Upgrade question.

[bigmatt]

Hey guys, I am a bit confused right now. I have a
C2D - e6400
gigabyte ep45-ud3r/p
2 GB (2 x 1GB) ddr2 800 right now. 4-4-4-12 timings

At first I was thinking of getting a q9550 at microcenter for $170, and upgrading my ram to 4GB maybe buying a new kit at 2 x 2 GB to make it 4 GB. Or would it be smarter to just buy another 2 GB kit? (I am unable to find my exact ram anywhere)
Also I would overclock although my e6400 isnt overclocked right now.

So for that upgrade its at least $280 before tax.

But Now I am seeing alot of newer stuff at frys for like an i3 530 with mobo for $110 (probably crappy mobo), Or down the line I can get a nice i3 mobo and overclock too. Then I would just need to buy some ddr3 for another $100, and that is about $210 before tax.

Some opinions would help! I just kind of need to be slapped in the right direction. Heck if an AMD system sounds smarter I would look that way too. Thanks alot guys!

 

[o1die]

Depends on what you use your system for. I would list your cpu-mobo-ram as a combo package on craigslist or anandtech until you sell it. This may take awhile, but it won't cost you anything to list the items. I almost bought an i3 mobo-cpu-ram combo for $205 at Frys last week, but I just surf the net. I don't really need to upgrade yet.

 

[mosox]

You can get the q9550 and a 2G stick. The new RAM should be working at the same voltage as the old one and having the same timings would be nice. For a new Phenom II x4/mobo/RAM you would need like $350.

 

[megamanx00]

I say get a good 2x2GB 1066 kit, and a good cooler to overclock the Q9550. That would make one heck of an upgrade for you. If you got another 2x1GB kit, you would be limited to DDR2 800 and mixing RAM makes it a little more difficult to overclock.