Confused!

[MightyDiomed]

Hey [H],

I will be selling my current Q6600 based rig to a friend at work and I'd like to upgrade to an either an i5, i7 920/860, however the different sockets are confusing the hell out of me...x58 or P55? I don't know!

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I will be using this PC mostly for work, web browsing and possibly some light gaming.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
850 - 900

3) Where do you live?
Phoenix, AZ

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything except monitor/mouse/keyboard

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Just some fans..

6) Will you be overclocking?
As high as possible!

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
24"

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the month!

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI
support? etc.
Doesn't really matter

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Yup!


I basically want something that is very fast, yet mid range and that I can OC moderately well, and silence is very important to me. I don't want to hear it, I don't want any crazy fans exhausting TONS of heat into my room!

I can handle everything, minus the cpu, mobo, ram. That is where I am the most confused!

 

[Dangman]

What kind of work?

Define "light gaming".

So far, a Core i7 or Core i5 setup are complete overkill for your needs so far.

 

[MightyDiomed]

It's hard to describe my work. But, I generally have 12 skype windows open and 19 firefox tabs open, among other random applications etc.

Light gaming would be starcraft/diablo 2, haha.

Yeah, i7/i5 probably is overkill....but if I build another c2d system, whats the point of selling my current right, right? =)



I'm honestly just concerned with getting a killer mobo/cpu/ram combo. I'll end up tossing in an 8800GT or something, and then spend whatever is left over on hard drives/case/psu etc.

 

[Dangman]

Well for your somewhat vague usage scenario, you would honestly not notice a major difference between a Core i5, Core i7, or even a C2Q setup. Most of the increase in system responsiveness and performance would probably be related to a new hard drive. So in other words, as you said, no point in selling your Q6600 rig.

Also, building a C2Q or C2D based setup is a total waste of money nowadays since A) DDR2 RAM is stupid expensive, and B) AMD's Phenom II CPUs perform just as well while being cheaper, and C) zero upgrade path

 

[engiNURD]

I agree, it's overkill, but you will be getting better money for your current parts now than you would later, right?

Your system is as fast as your slowest component (HDD). If you want to build a system with very noticeable performance improvements over your C2Q rig, get an i5 + Intel X25-M SSD.

Damn, no MC in AZ.

$280 - X25-M 80GB
$200 - i5 750 (MC B&M has it for $150; thye also have the i7.860 w/ HT for $230)
$130 - P55 board
$120 - HD4850
$85 - 4GB DDR3-1600
$55 - SS F3 500GB
$70 - 500-550W Corsair or Antec Earthwatts
$50 - Some case, CM Elite/Centurion or Antec 300
$30 - DVDRW SATA
$30 - CM Hyper 212+
========
$1050 + tax and shipping...

Damn... guess an SSD is out of your budget. Sorry. Upgrade to one later, when they're cheaper. Subtract that from the build and you're good to go. If you need more space, the 1TB F3 or cuda.12 is $80.