Should I Upgrade Or Not?

[crazyfool]

hey guys,
I'm comtemplating upgrading from current system to a mini-itx i5 750 build. There are three main reasons. the first is because I have 5 fans in my case which is rather noisy, especially in the summer when they have to be on medium-full speed to keep the pc cool, in which case my room gets very hot. The second reason is because my solution to the noise/heat problem was watercooling. But after checking it out it would cost me around £150+ plus for a nice watercooling setup and this money could be better spent upgrading the system, plus any money I could get from selling my rig.
And thirdly I just really like the idea of such a tiny pc that is that powerful.
What I'm thinking of doing is selling my current rig and using that money plus whatever extra it will cost to make the switch. I don't do any encoding or anything but if I go itx then a S1156 motherboard will cost the same as a S775 motherboard so I figure I might as well go with the newer tech. I probably have around £100 worth of kit outside of my rig, so if I take that and the money from my rig, I'm hoping I could do this for around the same price as a decent watercooling setup, £150-200.
I have two questions for you guys though, firstly do you think it is a worthwhile upgrade going from a q6600 to an i5 750? As I said I wont really use either cpu to their full potential so I'm asking more in terms of power consumption, temps and future proofiing.
Secondly how much do you reckon I could get out of my rig selling the parts seperately in the classifieds?
Thanks.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You could always get a smaller case like the Lian Li A05:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums...ic.php?t=38415

http://www.google.co.uk/products?q=L...N&hl=en&tab=wf

TBH,going with a mini ITX based build may not help for the noise of the system. In most cases you can either run the system silently at the expense of high system temperatures or cooler but with more noise.

Perhaps going with an mATX system would make more sense but TBH, your system should not be having issues with temperature especially if the Q6600 is running at stock speeds. Perhaps some better fans and re-orientating the airflow in your system may help.

[switchmode]

This is going to be blunt, you could keep your current system with a new case and some quiet 120 mm fans and a good HSF combination.

Now "I just really like the idea of such a tiny pc that is that powerful." That's a different thing only you can say if you want to splash out cash for that sexy new gear. I'm with you on that myself as I have and will still buy for the enjoyment of the tech.. Its not always a bad thing.

[crazyfool]

Maybe I didn't explain it properly. I'm not looking to go itx for a cooler system, I am thinking about it because the money I could spend making my current system cooler and quieter i.e. by watercooling or as suggested with a new case/fans etc... could be better spent on the upgrade to itx which will probably give me the same cooling performance I currently have but much quieter (looking at a corsair h50) and smaller. What I'm asking is do you think it is worthwhile upgrading on the basis that the i5 will run cooler, use less power and is newer? Hope that clears it up. Thanks for the replies so far though.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Maybe I didn't explain it properly. I'm not looking to go itx for a cooler system, I am thinking about it because the money I could spend making my current system cooler and quieter i.e. by watercooling or as suggested with a new case/fans etc... could be better spent on the upgrade to itx which will probably give me the same cooling performance I currently have but much quieter (looking at a corsair h50) and smaller. What I'm asking is do you think it is worthwhile upgrading on the basis that the i5 will run cooler, use less power and is newer? Hope that clears it up. Thanks for the replies so far though.

I would probably wait for Sandy Bridge or AMD Bulldozer to come out as they will be made on a 32NM process.

The Q6600 and Core i5 750 have the same rated TDP of 95W IIRC.

However if you are looking for a new mini ITX system I would check out the Silverstone SG05 based build in post 407 of this thread:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sho...247892&page=14

The CPU is near the limits of its maximum operating temperature though and I am uncertain whether a H50 would be able to fit into the Silverstone.

However the Lian Li PC-Q08 is also worth looking at:

http://www.expreview.com/9920.html

http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product...ndex=62&g=spec

It can take a full sized PSU and graphics card and uses a mini ITX motherboard.

The main issue with mini ITX cases is the fact they lack enough fans and you will need a 120MM exhaust fan for the Corsair H50 cooler.

