Throwing good money after bad - e8400 to q9950?

[stealthycow]

So Black Friday came and went without anything cheap enough for me, "cyber monday" is a scam as per usual, and I'm stuck here with my LGA775 motherboard, DDR2 RAM, and a 3.8ghz E8400 (which I could probably OC more, but meh). I've also got a GTX 460 1GB, which I'm not terribly interesting in upgrading at the moment, as I feel my processor might end up a limiting factor rather soon.

To the point: I can get a Q9550 for around $100. I'd probably give it a similar OC, maybe try a little more, I dunno how well that processor overclocks. Going from a powerful core2duo to a powerful core2quad sounds good in my head, but I can't help but feel like I'm throwing good money after bad here.

On one hand, it's a $100 upgrade now that'll probably help out, and that's it. No other costs. My mobo is compatible, my RAM is compatible, my cooler is compatible. $100 and it's done, hopefully I can start bumping things back up to high on mondern-ish games, or at least getting more consistent frames on medium.


On the other hand, LGA775. It's dead. I was thinking maybe I'd jump to 8gb of RAM, but that'd cost another $75. I have a SSD coming in that's going to be crippled by SATA II.

There's more modern stuff out there. I want a 3750k, but a 3750k is $200-220, plus another $120-150 for a motherboard I'd like, plus another $30ish for RAM, $30 for a new cooler...around a $400 upgrade. It's hard to swallow.



Any thoughts? Alternatives? I don't think I want to go AMD, I don't want to be stuck on an AMD motherboard when Intel has just been mopping the floor with their stuff. I was thinking maybe start with an i3 now and jump to i5 later so I wouldn't have to spend so much money up front, but it's still gonna be a few hundred...so I might as well spend a little more on i5...

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I would just get a SSD, yes it may be crippled by the slow speeds but its a nice upgrade to keep your rig going until haswell.

Best to save your 100 bucks for haswell
You could also upgrade your GPU if you wanted too since it can be carried over, same for the SSD.
Always try to upgrade something that can be carried over

 

[Fox5]

Wait for Haswell?

 

[stealthycow]

I would just get a SSD, yes it may be crippled by the slow speeds but its a nice upgrade to keep your rig going until haswell.

Best to save your 100 bucks for haswell
You could also upgrade your GPU if you wanted too since it can be carried over, same for the SSD.
Always try to upgrade something that can be carried over

Yeah, I have a Kingston Hyperx 3k on the way, really looking forward to that.

I'm looking into Haswell now. It seems like waiting might be a good idea. New socket and all...


GPUs are just so expensive, and it feels like I just got my gtx460. I mean, I didn't, it's been a few years...but it feels like I just got it.

 

[Yuriman]

It's possible to do Ivy on a smaller budget than what you listed, but what about a used Nehalem from the classifieds?

 

[stealthycow]

I was actually looking at a used i5 750 with a motherboard for around $150. I dunno, I didn't look much into it. How does an i5 750 compare to an E8400 or Q9550?

I just get the feeling that I shouldn't be upgrading to outdated technology...even though that's exactly what this thread is about. I guess it's cause I'd need to find both a used processor and a motherboard, adding an extra step of uncertainty and potential cost to the equation. And then I see nehalem, LGA 1156, well there's a socket not in use anymore, but I guess 1155 won't be used anymore in a short while, either.

 

[2is]

I'd shop around for a 2500k, there have been more and more people snagging these at the $99 mark. Then get yourself a decent Z77 board which can be had for $100-115, you can find them for less but I'd stick with that price range for a good one. Another $40 for 8gb of DDR3 and you're set. Yeah, it's 2.5x more than just buying a core 2 quad, but its a much better option for not a whole lot of money.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I think that you should go for it. It's only $100, instead of $300, and if you plan on getting Haswell in a year, then it's better to waste $100 rather than $300, if you would be replacing either one of those systems in a year.

 

[nenforcer]

I also made the exact same upgrade from a Xeon 3110 (Core 2 Duo E8400) to a Xeon X3360 (Core 2 Quad Q9550) for not much more money only a couple of months ago.

