What would *you* do for this upgrade?

[Zophos]

Ok, here?s the deal. I?m always on the lookout for future upgrade paths, and I like to plan things months in advance. I?m currently looking at the following two scenarios.

Scenario #1: My original plan was to wait until the end of the year and replace my mobo, CPU, and RAM with the new i5 stuff. This would move me from my current dual core system to a nice quad core system with more ram, never a bad thing.

Scenario #2: After a little more thought, I am beginning to see some real merit to the idea of just upgrading my e2160 to a q9550 and just leaving everything else the same. This would be much less expensive than the i5 alternative, and would put me in position to upgrade to Westmere sometime next year.

Other things to note, I am a gamer and I like a variety of genres (RPG, FPS, RTS, and Indie). I also do some video encoding, though I would do more if I had more CPU horsepower. Lastly as far as price is concerned I have no real price limits, but I?m looking for a good bang for the buck.

Lastly, does anybody have experience upgrading to a q9x00 CPU on a P35 mobo? Anything I should know?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I think moving to the Q9550 will get you the most out of your current hardware. It's a great idea. As far as dropping in a 45nm on a P35, just make sure your at the BIOS level that supports it, otherwise you'll be putting the 2160 back in to upgrade the BIOS anyways

I too and running a P35, plan on upgrading to a Q8200 in the future. I already have this board, so why not max it!

 

[Zophos]

Yeah, I?m leaning towards option number #2 because of cost mostly. It?s just a really good deal. That and the fact no one knows exactly how i5 will perform (except maybe those under some kind of NDA), and who doesn?t love the idea of a six core Westmere in 12-18 months.