[Solved] Should i upgrade my motherboard

hey guys, I built my system some where back in 2009. and i think i when too cheap on the MB here is what i got.

Video: HD 4870 X2
Motherboard: Asus P5Ql-CM
CPU : Q9550 2.8
Memory: 4gb PC2 6400 (800)
Hard-drive: WD SSD 128GB
Upgraded to windows 7 64bit
23'' 1080p monitor

So here is the thing, i think that my video card should be fine to play mostly any game out there max-out. Currently playing Assassin's Creed 1 & 2 among others.
but i have notice that some slow downs while graphics are taking shapes. ( basically i can see rocks and bushes ete...take shape) i don't know if this makes sense to you or if this is normal which i think it is though. So will i be getting better performance (FPS) if i upgrade to a better MB that will allow me to overclock. still i want to keep my old memory or is PC2 6400 too slow now days for gaming.

Thanks,
Ben

Reply to Ben22

Hi.

1- ASUS is a very good manufacturer.
2- Do u install the GPU in the 1st PCI-E x16 slot?

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Reply to saint19

saint19 wrote :

Hi.

1- ASUS is a very good manufacturer.
2- Do u install the GPU in the 1st PCI-E x16 slot?

yes of course, there is only one anyways. so u saying i should hold off with this MB

Reply to Ben22

zipzoomflyhigh wrote :

Upgrading the motherboard would be a waste of money because s775 is obsolete.

You already have pretty much the fastest cpu you can get for that socket, so there would be no upgrade path anyways.

You should be able to overclock with that motherboard. Your ram is fine.

There is nothing wrong with your current setup other than the cpu could use a kick in the but (overclock).

Do you have the latest ATI drivers for your card? What power supply do you have (make and model) and how old is it?

thanks. Yes i realize that, to upgrade will be to one of those i7 processors that's why i said i will like to keep my current RAM

that thing is that this motherboard only lets me do the auto-overclock of 5% which is not even 3 Ghz i'm using the ZALMAN CNPS9900ALED 120mm 2 Ball Low-noise Blue LED CPU Cooler by the way, if i try manual it will give me a blue screen. but what about the ram how high can i overclock it.

and yes, im using the latest drivers right now for the video card.

The power supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W it was a new install along with the video card

Reply to Ben22

I don't think the motherboard would have anything to do with it. More likely it's the game not liking the fact that you have dual GPUs, or the game taking issue with your video card drivers. You run into those kinds of things a lot with console ports. And from what I understand, they did a fairly crappy job with the AC2 port too.

By the way, did you mean 4870 x2 as in a single card, or 2 4870s in crossfire? If it's the latter, try turning crossfire off and see if that helps. And whether it's a single card or crossfire, I'd also try updating your video card drivers to the latest and see if there's any improvement.

Are you noticing this on any other games? Because if it's only on AC2, that's a huge red flag to me that the game is what's screwed up, not your machine.

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Reply to capt_taco

capt_taco wrote :

I don't think the motherboard would have anything to do with it. More likely it's the game not liking the fact that you have dual GPUs, or the game taking issue with your video card drivers. You run into those kinds of things a lot with console ports. And from what I understand, they did a fairly crappy job with the AC2 port too.

By the way, did you mean 4870 x2 as in a single card, or 2 4870s in crossfire? If it's the latter, try turning crossfire off and see if that helps. And whether it's a single card or crossfire, I'd also try updating your video card drivers to the latest and see if there's any improvement.

Are you noticing this on any other games? Because if it's only on AC2, that's a huge red flag to me that the game is what's screwed up, not your machine.

Yes , im using the latest driver for the video card and motherboard. the video card is single card with dual GPUs. if crossfire is turn off performance drop a bit.

well this also happens with Crysis, still im plying at 1920x1080 resolution and 2xAA maybe that puts too much work on the card, but again crysis is a hardware demanding game, not like AC2.

Reply to Ben22

zipzoomflyhigh wrote :

Quote :

thanks. Yes i realize that, to upgrade will be to one of those i7 processors that's why i said i will like to keep my current RAM

What? I thought you wanted another socket 775 motherboard.........and you were going to keep your ram.....You cant keep your ram AND upgrade your processor.

yes, i do want a better processor,ram and motherboard, but not right now. I'm a bit short on money. thanks though and sorry for the miss understanding there, i should have been more specific.

Reply to Ben22

A Q9550 is still a good CPU, but yeah it's a waste if you don't overclock it. That's likely what's holding you back. For a limited budget you should consider going with

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128372

It has overclocking options and slots for more RAM. DDR2 800 is a small performance detriment, but it's not really worth the cost to replace it with 4GB of 1066. As long as your RAM is decent you should be able to overclock it by loosening the timings and raising the voltages. With a good cooler you should get a decent overclock out of your CPU and that should keep you gaming for some time.

There is also the ASRock P45X3 Deluxe for $84.99 which has two PCI-E slots to run in 8x/8x mode, but it only takes DDR3 so that would be a transitional board for you . On the other hand if you wanted 16GB of RAM then the ASRock would be the way to go. There are boards with more robust chipset cooling solutions which may give you a few more overclocking MHz, but it's hard to justify spending more than $100 on an LGA 775 board.

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megamanx00 wrote :

A Q9550 is still a good CPU, but yeah it's a waste if you don't overclock it. That's likely what's holding you back. For a limited budget you should consider going with

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128372

It has overclocking options and slots for more RAM. DDR2 800 is a small performance detriment, but it's not really worth the cost to replace it with 4GB of 1066. As long as your RAM is decent you should be able to overclock it by loosening the timings and raising the voltages. With a good cooler you should get a decent overclock out of your CPU and that should keep you gaming for some time.

