So my media center PC is still running a trusty Q6600 OC'd to 3.0 GHz with an GTX 580 Lightning (yes I have 3 - 2 main rig 1 seperate haha) GPU. It also has 6 gigs of 800 MHz RAM on a Foxconn x38a mobo. I have the opportunity to buy an i7 950, 9 gigs of 1333 RAM on an EVGA x58 LE mobo for $250. This PC is somewhat used for gaming (LAN DotA/SC, Bioshock Inifite here and there, etc) will it be worth the 250 to upgrade? *Side note: I have a buyer for the Q6600 system for $350*
You have a buyer for your 775 q6600 system, cpu, ram and board for 350$?Sir you have sinned. LOL With 350$ i would go with 2500k, 8GB ram and z77 all on ebay(auctions).
I'd say no at $250, but as you have a buyer for your kit for $350, its a no brainer. I would add a bit and get Ivybridge or Haswell.
Yep 100% agreed with the others. For the price you are getting your Q6600 build I would go with a 2500K for cheapness, get a decent overclocking board which is literally any of them now. A Z77 board from Asrock will do nicely as they overclock well and are pretty cheap. Throw in 8GB 1600MHz RAM (no need for higher speeds really as with higher speeds you put more stress on the memory controller in the CPU limiting your overclock). Also 9GB RAM on an x58 platform is a no go, it means you wont be using triple channel as you can only have 3>6>12>24GB unless you are mixing RAM sticks and I generally say no to that as well unless they are in different channel slots. But still you have to make sure they are set to same timings/speed/voltages.
Haha it's more than that. It includes a PSU, case, and GPU. She wants to play LoL on it (I about died). As for the 250, that's not a terrible price seeing as I can OC that and smoke that 2500k right?
Yes but a 2500K runs cooler, and overclocks more than a 950. Also going with a z77 platform you have the option to upgrade to a 3570k or a 3770k down the line). The 950 being a 130w TDP and the 2500K being a 95W TDP. Lower vcore will be needed to get that chip to a high speed. Don't be fooled by the triple channel memory either it really does not help much over dual channel. Your getting a new more efficient chip, cooler chip, better overclocker, and more upgrade options as sadly the x58 platform is completely dead now. Me going from a 960 D0 to a 990X would be a complete and utter waste of money. If you get a 2500K and a decent cooler you could get upwards of 4.5GHz+ on it easily. Bear in mind the silicon lottery though.
Yes, but can I get a 2500k setup for 250? I have plans for that extra cash (the gf is getting a shiny rock while I get a new PC :banana
I have a good case (Antec Lanboy Air) and a good PSU (Cougar 1000W) so all I need is mobo/cpu/ram. Still not doable with 250 and any extra money is going to that shiny rock like I said
Keep in mind that a lot of 950s are poor binned ones that were saved until the price was cut from $600 to $300 then those were unleashed on the unsuspecting public (such as myself). I bought a Xeon just to avoid those bad batches after I bought a 950 that couldn't overclock for **** in comparison to older i7 900s which OC a lot on this board. Old 920s and 930s would max out at around 4.2-4.4GHz with my setup, the 950 couldn't reach 4GHz no matter what I did, in fact it may have not have been stable at even 3.6GHz.
The guy that has this now (a buddy of mine) has this one at 4.4 Ghz on water. I will be using an Antec Kuhler 920 on it, so I should be good. My main question is price. Also, I will be buying better ram and running 12gigs on it, so I will be using tri channel.
Just because its at 4.4, 4.6 or 5.0 ghz does not mean its stable. The only way to know is stability test it properly using stability tests.
He runs 20 loops ultra Intel Burn Test haha...he knows his stuff pretty well :nerd: So if I decide to do this, will I see a performance jump? That was my main question. For getting an upgrade and extra cash, I'm liking this deal.
Yea because that would go over really well :stewpid: But everybody seems to be avoiding the question at hand. Will there be a noticeable improvement between the Q6600 and the 950?
Yes...> http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/53?vs=100 Are you keeping the gtx580 from the Q6600 Rig?
I wouldnt call 20 passes of IBT a stable system as its dead easy to pass on X58 compared to Linx, Occt and Prime which ive stated many times on Guru3D in the past but hey each to there own. The x58 compared to your 6600 will be a massive upgrade although there really is no way forward from that cpu tbh. The socket is dead but what it does do it does it very well.