHz T2500 processor in my rig. I've been thinking about upgrading to a Core2Duo 2.33GHz T7600 processor for a while now. I was wondering if anuone could tell me why the price of the T7600 has consistently been about $100 more than the T7700 2.4 GHz CPU's? The T7700 are also the newer 800MHz FSB and although I suspect that it will NOT go into my W2JB, I don't understand the extra cost. Thanks.

 

Older processors normally decrease in prce, or stay the same, because no one really buys them. Upgrading from a T2500 will not do much for performance. Only in processor dependant applications, will you see a difference in speed. In the majority of other applications, a processor upgrade won't increase performance, be it in games or office tasks.

If you have money to spend, then it may be a good idea to spend it on a faster hard disk, or more RAM, as those components have a larger affect on performance than a processor upgrade.

 

Interesting. Thanks Zero. I've been trying to think of ways to optimize my Bioshock gaming experience on my laptop. I thought the bump to a T7600 would be nice (C2D, 333MHz extra and 4MB L2 cache) but from what you are saying, the improvement over what I have will be minimal. Thanks again, you may have just saved me $600!

 

The graphics card limits the performance of games, and your current T2500 is more than powerful enough. Quite a few people get the impression from the manufacturers, that faster processors are a good thing. Yes, they are good, but for $600, its too much money, considering the performance is only going to improve in some applications, such as encoding or video editing. Little else will take advantage of the extra speed.

 

I was actually considering the same thing but for future proofing reasons. The price thing put me off though. I really want it but for the 64bit capability, only if i can get it for sub $400 though. To answer your question, newer processors tend to have better yields (not a hard and fast rule) than older generations. That and they may be able to reduce marginal operating costs. With the release of a new line the top of the line chips like the t7600s that commanded higher prices the marginal production cost does not disappear with age that and the typically lower quantities helps to retain their high price point hence the price discrepancies between the old top dog and the new one.

 

From what I have seen, most gaming benchmarks comparing the Core Duo and the Core 2 Duo show little difference in framerates. The performance with the T7600 will without a doubt be better than with the T2500 but the difference will most likely be small and it's certainly not a $600 difference - not even close.

To improve gaming performance, overclocking the video card will help.

 

$600 to upgrade a laptop is a waste of money.

You could get a vostro 1500 with 2gb RAM and an 8400GS for $600 bucks.

 

Thanks Chaz. I overclocked my X1600 slightly when I played F.E.A.R. and the results were definitely noticeable. That's the route I think I'll take. I was surprised how good my Bioshock framerates were with stock clocks, even at native res of 1440x900, so a modest o/c should be nice!

Even though it's already getting a bit dated, I'm not planning on replacing my W2 anytime soon. It really is an impressive machine in both looks and performance. Not many laptops can compare IMHO. I would still think about spending a few hundred buck for a modest performance boost but as was stated here several times already, $600 is way too much.

Thanks again everyone!