Here is what I have right now

AMD X2 6400
2 x 8800GT's
M2N32-SLI delux mobo
750GB HD
4GB of Mem(DDR2 800)
22in Widescreen
Vista 32bit(may make the upgrade to 64bit)

I am looking to upgrade the processor and mobo to this

Q6600
EVGA SLI mobo I beileve 790i

Should I make this upgrade and will I notice a big diff in AoC with that upgrade?

i'm no tech expert, however when i was building my pc last christmas most people over at the [H]ardware forum advised against quad cores unless i just had money to blow as the difference was really only seen in high processor applications and not in gaming. My rig, which i linked to in my guild intro gets me around splendidly and i'll let you know during the beta how it holds up.

although i think the jump from amd to intel at this particular junction will show you some interesting number increases just because amd is still playing catch up from their little ati merger, maby have a look at the e6750's or even higher now instead of the quads but thats up to you, i was also building sff and heat was a deciding factor for me as well.

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=5465891

was a good bang for the buck even though the g92s(or whatever the nvidia upgrade was) came out less than a month after i purchased.

plays crisis on high which was my gold standard at the time

[quote="Bullarky"]
Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive
quote]

i know you probably feel silly with that raptor but i got one too, one with the window in the hdd and man it is the coolest thing i've seen lol

that little needle flies

evilash wrote:i'm no tech expert, however when i was building my pc last christmas most people over at the [H]ardware forum advised against quad cores unless i just had money to blow as the difference was really only seen in high processor applications and not in gaming. My rig, which i linked to in my guild intro gets me around splendidly and i'll let you know during the beta how it holds up.

although i think the jump from amd to intel at this particular junction will show you some interesting number increases just because amd is still playing catch up from their little ati merger, maby have a look at the e6750's or even higher now instead of the quads but thats up to you, i was also building sff and heat was a deciding factor for me as well.

Evil, I would have been in the same frame of mind 6 months ago, however, the Q6600 has dropped nearly $300 in price since its release. Actually, overclockers are starting to find out how good a chip the Q6600 is. They have been running a stable OC at 3.6 GHz that is outperforming the 9650 extreme chip at stock. So lets compare $1000 for the extreme chip or $299 for the quad core and overclock it. The more and more I read about the Q6600 the more I'm impressed on what Intel has put into it. With its 9x multiplier, it is definitely a force to be reckoned with. However, as Dao pointed out, not much software is making use of the four cores. However, Microsoft Flight Sim and Crysis just released that their new updates will take advantage of 4 cores (actually MS stated 256 cores). There are other manufactures that are also looking at the quad as a way to increase application performance and are offloading some high end 3D rendering to a 3rd and 4th core.

Lorahand wrote:
I am looking to upgrade the processor and mobo to this

Q6600
EVGA SLI mobo I beileve 790i

Should I make this upgrade and will I notice a big diff in AoC with that upgrade?

Those are solid components. Not sure what your future holds, but the 790i might be a bit overkill. You won't be taking advantage of any of its unique features over a 780i board. However, if you are a constant upgrader (meaning you upgrade single parts here and there ever 6 months or so), it is a great board that should last you quite a while. If you go with a Q6600 and plan to overclock it, you will need to get a different CPU cooler. Stock ones won't work.

Last edited by Bullarky on Thu Apr 24, 2008 12:46 pm; edited 1 time in total

evilash wrote:

Bullarky wrote:
Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive

i know you probably feel silly with that raptor but i got one too, one with the window in the hdd and man it is the coolest thing i've seen lol

that little needle flies

Never feel silly with the Raptor... They are the best drives short of SCSI. WD actually announced their new drives that will give raptors a run...

Every system I built has a small HD for the OS and main files. It makes access times, load times, and the like seem like nothing. Keep your main drive clean and all your trash on your D drive.

Bullarky wrote:

evilash wrote:i'm no tech expert, however when i was building my pc last christmas most people over at the [H]ardware forum advised against quad cores unless i just had money to blow as the difference was really only seen in high processor applications and not in gaming. My rig, which i linked to in my guild intro gets me around splendidly and i'll let you know during the beta how it holds up.

although i think the jump from amd to intel at this particular junction will show you some interesting number increases just because amd is still playing catch up from their little ati merger, maby have a look at the e6750's or even higher now instead of the quads but thats up to you, i was also building sff and heat was a deciding factor for me as well.

Evil, I would have been in the same frame of mind 6 months ago, however, the Q6600 has dropped nearly $300 in price since its release. Actually, overclockers are starting to find out how good a chip the Q6600 is. They have been running a stable OC at 3.6 GHz that is outperforming the 9650 extreme chip at stock. So lets compare $1000 for the extreme chip or $299 for the quad core and overclock it. The more and more I read about the Q6600 the more I'm impressed on what Intel has put into it. With its 9x multiplier, it is definitely a force to be reckoned with. However, as Dao pointed out, not much software is making use of the four cores. However, Microsoft Flight Sim and Crysis just released that their new updates will take advantage of 4 cores (actually MS stated 256 cores). There are other manufactures that are also looking at the quad as a way to increase application performance and are offloading some high end 3D rendering to a 3rd and 4th core.

Lorahand wrote:
I am looking to upgrade the processor and mobo to this

Q6600
EVGA SLI mobo I beileve 790i

Should I make this upgrade and will I notice a big diff in AoC with that upgrade?

Those are solid components. Not sure what your future holds, but the 790i might be a bit overkill. You won't be taking advantage of any of its unique features over a 780i board. However, if you are a constant upgrader (meaning you upgrade single parts here and there ever 6 months or so), it is a great board that should last you quite a while. If you go with a Q6600 and plan to overclock it, you will need to get a different CPU cooler. Stock ones won't work.

What CPU cooler would you suggest along with which 780i board

Lorahand wrote:What CPU cooler would you suggest along with which 780i board

It really depends on your case... What case are you using right now? Is there a lot of room above the CPU? If possible, measure from the top of the CPU to the side of the case or overhead obstruction. There are some awesome coolers out there, but some take up an entire case.

i would go with the Zalman 9700 if you can take a look at one and see if you can fit it in your case.

Fregarum wrote:i would go with the Zalman 9700 if you can take a look at one and see if you can fit it in your case.

Awesome cooler, but holy shit is it big... From top to bottom it's 6" tall and almost as wide.

The Antec 900 is a kickass case. It looks good and with all the fans it keeps my stuff really cool. The only draw back is with my 8800 GTX, it goes all the way across and gives me very little clearance next to my Hard drives. I honestly mean you only have MAYBE 13 inches from the back of the case to the hard drive bays. Infact I had to take out the plastic guard over top of the one set of bays in order for my wires and GPU to fit.

It really is a nice case, but it is hard to work in. If you have bigger hands, it will be cramped.

Wish it was a full size case.