worth upgrading cpu?

[Xarick]

I have a e6400 clocked at 3.2ghz on a p45 mobo with 6 gigs of ddr2.
I was thinking of buying a q9550 or q9650 but they are pretty spendy. Or I could hold out and do the whole mobo,proc,ram to a core i5 at a later date. Thoughts?

 

[EnzoLT]

depends on how much money you got. if you can afford a brand new setup then i7/i5. if i were you, i would probably just go i7/i5 but since you said q9550/q9650 are pretty spendy, i take it you dont got a lot of money to spend, let alone for a brand new setup/socket.

edit: this thread has almost the same cpu as you. many suggested a used q6600. if you can get a q9550, then you should go for that.http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2041379

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,

It entirely depends on what you're doing with the machine. If you're doing just encoding, compiling, workstation productivity, etc, then sure, get yourself a high cache filled Quad like the Q9550.

If you're playing games, nah, don't bother, you won't see much if any difference based on a CPU change. A GPU would be more likely the culprit.

Very best,

 

[Plimogz]

What EnzoLT said.

 

[Xarick]

Okay so say $250 for a Q9650 would not be worth it for gaming?

 

[EnzoLT]

Okay so say $250 for a Q9650 would not be worth it for gaming?

no need for a q9650. just get a q9550 which should go for around $180-$200. search ebay or FS forums.

 

[Plimogz]

Okay so say $250 for a Q9650 would not be worth it for gaming?

Nope. for gaming that 250$ would probably be much better spent on upgrading you Graphics Card.

Disclaimers: that is, unless you're playing a couple of the rather rare Multi-CPU optimized games. OR unless you're gaming at really low, cpu-limited resolutions. OR unless you already have a really powerful (like 58x0 series or GTX285 level) VGA.

Oh, I just noticed that you said Q9650; I had seen 9550, and 250$ would have been pricey for a 9550. I guess 250$ for Q9650 is pretty reasonable though.

Finally, don't get me wrong, a Q9650 would surely upgrade your FPS in games, but IMHO it would not be worth the money, no.

 

[aclim]

Im similar to you man. I want to go i5/i7, but im having a hard time justifying the money to upgrade. Im looking for a q6600 to hold me over longer. GPU upgrade more important for gaming which is what my pc is used for 70% of the time.

 

[Xarick]

I havent found q 9500 for that cheap. They all seem to be in the 250 range now.

 

[happy medium]

I sold my e8400 @ 3.6 for 95$ and bought a used q9550 @ 3.6 for 150$. (for sale/trade forums)
For me it's gonna keep me gaming for another year (or 2) on this system with just a video card upgrade.

Most future games will be quad optimized.

 

[xboxist]

Same boat here. Been using an e6600 for a few years now and it's served me well, but there are some games it just doesn't seem to cut it on. GTA4, Dragon Age, etc. I can't find a cheap upgrade route to quad-core.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

There's always the option of the Q8400, Q9400, or Q9505. These would provide big boosts (in CPU-limited games) over an E6400 and E6600, especially when overclocked too.

 

[nyker96]

Heya,

It entirely depends on what you're doing with the machine. If you're doing just encoding, compiling, workstation productivity, etc, then sure, get yourself a high cache filled Quad like the Q9550.

If you're playing games, nah, don't bother, you won't see much if any difference based on a CPU change. A GPU would be more likely the culprit.

Very best,

that's what I'm about to say as well, if you doing encoding or something heavy duty now then by all means get it. if not then you can wait a bit for 32nm parts to come out then upgrade which probably means you get more for the money.

 

[Zargon]

If you're playing games, nah, don't bother, you won't see much if any difference based on a CPU change. A GPU would be more likely the culprit.

Very best,

maybe.

I had a E6320 running around 2.5 and I was CPU limited in alot of games with my 4850x2 @ 1920x1200.

now that I have a q9550 they hum right along nicely together

 

[aclim]

i just bought myself a q6600 g0 a few min ago. Goodbye e6600, hello quad!

 

[kalrith]

OP, what graphics card do you have, what games are running slowly for you, and what resolution is your monitor? Those will help determine the recommendations.

If you're deadset on getting a cpu, then I recommend a q6600 g0 just like aclim got. He made a WTB thread in the FS/FT forums and within a few hours had purchased the cpu.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Congrats aclim! Quads are great!

The graphics card route would probably offer a bigger WOW factor

 

[aclim]

Congrats aclim! Quads are great!

The graphics card route would probably offer a bigger WOW factor

thanks man, yea im waiting on nvidias new cards before I upgrade my gpu.

 

[zerocool84]

I have my overclocked E6300 and getting a Q9550 next week. I play a lot of RTS's and get a lot of slow down and want to play the latest ones that came out this past year and don't want to pay for a new cpu/mobo/ram.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Your Quad overclock may vary depending on your motherboard. A strong Gigabyte UD3P(R) can run a C2Q above 500fsb with very little tweaking. My old Asus Maximus Formula II would crap out at 479fsb and was over 150$ more than my beloved UD3R P45 board.