Bought a new CPU, looking for advice on ram, mobo, and PSU

[eviltoast499]

Bear with me here; I do have some general knowledge of computer hardware but I'm afraid I don't know enough, hence this thread.

I recently bought an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 (link) that I plan to overclock (yes, I have an aftermarket cooler for it). I suspect I will need to upgrade the following parts of my computer to avoid any overclocking/general problems and would like to get some good advice.

Motherboard: Asus P5B (specifications)

Ram: 2 Gigs crucial ballistix DDR2 667 MHZ

PSU: Thermaltake Purepower 600W (specifications)

First, I understand that my current mobo is aging and only supports a max fsb of 1066, while the Q9550 runs at 1333mhz. Asus has released BIOS updates for this board that will raise the max fsb, but from what I've heard its only beta support. Should I flash this mobo for the new CPU, or buy a new motherboard that natively supports a higher FSB? If I need to purchase a new mobo, could someone give me any good suggestions? (Hopefully around $150-200)

Second, I'd like to get faster RAM to go with overclocking the CPU. I'm looking for a good solid brand of DDR2-1066 memory that would work well with my current mobo (or whatever one I end up buying, if thats the case).

Lastly, I am wondering about my PSU. It has no problem powering my 8800GT and E6600 (OC'd at 2.8 GHZ), though I want to know how it will handle this newer hardware.

Thanks...

 

[Deleted member 217926]

I cant make that ASUS link work so I cant tell what chipset you have but im guessing P965 or 975. While a BIOS flash may make the 9550 work, at the very least its not going to overclock as well as with a newer chipset and could have other problems. As far as motherboards go im a fan of this series http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358 ........they make several versions of this board. From experience they overclock well and run cool.

I usually buy Corsair RAM and have never had a failure or a problem. Someone else may know of something with more bang for your buck. I would go with 4 gigs even with a 32bit OS.

I see no reason that PSU cant be reused. You may have to upgrade it if you add a more powerful graphics card or cards though.

 

[eviltoast499]

Thanks for the reply. Would anyone else recommend that mobo?

 

[obsidian86]

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-261222_13_0.html please

 

[pepperman]

Thanks for the reply. Would anyone else recommend that mobo?

Yes, UDxP series is a very good board for overclocking, both on the AMD and Intel side.