I also have a GTX 460 and although I haven't purchased BattleField 3 yet, that was the reason for my upgrade. My framerates in Batman:AC do seem to have stabilized, however.

 

[Zargon]

So Black Friday came and went without anything cheap enough for me, "cyber monday" is a scam as per usual, and I'm stuck here with my LGA775 motherboard, DDR2 RAM, and a 3.8ghz E8400 (which I could probably OC more, but meh). I've also got a GTX 460 1GB, which I'm not terribly interesting in upgrading at the moment, as I feel my processor might end up a limiting factor rather soon.

To the point: I can get a Q9550 for around $100. I'd probably give it a similar OC, maybe try a little more, I dunno how well that processor overclocks. Going from a powerful core2duo to a powerful core2quad sounds good in my head, but I can't help but feel like I'm throwing good money after bad here.

On one hand, it's a $100 upgrade now that'll probably help out, and that's it. No other costs. My mobo is compatible, my RAM is compatible, my cooler is compatible. $100 and it's done, hopefully I can start bumping things back up to high on mondern-ish games, or at least getting more consistent frames on medium.


On the other hand, LGA775. It's dead. I was thinking maybe I'd jump to 8gb of RAM, but that'd cost another $75. I have a SSD coming in that's going to be crippled by SATA II.

There's more modern stuff out there. I want a 3750k, but a 3750k is $200-220, plus another $120-150 for a motherboard I'd like, plus another $30ish for RAM, $30 for a new cooler...around a $400 upgrade. It's hard to swallow.



Any thoughts? Alternatives? I don't think I want to go AMD, I don't want to be stuck on an AMD motherboard when Intel has just been mopping the floor with their stuff. I was thinking maybe start with an i3 now and jump to i5 later so I wouldn't have to spend so much money up front, but it's still gonna be a few hundred...so I might as well spend a little more on i5...

You can easily cross 3 to go to like 3.3 or higher if its a good clocker

I dont think the 460 is going push past a q9550, I needed XFIRE 6950's to get that to bottleneck.

I think I have a 2x4gb DDR2-1066 Kit Ill be freeing up soon, as I pull my q9550 HTPC out of service and put a 2500K there

 

[Smoblikat]

Id throw down 50 - 75 on a Q9550, its old tech, not HT, locked multi, high power usage, low OC, low performance, no AVX (if thats what youre into) no L3 cache. Not to mention dead socket + DDR2.

 

[infoiltrator]

Buy the Q9550 and sell the E8400, hey worth it just for fun.

OTOH E8400 vs Q9550
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/56?vs=50

E8400 vs i3 3220
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/56?vs=677

 

[stealthycow]

Eh. I think I'll just wait it out a while longer unless I can get a q9550 for really really cheap, <$100 cheap (one I was looking at fell through anyways). Don't really want to buy a cheap i3 now and upgrade to i5 later...I dunno, doesn't seem like it's worth the effort or price if I could just wait a few more months. The new SSD should keep me somewhat entertained till then. And hopefully Haswell's a winner!

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[TemjinGold]

FWIW, I went from a Q9450 (3.2) to my i5 2500k (4.2). While it's supposed to be way faster, I honestly don't feel a thing. I kind of regret the upgrade.

 

[VirtualLarry]

FWIW, I went from a Q9450 (3.2) to my i5 2500k (4.2). While it's supposed to be way faster, I honestly don't feel a thing. I kind of regret the upgrade.

Do you game? That's really the only reason to make that upgrade. For ordinary desktop tasks, 1080P movie watching, etc., the C2Q is totally sufficient.

 

[stealthycow]

FWIW, I went from a Q9450 (3.2) to my i5 2500k (4.2). While it's supposed to be way faster, I honestly don't feel a thing. I kind of regret the upgrade.

To be quite honest, this is one big reason I don't want to upgrade to the Q9550. I feel like it might not be worth the upgrade, even though it is a dual core to a quad core, due to games maybe not being made to utilize quad cores just yet. If I went from an e8400 to an i5 3570 or better, though, I think that'd be a substantial upgrade I'd definitely feel. Not only a quad core but also a significantly newer/better processor, where a q9550 and an e8400 are kinda same-generationy.



