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Would it be worth it to me to upgrade?

gplracer

Golden Member
My specs are below. My son has a 939 motherboard going down. The question is should I give him my stuff and upgrade to a quad core and 4gbs of ram or just find him another 939 motherboard. I just wonder how much of a difference i would see. I play games, recode videos and use photoshop. Thanks!!!

P.S Recently I had to clock my cpu back down to 2.6ghz. After 2.5 years at 2.91ghz it just does not like it anymore.
 
I would definately upgrade your rig given what you use it for. A nice intel quad with a P45 mobo plus 4Gb of ram and a couple of WD 640GB hdds would make a huge difference.
 
For gaming, I don't think you will see huge increase (unless you like supreme commander). Video encoding will see the biggest increase in performance from going to a quad core and photoshop will see the biggest increase from the increase in ram. For a gaming increase a new video card would probably yield the biggest benefit (though upgrading from a 8800GT probably won't yield you huge benefits as of now. I would wait one more generation for the video card).

Cheapest route would be to pick up another 2 gb of ram and give him another 939 board. I would probably go that route myself.. for now at least.
 
I know some new processors are on the horizon. How long do you think it will be until they are out? I know this is always true but it seems like we are close. I hate to get another 2gs of ram because DDR is still expensive.
 
Perhaps upgrade like you said if you can afford it and give your system there to your son. But maybe hold onto that raptor and let him keep the other HD and you can buy another one for your new system. Consider getting an HD 4870 maybe and a p45 or X48 chipset. P45 is probably going to suit you better for now and go ahead and get the 4gb of ram like you said, too.
 
Definitely time for a quad (Q6600,$185), 4 gig of memory (<$100) and a new motherboard ($<100)
 
Originally posted by: perdomot
Intel's Nehalem will be out by years end but will be quite expensive for a while so current Wolfdale cpu's should be more than enough. The 2GB of ram on your rig should be enough for the kid so save the money for your rig. DDR2 ram is super cheap now with prices like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820145168

Perdomot..look up i7 core in wikipedia. It will list all the micro structure build, speeds..price.. etc for the new coming i7 chips. Actually, the low end nehalem is going to be very affordable..around the $280 range which right now is the price for a Q9xxx chip. It will be however, very expensive for the high end octo-core chips meant for servers etc. But the real killer for using the i7 core is most will require an x58 mobo and ddr3 memory (not all but most). But as moderator I know you most likely know all that ..but do check that out because it is a very cool table that lists everything if you haven't already 🙂
 
Didn't know there would be a sub $300 chip available as I haven't been researching Nehalem very much yet. Thanks for the info. Hoping the chipset makers really work hard to get a good base for Nehalem to work with.
 
and I messed up haha your not moderator.. I was looking at the person below you..The chipset should be really awesome though..the term "Front Bus Speed" will no longer apply to the i7 compatible mobo's because there won't be a NB. Should be interesting to see how these chips OC. But even if the cheaper i7 chip is in the sub $300 range..I would assume the mobo will be equally as expensive and if you get DDR3 ram you are looking at ~$700 already. But somebody like me thats fine because hopefully my case, PSU, HD, and optical drives will last long enough to see that day.
 
What are some recommendations on a motherboard and a place to buy a quad core? I usually use newegg. Do they have G0 steppings and does it make a difference?
 
Don't buy anything new, wait till next year this time. Then you'll see a big jump. LGA775 is at the end now, petering out. Few drops left, like the E5xx line, and thats about it boss. Finito, Zing -> the end.

Get a 939 board used for your son, and call it a day. Leave your machien for a bit, relax, get some air, come back next year and upgrade for a BIG BANG.
 
Oh and wait for the nexgen video cards, these 4850s run too hot. Keep your current card. Raptor? It's decent but the 640GB WD is fast too.

Like I said, don't upgrade yet. I know it's hard, but HOLD FAST
 
I would upgrade and get yourself a nice Q6600. Prices are pretty low compaired and this will last you for quite a while. It has proven itself and waiting until i7 comes out will not benifit you as yes the prices will be high. Unless you feel that you need to plunge into the new platform right away.🙂 So, I would follow the advice from most of the members above and upgrade.😉
 
There are different chipsets out there on the motherboards. I see P35, P43, Nvidia 750i, Nvidia 780i, x38, and x48. How much of a real world performance advantage is there? Are there other advantages in going with different chipsets? I know some are sli and some are not. I have build over 125 computers but most of them recently have been lower end ones with motherboards at or below $100. I am kind of out of the loop with regard to buying one for myself. I still have this DFI lanparty board.
 
Well for the price and performance purposes, the P35 boards do extremely well. I have 2 and both are very stable and do anything I want them to do. I haven't experienced with the 780i or the x38/48 series but those are pretty much for heavy gaming rigs. Looks like you do fairly moderate work with your rig and I feel that p35/p45 would fit your budget very well.

As for that DFI lanparty, use it. Read many threads that they are good boards but not very noob friendly when it comes to over clocking.
 
Thanks Drsignguy, yeah it took some tinkering and the right ram to get my DFI to its sweet spot. I have it running at 306 HTT. What about ram? What speed to I need to get the best overclock out of a q6600? I plan on getting 4gbs. Thanks again!!!
 
Set the ratio to 1:1 and get your Over clock with your CPU you want and IF there is headroom on your ram, then you can bump that up.

As an example, I have my Q9450 right now @ 3.4 ( 8 x 425 ) and my ram is 1:1 ratio @ 850Mhz. After 2 weeks of tweaking to get this straight, It is all good now.
 
PC6400 will get a Q6600 up to 3.6 Ghz without overclocking the RAM, so PC6400 will get it up to a minimum of 3.8 Ghz, since all DDR2 overclocks to some extent.
 
Well from exp and from what many others have said, get yourself a good HS, having the voltages at or below specs and good airflow in your case, you can go 3.6 without heating issues.
 
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