[Upgrade Homebuilt] Need some opinons

[Ducktape178]

Currently this is my setup:

mobo - ASUS P5B Deluxe LGA 775 Intel P965
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz
Ram - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
GPU - 8800 GT 512mb


I am going to be upgrading when i get my tax return (early 1st quarter) and so far i decided on this:

mobo - ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X48
CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz
Ram - (2 more gigs of the same kind) CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
GPU - EVGA GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16

I would just like some opinons on this setup...if its worth the money for the perforamce, etc.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

There is no reason to get such an expensive X48 motherboard and an Nvidia GPU since the X48 chipset supports full speed crossfire (ATI), but not SLI (Nvidia). I would just pick up a 4850 instead of the 9800GTX+.

SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102770 $154.99 -$20.00 MIR

If this is mainly just a gaming rig, the Q6600 isn't going to be much of a jump from an E6600. You could either keep your E6600 and OC it to around 3.4GHz or pick up either an E8400 or E8500.

RAM's so cheap right now, you might just want to pick up a 2x2GB kit so you don't have to deal with trying to get 4 sticks to run stable - been there, done that.

G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209 $49.99

 

[kubes]

ya that MB is just overkill for your other setup. Try looking at the p45 chipsets. Much more of a reasonable price. Asus p5q pro for example would be a good board for your needs.

I agree with short again that you really won't see much of an upgrade from your E6600 to Q6600.

If your planning on upgrading your cpu, ram and mb. might want to consider the new Core i7 and x58 boards? But this is might not be in the budget?

 

[Zenthar]

Depending on what you expect from the upgrade, you might be disapointed.
■Based on the latest hierarchy chart, I don't think upgrading from a 8800GT 512MB to a 9800GTX+ is going to be such a leap forward.
■For some games, simply adding 2 cores @ same speed isn't going to change much
■Why change MB if the Q6600 is supported by your P965 board?

If mostly for gaming, you would probably get an overall better gain simply by:
■Upgrading to 4GB of RAM
■Get a good cooler and overclocking your current CPU
■Invest what you just saved in something 2-3 tier over what you have based on the hierarchy chart (4870 or better) depending on your budget.

 

[dokk2]

avoid 4x1 like the plague..!!!!!!..

 

[IzzyCraft]

Keep the mobo E8400
Get ram don't get ram just make sure your mobo can support 4 sticks of that ram stable alot of people think 4x1 is like dual channel memory and is almost always supported by mobo but 2 dual channel memory 4x1 is hard to come by and should always be looked up else your gonna run into alot of stupid reboots and be wondering why.
used saved money on 260+
Use the 8800gt for PhysX

 

[Ducktape178]

So Ill just buy some of that ram for now, But if i have the money is it worth upgrading to a 260 or better?

 

[Zenthar]

A 260GTX or a 4870 would be a good improvement, a 280GTX or a 4870X2 would probably be day-and-night difference .

 

[kubes]

yes, if you have the money upgrading to 260 or higher will be a huge difference. Becareful though. You may get a cpu bottleneck though depending on how hard you are on your gpus