E8400 is just too good of a processor, I guess.

 

[2is]

Games not utilizing quad cores just yet was an argument made about 5 years ago, and back then, it wasn't a great argument. Today it's a complete fallacy.

 

[stealthycow]

Games not utilizing quad cores just yet was an argument made about 5 years ago, and back then, it wasn't a great argument. Today it's a complete fallacy.

I guess that's what I get for reading about (almost) 5 year old processors in forum threads from (almost) 5 years ago ;p

 

[aaksheytalwar]

I would take a stock i5 750 over 9650 at 4ghz

 

[AtenRa]

Almost same situation,

Worth upgrading from Q6600 to Q9550 for ~$100?

My recommendation,

I would sell the Motherboard + CPU + Memory, (i would say around $150 would be a fair price)

Then add $100 you would spend for the CPU upgrade and you end up with $250.

Since you like to OC I would go for the following

ASUS M5A97 R2.0 AM3+ = $89,99
AMD FX6300 = $139,99
Crucial Ballistix 4GB DDR-3 1600MHz (2x2GB) = $19,99

OC the FX6300 to 4GHz with default voltage and Cooler(Turbo off) and you have a very solid upgrade with a new platform (USB3, SATA-6 etc). Then you can upgrade your GPU later on.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Almost same situation

Except for a little matter of 2.4GHz vs 3.8.

Your recommendation is pretty bad. The FX-6300 is barely an upgrade and that mobo+CPU combo is just too expensive, pushing it too close to what you can get an Ivy Bridge quad for.

i5 3570K + 8GB DDR3 1600: $239
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1125447

ASRock Extreme3: $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157330

$90 more than your suggestion but has twice the RAM and a processor that's actually a real upgrade.

 

[AtenRa]

Except for a little matter of 2.4GHz vs 3.8.

Your recommendation is pretty bad. The FX-6300 is barely an upgrade and that mobo+CPU combo is just too expensive, pushing it too close to what you can get an Ivy Bridge quad for.

i5 3570K + 8GB DDR3 1600: $239
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1125447

ASRock Extreme3: $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157330

$90 more than your suggestion but has twice the RAM and a processor that's actually a real upgrade.

He has a dual core 3.8GHz, im recommending a 6 core at 4GHz for almost the same money he would spend for the Core 2 Quad 9550 ($100).

For $90 more, he could also upgrade his GPU, i dont see why my recommendation is bad and yours is better recommending him to spend more.

Edit: Also, the motherboard i have recommended has 8x VRMs when your Motherboard only has 4x VRMs and it is still more expensive without offering anything more.
Edit 2: sorry i was looking at different motherboard model.

 

[AtenRa]

The FX-6300 is barely an upgrade

Really ???

Core 2 Duo 8600@3.3GHz vs FX6300 @ 3.5GHz
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/54?vs=699

 

[Puppies04]

He has a dual core 3.8GHz, im recommending a 6 core at 4GHz for almost the same money he would spend for the Core 2 Quad 9550 ($100).

For $90 more, he could also upgrade his GPU, i dont see why my recommendation is bad and yours is better recommending him to spend more.

Edit: Also, the motherboard i have recommended has 8x VRMs when your Motherboard only has 4x VRMs and it is still more expensive without offering anything more.
Edit 2: sorry i was looking at different motherboard model.

The only thing 6 "core" about that CPU is the power usage.

 

[laputan machine]

The only thing 6 "core" about that CPU is the power usage.

Fine, then consider it a 3 module cpu that beats anything in it's price point. It might use more power but unless you're stress testing all day or overclock it to oblivion, it won't be that bad. If the toughest taks you put it to is game for up to a few hours a day, do you really consider it that horrible to choose a bit more performance over a tiny increase in your utilities bill?

Vs 3220
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/677?vs=699
Some ties, some wins and only a few losses against the 3220. It even wins the 2 games they have there.