Worth it to upgrade the cpu on P5Q Deluxe?

[HeXploiT]

Wondering what the performance gain would be if I upgraded my P5Q Deluxe from a decent E8400 that overclocks well to a Q9550 or Q9650?

Running P5Q Deluxe W/
8gb OCZ Reaper 1066
and an HD 5870 1gb.
Primarily concerned with game performance with all these great new titles being released. Battlefield 3 runs well @ 1920x1080 with ultra settings...probably 35-40fps average but I know that Skyrim & Diablo 3 will tax my system to an even greater extent.

Would framerates/performance gain be negligible upgrading this cpu?

Secondary question...
How much would tossing in a second 5870 do or would it be better to dump it and upgrade the videocard? (Thinking about bottlenecks)

Not ready to upgrade the entire system yet.

Been away from the scene for a bit so input will be very appreciated.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Why are you reaching for a doubly-blind upgrade? You:
A. Don't know if you'll need an upgrade
B. Don't know what would be an upgrade if you needed one.

How about you wait until you need an upgrade before you upgrade?

 

[HeXploiT]

You mean we're not supposed to upgrade just for the sake of upgrading?
I suppose next you're going to tell me I don't need the latest greatest G5 cell-phone even though the service doesn't actually exist yet?

C'mon and just amuse me willya?
Haven't upgraded anything in over a year and I'm starting to get the itch. Anyway I DO want to be as prepared as humanly possible as I purchase these new titles.

 

[HeXploiT]

early morning bump

 

[Ken g6]

I know that Skyrim & Diablo 3 will tax my system to an even greater extent.

How do you know? Do you have advance copies of either game? Have you even seen benchmarks of either game?

We keep getting rumors about the 28nm GPUs, from one company or another, being out before the end of the year; so I'd wait until at least then on the GPU.

Finally, consider the cost of a Sandy Bridge system. Consider how even a cheap SB compares to a quad-core LGA775 processor. Granted, you can't overclock that cheap SB. But I wouldn't even think of spending more than $200 - the cost of that i3 + a cheap Z68 mobo - on LGA775 at this point; probably less.

P.S. Is that 8GB DDR2 or DDR3? If DDR3 1.5v, it could still work with Sandy Bridge.

 

[lehtv]

Battlefield 3 runs well @ 1920x1080 with ultra settings [...] Not ready to upgrade the entire system yet.

My advice - wait until the games you play don't run well anymore, and wait until you're ready for a full system upgrade (probably Intel Ivy Bridge).

You mean we're not supposed to upgrade just for the sake of upgrading?
I suppose next you're going to tell me I don't need the latest greatest G5 cell-phone

Bingo!

Haven't upgraded anything in over a year and I'm starting to get the itch.

The Itch - terrorizing wallets since the invention of currency.

 

[slayernine]

I understand your desire to upgrade as I constantly want to change my hardware based on money that I want to spend but don't really need to. Now I have eight computers at home and I only really use four of them.

Sometimes it is just fun to upgrade

My suggestion is to get a new motherboard a processor, P5Q is old and holding you back. Wouldn't you just love to wrap your paws on a new i5 2500k.

 

[infoiltrator]

There may be a difference between "upgrade" a defined purpose and "upgrade" as semi serious play.
Sometimes when the money or need isn't there you get to see what might have been if you had done this earlier.
Sometimes you just hope to enjoy something done before.

Basically monitor(s) and resolution define goals, budget defines tools

Personally I have not found the "Q" chips pricing attractive compared to Sandy Bridge.
An i5 2320 or 2400 at around $190 will outperform those chips easily, even on inexpensive boards (from $80 or so).
$30 more gets the 2700K, which deserves a better board by $50 give or take, and you will know the 5870 is your weak point.
With an Asrock board you can reuse your 775 heat sink. Using any IDE components would greatly reduce board choices.Which could hurt.

OTOH people have been quite happy with an I3 2100 ($123), Biostar TH67B($80), 2x2 RAM($30) and a 6850 video card.

OTOH if the Operating system is tied to the motherboard its very hard to justify the change. Then a "Q" new or used at a discount would make sense.

 

[Clinkster]

You're nowhere close to needing an upgrade.

Feel free to burn your money away, but don't expect anybody here to reinforce it.

 

[mfenn]

Finally, consider the cost of a Sandy Bridge system. Consider how even a cheap SB compares to a quad-core LGA775 processor. Granted, you can't overclock that cheap SB. But I wouldn't even think of spending more than $200 - the cost of that i3 + a cheap Z68 mobo - on LGA775 at this point; probably less.

Agree. Unless you can get a C2Q for very cheap, it no longer makes financial sense to upgrade an LGA 775 rather than just getting a whole new Sandy Bridge system.

My advice - wait until the games you play don't run well anymore, and wait until you're ready for a full system upgrade (probably Intel Ivy Bridge).

Agree 100%. It seems like we've been saying this a lot over the past few days. I suppose people are starting to thing about Christmas gift giving.