Looking to upgrade CPU

Hi everyone,

I own a Dell Studio 540 desktop that I bought around October of '08. I upgraded the PSU and the video card a couple of months after buying the system and now I'm looking into greedily upgrading my CPU/mainboard

I've been doing quite a bit of research online, specifically through Newegg. I'm looking for an upgrade that'll run FSX (Microsoft Flight Simulator X) as flawlessly as my budget permits (looking between $300-500); as from my research I understand the game is more CPU-intensive rather than GPU-intensive. My current CPU specs, thanks to Xfire's Gaming Rig profile, are below:

Manufacturer:
Dell Inc.
Processor:
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory:
6144MB RAM (6GB spec)
Hard Drive:
483 GB (500GB spec)
Video Card:
BFG NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+ OC 512MB GDDR3
Monitor:
Dell Widescreen 19" 16:10 ratio 1440x900 (Digital)
Sound Card:
Speakers (High Definition Audio Device)
Speakers/Headphones:
Stereo Standard Dell Speakers + Subwoofer
Keyboard:
USB Root Hub
Mouse:
USB Root Hub
Operating System:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.100618-1621)
Motherboard:
whatever the heck Dell computers come with
Computer Case:
Standard Dell Studio 540 Desktop Case

And my PSU is the BFG ATX12V 650 watt, which I bought along with the BFG 9800 GTX+.

I have a few questions regarding the upgrade, if I fall through with it. Which CPU would give me the bigger bang-for-the-buck: AMD, or Intel? (I feel like I know what the answer will be to that!) If I'm looking into the Intel series, which would be better -- the quad core i7's or the new 2010 i5's?

Will the hardware I currently have work with the new mainboard and CPU? (such as the hard drive, memory, power supply, cables, optical drives, etc.) Will the case I have fit the new motherboard? I'm a bit on the cheap side; I think the case would work just fine even though technically it wouldn't really be much of a Dell anymore.

Here's what caught my eye lately, from what it seems the links change often so they might stop working. I'll add the descriptions just in case.

1) Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950

--AND--

ASUS Sabertooth X58 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.541727


2) Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950

--AND--

GIGABYTE GA-X58-USB3 LGA 1366 Intel X58 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.541726

3) AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX

GIGABYTE GA-880GA-UD3H AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.543275

Any other CPU and mainboard suggestions are welcome, these are just some of what I'm considering as of right now.

Your CPU is still very good get a nice cooler like the Coller Master Hyper 212 plus, some good thermal paste and OC it to 3.0GHz. Look around here and ask for advice on the overclocking forum section.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=munFs4-YqhM

Buy a full HD monitor, say:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824236052
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824009266

And see how your games play. If not happy get a new video card, say, HD 6850/6870.

Next year you can get the new sockets from AMD or Intel, they're changing the sockets in 2011.

Well I do see where mosox is coming at with the bigger monitor for gaming experience, and the CPU overclock to save the money. Just not the video card as much...I've had such bad luck with ATI for some reason, I'm reluctant to go back...had two fans shoot themselves, but ATI was nice enough to send me the second one.

I'd have to look into flashing the crappy Dell mobo (taking the chance of bricking it) or buying a new mobo. I took a look into Cpu-Z for some more details on my mainboard and RAM, and apparently my DDR2 memory's clocked at 400MHz! Seems pretty low to me.

Is 7200 rpm decent for a hard drive? Seems to be the standard across the board for OEM machines.

I'll have to check out the overclocking section of the forum, the Dell BIOS gives me nothing at all to change.

Dell OEM motherboard does not give you option to overclock anything to avoid unnecessary service call from users; this also prevent the PC from pre-mature damages that might still covers under Dell waranty. That is why I suggest a main system upgrade. You can change your motherboard to use your old CPU, that is definitely cost alot less than CPU, mobo and RAM like this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128447

You can leave it this way for a few months, probably your OS won't work on some other mobo.

If you switch your mainboard and CPU, you'll need to reinstall everything (starting from OS) again.. The benefits will be there but since you are basically moving from a quad core to another (slightly better) quad core, the improvements will not be very high..

Anyone know what size the Dell Studio 540 is? Is it ATX? I want to ensure I get the right motherboard, after all. I have an ATX power supply that fits perfectly.

ATX: 12 × 9.6 in (305 × 244 mm)
mATX: 9,6 X 9.6 in (244 X 244 mm)

I'm mATX, just checked the dimms of the mainboard.

I'm probably going to end up upgrading to the AMD six-core, which is socket AM3 I believe. I think that should give more choices for mATX motherboards.

So do you think it would be best for me to OC to 3.0 GHz? My main concern is my ram and other parts being compatible with the new motherboard and OC settings.

Btw thanks for looking those up. I've been looking myself and there aren't many choices for 4 slots of ram like you said.

The UD3L is very good for OC. That leaves the RAM.

The 3.0GHz OC Q6600 should be something like this other Intel CPU (here stacked against a new $150 Phenom II X4 955).

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=50

Do you know ahat RAM do you have?

Here's the mainboard and processor I'm looking at:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103849

Mainboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813153163

For purely gaming needs, go lower on the processor..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103808

Here's the quad I was talking about: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103894

This motherboard looks decent as well, #5-6ish based on highest rating with the filtering I used: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131595

Maybe I should consider getting an i5...hell I'm a bit lost right now...Would an i5 3.2gHz out perform the processor I have listed above? I'll check a benchmarking site and see...

^ Good plan. As said, wait and get more funds for the 'better' stuff.

If youare going the 1156 route, at least get a 1366...please!

^1366. Get a good i7 930 or even the 950 at newegg.