Worth the upgrade?

[hatebreeder]

I am currently running


ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365

Intel Core i7-940 Bloomfield 2.93GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115201

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224

i am curious if its worth it to spend the money and upgrade to this:

Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield 3.2GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115224

and another 6 gb of the same ram as above. will my mother board let me run that chip? i cant find anywhere that shows how high my motherboard will support in the i7 chipsets, i would possibly be interested in the 970 if my mobo could support it.

i am sorry for multiple threads asking multiple questions. i have finally decided i want to keep my mobo and just upgrade the ram and chip for now. i just need to know if its worth the money for the chip, am i gonna see performance increase?

i use my rig for online gaming. waiting for bf3!!

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!

 

[PreferLinux]

Probably no point upgrading the CPU or RAM in that thing if it's only for gaming.

 

[hatebreeder]

how far up cpu wise can that board go though?

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

The X58 chipset is Intel's flagship chipset. Any CPU that will fit in 1366 socket is supported.

I'd say the memory upgrade would benefit you more than the faster CPU, but it's only a matter of a few percentage points either way.

Neither upgrade is really worth the price. If you don't have a GTX 570 or 580 (or whatever the equivalent Radeons are), those would be a better upgrade.

 

[UniqueName]

See http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-975,2318.html and http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-980x-gulftown,2573.html for an idea on what you would get. 960 in cpu only tasks can be 5-10% faster. 970 in cpu only 6 thread tasks can be 30-35% faster. No difference in games at all.

 

[subasteve5800]

That CPU upgrade is absolutely not worth the money. You'd be much better off buying an aftermarket cooler and just overclocking the 940 that you already have to a similar or better clock rate. That mild of an overclock would be should be simple for even a beginner to do. There are tons of guides out there on how to overclock.

The RAM upgrade is probably not worth the money. The only reason I'd consider it is because RAM prices are incredibly low right now. Just make sure you get the same exact kit. Mixing and matching RAM can be problematic.

 

[PreferLinux]

You could do the overclock on the stock cooler, even.

 

[hatebreeder]

thanks for the replies, i am waiting for nvidias next dual gpu card to upgrade my graphics card. i wanted to get the ram cause its dirt cheap, i can get 6 more perfectly matched gbs for $130 and the cpu i wanted to upgrade because the 940 is a ways down in the benchmark charts from the 960's and thought it would be worth it. i also need to get a SSD but am not sure which one, just for my OS and any current games i am playing.

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

I'd go with a Corsair Force or G.Skill Phoenix Pro SSD. My preference would be the 120GB size just to have a bit of breathing room, but the cheaper 60GB versions suffice as long as you don't have too many apps on them.

 

[hatebreeder]

can you give me links to the specific ones you reccomend? are ssd's just plug and play? i have never used one before.

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

Corsair Force: 60GB 120GB

G.Skill Phoenix Pro: 60GB 120GB

And yes, they are plug and play. Windows recognizes them as a hard drive. You will need to disable some things like automatic indexing and defragging because of the way SSDs work.

 

[hatebreeder]

thanks for the reply! are the things i need to disable going to be listed in the instruction manual or something?

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

I don't know if those settings are in the manual or not. I've just read several articles in magazines saying what settings need to be changed.

The ones I remember are:
1. Disable automatic indexing
2. Disable defragging
3. Disable System Restore
4. Disable Hibernation
5. Move Temp and tmp folders to a different drive
6. Move user folders (My Documents, Downloads, My Videos, etc.) to a different drive

 

[hatebreeder]

so, i am almost done shopping and still really am thinking about upgrading the CPU. so of all the cpus my mobo supports:

http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=iRlP8RG9han6saZx

which would anyone recommend to bump up to from the 940 and ensure that i see a performance boost if any? keep in mind i would be running this rig for maybe 2 years.

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

Even the minimum upgrade where you might be able to tell the difference (960) is $580 and it's just not worth the expense.

Save the money for your new video card. That will make much more difference to your gaming than the CPU upgrade ever would.

 

[hatebreeder]

ok. thanks for the advice. i am gonna wait and just get a bad ass gpu. i can always do the chip later. its seems to be the consensus wherever i ask that a faster cpu wont effect gaming at all. why is that? what about games that come out next year?

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

Once you get to a certain horsepower level, there really is no point in going higher. You already have a fast quad-core processor with Hyperthreading, which is still in the top tier of performance (even if it is a bit slow compared to the best of the top tier).

Unless you already have a top-tier video card, your next upgrade should be that so your system is balanced. This site did a comparison recently of 20 popular modern games, and once the video/processor balance was reached, very few of them responded to more CPU MHz. Take a look at the conclusion: Linky.

 

[hatebreeder]

so you think i should swap my 295 out than. i dont like the idea of running dual video cards all though it seems that alot of the charts show sli being on top. i like my 295 cause of the dual gpu/single card. i guess ill wait for the 590 and see what its all about. im getting the corsair ssd 120gb you recommended and the ram as well.

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

The memory and SSD will be a good upgrade, giving your system a nice boost in smoothness and usability. Your next major upgrade should be the video card; single-GPU or dual-GPU is up to you and your budget.

 

[hatebreeder]

i want something that is going to be an upgrade from my 295 that supports dx 11.

 

[subasteve5800]

Unless you are going to go with a CF/SLI setup the only cards better than your 295 are the GTX 580 and the Radeon 5970. Both of them would only be marginal improvements and not worth the price.

You are basically running a top of the line system right now...
The GTX 295 is just slightly below the top of the line.
The only processor faster than the i7-940 would be the i7-970 or -980X because they are hexa-core instead of quad-core (The 940 and the 960 are all the same chip. The only differences are in stepping and the clocks they ship with.)
Thats a good MOBO.
The Ram is a solid kit from a solid manufacturer.

With the exception of adding an SSD, I really see no need to improve it.

 

[hatebreeder]

Unless you are going to go with a CF/SLI setup the only cards better than your 295 are the GTX 580 and the Radeon 5970. Both of them would only be marginal improvements and not worth the price.

You are basically running a top of the line system right now...
The GTX 295 is just slightly below the top of the line.
The only processor faster than the i7-940 would be the i7-970 or -980X because they are hexa-core instead of quad-core (The 940 and the 960 are all the same chip. The only differences are in stepping and the clocks they ship with.)
Thats a good MOBO.
The Ram is a solid kit from a solid manufacturer.

With the exception of adding an SSD, I really see no need to improve it.

i think i am just gonna double the ram, get a 120gb ssd a new socket fan and get nvidias next dual gpu card that comes out, i want something that supports direct x 11. thanks for your reply!

 

[hatebreeder]

quick question as i am about to check out on new egg and buy some parts. i am about to pull the trigger on this ssd:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233125

is 120 gb enough? all i am gonna put on it is my OS and any games im playing which is typically no more than 2-3 at a time. ( battlefield and call of duty usually ). all other files/apps will go on my 2 150gb velociraptors in raid 0. OR should i buy a 240 gb ssd? or raid 2X of the 120gb ssd?? hELP!!

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

120GB will be more than enough. Most people who go the SSD boot drive route get a 60GB or 90GB drive because they are cheaper.

 

[hatebreeder]

ok thanks! so the 2 drives you listed above ( gskill and corsair) are the ones youd recommend out of all 120gb drives? is one better than the other? i am pulling the trigger and just want to make surre.