Asus P5N-E SLI - Any good still?

[itsfader]

Hi guys,

I have an old PC in a big case, it's mobo is ASUS P5N-E SLI

Is that MOBO still any good? If I were to buy a new CPU for it (as the one on it is pretty old now!) would it still be worthwhile at all, or should I just get a new mobo and cpu bundle and junk/sell the P5N-E SLI?

I'm assuming as it's some years old that Mobos have moved on a lot rendering this as junk?

I just want to make sure that because its old the ASUS is not worth keeping around to build a rig on top of, I should just start fresh? Ya never know.

(I'm currently using a Dell XPS 8100 i'm upgrading the GFX And PSU on, but would like to move to my old case at some point in the future as it is much bigger, is why i'm asking about this mobo that is in it)

 

[itzdanielp]

To answer simply, yes and no

The board is a solid board, and has a lot of great features, but is getting really dated.

Even if you were to upgrade the CPU, there isn't much you could upgrade to, as CPU's are not really made for that anymore. Also, it uses older DDR2 RAM, which while great a few years back, is pretty archaic now.

I would suggest starting new with a Z68 based MB and an i5. As you can do that route for pretty cheap now, and you will get much, much better performance out of the system.

I personally like Gigabyte and Asus boards, but ASRock is a solid alternative that is a little better budget oriented.

 

[itsfader]

Thank you for your reply,

My current PC is a dell XPS 8100 - the processor is i5 CPU 750 @ 2.67ghz and the mobo is a "Dell Inc. 0T568R A00"

If I were to buy a new board, GB Asus or ASRock, would you recommend that I simply buy the board and move my current i5 processor to this board, or should I buy a board with a processor included, bundle.

I'm not familiar with moving processors, I guess it's a little more to it than moving a PSU or installing a GPU, what do people think, is it tough or worth learning to save the cost of a new processor if I already have an i5?

Or is that Dell Inc board ok and just move the whole thing into my old case?

So many options with PCs whenever I get into this I lose a day just reading and researching and looking at prices, kind of obsessive.

 

[itzdanielp]

You have a first gen i5, and the Z68 is designed for 2nd and 3rd gen i5's.

So, if you were to get a new board, you would not be able to move over the chip you have.

I would suggest a second gen i5, as the price increase vs the performance increase is not really worth it right now. and a i5-2500k or 2400 is really the best proc for price out there.

You would be able to transfer the RAM over from the XPS if you wanted to.

And for the GPU, you just plug it into the slot and hook the power up. Turn the computer and run the CD that comes with the card, super simple