New Mobo + CPU

J

Jon55

2[H]4U
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Jul 7, 2008
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A friend of mine wants to upgrade his cpu and mobo (he currently has a Core2 Duo from about 2 years ago, with a mobo bought at the same time). I was looking at a Q9450 for him, but wasn't sure if they were going to be price dropped anytime soon, or if it's better to wait (I know Nehalem is right around the corner).

Also, what is a good mobo (in the $100-$150 range)?
 
Well what is your friend doing with his PC now that warrants the CPU upgrade? Gaming? Video editing? etc. And which mobo and CPU does he have. There were quite a few C2D CPUs and motherboards released two years ago.

Oh and the Q9450 has been phased out and has been replaced by the Q9550. So with that in mind, you can still get the Q9450 for cheaper than the Q9550:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 CPU - $280

And some motherboard recommendations:
Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L Intel P43 Motherboard - $84
MSI P45 Neo3-FR Intel P45 Motherboard - $112
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Intel P45 Motherboard - $130
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Motherboard - $140
Biostar TPower I45 Intel P45 Motherboard - $150
DFI Lanparty DK X38-T2R Intel X38 Motherboard - $180
Asus P5E Deluxe Intel X48 Motherboard - $220
DFI Lanparty DK X48-T2R Intel X48 Motherboard - $220
Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Intel X48 Motherboard - $225

Just to help you out: All of these motherboards have PCI-E 2.0 which may be useful for future GPU upgrades. If you don't need RAID, more than 6 SATA ports and only need semi-decent overclocking, check out the DS3L. If you need 8 SATA ports, RAID, 4 PCI slots, and legacy ports, then get the Neo3-Fr. If you don't need more than 6 SATA ports but want RAID, firewire, a second PCI-E x16 port, a second gigabit port, support for 16GB of RAM, optional eSATA, x8/x8 Crossfire, and great overclocks, then get the DS3R. If you like the DS3R but need 8 SATA ports, want an onboard pre-installed fast booting Linux setup, just support for 8GB of RAM, and don't need a second gigabit port, get the Asus P5Q Pro. If you want a motherboard with excellent overclocking capabilities above all else (feature wise), go with the I45. If you want Crossfire with full x16/x16 bandwidth, get the Lanparty DK X38. If you have cash to burn, need x16/x16 Crossfire, and don't give a damn about getting the most value for your money, get the Asus, DFI, or Gigabyte X48 motherboards. Do note that the Asus website can be slow sometimes.

Though depending on what your friend is using, he may not need a mobo or CPU upgrade.
 
Danny Bui said:
Well what is your friend doing with his PC now that warrants the CPU upgrade? Gaming? Video editing? etc. And which mobo and CPU does he have. There were quite a few C2D CPUs and motherboards released two years ago.

Oh and the Q9450 has been phased out and has been replaced by the Q9550. So with that in mind, you can still get the Q9450 for cheaper than the Q9550:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 CPU - $280

And some motherboard recommendations:
Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L Intel P43 Motherboard - $84
MSI P45 Neo3-FR Intel P45 Motherboard - $112
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Intel P45 Motherboard - $130
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Motherboard - $140
Biostar TPower I45 Intel P45 Motherboard - $150
DFI Lanparty DK X38-T2R Intel X38 Motherboard - $180
Asus P5E Deluxe Intel X48 Motherboard - $220
DFI Lanparty DK X48-T2R Intel X48 Motherboard - $220
Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Intel X48 Motherboard - $225

