Upgrade current system or go i7?

M

MasterShake

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 28, 2005
Messages
392
I'm not sure whether to upgrade my current system or go to i7.

My current build is as follows:

Seagate 1.5 gb hdd
corsair hx620 psu
sapphire 4890 toxic
2 x 1gb patriot ddr
Intel Q6600
Creative X-Fi Fatality
Asrock 4coredual sata2 (via chipset, has agp and pci-e plus ddr+ddr2)

So I was going to upgrade to either of these:

Keeping Q6600 for overclocking
GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS5 LGA 775 Intel X48 $199 (comes with free 750gb hdd)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128332

or

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 $135
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 $54
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

So that system will overclock very nicely for between around $255-$190

or an i7 that would blow it out of the water

Intel Core i7 920 $279
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 $239
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188049

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

$617


I use my computer for gaming, a media server, ripping/burning dvds and for work where I use it for anything from remotely configuring computers to editing audio. I am also driving two monitors, one at 1920x1200 and the other is 1650x1050.

So is it worth the high price to upgrade this or will my system be just as good once I get my q6600 overclocked (I can't oc on this shitty mobo)?
 
MasterShake said:
I use my computer for gaming, a media server, ripping/burning dvds and for work where I use it for anything from remotely configuring computers to editing audio. I am also driving two monitors, one at 1920x1200 and the other is 1650x1050.

So is it worth the high price to upgrade this or will my system be just as good once I get my q6600 overclocked (I can't oc on this shitty mobo)?
Click to expand...

Well, first off... are you doing anything on your current PC that is terribly slow that an i7 build will speed up? Or do you just have excess money?

You pretty much have the same rig as I do, except that my q6600 is OC'd to 3.6Ghz and I have 2gb more ram.

I play games on a 40" 1920 x 1080 (less res), but still have no problems with any games, if anything.. I see no reason FOR ME to upgrade.

So, is the reason why you want to upgrade worth the cost of $617? (personally, i'd go i7 over new mobo/more ram)
 
I'm debating a similar situation. I've decided that everything I play so far (Arma 2 included) plays well enough on my q66. Going i7 just doesn't make sense for me right now, as I don't have performance issues yet. I'm waiting for the next set of chips. :)
 
Go with the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P and G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 1066 combo. If you don't have one already, pick up a good aftermarket CPU cooler, like the Xigmatek Dark Knight, as well.

While a Core i7 build, as stock speeds, would outperform your Core 2 build, there's really no need for you to spend all of that money. Just upgrade the board and push the Q6600 to beyond 3GHz -- you should be fine, then.
 
I hit 3.4Ghz on my friend's comp without upping CPU voltage too much. And one step up on voltage on everything else. Took less than half a day, especially with Intel BurnTest.
 
I agree with most everyone in this thread, leave it as is, consider an OC, but honestly if you don't need more performance, why run the chip hot and pull down more juice?
 
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