Is this compatible with my Computer?

[McNoobin]

Okay so I'm upgrading my computer's processor to a quad-core. However there's an important reason why I'm wary about this. My computer was a pre-built, bought one from like Wal-Mart. It's got an AMD Dual Core @ 2.7 Ghz. I know that pre built computers can really leave you limited on upgrading them, but I can't really build a brand new one, not because of money, well maybe because of money, but it would be so much easier and cost so much less if I just upgraded my processor. I already upgraded the video card and what not.

I'm not too big on computers, so I don't know if I'll need a new motherboard or what, but, to get to the main point, how likely is it that this quad-core:
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-2600K-Processor-3-4GHz-LGA1155/dp/B004EBUXSA
will fit or be compatible with my computer? and if not, um, anybody know how to build a decent rig for under $1000?

EDIT: PC DETAILS HERE - http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01859861&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=4006002#N210

 

[HerbertTheHamster]

Intel and AMD don't use the same sockets.

 

[Ralen-Sharr]

That's not going to work. Your current rig is running an AMD chip and you are looking at an Intel processor.

If the case and power supply + peripherals can be re-used, a chip and motherboard shouldn't run you that much. Shop around on Newegg and other sites like it.

 

[McNoobin]

That's not going to work. Your current rig is running an AMD chip and you are looking at an Intel processor.

If the case and power supply + peripherals can be re-used, a chip and motherboard shouldn't run you that much. Shop around on Newegg and other sites like it.

Intel and AMD don't use the same sockets.

That's what I was afraid of. Thanks though.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

How does motherboard compatibility to processors work? Is it just company to company or what?

At any rate, if you do a little digging you can find a motherboard/processor bundle which should solve the problem.

 

[McNoobin]

I doubt your motherboard will be able to use an Intel CPU.

Do it yourself is often a bad choice if you don't know computers well. It is relatively easy to get a decent computer for under $1000 (no, it won't have the top of the line video card, but just how intensive is your need?) For example, look at the Dell XPS line for some solid performers at under $1000. And of course if your monitor is still fine no need to get a new one.

Well I'm upgrading my computer for Battlefield 3, and since I have about 2 more months before it actually comes out, and I am looking to run ARMA 2 smoothly.

EDIT: didn't finish that first sentence, since I have 2 months before it comes out, I have time for any useful tips or plans to get this to work lol

 

[eximista]

why should he buy a new motherboard? just buy a quad core from amd...-

AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition C3, 3.5 GHz, AM3, ...
half the price... and pretty much as good as i7.

And if you think intel is better because it's expensive - than buy a mac.

 

[McNoobin]

why should he buy a new motherboard? just buy a quad core from amd...-

AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition C3, 3.5 GHz, AM3, ...
half the price... and pretty much as good as i7.

And if you think intel is better because it's expensive - than buy a mac.

Ah, that's probably the smarter way, I guess I forgot because future games will be utilizing the i7. I'm assuming the smartest way would be to wait until I just build a brand new computer and make that use an intel.

 

[eximista]

why should he buy a new motherboard? just buy a quad core from amd...-

AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition C3, 3.5 GHz, AM3, ...
half the price... and pretty much as good as i7.

And if you think intel is better because it's expensive - than buy a mac.

hahaha, wait you weren't joking????

The sandy bridge i3's outclass the best AMD desktop CPU, the PII X4 is NOWHERE near an i7.

haha, you think you need an intel CPU to play a game...

 

[eximista]

why should he buy a new motherboard? just buy a quad core from amd...-

AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition C3, 3.5 GHz, AM3, ...
half the price... and pretty much as good as i7.

And if you think intel is better because it's expensive - than buy a mac.

hahaha, wait you weren't joking????

The sandy bridge i3's outclass the best AMD desktop CPU, the PII X4 is NOWHERE near an i7.

haha, you think you need an intel CPU to play a game...

No, but they significantly outclass the AMD chips. If I wanted to run my Wii emulator I sure as hell couldn't do it on an average AMD chip.

Besides, the i5/i7 will last for a very long time. What's the point of a Phenom 2 when Bulldozer is on the horizon?

prove me first that an i3 is better than a phenom2 x4
"The sandy bridge i3's outclass the best AMD desktop CPU, the PII X4 is NOWHERE near an i7."

 

[McNoobin]

Don't get the i7, get an i5 2500K, it is slightly less powerful and much less expensive, you could use that saved cash to afford most of a new motherboard. Just make sure it is a p/h/z 67 with a 1155 socket.

If anything I'll do that. I'm limited on money with school starting, as well as marching band and soccer. So I have less time for work.

 

[eximista]

why should he buy a new motherboard? just buy a quad core from amd...-

AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition C3, 3.5 GHz, AM3, ...
half the price... and pretty much as good as i7.

And if you think intel is better because it's expensive - than buy a mac.

hahaha, wait you weren't joking????

The sandy bridge i3's outclass the best AMD desktop CPU, the PII X4 is NOWHERE near an i7.

haha, you think you need an intel CPU to play a game...

No, but they significantly outclass the AMD chips. If I wanted to run my Wii emulator I sure as hell couldn't do it on an average AMD chip.

Besides, the i5/i7 will last for a very long time. What's the point of a Phenom 2 when Bulldozer is on the horizon?

prove me first that an i3 is better than a phenom2 x4
"The sandy bridge i3's outclass the best AMD desktop CPU, the PII X4 is NOWHERE near an i7."

