Who is still using intel Core 2 duo processors for gaming?

My main laptop is a C2D macbook pro. Only recently bumped ram up to 8GB from 2GB and added a SSD. It flies (don't use it for gaming though).
 
If gaming is playing blizzard games, then I game on a 2010 MacBook. Otherwise it's a C2Q for FPS games on my self built desktop.
 
Right now have a Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40 (oc 2.80) with a GTX275, i cannot complain can play many games on a great framerate, planning to upgrade to better mobo and a e8400..
 
Bought an E6400 when they first came out and used it in my primary rig till about 2 months ago. Ran Skyrim and BFBC2 just fine @ 3.3ghz. Upgraded to an i3 2120 though, and noticed a huge difference in every game I played. Even at 3.3ghz the E6400 was bottlenecking my GTX 460.
 
gst_r said:
Right now have a Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40 (oc 2.80) with a GTX275, i cannot complain can play many games on a great framerate, planning to upgrade to better mobo and a e8400..
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I would say if you're going to spend the money on new stuff (especially since good 775 motherboards aren't easy to come by/cheap), might as well go with low cost sandy bridge. It's probably cheaper, and you'll definitely get better performance.

$80 for an i3 2100 @ TigerDirect, and there are micro ATX 1155 boards for around $50. I went from an E6400 @ 3.3ghz to an i3 2120 and noticed a HUGE difference, and that was with GTX 460.
 
retired my e6600 for an i5 2500k since it was bottlenecking my 6870. Holy shit the frame rates jumped on sc2 when i upgraded the mobo/processor.
 
I'm using an E7500 2,94GHz.

With my GPU ATI Radeon XFX 5770 HD Overclocked, I can reach good graphics and fps in games. Not the ideal setup (changing soon) but I can have fun :)
 
i thought this thread came back to life from like 4-5 years ago but when i saw its recent and the comments ive seen in this thread how core2duo is still good for todays games, and comments like there is no need to upgrade, and new games that are out today only use 2 cores made me look at my calendar, i thought i was dreaming.


i think im going to take a rain check, and get suspended, i have to do this to get my IQ restored, i nearly vomited and my head got dizzy from stupidity, it is very strong in here, the stupidity.


all of you that said these things are just so so so so so so stupid in the cpu/computer department.


just dont take it seriously.
 
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TroyX said:
i thought this thread came back to life from like 4-5 years ago but when i saw its recent and the comments ive seen in this thread how core2duo is still good for todays games, and comments like there is no need to upgrade, and new games that are out today only use 2 cores made me look at my calendar, i thought i was dreaming.


i think im going to take a rain check, and get suspended, i have to do this to get my IQ restored, i nearly vomited and my head got dizzy from stupidity, it is very strong in here, the stupidity.


all of you that said these things are just so so so so so so stupid in the cpu/computer department.


just dont take it seriously.
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I hope you enjoy the ban/infraction that is most likely coming your way...Just because you do not agree with some of the things posted here does not mean you should feel the need to mass insult other members..

Not everyone has the money to upgrade every cycle when the next big thing comes out, and you can look at any of Valve's hardware surveys they conduct via Steam to see that many, many, gamers are using hardware from the Core2 era, most with terrible gpus..
 
im still using my e6850 @ 3.6ghz. I cant afford to upgrade to anything right now (and my wife would skin me alive)
 
I breathed new life into my desktop by installing a SSD. Next I am going to install a 7850
 
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Besides having several new Intel Duo Core 2 Processors ...I have a new Q6600 & Q9550 still in the original sealed box. :)
 
Built my wife's grandmother a computer a few years ago with an e6320 (I think) that was pulled from a Dell PC. She recently gave me it back as she got herself a laptop and wasn't using it. I'm going to put it in one of the spare rooms and keep it for some 'mild' gaming when someone is over. I'm of course going to overclock it, because I think it runs at 1.86ghz. I may look for an e8400 (used to have one), which was an awesome overclocker, and even at stock settings it was an awesome cpu for its time. I'm going to throw in an SSD in the PC also to help it out.

EDIT: My personal c2d cpu's were an e6300, e8400, and then q9550. I loved everyone of those cpu's. All awesome for there time and were great upgrades.
 
Still sitting on an E6600 @3.2ghz. Have had it for 6+ years. Haswell will be my upgrade of choice. I do notice in certain games it's starting to choke up. My memory is starting to corrupt too, guessing from the serious overclocking, so I need to replace my CPU/mobo/memory. Hopefully Haswell will be out before my computer dies.
 
I played Skyrim on my T7200 @ 2.0 GHz and 8600m GT Dell laptop. I just transferred my save files from my desktop when I went home to visit lol.

Ran OK at low settings. Definitely makes you appreciate newer hardware though.
 
Messed around further with my e8500 and found a perfect spot without bumping the voltage, I have the FSB set to 395 and so I'm running at 3.75ghz. I really don't see myself upgrading my system further for at least another 1 or 2 years. It will be interesting to see what the playing field is like in the future. I get the feeling though that $250 (i don't remember what I paid for my e8500) isn't going to go as far as it did with this processor. I never go this long between builds, kinda weird how well the c2d series has chugged along. I had to really try and not buy a 2500k and a new mobo, but I can't justify it for the games I play on a single 23" display. Anyway, I'm just glad I got this puppy stable at stock voltage with a good OC. Dare I have even more fun and see how low I can go running stock speeds? Hell why not, even if I lowered it to 2.0 ghz it's more than enough for what I've been doing the last few weeks. Netflix and Torchlight 2 with a little browsing thrown in. Anyone here have a c2d running undervolted or under-clocked? How much power do you save?
 
ITSTHINKING said:
Anyone here have a c2d running undervolted or under-clocked? How much power do you save?
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If you have Speedstep enabled, you don't have to worry about it. The processor already clocks down to 2.0 GHz and an aggressively low voltage when lightly loaded.

If you truly don't need more, it won't clock any higher.
 
defaultluser said:
If you have Speedstep enabled, you don't have to worry about it. The processor already clocks down to 2.0 GHz and an aggressively low voltage when lightly loaded.

If you truly don't need more, it won't clock any higher.
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Oh yeah, I've had it off for so long I completely forgot about it. Thanks for the heads up. Quick question, seeing how I always hear how inefficient flash is will flash videos make the clock speed ramp up while using Speedstep? I know I can observe this myself but I don't feel like going into the bios right now :p Might have something else to do now :D
 
ITSTHINKING said:
Oh yeah, I've had it off for so long I completely forgot about it. Thanks for the heads up. Quick question, seeing how I always hear how inefficient flash is will flash videos make the clock speed ramp up while using Speedstep? I know I can observe this myself but I don't feel like going into the bios right now :p Might have something else to do now :D
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Depends on whether you have a video card that can decode flash video. If you do, it will stay low. Your old 8800 GTX = no acceleration, your new 6870 (I assume you got it) = full acceleration. Yet another reason NOT to need a more powerful CPU :D

You will also need to make sure you're decoding 1080p - 720p or lower are no sweat for a 2 GHz Core 2 Duo.

If you want a way to force speed changes, try a stress test program like Prime 95 or Intel Burn Test :D

http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=205

http://majorgeeks.com/IntelBurnTest_d5987.html

You can easily trace the speed changes with CPU-Z (will even conveniently graph them for you).
 
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Thanks for the detailed reply! I actually just got a 7970 for 350 dollars on a one day deal (today in fact) I don't know if I intend on using it, or giving it to my roomate who insists he will pay me back in less than 2 months (he better or else it he is going to have really high rent lol). I only have a 1080p monitor, but I know that card wasn't made with a c2d in mind as much as I hate to say it, and my 6870 feels just perfect for what I got. I use cpu-z and speed fan and prime 95 to test everything. Seems to do the job.
 
Whoa... I'm taking a PC from work (not stealing, they know I'm taking it) that has an E7400 @ 2.8ghz and 2 gigs of ram. So if I pop a video card in there, maybe 2 more gigs of ram and install Win 7, I should have a gaming capable system? If that's the case, what video card would be smart to get? That's crazy, I was planning on using it simply for web browsing and practicing with Blender.
 
Triple B said:
Whoa... I'm taking a PC from work (not stealing, they know I'm taking it) that has an E7400 @ 2.8ghz and 2 gigs of ram. So if I pop a video card in there, maybe 2 more gigs of ram and install Win 7, I should have a gaming capable system? If that's the case, what video card would be smart to get? That's crazy, I was planning on using it simply for web browsing and practicing with Blender.
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The E7400 isn't a terrible gaming CPU. The system I built for my parents a few years ago has an E7400, 4GB RAM, and a Radeon HD 5670 DDR5 GPU in it. It gets acceptable framerates in AvP at 720p, and can handle older games with aplomb. Keep your expectations relatively modest (I'm by no means a hardcore gamer), and you won't be disappointed. The Radeon 6670 DDR3 can be had for less than $50 after rebate - Amazon had a Gigabyte model for $45AR a few weeks ago. That'd be a good, cheap match.
 
Thanks! I'm not looking for anything mind-blowing when it comes to gaming. I do most of my gaming on 360 anyways due to friends being on Live. Really what I'm looking to do is practice with Blender and the UDK. I plan to build a "modern" rig sooner or later, but I've been without a decent computer for like ten years. This thing will put my current desktop to shame.

Much appreciated! :)
 
Triple B said:
Whoa... I'm taking a PC from work (not stealing, they know I'm taking it) that has an E7400 @ 2.8ghz and 2 gigs of ram. So if I pop a video card in there, maybe 2 more gigs of ram and install Win 7, I should have a gaming capable system? If that's the case, what video card would be smart to get? That's crazy, I was planning on using it simply for web browsing and practicing with Blender.
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Overclock it and should serve you well. I received a nice graphics boost when I upgraded my q9550 system with a HD7850.

@all
One word of advice, if your happy with the performance, don't analyze benchmarks! Yes the newest platforms will bench higher, but it is just a number. If the machine performs to expectations then be happy.
 
Being a Dell, I'm sure this mobo has zero OC potential. But I'll take a look anyways. Doesn't hurt to try!
 
My boys are playing on a Q6600 or 6700 with 8800 era graphics cards and they are able to play everything they want to. Granted, they're not playing BF3, or Metro, or anything graphically challenging really.

But either way, their boxes are holding up just fine.
 
Triple B said:
Being a Dell, I'm sure this mobo has zero OC potential. But I'll take a look anyways. Doesn't hurt to try!
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Determine if the motherboard supports 1333fsb. If so, you could pinmod the CPU and run 10.5x333=3500mhz. Of course, this may be a bit ambitious for an E7400.
 
I'm still running the E8400/GeForce GTX 285 system in my signature. It had been fine when I was playing TF2 heavily, and more recently for Minecraft under Linux.

But Guild Wars 2 has me looking to upgrade. Even cutting the resolution from 1920x1200 down to 1680x1050 and all settings on low, it renders busy PvE or WvW fights at roughly 5 FPS.

No fun playing a slideshow.
 
E8400 (up to 3.8GHz) Abit AB9 Pro QuadGT, 4GB OCZ RAM.....and looking for an upgrade!

As far as gaming goes, I use this machine most for flight sims like the DCS titles, IL-2, Aerofly, and also play some BF3 on it....
 
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Stratagerm said:
I'm still running the E8400/GeForce GTX 285 system in my signature. It had been fine when I was playing TF2 heavily, and more recently for Minecraft under Linux.

But Guild Wars 2 has me looking to upgrade. Even cutting the resolution from 1920x1200 down to 1680x1050 and all settings on low, it renders busy PvE or WvW fights at roughly 5 FPS.

No fun playing a slideshow.
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Lucky for you, Guild Wars 2 is heavily multithreaded, so you can't go wrong with more cores (doesn't hurt that they're also FASTER cores) :D

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/guild-wars-2-performance-benchmark,3268-7.html

Looks like 4-core Intel will be your best bet!
 
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