Budget gaming CPU?

Hi I have an asus g60vx, not too impressed with the CPU it came with. I currently have the P7450 2.13ghz (OC to 2.6ghz). It runs most new gen games on medium/high settings. Relatively cool around never exceeded 60c under load. I was wondering what's some good CPU to upgrade to for this laptop. I know the T9900 is a really good one but its like 600 bucks. THats like a whole new computer right there. Any suggestions?

 

eBay usually has T9600's (2.8GHz stock, theoretically 3.3GHz equivalent overclock) that run for about $150.

Post a WTB in the Marketplace and see what offers you get. That's what I did.

 

Most games won't benefit from a CPU upgrade, especially since you've already overclocked it...

 

Sgogeta4 is correct. A CPU upgrade won't affect your gaming performance, regardless of how fast of a CPU you buy.

Since games are all highly dependent on the GPU, the only real way to improve gaming performance is to get a faster GPU. And the only reasonable way to do that is to buy a new laptop. GPU's are soldered on to the motherboard, and are not upgradeable.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gateway-emachines/504306-t5550-vs-x9000-game-benchmarks.html

CPU does matter in games if your GPU is much stronger than your CPU.

 

While CPU can make a difference, it really depends on the game and also relative performance benefit. 1.8GHz -> 3.4GHz is almost 100% vs. 2.6GHz -> 2.8GHz (3.3GHz is a maybe since OC potential varies btw CPUs). In games that are GPU limited (GPU isn't powerful enough - as in moral_hazard's case in your thread, or if game settings/resolutions too demanding), the difference will be negligible.

 

Yeah, but you're talking about a $125 CPU vs. $1000 CPU there... and even in that case, you're only getting 70% - 100% improvement.

The OP wouldn't get anywhere near that level of improvement, because he's already starting with a relatively fast CPU. Any money he spends trying to improve gaming performance on his current hardware would best be spent just saving up for a new machine. Trying to squeeeze out some performance by throwing ridiculous amounts of money at his CPU will just be a waste.

 

I am just trying to point out that CPU DOES matter in games. If the OP gets a new CPU like a T9600 and up he will also be doubling his cache. also my CPU did not cost anywhere near $1000.

 

Says who? Clevo and Alienware performance machines use MXM slots. The Asus G73 uses an MXM slot. The Asus G50vt uses an MXM slot.

Nguyen's laptop--pretty much the same as my laptop--has an MXM slot.

So... not really. They're hard to upgrade, but a lot of the performance laptops can have their GPU upgraded.

 

hey thanks for the replies guys. regarding the T9600, i did found some pretty cheap ones on ebay ranging from 100-250 bucks. as for the T9900, the cheapest one i found is 300 bucks so far. Should i just save up for the T9900 or should i just buy the T9600 for cheaper. My friend has the gate p7805 and he added the T9900 in it and it improved gaming a lot (from a P8400 i think). I think the card he has is a 9800 GTS. He plays all games on max settings with the new cpu with a pretty nice fps, 30-50 fps. He plays GTA 4 on max and gets like around 30-40 fps too.

As for a GPU upgrade, i think the 260M GTX is a pretty nice card, plus upgrading the GPU would be more expensive im pretty sure.

So man questions T9600 or T9900? What are the main difference besides the clock speed. how much more would it improve performance wise if i went with T9900 instead of t9600?

 

Well, you can't really upgrade the GPU on the Asus machines. They use a weird reversed MXM interface, meaning only other weird reverses MXM interface cards are physically compatible. And the most powerful card you can throw in there with the interface is a GTX 260m, anyway. And the GTX 260m is still a beastly card, so don't worry about it.

As for the CPUs, it depends on the pricing. What's the price difference?

 

Get what ever CPU is cheaper. You can also look into the X9100 which is sometimes cheaper than the T9900. The X9100 has a 44w tdp only because it can be overclocked, it should run as cool as any 45nm CPU at the same clock/voltage.

 

lets say the t9600 is 150 and the t9900 is 300. is it worth the extra 150 bucks for future gaming also? Or it doesnt matter because the t9600 is basically the samea s t9900 except for the clock speed.

I also just found an x9100 for 150 bucks too. but thats for bidding, for buy it out now prices on ebay, most of them are 300 bucks. is the X9100 better than the T9900?

so right now its between T9600, X9100, and T9900 (if you guys say its worth to get the t9900, then i will save up for it)

 

With your laptop I would get the lowest priced one. Since you can overclock CPUs in your laptop easily the only real diffrence between those CPUs is the stock clock speed.

 

so if i get the T9600 and clock it to 3.06ghz the performance would be on par with the T9900?

 

Yes. 10char.

 

Yes - clock speed is the only difference between the two processors. Honestly, there's only a marginal difference between the performance of the T9600 and the T9900 anyway.