Ok then.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20

I think you will find the i3-2100 (which is the lower end i3 out of both of the i3's) beats the X4 and x6 in 7 out of 9 gaming benchmarks.

it depends... and they tested it with a geforce! :O also it was 970... and not 975!! ^^

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html# overall it's better..

 

[Kenjitsuka]

You can't use that, wrong socket.
And besides, the i5-2500K processor is waaaaaaaaaaaaay better bang for your buck.
Got it running rock steady at 4.5 GHz, and most can go higher!

 

[eximista]

why should he buy a new motherboard? just buy a quad core from amd...-

AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition C3, 3.5 GHz, AM3, ...
half the price... and pretty much as good as i7.

And if you think intel is better because it's expensive - than buy a mac.

hahaha, wait you weren't joking????

The sandy bridge i3's outclass the best AMD desktop CPU, the PII X4 is NOWHERE near an i7.

haha, you think you need an intel CPU to play a game...

No, but they significantly outclass the AMD chips. If I wanted to run my Wii emulator I sure as hell couldn't do it on an average AMD chip.

Besides, the i5/i7 will last for a very long time. What's the point of a Phenom 2 when Bulldozer is on the horizon?

prove me first that an i3 is better than a phenom2 x4
"The sandy bridge i3's outclass the best AMD desktop CPU, the PII X4 is NOWHERE near an i7."

Ok then.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20

I think you will find the i3-2100 (which is the lower end i3 out of both of the i3's) beats the X4 and x6 in 7 out of 9 gaming benchmarks.

it depends... and they tested it with a geforce! :O also it was 970... and not 975!! ^^

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html# overall it's better..

Overall it may be more powerful but for gaming (which is what the OP is focusing on) the i3 is a better choice.

Either way, both are a decent enough choice.

yeah but he want it cheap - no intel CPU + motherboard is cheaper than just an amd CPU...

just for the record - i5-2500K is fine - cheap and very good.

 

[Jaythulhu]

*snippy*

*snip snip*

Pure ghz power means nothing in the age of multicores. I've clocked my i7 up to 4.2ghz, and the difference it makes is so minimal as to be unnoticable in everything but loading some apps like office.

You do realise that most of the functionality that intel put in their chips (now that they've finally gotten over the "more mhz means better chip!" nonsense they were carrying on with) is based on what amd has been doing since before the advent of multi-core cpus? AMD chips may not have the pure grunt of intel ones, but they process things in a far more optimal and efficient way. Overclock them a little, and you're easily outclassing intel chips in gaming, especially with the 3dNow tech. Using a radeon vid card as well just adds icing to a very tasty cake.

That said, with games now being centered around consoles and their ancient tech first, with naught but crappy ports coming to pc, it really doesn't make that much of a difference. The most recent games run just the same on my high end intel/nvidia rig as they do on my significantly older, mid-range amd machine. Hell, my old rig can run crysis in dx10 @ 1920x1080 with the graphics options set to ultra getting an average fps of 41, and it's still the most resource intensive pc game released to date.

[Edit] Oh yeah, an AMD cpu/vid card combo does things like rendering in maya/lightwave far quicker and better than an intel/nvida combo does too.

This...

took 4 hours to render on my intel rig, a little under 2 and a half on my amd rig.

 

[Jaythulhu]

*snippy*

*snip snip*

snip

*sssssssssnip!*

your Wii emulator must be one of those "few apps like office" that I mentioned. Cranking up my i7's ghz didn't make a lick of difference when it came to rendering, and I didn't notice any real improvement in regular pc gaming.

The only emulators I run are an amiga one, a c64 one and mame. They all run fine on celery 300mhzs tho, so I can't really use them as a comparison.

 

[Continuity]

Yes, he should get the AMD due to not needing a new motherboard if he needs to reduce cost as much as possible.

Well that depends what socket he has on his current motherboard, if its an AM3 then fine but all he said was that the CPU is a dualcore AMD chip... those have been around since pentium 4 days so who knows what the socket is (i'm not saying it is an old chip, only that we don't have enough information to rule out it being an old chip).

your Wii emulator must be one of those "few apps like office" that I mentioned. Cranking up my i7's ghz didn't make a lick of difference when it came to rendering, and I didn't notice any real improvement in regular pc gaming.

The only emulators I run are an amiga one, a c64 one and mame. They all run fine on celery 300mhzs tho, so I can't really use them as a comparison.

The main reason I went I7 in my current rig was video encoding... takes hours and an i7 can shave a tangible chunk of time off an encoding job vs an AMD chip. When it comes to games though its 90% about the graphics card, assuming you have a newish processor.

 

[McNoobin]

Yes, he should get the AMD due to not needing a new motherboard if he needs to reduce cost as much as possible.

Well that depends what socket he has on his current motherboard, if its an AM3 then fine but all he said was that the CPU is a dualcore AMD chip... those have been around since pentium 4 days so who knows what the socket is (i'm not saying it is an old chip, only that we don't have enough information to rule out it being an old chip).

I checked the specs and it said only AM2+ processors are supported :/

 

[Hoplon]

The i5-2500K would last him a long time though and overclock very well, it would be the best CPU for the long term.

You would recommend an over-clockable CPU to some one that doesn't know what a socket is?

The best CPU in the world won't be much help if he has a ATi 4650 (since it is an AMD rig)

Hell it may not be even possible to upgrade the CPU in a worth while manner.

So. Questions.

what is the computer running? Windows XP? or something Newer? once we know that we can give instructions for you to get to where the detailed information is about your PC.

 

[McNoobin]

Okay, haha the details are HERE:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01859861&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=4006002#N210