There is also the ASRock P45X3 Deluxe for $84.99 which has two PCI-E slots to run in 8x/8x mode, but it only takes DDR3 so that would be a transitional board for you . On the other hand if you wanted 16GB of RAM then the ASRock would be the way to go. There are boards with more robust chipset cooling solutions which may give you a few more overclocking MHz, but it's hard to justify spending more than $100 on an LGA 775 board.

Thanks, this is great info. Maybe i should upgrade my motherboard and upgrade to DDR3 ram, DDR3 1600 can be use for future motherboards and i7 support anyways.

for now i should just overclock and this built should last me for another year.

Thanks for all your responses guys, you're the best....

Message edited by Ben22 on 05-11-2010 at 09:30:25 PM

Reply to Ben22

hEY GUYS I've been looking around what do you say about this motherboard. will it be a waste of money ASUS P5E3 PRO LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX with DDR3 1600

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 813131600R

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Reply to Ben22

I don't trust in the open box products, doesn't mean that are bad just that I prefer the sealed box.

What is ur budget for the mobo?

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Reply to saint19

I'll say about 140 to 160 dollars

Reply to Ben22

Ben22 wrote :

hEY GUYS I've been looking around what do you say about this motherboard. will it be a waste of money ASUS P5E3 PRO LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX with DDR3 1600

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 813131600R

I actually have that exact same motherboard on a q9550 machine, and it's given excellent performance. Overclocking was pretty easy and stability was pretty good -- one word of caution, though, if you plan on using the max 8GB of RAM, be prepared to fidget with the settings a little, because it does get a little jumpy if you try to run it at spec voltage.

Also, motherboards are the one thing I would not buy open box unless there was no other way to get it. Open box motherboards seem to ALWAYS come without the backplate, and ordering a replacement for it tends to cost $15 or $20, which eats up most of your savings. And there's no guarantee that whoever had it last didn't bend something or nick it in exactly the wrong place when their screwdriver slipped, or tried to stick it in a toaster. Motherboards have a lot of little parts that can get messed up, and they are probably the component that's the least sturdy and most prone to getting dinged. Not worth it, IMO.

Message edited by capt_taco on 05-11-2010 at 10:41:06 PM

Reply to capt_taco

THIS are some good options for ur budget.

Message edited by saint19 on 05-11-2010 at 10:48:38 PM

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Reply to saint19

Tell you what guys, i think my next paycheck will go to newegg. i have decided to upgrade to a new CPU i7, MB and RAM. starting with this CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115225

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115214

i don't know what Socket Type to get

Any advices will be appreciated thank you

Message edited by Ben22 on 05-12-2010 at 12:03:12 AM

Reply to Ben22

Best answer

Nice.

CPU: The i7-930 that u post
Mobo: What budget? this ASUS P6X58D Premium is a very solid mobo.
RAM: Same question. What budget? this G.skill PI series 6GB (3x2GB) 1600 CL7 are very good for ur rig.

With the other one this are good options.

CPU: i7-860
Mobo: This ASUS P7P55D PRO
RAM: This G.Skill Ropjaws 4GB (2x2GB) 1600 CL7

What is the difference? the i7-930 is better in OC but at stock speed the i7-860 is a little better. Also the price.

Message edited by saint19 on 05-12-2010 at 12:08:24 AM

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Reply to saint19

great, first choice is great but i was thinking that memory could be a bit less $$

for MB i can put up maybe 240

Reply to Ben22

one more thing do i need a triple channel kit for the i7-930 or dual is fine

dual is less $$

is there a big difference between the two?

Reply to Ben22

Ok.

For mobo u can go with the Gigabyte X58A-UD3R if u don't want use Crossfire because that mobo don't support USB 3.0 when u use Crossfire or SLI. That mobo is around $210

For RAM, that is a very good option price/performance, I suggest to u that go with that, a cheaper one could be a problem.

U can go with dual-channel but why get a X58 abd a i7 that support tri-channel for only install dual-channel?, in that case is better go with the 2nd option that is less expensive.

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Reply to saint19

saint19 wrote :

Ok.

For mobo u can go with the Gigabyte X58A-UD3R if u don't want use Crossfire because that mobo don't support USB 3.0 when u use Crossfire or SLI. That mobo is around $210

For RAM, that is a very good option price/performance, I suggest to u that go with that, a cheaper one could be a problem.

U can go with dual-channel but why get a X58 abd a i7 that support tri-channel for only install dual-channel?, in that case is better go with the 2nd option that is less expensive.

thanks for all your replies man, really appreciated. i have completed my order with the following items

CPU: Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz

Mobo: ASUS P6X58D-E LGA 1366 Intel X58

RAM: G.SKILL PI Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 1600

still i was wondering if the H57 chipsetswas better than P55

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Message edited by Ben22 on 06-07-2010 at 09:45:19 PM

Reply to Ben22

Best answer selected by Ben22.

Reply to Ben22

Ben22 wrote :

thanks for all your replies man, really appreciated. i have completed my order with the following items

CPU: i7-860

Mobo: ASUS P7P55D-E Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

RAM: This G.Skill Ropjaws 4GB (2x2GB) 1600 CL7

still i was wondering if the H57 chipsetswas better than P55

Nice choose, to know the differences and what chipset is better u can see THIS

Basically, the difference between the P55 and H55 is that the H55 comes with integrated graphics for the i5 series (except the i5-750 I think)

P.D. Any time, that's why we are here.

Message edited by saint19 on 05-13-2010 at 06:18:22 AM

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Reply to saint19

Forum Motherboards & Memory : Motherboards [Solved] Should i upgrade my motherboard

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