Inexpensive build to last till Skylake

[sammykhalifa]

Gotcha, thanks guys. Waiting was going to be difficult anyhow, haha.

 

[therealnickdanger]

His Q6600 is already heavily overclocked. Doubt he would see much difference.

That's why I said he should OC the Q9000 model. :|

 

[Jareb]

Just step by step upgraded q6600 @ 3.0 + hd 5850:
1. hd5850 to gtx 970 - huge fps boost in games and benchmarks, but no difference in general apps and lightroom. Almost all games at max or ultra, except field of view setting. Dreamfall Chapters only at "high", non playable at "awesome".
2. Q6600 to 4790k - huge speed boost in apps, system and Adobe stuff, speed up SSD because of sata3, a little bit more fps in games, boost of physics CPU tests in benchmarks, Dreamfall at "awesome".

Conclusion:
1. needs boost at games - upgrade gpu, q6600, especially with your overclocking, may be still enough;
2. Apps - upgrade whole platform, for not only cpu but also for 6gb sata3, ddr3 and usb3. But at games there be almost no difference.
3. HD 58x0 are not for modern games at all.

 

[flexy]

The difference when upgrading here is really not so much about "getting a 25% faster CPU etc"....doesn't really make any sense.

The biggest difference will be that modern systems have way faster memory access, a modern system likely has more memory, the faster CPU like an i5 or i7. Just replacing the CPU with a faster one won't give you that so it would be a very halfa$$ "update". I still say he should get a Z87 board and some i5 or i7 haswell, ivy or sandy.

 

[NTMBK]

That's why I said he should OC the Q9000 model. :|

I thought that the Q9xxx didn't clock much higher than the Q6600? (I could be wrong, I never had one )

 

[steve wilson]

I was in EXACTLY the same boat as you with the same reasoning and pretty much the same specs!

This is why I got a used i7, a Z87 Board and 2 sticks of Corsair Vengeance memory from a forum. No point in spending more in a Z97 system or Devil's Canyon (IMHO), and also relatively pointless to get a X99 system with Skylake coming out soon.

So....I'd say a i7 is really overkill also (I5 would be entirely sufficient), get yourself a Z87 board and you're all set. It really makes a BIG difference, MORE memory than the 4GB I had, i7 at 4.5 etc.. Such a system can tie you over until Skylake K is out and DDR4 is affordable. And you don't spend premium on a Z97 board (it's the same as Z87 really just with some gimmicks thrown in which no-one requires) and Devil's Canyon "in essence" is just a re-hashed Haswell too.

You can ALSO well get an older Ivy Bridge or Sandy bridge system, nothing wrong with that if you get a good deal. Forums are full with people selling their Ivy Bridges, Sandys and Z87 systems.

Soon? Isn't skylake K out in 2016? That could be like 18 months away. I have a 2500k and I'm not planning on any upgrade until skylake K comes out at the earliest.

 

[escrow4]

I was in EXACTLY the same boat as you with the same reasoning and pretty much the same specs!

This is why I got a used i7, a Z87 Board and 2 sticks of Corsair Vengeance memory from a forum. No point in spending more in a Z97 system or Devil's Canyon (IMHO), and also relatively pointless to get a X99 system with Skylake coming out soon.

So....I'd say a i7 is really overkill also (I5 would be entirely sufficient), get yourself a Z87 board and you're all set. It really makes a BIG difference, MORE memory than the 4GB I had, i7 at 4.5 etc.. Such a system can tie you over until Skylake K is out and DDR4 is affordable. And you don't spend premium on a Z97 board (it's the same as Z87 really just with some gimmicks thrown in which no-one requires) and Devil's Canyon "in essence" is just a re-hashed Haswell too.

You can ALSO well get an older Ivy Bridge or Sandy bridge system, nothing wrong with that if you get a good deal. Forums are full with people selling their Ivy Bridges, Sandys and Z87 systems.

Skylake isn't hexa core. How is X99 pointless? Its a solid foundation not a mainstream quad.

 

[therealnickdanger]

I thought that the Q9xxx didn't clock much higher than the Q6600? (I could be wrong, I never had one )

If we're talking overclocking on air (no water or extreme methods), the Q6600 G0 is only good for 3.4-3.6GHz with all your other components being excellent, while the Q9650 can easily hit 4GHz with the same components. Combined with overall better IPC and more cache, he could see some really nice gains.

That being said, he'd have to score a Q9xxx for pretty cheap to make it worth it, given how easily one can buy used i3/5/7 setup with RAM and everything. People seem to be giving those away on Craigslist. Slap in a decent GPU and they will meet or beat a Q-system no problem.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/49?vs=289