To upgrade or not to upgrade that is the question... :P

[jednx01]

Ok. Here's the deal:

Here are my relevant specs:

q9450 2.66 core 2 quad at 3.4 ghz
4 GB ddr2 OCZ reaper 1066 ram
tri sli gtx 260 core 192 standard clocks
780i SLI mobo
1000w corsair psu
500 GB 7200rpm hdd
1920x1080 resolution monitor

I have recently been having a ton of problems with my mobo, so I am either going to have to replace the mobo with another mobo with a socket for core 2 quad or upgrade to a core i7 socket mobo. (I know the sockets have exact names, but I don't really want to go look them up...) Given that I have to replace my mobo anyway, I figured that now was a good time to take the plunge and get a core i7... I figure that I will also get much better scaling with my tri sli gtx 260 too... Here's what I'm considering:

core i7 930 2.8 ghz
x58 evga 3x sli mobo
6 gb ddr3 1600 ram

My question is this: do you think it makes sense to upgrade to a core i7 now, or just replace my current mobo... I'm strongly leaning in the direction of a core i7, but I was just wondering what you all thought. Also, do you have any suggestions for heat sink? I'm currently considering a zalman 9900, but it is rather pricey. If you have another good heat sink that is lower cost that you could recommend, I would appreciate it.

*Not related to actual question*
I built my first system two years ago from this July. (Same system as specs listed above) I used quite a lot of information from tomshardware forums to help me decide on parts and learn what I needed to about building a system. I just want to thank all of my friends out their at tomshardware.com forums for all of the help and support that you have provided over the last two years. I would especially like to extend my thanks to L1quid for his past help...

 

[tecmo34]

I say make the jump to LGA 1366 socket! You are running tri-sli and Nvidia chipsets for LGA 775 were never very good (lots of issues as you have found out). The new LGA 1366 socket is outstanding and let's you run both Nvidia and ATI, which the older sockets couldn't. I would look to try and sell your CPU & RAM on EBay to try and recover some of the cost on the new components.

As for the cooler, I would look at either the Cogage TRUE Spirit or Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus. Both are among the best coolers for price to performance.

 

[rolli59]

If you have to replace the mobo (out of warranty) you might as well do the upgrade.

 

[jednx01]

Cool thanks for the advice. To tecmo34, I totally agree, the nvidia mobos completely suck...