Any reason to upgrade from a Q9550 yet?

[cytg111]

Sounds like I am underestimating Skylake's performance... or at least underestimating the cumulative performance increase of the generations since Core 2 Quad.

Should note that I'm exclusively on Linux, so things like DX12 don't matter. Also means I'm generally not playing the very latest titles, though Steam OS has been changing that and I hope it continues. I'd like to get a little more life out of this GTX 960, but I can definitely see going for a mid-high range (i.e., where a 980 would slot today) in a couple generations.

I imagine a CPU upgrade would also help a lot with game recording/streaming, which is something I've started playing around with.

Edit: Also, for CPU I do tend to go high-end and keep it for many years, so likely looking at an i7 or at least an i5. But TDP will be important, too. I like powerful but quiet systems.

Unless you're lagging with what you're doing with your current rig.. then I wouldnt change a thing.
If I were to upgrade today, i'd get skylake i7 6700k, reason being that clock/ipc ratio will likely remain in the same ballpark for the next 5-7 years, so you might as well go the distance and enjoy ~100% for 5 years rather that ~80% for 5 years (for a mere 100 bucks extra).

 

[lupi]

I've got a Q9550 in my media pc and it's starting to get slow enough that i'm looking to upgrade my regular desktop and drop the 2600k into the media pc. Probably would have done it already but I hate how they keep changing sockets with almost every new release.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Unless you're lagging with what you're doing with your current rig.. then I wouldnt change a thing.
If I were to upgrade today, i'd get skylake i7 6700k, reason being that clock/ipc ratio will likely remain in the same ballpark for the next 5-7 years, so you might as well go the distance and enjoy ~100% for 5 years rather that ~80% for 5 years (for a mere 100 bucks extra).

I agree. That is what I was trying to say, but I think you made it clearer. I definitely would not upgrade from Haswell to Skylake, but if upgrading from an older platform, you might as well go all the way to the top of the line.

 

[Burpo]

I5-6500 is 187.95, code EMCKKAT67 (with a fan) + H170 mobo & 8gb DDR4 ram = Cheaper than 6700k Cpu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...5-Index-_-ProcessorsDesktops-_-19117563-S1A5B

 

[Zodiark1593]

Grab a Skylake. Keep the GTX 960. Grab a Pascal (or Artic Islands) card when they arrive.

 

[pauldun170]

I'm sure it would. But would it be worth the money to do so? Skylake stuff, mobos, RAM, CPUs, M.2 PCI-E SSDs, everything Skylake related has a price premium on it right now. Almost better off going Haswell.

If it were me, I'd wait for ddr4 prices to come down a bit and letting a few revisions happen on the current mobos out there.

Fortunately, a Q9550 is still a solid processor if you are not chasing benchmarks or trying to play bleeding edge games. I can definitely understand the temptation.

 

[escrow4]

I'm sure it would. But would it be worth the money to do so? Skylake stuff, mobos, RAM, CPUs, M.2 PCI-E SSDs, everything Skylake related has a price premium on it right now. Almost better off going Haswell.

Its night and day. Price premium yes, but look what you get. Core 2 is going to be a roughly decade old next year. Its old. Its slow. Not just 5 or 10% - leaps and bounds.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I've got a Q9550 in my media pc and it's starting to get slow enough that i'm looking to upgrade my regular desktop and drop the 2600k into the media pc. Probably would have done it already but I hate how they keep changing sockets with almost every new release.

Just get a cheap G3258 and an ITX board with a B85 or H97 chipset, that supports non-Z overclocking, and run Win7 HP 64-bit with Media Center.