Q6600 for long-term use?

M

maw

Supreme [H]ardness
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Sep 27, 2000
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Hi all,

First off, I don't do a lot of super high-end gaming (only the occasional MMORPG or strategy game), but I do a lot of Photoshop and web development work, as well as watching movies. But when I do game, I like to have decent frame-rates.

I'm don't upgrade nearly as often (see sig) as I used to, mostly because I actually need my PC for work, so constantly being on the bleeding-edge isn't for me. However, I do want a platform that will last me a while (3-3.5 years).

I'm wondering if it's worth it to still go with a Q6600 and socket 775 at this late stage in its lifespan, or should I go for something a bit newer in the CPU dept., like the Q9550, or wait a few months for i7 and a newer socket?

I'd hate to invest in socket 775, only to find out a year from now I can't do even minor upgrades like RAM, or find a replacement CPU if the need should arise. (I'm still bitter about AMD moving to socket AM2 less than a month after I bought into socket 939, leaving me with very limited upgrade options)

BTW, I'm budgeting $800 for this upgrade, so any suggestions would be much appreciated.


Cliff's Notes version

- looking for PC to last 3-3.5 years.
- wondering if socket 775/Q6600 is still a good choice for the long haul
- will probably need a decent mid-range video card too
- $800 budget
 
With that budget, it's hard to recommend going for i7. I'd stick with LGA775 in your situation. You're going to get a much better computer for your money.
 
If you're next PC must last your 3-5 years then waiting does not help you if you plan to upgrade it. Now yes you're right that i7 et al is coming but if you are going to use whatever you get next and not upgrade for 3-5 years, in 3-5 years you likely will not be able to upgrade that system either. Clearly, a S775 is even less upgradeable. In a year or 18 months you'll be searching ebay for cpu's and whatnot. You just gotta know 3 and especially 5 years is just too big a window to consider upgrades. But if you wait till next year and if say a year or two from then you plan a new cpu or something then it is possible and certainly that is your better option.
 
First off, I'm going to suggest that you do what you want with your money. Either way you plan it, 3-5 years means you will have a harder time upgrading the CPU. Big freaking deal, right?!

I'd go with a decent quad core system.

Q-Whatever
780i or 790i mobo ( decide if you want to use ddr2 or ddr3)
I'd suggest 6GB mimumum if you're going to use Vista.
Decent HDD (You can have a 1tb under a buck 50 now)
Either a new radeon 48xx or a gtx260

That's still a bit under $800.

The main rig in my sig was a bit under $800 when I first bought the parts off of newegg.
I bought the 8GB, videocard, mobo, cpu, psu
 
good points.. but I was thinking that although I want the system to last 3+ years, I'd like the option to maybe upgrade it a bit in the next 12-18 months or so (i.e. a faster CPU or more RAM). But if, say DDR2 goes the way of DDR or socket 775 mobos get yanked off the shelves a month from now, then I wouldn't want to go that route. That's what screwed me when I went socket 939; less than a year later when I wanted to get a faster CPU, there were none to be found in the retail channel and all the chipsets had moved to DDR2 and AM2, so I'd have had to buy all new CPU/mobo/RAM just to get a faster CPU..

Of course, I assume PCI Express and SATA will be around for a long time to come, so I'm not worried about video or HDD upgrades as much.

BTW my $800 budget is only for mobo/CPU/RAM/video and maybe PS, I'm fine with HDD, DVD, monitors, case, etc..
 
maw said:
good points.. but I was thinking that although I want the system to last 3+ years, I'd like the option to maybe upgrade it a bit in the next 12-18 months or so (i.e. a faster CPU or more RAM). But if, say DDR2 goes the way of DDR or socket 775 mobos get yanked off the shelves a month from now, then I wouldn't want to go that route. That's what screwed me when I went socket 939; less than a year later when I wanted to get a faster CPU, there were none to be found in the retail channel and all the chipsets had moved to DDR2 and AM2, so I'd have had to buy all new CPU/mobo/RAM just to get a faster CPU..

Of course, I assume PCI Express and SATA will be around for a long time to come, so I'm not worried about video or HDD upgrades as much.

BTW my $800 budget is only for mobo/CPU/RAM/video and maybe PS, I'm fine with HDD, DVD, monitors, case, etc..
Click to expand...

Q6600
Asus P5Q-Pro
Gskill 4GB PC1000
Corsair HX510

about 450$
 
Is there any reason why people recommend nVidia motherboards except for the reason that they have one and think everyone else should too? You just can't beat the stability of an Intel chipset with an Intel processor, period.

To answer the OP, that Q6600 will serve you well. Do a modest overclock (3Ghz?) and it would definitely last you three years. The only thing I'd really suggest is 8GB RAM as it would help your video/design work greatly.
 
SharpieFiend said:
Is there any reason why people recommend nVidia motherboards except for the reason that they have one and think everyone else should too? You just can't beat the stability of an Intel chipset with an Intel processor, period.
QUOTE]

QFT
Click to expand...
 
I agree with the others. Unless you are going SLI, which you obviously are not, stay away from Nvidia.

Even though it is quite a dated chipset, I still love my 965 + Q6600 + DDRII 800 setup. I've had several of the parts going on 2-3 years and it is still the most stable system I have ever owned.
 
So is it safe to assume that a year from now, motherboards and CPUs that support socket 775 and DDR2 will be history as far as buying them retail goes?
 
maw said:
So is it safe to assume that a year from now, motherboards and CPUs that support socket 775 and DDR2 will be history as far as buying them retail goes?
Click to expand...
Motherboards definitely.Socket 775 CPUs will probably be around.

If you want to be able to upgrade in a couple of years this is not the right time to buy a new system.Building a system which will be upgradeable in a couple of years will turn out to be expensive at the moment.

We're at a turning point right now form DDR2 to DDR3 and a new Intel socket.Just get a QXXXX and 8GB of DDR2 RAM and you'll be fine until you decide to build an entirely new system 3 to 4 years from now.
 
I doubt S775 CPU's and motherboards will be history in a year. It's too dominant of a platform right now to just up and disappear in a year. Hell, you can still find 478 and S939 boards and chips.

With that being said a Q6600 / P35-45 combo will last you at least 3 years. And still provide flexibility with GPU and memory upgrades.
 
maw said:
So is it safe to assume that a year from now, motherboards and CPUs that support socket 775 and DDR2 will be history as far as buying them retail goes?
Click to expand...

You can still buy S478 boards so S775 will be available for a very long time. That's another advantage of buying Intel - you know that you'll be supported for a very long time. (Nah, I'm not bitter about S939 much...)
 
HydroBudz said:
I doubt S775 CPU's and motherboards will be history in a year. It's too dominant of a platform right now to just up and disappear in a year.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that what I wanted to hear! Just so long as I don't get stuck with another dead platform before the heat sink paste even has time to set!
 
HydroBudz said:
With that being said a Q6600 / P35-45 combo will last you at least 3 years. And still provide flexibility with GPU and memory upgrades.
Click to expand...
If you are going with an Intel chip then get the P45 since it supports pci-e 2.0 that way you will be future proof with video cards as well.
 
boxterduke said:
If you are going with an Intel chip then get the P45 since it supports pci-e 2.0 that way you will be future proof with video cards as well.
Click to expand...

In addition to the fact that you can upgrade to 16Gb of ram with the P45 vs 8Gb with P35.
 
It can probably last you some 3ish years. You probably don't need that much RAM if you're not messing around too much with 3-d applications like Maya and the likes.
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