Upgrade from Q6600 to --> ????

[xann27]

Im getting taxes back soon, and got the OK from the Mrs to do a small upgrade. but here is my dilemma, my current setup i slimited to the 775 socket. my options are:

Q9550, Q9650. watercooling. MAYBE another 4 Gigs of RAM.

OR

Low end i7 and i mean low end. i WISH i could get a classified board, but if i go i7, i'll need to get all new crap. new board, new ram, and new heatsinks along with the CPU.

money IS an option and limited. but, value is also a big thing too. ive never been comfortable getting the lowest end anything. so no name and low grade gear is off limits.

[Jamesrt2004]

i'd jst save up... wait for the 32nm quads....they are not on roadmap but interview at ces... the guy laughed and said they will be coming... just not yet :D

so yeah

save up n' get i7 32nm quads ;) ( i think they will be out to counter amd 6 core.)

[zsamz_]

if you had a better board i'd tell ya get a 9550-9650
if you want do do it now just get a i7 920
if ya can wait the 32nm quads gonna be nice

[Salamndar]

I think your board is not good enough, I say wait and save the money for a better Core i7 system.

[THOMO]

yep....what these guys said.

your rig looks pretty decent as is.....and I'm sure plays any games you wish.

i'd most definately hold out a little longer so you get a bit more of a performance increase.

:)

[GasPipeJimmy]

Have you tried overclocking your Q6600 to 3.0GHz?
Speaking from personal experience, I really didn't notice any significant difference in day to day usage between my old Q6600 running at 3.0 on my Old D975xBX2 motherboard compared to my Q9650 with an X48 motherboard.

If I had it to do all over again I would have kept my old setup and saved the money.

[Necetra]

You should hold onto your rig, but overclock it a bit. 3.2-3.6GHz would be pretty smooth for gameplay with the 295 you already have.

[RoadconeTuning]

Q6600 at 3.2GHz performs roughly the same as a stock i7-920 at 2.66GHz... you should try 3.0 or 3.2 with your board it should be fairly easy if your heatsinks are firmly mounted... i got 3.6GHz out of my Q6600 and basically the next step up is an i5-750 thats overclocked...

you're already at the top of the game basically lol

find a P55 board you like and grab a i5-750 and a decent heatsink with some corsair dominators... you'll be good to go and 1/2 to 2/3 the price of the i7-920 system in the end.

[xenolith]

If you go with a P55 + i5-750 upgrade, get a EVGA motherboard if you have a good socket 775 heat-sink you want to reuse. The EVGA P55-SLI maybe. You can pick one up at Newegg right now for only $140 AR.

[YukonTrooper]

Wait for 32nm. That Q6600 isn't holding you back right now. What clocks can you achieve?

[xenolith]

i'd jst save up... wait for the 32nm quads....they are not on roadmap but interview at ces... the guy laughed and said they will be coming... just not yet :D

so yeah

save up n' get i7 32nm quads ;) ( i think they will be out to counter amd 6 core.)

for 1156 or 1366?

AFAIK, there will be no 32nm die shrink for lynnfield (i7 quad 45nm lga1156)

AFAIK, the new arch 32nm quad sandy bridge (lga1156?) won't be out until next year.

[DAK1640]

Maybe this chart will help you to decide based upon performance gain. I am a cruncher for WCG & I can tell you going from Q6600 to i7-860 is HUGE:up:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/

[zalbard]

i'd jst save up... wait for the 32nm quads....they are not on roadmap but interview at ces... the guy laughed and said they will be coming... just not yet :D

so yeah

save up n' get i7 32nm quads ;) ( i think they will be out to counter amd 6 core.)
Bad idea IMO, we don't know when they are coming to the market.
And those Xeon chips... are going to be way too expensive.

Q9550 is a great option if your motherboard supports it.
Otherwise either i5 750 or i7 920, or AMD quad. :up:

And in fact, thinking about it... Q6600 can get to 3.6-4GHz with decent cooling, I'm sure you don't need more! :D

[RoadconeTuning]

AMD Quad is pointless if you have a Q6600... just like the i3-530 is pointless too...

[PatRaceTin]

i5 750 may be good choice

[xann27]

good info! i know what options i have ahead of me!

as far as what clocks can i get from my Q6600? i have been able to get 3.4 out of it by setting the multiplier to 8, and jacking the FSB up quite a bit. i returned it to stock because it would just freeze my rig every other day or so and playing games like Crysis Warhead it would lag the hell out of the game @ full rip (resolution 16Q 1920x1080) and i wasnt sure wtf was going on. i had a fair ammount of voltage going to it (i think) and it just made me uncomfortable to see that my CPU was overclocked @ 60% above stock. >_>

so, the big issue for me is the Q6600's FSB is only 1066 and has weak L1-L2 cache. 8mb? and a 65nm die, when i can get a Q9550/9650 with a 45nm, 1333 and 12mb LS cache. it seems like i will notice a diff... and then what if i over clock one of THOSE? will i see night and day? my rig is mainly online games and high end FPSs

[YukonTrooper]

Well, there's much more to overclocking than setting the multiplier, jacking the FSB and changing a single voltage value. I'd take the time to learn to overclock and see what you can truly get out of your Q6600.

[xdrift0rx]

^^^^^^ agreed

i run my Q6600 at 3.7ghz with 1.44V going into it, (476*8) and a 1:1 ram ratio 100% stable. i push it more every now and then but my board is the limiting factor from keeping it stable. i knew i shouldnt have bought my dfi p35 open box...:shakes:

[THOMO]

Q6600 G0 vid 1.2375 : P5Q PRO

3600mhz with 1.38v vcore 1.50v pll
3800mhz with 1.46v vcore 1.52v pll
4000mhz with 1.56v vcore 1.54v pll


T.R.U.E rev a + 120mm fan.....ambient 17c-21c

[Andrew LB]

I just bought an Asus P7P55D-Deluxe motherboard and an i7 860 which runs @ 4ghz on air with memory at 1900mhz and am VERY happy with the purchase. WAY faster than my previous 780i SLI w/Q8800 setup @ 3.6ghz.