Got the upgrade bug...need expert advice

[Thrust]

upgrading the system in my sig. Since I've invested so much time and effort into my current rig, I'm considering maxing out the M/B to include the best/fastest hardware it can handle (as opposed to buying new gear for a new system). I'm definitely getting a quad core. Should I save $$ and get a Q6600? Or should I go all out and get a QX6850? Keep in mind that my 680i cannot use a new 45nm quad. Also this M/B can take up to 1200Mhz DDR2- Would it be advantageous to upgrade my 800Mhz DDR2 to 1200Mhz? (I run my ram at stock 800Mhz.)

Just wanted to get some of you to chime in and tell me what you think. Thanks!

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[onedestinazn2]

i wouldnt upgrade to the qx6850 as that would mean you need a new motherboard when you can put that towards nebelhem or whatever the next big thing is. and i wouldnt up the ram as urs is pretty good now and unless u are maxing them out now by overclocking, i dont think you'd see a big difference imo.

 

[engiNURD]

What's your budget?

Also, what is making you upgrade? (gaming performance not good enough, encoding performance not good enough, etc)

An extreme edition chip is an extreme waste of money.

 

[Thrust]

no particular reason to upgrade. But since I can't spend a boatload, I figured I'd just make what I've got the best I can get in there. I do some encoding, gaming , blah blah, but just wanted to have the best i can have with what I've got. Wasn't sure if going from an E6600 w/800Mhz DDR2 to a QX6850 w/1200Mhz DDR2 would make much of a difference. Thx

 

[engiNURD]

The perceived performance difference depends on what you do with your system, and what you hope to speed up. If you want better gaming performance, get a 9800GX2 or two GTX280's (though, not much better than your current 8800GTX SLI setup, so its up to you if its worth it. Read up on the reviews). If you want better multitasking and faster encode/decode times, get a Q6600. Due note that the Q6600 won't likely reach 3.95Ghz... 3.6Ghz is more realistic.