EVGA P55 LE Mothterboard. Upgrade or buy a new CPU?

[reyez]

My current CPU is an i7 860 @ 2.8GHz with a Dell brand motherboard. I also have a XFX Radeon 6770, 500W PSU, and 8GB of RAM. I was looking for motherboards with the socket LGA 1156 and I found one on Ebay for $80.

link to motherboard: http://www.ebay.com/itm/130656000205?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Should I upgrade to this motherboard or should I just purchase a new up-to-date CPU and a new motherboard for a new build?

If I do upgrade, will I need another copy of windows 7? I plan on keeping the hard drive and everything.

 

[o1die]

You have a good system; tried overclocking yet? If not try that first. Ivy bridge is out soon; will keep checking newegg to see when they get some in. You should be able to reuse your windows 7 by using the online activation with microsoft. Use windows 7 backup feature to save your files before you change out the board.

 

[reyez]

You have a good system; tried overclocking yet? If not try that first. Ivy bridge is out soon; will keep checking newegg to see when they get some in. You should be able to reuse your windows 7 by using the online activation with microsoft. Use windows 7 backup feature to save your files before you change out the board.

I don't plan on overclocking , but I do game and surf the web a lot. Is upgrading the motherboard worth it now?

 

[abekl]

"Should I upgrade to this motherboard or should I just purchase a new up-to-date CPU and a new motherboard for a new build? "

A new MB alone won't give you any performance benefit, therefore you should pursue a new build.

 

[Unolocogringo]

Technically your OEM (Dell) windows 7 is tied to your Dell computer.
It may not activate if you upgrade to a new motherboard and processor.

You might get by with the motherboard swap, but without overclocking you would not see any benefit.

 

[o1die]

The last poster is correct; your dell windows only works on geniune dell boards with a small bios code, and dells won't overclock, so I would leave your system alone; either sell it intact or keep it for a spare. If you can change a board, you can probably build your own complete system when you have a decent budget, about $700.

 

[JKatwyopc]

As others have said, you have a good system there. Why are you thinking about upgrading? Are you seeing any performance issues or are you just getting the upgrade bug (as so many of us do)? If you just want a little better responsiveness you might consider getting an SSD to use as your main boot device. That would improve boot time and help with windows responsiveness.

 

[reyez]

As others have said, you have a good system there. Why are you thinking about upgrading? Are you seeing any performance issues or are you just getting the upgrade bug (as so many of us do)? If you just want a little better responsiveness you might consider getting an SSD to use as your main boot device. That would improve boot time and help with windows responsiveness.

I wanted to upgrade my mobo because I thought it was the source for a problem I am having. I already upgraded my other components such as graphics card, PSU, and ram. After a while of gaming, my sound starts to become very static-full and it gets worse over time. If i do nothing about it, it will eventually disconnect me from the internet (wired connection). The only way I could fix this problem was to restart my computer, then the problem won't occur anymore until I boot up my computer again the next day. Do you know what the problem is here?

 

[JKatwyopc]

Hmm, to tell you the truth, I was figuring that you just had the upgrade bug, however, it sounds like you have a real problem there and need some help identifying it. I would suggest that you do some diagnostics first. Check your system temps to make sure that your CPU and GPU is not overheating or just running hot. Are all of your fans working especially the ones in your Power supply, on the CPU heatsink and on the GPU? Make sure that all of your fans spin freely by spinning each one by hand while the power is off. If one of them will not coast freely that could be causing a problem.

Also, you should run Memtest86+ to verify that your memory is good.

If all of those are good then is there any chance that you could borrow a known good power supply from a friend? The PSU often causes intermittant or unusual failures because of aging capacitors and other parts experiencing heavy stress under normal use.

 

[reyez]

Hmm, to tell you the truth, I was figuring that you just had the upgrade bug, however, it sounds like you have a real problem there and need some help identifying it. I would suggest that you do some diagnostics first. Check your system temps to make sure that your CPU and GPU is not overheating or just running hot. Are all of your fans working especially the ones in your Power supply, on the CPU heatsink and on the GPU? Make sure that all of your fans spin freely by spinning each one by hand while the power is off. If one of them will not coast freely that could be causing a problem.

Also, you should run Memtest86+ to verify that your memory is good.

If all of those are good then is there any chance that you could borrow a known good power supply from a friend? The PSU often causes intermittant or unusual failures because of aging capacitors and other parts experiencing heavy stress under normal use.

I am using a program called Speccy and the temps are... 52 Celsius for CPU, 22 Celsius for motherboard, 63 Celsius for graphics card, and 45 Celsius for hard drive. I just converted these.. and they are extremely hot! All my fans are working fine, but I don't think there is good air flow in my case. Should I replace one of my case fans?

I have a 500W PSU powering up a i7 860 @2.8Ghz, 8gb RAM, 500GB HD, dell motherboard, Radeon 6770. Is this enough power or is the PSU at fault for my problem?