Another alternate is to go for a mATX case like the Coolermaster Elite 340 and use an H50 in this:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1232853

The Lan Gear Da Box 100 also looks a decent mATX case:

http://www.lan-gear.com/

[scaryjim]

... the upgrade to itx which will probably give me the same cooling performance I currently have but much quieter (looking at a corsair h50) and smaller. What I'm asking is do you think it is worthwhile upgrading on the basis that the i5 will run cooler, use less power and is newer?

The i5 750 has the same TDP as a Q6600, so it probably *won't* draw significantly less power or run significantly cooler. As such, sticking one in a tiny itx system is likely to cause you more cooling problems than you currently have. If you're looking at a H50, why not just get that and stick it on your Q6600?

The i5 750 will be significantly faster at stock speeds than a Q6600, but if one of your options is fitting a full watercooling loop then you should have little problem overclocking your Q6600 to > 3GHz, which would redress that balance. The i5 750 is a good CPU, but it's very much in the same market segment as Core 2 Quads and Phenom II X4s, and I think it would be a better idea to hold off a full system upgrade until Bulldozer and Sandy Bridge land next year. You've been caught, as many of us have, in the Q6600 / 8800GT[X] trap - they were such good components when we bought them that they've yet to be replaced by anything *significantly* better in the market segment!

The biggest heat source in your current system in likely to be your 8800GT, so if you're seriously worried about the heat output it might be worth considering replacing that with a HD5770 which would perform a bit better and run much cooler: the 5770 still wouldn't be a *significant* upgrade though; it'd provide a step improvement rather than a big leap.

So, personally I'd go for either spending the money on a good watercooling loop (in fact, that's exactly what I'm going to do this summer for my Q6600 / 8800GTX combo) to extend the life of your machine by another year or two with some judicial overclocking: or sell your 8800GT and replace it with a 5770, then get a H50 too: that should cool your system and reduce your fan noise noticably. I certainly wouldn't be looking to upgrade to an i5 750 in mini-itx form.

[crazyfool]

Thanks for the replies. I actually have seen alot of builds using the SG05 with an i5 750 and H50 cooler. It seems to run pretty cool by all accounts, around 30-40 idle and not more than 60 load.
However I get what your saying about it not being a significant upgrade, same as the 8800GT, I have been meaning to upgrade that but there isn't anything at a reasonable price that will give me a worthwhile performance boost. The problem I have with cooling is the fact that I have 4 very good scythe fans in my case which cool the pc very well, however the hot air that is exhausted from the system heats up my room so much, especially in the summer. I don't think I'll go with a watercooling loop mainly because I don't think I can justify then money just for a little less noise and not much better cooling.
I was really liking the idea of a mini-itx system, damn you guys for being so reasonable lol

[switchmode]

I never said you had to be reasonable, "splash out cash for that sexy new gear" I'm all for that

Even if you build with an H50 it will still push the heat into the room and if the processor is about the same TDP as the Q6600 at full speed it will give out the same amount of heat.

It may be better when doing day to day stuff I don't know how more efficient an i5 is compaired to a Q6600 in running code.

The other way might be to plumb a rad outside the room with a water cooling setup but how feasable that is only you know. I wanted to put a rad in the loft and supply a water loop into my PC a few years ago when I was into overclocking but her indoors said NO !

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

There is a possible sidewise upgrade you could do!

The Phenom II X4 905e and 910e have a 65W TDP.

Here are some reviews of the processor:

http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1784&pageID=8401

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1195/12/

You are looking at under 60W at load for the processor and this confirmed by this article too:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2923

You could probably get away with using a low profile air cooler with this.

Sapphire also make a mini ITX 785G based motherboard too:

http://www.google.co.uk/products?q=S...ox-a&scoring=p

The other alternative is a Core i3 based system or replace your Q6600 with a 65W Q8400S or Q9550S. However these are all pretty much sideways upgrades too IMHO.

TBH,it would be better to wait until next year.

Supposedly Sandy Bridge its meant to have low peak power consumption:

http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/18576/1/

[vian_siu]

i say go for it, if you can afford it. but dont expect too much overclock with a mini-itx board.