Worth upgrading?

[Zylicyde]

I'm thinking about upgrading my ASUS P5N-D motherboard for an MSI G41M-P25, mainly so I can have faster memory.

I currently have 4GB of DDR2 running at 800 MHz, and was going to get 8GB of DDR3 Dual-channel running at 1333 MHz. Everything else I have (processor, GPU, etc) is already compatible with it, so the memory's the only thing I need to upgrade.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130300

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

(Also, which memory listed above should I get? They're both the same price (with coupon code), and the bottom one lists 1333 as NOT O.C., like the first, so I don't know if that would have better performance or not.)

Do you think it's worth spending $160 (and possibly getting ~80-120 back from selling the old board & RAM) for the amount of performance I'll gain, or should I save up a little more and hop on the i5/i7 bandwagon? I'm also thinking about possibly getting the Core 2 Quad Q9550 (or higher) with this board as well.

Here's my current specs:

Operating System
MS Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.00GHz 35 °C
Wolfdale 45nm Technology

RAM
4.0GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 399MHz (5-5-5-12)

Slot #1
Type DDR2
Size 2048 MBytes
Manufacturer PDP Systems
Max Bandwidth PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
Part Number 8500EL Series
Week/year 15 / 09
SPD Ext. EPP

Slot #2
Type DDR2
Size 2048 MBytes
Manufacturer PDP Systems
Max Bandwidth PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
Part Number 8500EL Series
Week/year 15 / 09
SPD Ext. EPP

Motherboard
ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5N-D (Socket 775)

Graphics
1024MB GeForce 9500 GT (PNY) 44 °C

 

[o1die]

Go for sandy bridge when it's released next year. It takes a p67 motherboard; newegg has one that I know of made by asrock. Sell your old stuff now if you get any good offers, and use a spare pc if you have one. DDr3 isn't much faster with 775 cpus; not worth spending the money on. But I would order 8 gb now before the price goes up. Fry's and newegg have 4x2gb kits of 1333 ddr3 for $99.99 right now. I don't think prices will drop much more; they may rise next year.

 

[o1die]

Problem with 775 is that it wasn't optimised for ddr3. Upgrading won't cost much if you are able sell your old stuff, but don't expect too much performance gain. Overclocking with your old asus board will give you a bigger performance boost.

 

[Zylicyde]

Best answer selected by zylicyde.

 

[Zylicyde]

Thanks for your help.

How do you close topics here? Consider this one CLOSED.

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar