$125 3.0GHz+ Intel Dual Core CPU upgrade!

$125 3.0GHz+ Intel Dual Core CPU upgrade.
By: Chuck Mixon.

We recently posted an article on a $375 budget gaming machine, but what if you don't have $375?

We also covered the Radeon HD 4670, a cheap gaming solution for any computer with a PCI-E slot, but what if your computer is still running an AGP interface?

If you can read and use a screwdriver, then you can upgrade your old machine to some serious midrange dual core processing power. We chose a motherboard and processor that was dirt cheap, yet still has the necessary overclocking options to reach a goal of 3GHz Core 2 Duo speed.

Why 3GHz and why overclock? First of all, to buy an Intel Core 2 Duo cpu that runs 3GHz stock speed would set us back $165 just for the processor. Second of all, cpu scaling with midrange graphics cards shows that a 3GHz Core 2 Duo speed processor can supply all the power needed to get maximum performance for gaming, even supplying acceptable performance for high end
graphics cards.

Here is what $125.00 can get us:

Intel E2180 Core 2 Duo processor $58.93. 10X multiplier, 800MHz fsb stock, 1MB L2 cache.

Biostar P4M900-M7 FE motherboard $37.99. Basic overclocking options, 300MHz or more fsb capability.

MassCool 8WT15-38 CPU Fan For Intel LGA775 $5.91. Simple socket 775 cooler with back plate, gets the job done adequately for cheap!

2 x 1GHz (2GHz total) of DDR2 667MHz memory $20.40. If you have an older system with DDR1, you'll need DDR2 memory, but DDR2 memory is dirt cheap these days.

There are other motherboards with more future proof features, but we simply picked the cheapest one we could find that gets the job done. We could nickel and dime to add a little more features or speed, but our goal here is to find the cheapest solution period that still meets our performance criteria.

We picked an Intel C2D processor that is cheap and runs on a native 800MHz fsb. This allows easier overclocking from the motherboard by just raising the fsb speed. The E2180 runs a default speed of 2.0GHz (10 x 200Mhz). By raising the fsb to 266MHz the cpu speed now becomes 10 x 266MHz for 2.66GHz. 300MHz fsb speed reaches our goal of 10 x 300MHz for 3GHz. I have tried 4 different E2180 cpu's and the slowest reached 3.0GHz with a modest increase in core voltage (1.4v) and one was able to run 3.3GHz at 1.42v.

The default core voltage is either 1.275v or 1.325v, up to 1.45v should be safe provided adequate cooling is applied. Our simple $6 cooler should be able to keep load temps of the overclocked E2180 under 65C.

If you need more info about how to get started with overclocking, very informative additional overclocking guide is available here.

Even a simple motherboard without overclocking options can overclock the E2xxx series cpu's by connecting dots (contacts) on the cpu with conductive ink or paint. More info is available here

We did not include a power supply in our $125 upgrade. Some older or OEM computers will have an adequate power supply, some will not. It may not be a bad idea to upgrade the power supply anyway, something like an Antec Earthwatts 380 is available at Newegg.com for $29 shipped and would handle our $125 budget upgrade with ease and without breaking the bank.

Good luck and happy overclocking!