Q6600 to i7 920/930

[thyroid]

So after about 3 weeks of reading reviews and such, I'm still somewhat undecided which path I should take: Upgrade my q6600 system and OC or upgrade to a i7920/930 system and OC that?

I work in the game industry so I tend to do quite a bit of high poly art at home, as well as using rather large textures. My main resource hogs would be zbrush, photoshop, and max2011 rendering. I also game as well as work within game engines so I want dx11 support, which is the reason this all started in the first place.

It's also worth mentioning that I can sell my current system and use it to help pay for the new one. But even so, is it even worth it to go to the i7? This comparison I've found online doesn't help me decide at all... http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/47?vs=53

Any advice is welcome and greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!

My current system:
Intel q6600
MSI p7n Platinum 750i
6Gig Muskin Ram DDR2 800 6400
8800gt x 2 SLI
CorsairTX 750w
Note: my system run pretty damn hot currently
cores and 8800gt around 60c idle :/

Upgrade Option 1:
Intel q6600 OC + Add after market air cooling
MSI p7n Platinum 750i
8Gig Muskin Ram DDR2 800 6400
ATI HD5870 x1 factory OC (Maybe keep a 8800gt for physx?)
CorsairTX 750w

Upgrade Option 2:
i7 920/930 d0 OC
Gigabyte X58A-UD3R
6 or 8 gig ram (mushkin probably)
GIGABYTE GV-R585OC-1GD Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro)
new case
keep psu

 

[Lmeow]

If your programs can use eight threads that the i7 offers, it should provide a significant performance boost. I suggest you go with upgrade option 2, there's not much point pumping too much money into a dead platform. BTW, with the i7 900 series you will need RAM sticks in multiples of three - e.g., 3x1GB, 3x2GB, 3x4GB, 6x1GB, 6x2GB or 6x4GB. So either 3GB, 6GB, 12GB or 24GB.

 

[thyroid]

Ahh i thought the dual channel sticks were still supported. Thanks for the clarification, lmeow.

Yes those programs will use the multi cores and every single bit of ram available. Especially zbrush as a model's sub division level is directly limited to the amount of system ram.


Because I can sell the first system the difference between the two upgrades is about $250 more for the i7. I think im heading in that direction after all but would welcome more insights.

 

[warmon6]

Ahh i thought the dual channel sticks were still supported. Thanks for the clarification, lmeow.

Yes those programs will use the multi cores and every single bit of ram available. Especially zbrush as a model's sub division level is directly limited to the amount of system ram.


Because I can sell the first system the difference between the two upgrades is about $250 more for the i7. I think im heading in that direction after all but would welcome more insights.

You can still run dual channel on X58 motherboard. (ie 2/4 sticks of ram). It just to gain the most out of the system, 3 sticks are required.

Although if you need to save a little bit of money, you can always just grab 2 sticks now and grab a third later

Although i do agree with Lmeow, option #2 far better for you.

 

[thyroid]

Best answer selected by thyroid.

 

[thyroid]

You can still run dual channel on X58 motherboard. (ie 2/4 sticks of ram). It just to gain the most out of the system, 3 sticks are required.

Although if you need to save a little bit of money, you can always just grab 2 sticks now and grab a third later

Although i do agree with Lmeow, option #2 far better for you.

Thanks for the reply! I figured that I'll grab 6g for now and put in an additional 12g later on. I don't think i'll notice the difference between 18 and 24 gigs of ram aside from possibly hitting max subdivide in zbrush.

I've found the homebuilt forum so ill be starting up a new thread in there since my questions are heading that direction. Thanks again guys!

 

[warmon6]

Thanks for the reply! I figured that I'll grab 6g for now and put in an additional 12g later on. I don't think i'll notice the difference between 18 and 24 gigs of ram aside from possibly hitting max subdivide in zbrush.

I've found the homebuilt forum so ill be starting up a new thread in there since my questions are heading that direction. Thanks again guys!

No problem.