best upgrade path for an e6850?

[stag3]

Update:
apparently my cousin wasn't sure what cpu he had.
it's actually an i7-965 3.2ghz so now i am going to get a new board + ram.

it's been 3 years since i built my last box so my parts are as follows right now, let me know if there's something comparable/better for the $

mobo - ASUS P6X58D (doubt i will ever crossfire, so don't need a rampage, is the p6x58d overkill also?)

ram - mushkin 998677B Blackline DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) 7-7-7-20 @ 1.5-1.6v (here is where i'm a bit confused, do i want/need DDR3 1600 ? i do plan to overclock, hopefully reach ~4ghz.

cooler - Scythe Mugen 2 Rev. B CPU Cooler

thermal compound - cooler comes with arctic cooling mx-2, is that fine or should i go back to ac5 or ceramique?

keeping from rig now
video - keeping my ati 5850 (or will i notice any significant gains moving up to a 5870)
psu, burner, x-fi, raptor

don't really want to buy an ssd until the prices come down.

==========================================

im debating on upgrading right now
currently on an e6850 @ 3.6ghz

is it a no brainer to go to an i7 930? with an x58 board?
recommendations for boards? i've always been partial to abit (no longer in business)
and asus.

is it worth upgrading now? or just stick with what i have for awhile longer?

most of my friends have upgraded from o/c 6750 systems and said there's a HUGE
diff in newer games like bad company 2.

or is there another chip/platform i should be considering?

 

[ZipSpeed]

If you are happy with your current rig, I would wait see the new stuff coming from Intel and AMD starting later this year.

 

[aigomorla]

im debating on upgrading right now
currently on an e6850 @ 3.6ghz

is it a no brainer to go to an i7 930? with an x58 board?
recommendations for boards? i've always been partial to abit (no longer in business)
and asus.

is it worth upgrading now? or just stick with what i have for awhile longer?

most of my friends have upgraded from o/c 6750 systems and said there's a HUGE
diff in newer games like bad company 2.

or is there another chip/platform i should be considering?

seeing how your an overclocker... grab an i7.
If you need more power, later when the 970 falls in price, grab that for a hexcore.

I dont really like asus anymore. Ive had too many failures from them.
Im more partial to giggy this time around, and eVGA. Although eVGA is foxconn.

To be honest, an i7 930 should do 3.6 realtively easy if you have a decient sink. And YMMV on 4ghz even.
@ that speeds, yes it is night and day. And if you scale gpu cards, that day only gets brighter.
ICH10 is about the best you can get onboard for SSD's even, and thats the SB on the X58.

If you dont mind spending a little extra, E5620 is the 32nm version, has a better memory controller, and gives you 12megs of cache, and will work inside some regular X58 boards.

Like Asus, and Giggy.

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=47925

Westmere's are Crazy Insane:

 

[stag3]

actually my cousin has a QX6800 he wants to sell me
dont know the actual price yet but it does fit in an abit ip35 pro so
i think i'll go with that, not sure what that chip is comparable to
right now tho, should be a nice boost either way and keep me set
for a bit longer

 

[evolucion8]

The QX6800 is a nice processor which comes unlocked and is a piece of cake to overclock, just make sure that you don't spend a lot of money to buy it and get a nice air cooling device. The QX6800 at stock should be as fast as a Core 2 Quad Q9450 or a 2.30GHz Core i5 equivalent or Phenom II X4 920.

 

[aigomorla]

actually my cousin has a QX6800 he wants to sell me
dont know the actual price yet but it does fit in an abit ip35 pro so
i think i'll go with that, not sure what that chip is comparable to
right now tho, should be a nice boost either way and keep me set
for a bit longer

ip35 is not a great board for quadcores.

its not a durable board either.

 

[stag3]

i don't really want to buy another board as i'm looking at this as a "cheap" upgrade.
i haven't had any issues so far, but then again im only on a dual.

what issues arise when putting a quad in there besides heat?

 

[cubeless]

some people had problems cooking the vrms when oc'ing q6xxx chips... i ran a q6700 @ 3.4 for over a year in one with no problems, now the ip35-e has a e4500 oc'd in it for over 1.5 years, still no problems...

 

[AlucardX]

i don't really want to buy another board as i'm looking at this as a "cheap" upgrade.
i haven't had any issues so far, but then again im only on a dual.

what issues arise when putting a quad in there besides heat?

i have an almost identical set up as you do. since i only play at 1680x and with my ati 5770 all my games run fine, though i don't use AA/AF. i'm happy with my performance and i'm going to wait until the next generation of quad/hex intel chips and possibly new sockets.

the issue with our IP-35's is a pretty bad vdroop which makes it not friendly to quads and trying to overclock. in addition, there are some socket 775 quads that won't work at all on our board, though i don't remember their exact name.

 

[nyker96]

I'd sell that off and get a socket AM3+. you can ungrade all the way to a 6core.

 

[RussianSensation]

most of my friends have upgraded from o/c 6750 systems and said there's a HUGE
diff in newer games like bad company 2.

The game's ability to scale with multiple cores depends on the game. Additionally newer architectures like Core i7 seem to do better with fewer cores (i.e., less of a performance hit). Here is a brand new review: http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/gaming_the_core_debate,3.html

I would say it's not worth upgrading your platform and getting a $200 processor + $130 mobo + $100 ram (Unless you can sell off your parts for a decent amount). Otherwise, i would rather consider selling the processor only and getting a used Q9550 for example.

I used to have a P35 mobo by Gigabyte. I contemplated getting a used Q9550 but the board could never do more than 420 FSB from my own testing with Q6600 and from reading online. Based on my research back then, the only P35 motherboard EVER made that could overclock Q9550 to 450 FSB was the IP35-E. Therefore, as far as I am aware, you have the only P35 motherboard that does overclock well with 45nm quads. If you can get a used Quad from your cousin, that's also a decent deal. Could be a cheap upgrade. Just remember, what kills 45nm quads on P35 is FSB/Vtt termination voltage. Don't go above 1.40V for 24/7 operation on air or they are toast: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3381

 

[stag3]

edited first post, apparently my cousin wasn't sure what cpu he had.
it's actually an i7-965 3.2ghz so now i am going to get a new board + ram.

it's been 3 years since i built my last box so my parts are as follows right now, let me know if there's something comparable/better for the $

mobo - ASUS P6X58D (doubt i will ever crossfire, so don't need a rampage, is the p6x58d overkill also?)

ram - mushkin 998677B Blackline DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) 7-7-7-20 @ 1.5-1.6v (here is where i'm a bit confused, do i want/need DDR3 1600 ? i do plan to overclock, hopefully reach ~4ghz.

cooler - Scythe Mugen 2 Rev. B CPU Cooler

thermal compound - cooler comes with arctic cooling mx-2, is that fine or should i go back to ac5 or ceramique?

keeping from rig now
video - keeping my ati 5850 (or will i notice any significant gains moving up to a 5870)
psu, burner, x-fi, raptor

don't really want to buy an ssd until the prices come down.