Upgrade Time

[Blitzen]

I think its time i put the QuadGT and Q6600 to rest.
They are GREAT performers, but i have a bit of spare cash so want something newer.

Unfortunately, i have been out of the loop too long and have no idea where to go now.
The ONLY thing i know i want is either an i3 or i5 CPU.

So i need reccomendations for:
CPU + Motherboard+RAM
Maximum spend £380
Remember though, if you suggest, can you make sure CPU + motherboard are compatible

Any help appreciated (i haven't asked this on a forum for over 12 years )

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Some new AMD processors are being released next month and these may cause the existing Core i5 and low end Core i7 processors to drop in price.

The Core i3 will not be an upgrade in performance over what you have especially in software which takes advantage of multiple cores.

Anyway this is what I would look at getting:

ASRock P55 Extreme ~ £106

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asroc...rboard-LGA1156

Does symmetrical Crossfire and SLI at PCI-E 2.0 8X/8X. Many cheaper P55 motherboards do asymmetrical Crossfire. The socket 1156 platform is limited to Crossfire at PCI-E 2.0 8X/8X. Your existing motherboard does Crossfire at PCI-E 2.0 16X/16X.

Core i5 750 ~ £161

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Intel...che-95W-Retail

4GB 1600MHZ DDR3 ~ £100

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/191175

[mikemikemi]

I would say that dependent on what you do with your machine, you could get gains just by overclocking your q6600 and saving the cash for a bigger update later.

I would say the i3 540 is marginally quicker than the q6600 (both stock), so i5 is the better upgrade in terms of stock gains, but most q6600 go past 3ghz when overclocking.

Anandtech benchmark is a good comparison for bits.

[scaryjim]

Since you're already running your Q6600 @ 3.6GHz you're not going to see any significant improvement in performance without going i7, tbh - even an i5 750 is only going to give you the possibility of a slightly higher overclock and a little bit more performance per clock.

You're suffering from the fact that the Q6600 was a damn good chip that overclocked like a dream. But if you want a realistic performance boost you're looking at i7 930 + an X58 motherboard and 6GB of fast DDR3. Otherwise you'll just be getting a newer machine that can scratch a very slight improvement in artificial benchmarks, but won't provide any significant real world improvement...

[Pob255]

As cat and jim have said.
The i3 is just a dual core with the northbridge chip stuck next to the cpu under the heatspreader.
It makes a good workplace/media pc with intel first half decent IGP.

But the moement you stick a seperate card in there for gaming then the i5 750 is the lowest you should be looking at.
One of the major things p55/x58 has going for it is the abiliity to use crossfire or sli on one motherboard, which many of the cheap boards don't do, shame there's not really any decent nvidia graphics cards atm.

if you have the money for i7 then that would be worth looking at, however as jim said you've hit the q6600 trap, in that it's such a solid cpu esp overclocked like you have, that most upgrades for you will only be fairly minor in performance terms.

An SSD might be something to look into.

[dirky]

What are you find your current setup is struggling to do?
TBH your system looks pretty good
Maybe worth getting a copy of Win7?

[badass]

Get an SSD and windows 7 and wait a year. Your current system's too good to bother upgrading - espeically for gaming. Unless you're into showing off e-peen.

[jim]

Agreed... unless you go i7 you aren't going to see any noticeable improvement here.

I'd put the money into graphics (could flog the 4870s and swap them for a slightly better performing but primarily quieter, cooler, DX11 and single GPU 5850), an SSD or an OS in preference to the motherboard.

I can't see me getting rid of my motherboard and CPU for a few years, the market hasn't really moved on that much since socket 775.

[Blitzen]

I would say that dependent on what you do with your machine, you could get gains just by overclocking your q6600 and saving the cash for a bigger update later.

I would say the i3 540 is marginally quicker than the q6600 (both stock), so i5 is the better upgrade in terms of stock gains, but most q6600 go past 3ghz when overclocking.

Anandtech benchmark is a good comparison for bits.

That's interesting.
My Q6600 has always ran @ 3.6ghz.....so there would be no performance gain? I didn't know that at all.

As cat and jim have said.
The i3 is just a dual core with the northbridge chip stuck next to the cpu under the heatspreader.
It makes a good workplace/media pc with intel first half decent IGP.

But the moement you stick a seperate card in there for gaming then the i5 750 is the lowest you should be looking at.
One of the major things p55/x58 has going for it is the abiliity to use crossfire or sli on one motherboard, which many of the cheap boards don't do, shame there's not really any decent nvidia graphics cards atm.

if you have the money for i7 then that would be worth looking at, however as jim said you've hit the q6600 trap, in that it's such a solid cpu esp overclocked like you have, that most upgrades for you will only be fairly minor in performance terms.

An SSD might be something to look into.

Cheers...good to knopw that the Q6600 was a great buy (and still cuts it)
I am also lucky, i think, that my motherboard, iX38 QuadGT is already X-Fire and can be pimped to go SLi aswell....so now i am really struggling to make a case for upgrade.

I am a little disappointed as i like the upgrading, but then i'm pleased not to have wasted any cash.

What are you find your current setup is struggling to do?
TBH your system looks pretty good
Maybe worth getting a copy of Win7?

It doesn't struggle with anything.
I just have a week off coming up, and i thought and upgrade build would kill a day or two
Win7 Ultimate is on there at the moment, but i am waiting for a new Wireless adapter before i use it as the Airpace wireless card and Win 7 just do not play together.

Agreed... unless you go i7 you aren't going to see any noticeable improvement here.

I'd put the money into graphics (could flog the 4870s and swap them for a slightly better performing but primarily quieter, cooler, DX11 and single GPU 5850), an SSD or an OS in preference to the motherboard.

I can't see me getting rid of my motherboard and CPU for a few years, the market hasn't really moved on that much since socket 775.

That crossed my mind aswell, but the cards do everything i throw at them at the highest level.
I also have an EVGA GTX260, and tbh, even that walks across everything throw at it with ease.

Get an SSD and windows 7 and wait a year. Your current system's too good to bother upgrading - espeically for gaming. Unless you're into showing off e-peen.

The SSD is a very interesting idea that i may well go with. Cheers.

[Ulti]

In my experience an upgrade to a cheap (well not really cheap but it was cheaper than getting a new CPU) Intel 40GB SSD proved to be a better upgrade then going from the E8X00 series dual core to a Phenom 955 Quad core so I really doubt moving from a quad core to another low-end dual core or mid-end quad core won't make much of a difference.

[matty-hodgson]

Blitzen, I'd seriously just consider getting an SSD if I was you.. When I first got one I was absolutely amazed by the speed, but now I have this 80GB Intel (just about to install another to RAID0 )
You get 75GB of storage from one of the 80GB ones..

Everything else in your system is very good so I'd look at upgrading maybe your monitor or something. Maybe a nice new keyboard and mouse? New set of speakers?
Just to put that upgrade bug at bay for a little while

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Considering that the X38 can do Crossfire at PCI-E 2.0 16X and the P55 can only do so at PCI-E 2.0 8X you are actually looking at a downgrade in this aspect with moving to socket 1156.

[jim]

Win7 Ultimate is on there at the moment, but i am waiting for a new Wireless adapter before i use it as the Airpace wireless card and Win 7 just do not play together.

Tell me about it... I bought some at work for new Windows 7 machines, nearly drove me mental before I sussed what was causing it!

[Pob255]

I just have a week off coming up, and i thought and upgrade build would kill a day or two

Case MOD!!!
Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on.
You know you should