CPU/MOBO/RAM

R

Ryan45

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
209
I am looking to upgrade from my Q6600. It is not a good overclocker, and I want the ability to do crossfire in the future. I would need a new motherboard so I might as well get a new CPU. I dont mind AMD/Intel whatever would be an upgrade from a stock Q6600.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mostly gaming and web browsing.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I would like to keep it lower than $400. MAX is $450

3) Where do you live?
US

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.

CPU/MOBO/RAM *CPU must be a QUAD*

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
HD, Video Card, and eveything else. PSU is an Antec Signature 850

6) Will you be overclocking?
Slightly nothing too crazy.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
22"

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
The next month or so

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Crossfire/SLI. I plan on purchasing a 5770, and doing crossfire later.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Vista Ultimate x64
 
Phenom II is on par with Core2, so going AMD wouldn't exactly be an upgrade; it'd be more like a lateral move, IMO. For an upgrade, you'd need a Core i5 or i7.

Since you want CFX, to get dual 8x will cost you a bit more:
$140 - Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4 LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX
$160 - MSI P55-GD65 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX

If you skip the CFX idea and simply go with a more powerful GPU now, instead of CF'ing later, then you could get a cheaper board. Later, when you need more GPU power, simply sell the old card and buy a new one:
$105 - Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3L LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX w/ RAID
$115 - MSI P55-CD53 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX

If you want HT, get the Xeon as its only 266Mhz slower than the i7 860 but cheaper. If you don't need HT, then the 750 is for you:
$195 - Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156
$240 - Intel Xeon X3440 Lynnfield 2.53GHz LGA 1156

Stick with 1.5v DDR3 for best compatibility. Lower timings won't give you noticeable performance improvement, so don't pay the price premium unless that price difference is negligible to you.
$94 - G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3-1600 F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL CL9 1.5v

edit: did MC raise their prices on their loss-leader/door-buster CPUs?!?! :(
 
Last edited:
Thank you for the list. I will look closer into those motherboards. Will any 1156 board support the Xeon?
 
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