 

sweet! thanks for the replies guys, i think im going to start bidding on this $100 T9600 CPU on ebay.

 

Best of luck. As a heads up, the E0 stepping (I believe SLG9F) T9600 will run cooler than an SLB47. Also, make sure you bid on a PGA, not BGA, CPU. BGA ones are meant to be soldered on the board itself and go by the sspec number of SLGEM.

 

okay thanks for the info, the one that WAS a 100 now 145 is a SLB47, but i found osme cheap SLG9f ones. How can i tell if tis a PGA or a BGA?

 

If it has pins on the underside it's PGA (pin-grid-array), otherwise it's BGA (ball-grid-array).

 

SLG9F/SLB47/SLG8N are PGA, SLGEM and SLB43 are the only BGA T9600s.

I'm not this smart, I'm cheating using this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...2Penryn-3M.22_.28standard-voltage.2C_45_nm.29

 

I have the same processor in my Asus G50. Since you have it overclocked, I think that it should be efficient for gaming. If you are doing other things other than gaming that are dependent on the Cpu, I would recommend getting a faster cpu. I find that gaming, this cpu is fine as long as its overclocked. I do have an x9100 on the way because I need more cpu for some programs I run often. I bought this because it was cheaper than the t9900. I was told that it will run hotter than the t9900 but I believe with the proper undervolt it should be ok. I will let you know how it preforms and what the temps are if your interested. I expect to have it all going by next weekend.

 

This is really a moot point since you can't find BGA chips on Ebay. The only loose processors that can be found to purchase are LGA and PGA. BGA are only sold to OEM's and the only way a consumer is going to get their hands on one is if it comes with the motherboard it is soldered to.

 

I saw several SLGEM's when digging through ebay actually. I was looking for a T9600 myself not long ago

 

Loose? How is that possible?

Okay, I just looked myself, and it appears Wikipedia is in error. Sellers have pictures of SLGEM chips that are clearly socket P.

Alright, I checked the Intel site, and they list SLGEM as BGA479. This must be a mistake unless the pictures on Ebay are doctored. The BGA479 chips are easily distinguished from the PGA478 chips from both the top and bottom. Also it would be nearly impossible for sellers on Ebay to have BGA chips. First of all, they would have to get them straight from Intel, and second of all, they couldn't sell them to anybody. It is far more likely that Intel's information online is in error.

 

Another alternative I have been thinking is that they are ES processors or something else and have had false labels applied.

 

Q9000? Q9100? They're cheap enough now on eBay. I'm getting one soon to upgrade my W700's T9600, but let me tell you the T9600 is no slouch... it deffinitely was never the bottleneck in any of the games i played (Dirt 2, Crysis on Very High, Crysis Warhead on Enthusiast, Arma 2 on Medium-High), now i want a taste of quad-core however, i've never owned a quad before, want to see what all the hype is about.

 

The X9100 shouldn't run hotter unless its overclocked. Only reason it has the 44w tdp vs the T9900 35w is because it has an unlocked multiplier.

 

I'd trust the hype.. quads seem to help a lot in GTA IV , BC2 etc.. should help in crysis too... but OP, T9600 is more than enough for the G51... it can be fairly easily Oced to T9900 speeds or higher as long as u properly apply thermal paste etc.. but if u can , get an X9100.. if u get it cheap.. i've seen some go for 275 etc... they'd be a much better option and allow even more ocing..

 

I just got my x9100 in today. Paid 250 with free shipping!

 

I would like to play most of my games on high to max settings, im all about graphics. I can't play a game thats medium or below. Now whats this im hearing about THe Q9100? Im still holding off on buying my CPU until i can get a really good one. What im worried about is future games (New kingdom underfire game, crysis 2, and Mafia II). Played mafia 2 demo the other day on high medium graphics with about 40 fps, not bad. But what i would LOVE to have is the physx enabled, that usually brings things down by 10-15 fps sometimes more. I think im still plannin on getting the T9600. I would also love to play GTA4 on this laptop with a good FPS and on high graphics too.

 

I just put in an E8335 (=T9800, 2.93GHz) into my laptop and my GTA4 fps went from 22 to 28 on medium settings. Crazy fast but heats up really well, too. When I OC, my 3dMark06 CPU score is on par with a stock 720QM (~3100). Other games seem to benefit at least 10+%.

 

If you are all about the graphics, you should just buy a desktop instead of chasing every new game that comes out with outdated and overpriced technology that isn't up to par.

 

id figure someone would say that, i already have a desktop that can do that already ^_^ but i gave it to my brother thats why i got a desktop replacement. It's okay really, i wont be gaming much anyways, i will probably stick with the T9600. Unless quadcore would be better in the future run.

 

awesome.. should be an excellent upgrade.