Just to help you out: All of these motherboards have PCI-E 2.0 which may be useful for future GPU upgrades. If you don't need RAID, more than 6 SATA ports and only need semi-decent overclocking, check out the DS3L. If you need 8 SATA ports, RAID, 4 PCI slots, and legacy ports, then get the Neo3-Fr. If you don't need more than 6 SATA ports but want RAID, firewire, a second PCI-E x16 port, a second gigabit port, support for 16GB of RAM, optional eSATA, x8/x8 Crossfire, and great overclocks, then get the DS3R. If you like the DS3R but need 8 SATA ports, want an onboard pre-installed fast booting Linux setup, just support for 8GB of RAM, and don't need a second gigabit port, get the Asus P5Q Pro. If you want a motherboard with excellent overclocking capabilities above all else (feature wise), go with the I45. If you want Crossfire with full x16/x16 bandwidth, get the Lanparty DK X38. If you have cash to burn, need x16/x16 Crossfire, and don't give a damn about getting the most value for your money, get the Asus, DFI, or Gigabyte X48 motherboards. Do note that the Asus website can be slow sometimes.

Though depending on what your friend is using, he may not need a mobo or CPU upgrade.
Click to expand...

Holy crap. Thank you so much man. I can't remember his current mobo, but his GPU is a 9800 GX2. And yes, his machine is mostly used for gaming. He has $500 to mess with, and I'm trying to help him decide whether to get a velociraptor and wait on a cpu+mobo, or get a cpu+mobo and wait on the velociraptor. And no, RAID isn't necessary.
 
Well find out what CPU and motherboard he has and report back,
 
Danny Bui said:
Well find out what CPU and motherboard he has and report back,
Click to expand...

Conroe 2.4 Ghz (don't know exact model number)

Gigabyte 965e-S3

Again, he's looking at an Intel quad-core proc. and a mobo in the $100-$170 range.
 
So your friend has the E6600 CPU and the Gigabyte GA-P965-S3.

Hmm, for straight up gaming, he doesn't need a quad-core CPU or a new motherboard. Just overclock the E6600 to 3GHz and your friend should be set for another year. Unless your friend plans on doing a ton of video editing and virtualization, there's little reason why he should get a new CPU or mobo at this point in time.

And again, I've already recommended motherboards. Up to you and your friend to decide which mobo best fits his needs. Oh and the performance of all the mobos with video games is pretty much the same.
 
-If he feels that he must upgrade and wants to spend that 500, he could get a 8600( though 8400 is better b4b) and a p5q board..... maybe some new memory...

-But listen to Danny and tell him to overclock..... and send me his money
 
An E6600 dual core with a 9800GX2 that's pretty good man. I wouldn't bother with a quad cpu upgrade now as your E6600 cpu will do fine. I would stick with that Dual Core cpu for as long as I can to the point where I am forced to upgrade because I need the quad core. That setup would blow my Q6600 quad with an 8800GT card in gaming.
 
Danny Bui said:
So your friend has the E6600 CPU and the Gigabyte GA-P965-S3.

Hmm, for straight up gaming, he doesn't need a quad-core CPU or a new motherboard. Just overclock the E6600 to 3GHz and your friend should be set for another year. Unless your friend plans on doing a ton of video editing and virtualization, there's little reason why he should get a new CPU or mobo at this point in time.

And again, I've already recommended motherboards. Up to you and your friend to decide which mobo best fits his needs. Oh and the performance of all the mobos with video games is pretty much the same.
Click to expand...

Aye. I trust you guys, so if you say it is so, I believe you. I've built/set up many machines but have yet to actually overclock anything. Is there a good guide to follow? Thank you again guys for the help!
 
O/C a cpu now is alot easier than how it was before with dip switches on the mobo. Most of the O/C can be done in the bios or even through software. You need a aftermarket heatsink, good RAM modules like G.Skills, OCZ DDR2 800 or even DDR2 667 will do. Since the E6600 has a multiplier of 9 so 9 x 266mhz would give you 2.394 (2.4ghz) if you rause the FSB to 334mhz from 266mhz you should hit over 3ghz with the E6600. But, if you expereince stability issues, you may need to increase the cpu voltage. Raising it to 1.25v should fix it.
 
Both Gigabyte and Asus,Abit all are great motherboards and higher price motherboards dont mean they are better.:)
 
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