Going for a CPU upgrade guideance on what are best choices? - 2009/12/09 21:51Hello my friends, I want a CPU upgrade for some reasons so I have some choices and hope someone can explain me if a Core 2 Quad with S-suffix is better or the one with the higher power rating? My system at the moment is made out of an ABIT IN9 32X-MAX with an nForce 680i chipset, powered with an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 stepping G0 and Kingston 8GB HyperX PC2-8500 memory. And I do see the following CPU choices: - Core 2 Quad Q8400(S) : Higher FSB, but lower cache? - Core 2 Quad Q9400(S) : Higher FSB, but lower cache? - Core 2 Quad Q9550(S) : But which stepping E0 or C1?
So I don't know what to go for, though I know the best thing would be to sell those things and buy a complete new socket 1366 system but the way to this choice will kill my available money for the upgrade I think.
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Mavke
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Re:Going for a CPU upgrade guideance on what are best choices? - 2009/12/09 22:07That is a good question, though I doubt a bit somehow what extra performance it will bring since you already have a Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor currently and will remain within the same Core 2 Quad series. The main thing Intel as done is build on their experience and been able to produce better yields which are consuming less power, first by going down from 65nm to 45nm which is wat these new Core 2 Quad processor have as advantage, and should overclock better.
And the also the bus speed was bumped to 1333MHz which is having an influence in the performance of actually the data transfer from the processor towards and from the system memory. For the lower versions this 45nm with the 1333MHz means that they don't need 8MB cache but can do with less, while of couse for the higher versions they included again more to create a difference. I am personally going now towards a Core i7 processor.
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DirtyDev
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Re:Going for a CPU upgrade guideance on what are best choices? - 2009/12/10 09:20Yeah but a Core i7, specially with a socket 1366 mainboard is an expensive move for me at the moment. That is the reason I ask the question, spend around $200 in a new old socket 775 CPU upgrade, or take the risk and sell the socket 775 stuff and go for an socket 1366 with a Core i7 upgrade?
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Mavke
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Re:Going for a CPU upgrade guideance on what are best choices? - 2009/12/10 11:20Or you go for the cheaper alternative with the socket 1156 which will also support the Core i7 but will be less perfomant related to the memory bandwidth. And in fact I am looking to indeed sell my current socket 775 and just upgrade it fully to the Core i7 platform with socket 1366, as it makes no sense from my point of view to upgrade within the Core 2 series when you already have such a system running currently.
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DirtyDev
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Re:Going for a CPU upgrade guideance on what are best choices? - 2009/12/10 13:56Then it would be the best that I save some time now a bit more money and go for the socket 1366 system, so far saved about €450, but I think I should save a bit more cause I don't want a cheap socket 1366 motherboard. Thanks for the answers, only needed some that help me for the decision. Do you have a tip what motherboard I take for the socket 1366? Just a while ago I thought about the MSI Eclipse Plus or the Gigabyte GA-EX58-Extreme?
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Mavke
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Re:Going for a CPU upgrade guideance on what are best choices? - 2009/12/10 15:19Well I am myself looking for a futureproof one and that would mean one with USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps ports, which is only currently available from ASUS and Gigabyte with an Intel X58 chipset. I am in favor of the P6X58D Premium mainboard from ASUS but you can only find it in US and Canada for the moment which is my bad luck since I am in Europe. The Gigabyte having these same features is somehow not my choice but I might just have to go for that one. If you don't need those new features, I would go for the standard P6T mainboard from ASUS which has the 3-way SLI function.
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DirtyDev
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Re:Going for a CPU upgrade guideance on what are best choices? - 2009/12/10 20:06Well 3-way SLI isn't a thing for me, I had SLI in the past with two GeForce 7900 GX2 cards and I think that would be enough. I now have the GeForce GTX 275 with 1792MB on a 24inch full HD monitor and its enough for the moment. I wait for the new GeForce cards now and that is mainly the reason to go for a new system. I never had a system that is older as one or two years, so its time for a new one and going for something good again.
I looked for the Gigabyte with the USB 3.0 ports, and its the GA-X58A-UD7 while the Extreme doesn't have USB 3.0 but has got SATA 6Gbps ports. The ASUS P6X58D Premium as you said looks and sounds great, maybe its avaible here too till I can save enough money, since a standard mainboard is not my thing. I had chosen the Gigabyte and MSI for the features and because I found water cooling sets for the chipsets and the power regulators of these.
Cause for the Core i7 I want to go for a water cooled mainboard too, since I don't want power regulators that are at 110°C with an overclocked CPU again which was the case for my current nForce 680 based mainboard while overclocking the Core 2 Quad Q6600 and running a burnin testing.
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Mavke
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Re:Going for a CPU upgrade guideance on what are best choices? - 2009/12/10 21:20Sorry but you should check the specs once again as the Extreme board from Gigabyte has only SATA 3Gbps ports, though you should take into account that most hard disks and SSD drivers don't need more than that. So you should make out for yourself if it is really needed that bit of extra cause only Seagate has one hard drive that also comes with 6Gbps interface but the speed is less then the newest Western Digital hard drives just having 3Gbps interface, which somehow feel much better.
What I would go for if you just want SLI and no 3-way version, that would be the ASUS P6T Deluxe, but the second version. I don't know but I have a thing for ASUS and that simply cause their performance is excellent and very overclock friendly. But yeah Gigabyte would also do, but once you are set on a brand it is hard to change. Oh, and the distributor in Belgium confirmed that the P6X58D Premium will only be available by end of January.
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DirtyDev
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Re:Going for a CPU upgrade guideance on what are best choices? - 2009/12/10 23:11I checked them, check the Gigabyte GA-EX58A-Extreme since I think its a second edition of the Extreme that has those SATA 6Gbps ports as well. I love the overclock options from Gigabyte. I bought a Gigabyte board for my girlfriends PC, which was only a cheap one and the overclock options were so easy and user friendly. She has a Core 2 Due E6600 processor and I tried only a few times and got 3.6GHz stable with no problems, when I do same with my nForce 680i board from ABIT, I have problems to kick them towards this.
End of January, hmm that is time enough that I can wait. Maybe the new GeForce will be avaible in as well around that time and than I can buy me nearly a complete new system. You know ASUS from the overclock options? Since I only know the ASUS Rampage Formula with X48 chipset board and that one is stable at overclocking too like the Gigabyte. And do you know the price for the P6X58D Premium mainboard?
And yeah I know that most SSD's and hard disks use the SATA 3Gbps like the most of devices don't use now USB 3.0, but I want to look into the future and I really hope that Intel don't change the socket again for the Core i9 series. Ii saw a 6-core engineering sample for socket 1366 on eBay so I think that it will hold me up to date.
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Boiler
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Re:Going for a CPU upgrade guideance on what are best choices? - 2009/12/11 00:38Mavke wrote: But yeah Gigabyte would also do, but once you are set on a brand it is hard to change. Oh, and the distributor in Belgium confirmed that the P6X58D Premium will only be available by end of January. Well if is available there that soon, and the price is in the park, you have to decide the way to go. Of course it is some time, a lifetime for a computer part, a lot happens in a month.
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