Upgrading Q6600 -> Sandy Bridge: which one?

shakaxd · Mar 11, 2011

Hey folks,

My Q6600 is 3.5 years old and is showing no signs of aging, but I want to upgrade before its value drops to below the point it's worth selling to buy a new rig. The idea is to buy new CPU+RAM+MOBO, and maybe a 2TB Samsung HDD.

Budget is tight, $500, maybe a little more. I use PC mainly for racing games (GTR², rFactor, F1 2010), flight simulator X and video rendering. What would be the best bang for buck, improving from the overclocked Core2Quad?

- H67 + i5-2500 + 8GB RAM + 2TB HDD
- P67 + i5-2500k + 8GB RAM
- H67 + i7-2600 + 8GB RAM
- P67 + i7-2600k + 4GB

Thanks for opinions :toast:

JrRacinFan · Mar 11, 2011

shakaxd said:
P67 + i7-2600k + 4GB

I don't have any other input for you but I would go this route myself.

stevednmc · Mar 11, 2011

I agree with JrRacingFan..you can always add more memory later.

Anusha · Mar 12, 2011

stevednmc said:
I agree with JrRacingFan..you can always add more memory later.

and a hard drive too.
better not regret getting an i5 or a non-overclockable i7 later.

BraveSoul · Mar 12, 2011

im with everyone on i7 2600k overclocks through the roof, + extra threads will probably come handy in future
_______________________

antec1200 filter mod | 4x4 Best off road games

Frizz · Mar 12, 2011

If you only game

P67 + i5-2500k + 8GB RAM

If you do encoding etc for hyper-threading

P67 + i7-2600k + 4GB RAM

I'm sure you can reach 4ghz without changing voltages and while using stock cooling.

Over_Lord · Mar 12, 2011

randomflip said:
P67 i5-2500k 8GB RAM

8GB for encoding and photoshop, 4gb for games. you got it mixed

Shou Miko · Mar 12, 2011

no H67 if i wanna OC they ain't build for that only P67 and Z67, and remember to take a K model.

Frizz · Mar 12, 2011

thunderising said:
8GB for encoding and photoshop, 4gb for games. you got it mixed

lol no, the choices are 2500k or 2600k, obviously the better choice for video rendering or encoding is to go with the 2600k + 4GB RAM as he can always add more RAM later.

newtekie1 · Mar 12, 2011

shakaxd said:
- P67 + i7-2600k + 4GB

I'd go with this. You can always add more RAM later, that is easy, and with 4GB kits going for $40, you can probably upgrade to 8GB pretty quickly.

CrAsHnBuRnXp · Mar 12, 2011

- P67 + i5-2500k + 8GB RAM

Id go that if you game. Just overclock it like hell. You dont need the extra threads for gaming. And if you really need the hdd, get the p67 + i5 2500k + 4GB +HDD if its manageable. Otherwise stick with the quote above.

Get the i7 if you wanna fold and like to bench. Actually, does BOINC utilize all the threads in an i7 2600k? Im curious now.

qubit · Mar 13, 2011

I would go for something that's not on your list:

P67+i5-2500K+4GB+2TB

This is what I'm looking to get, minus the HD, which I already have.

yogurt_21 · Mar 13, 2011

sigh poll, we needs one

but I'd go for

P67 + i7-2600k + 4GB

just as other have said, add more ram and a bigger hd later. better to have the faster overclockable cpu as that will be much harder to change later.

LagunaX · Mar 13, 2011

P67 + i7-2600k + 4GB

But if you have budget restraints, i5-2500k...

Hayder_Master · Mar 13, 2011

sure p67 + i7 2600k

Zen_ · Mar 15, 2011

You could get a an Asrock P67 Pro3, 2500k, 4GB of basic DDR3-1600 and a modest heatsink for $500. Unless you could really use hyperthreading and 8GB of memory for whatever rendering you do I'd say that's the most for your money.

overclocking101 · Mar 15, 2011

P67 + i7-2600k + 8GB + Water Cooling FTW

shakaxd · Mar 15, 2011

Thanks for the advices guys :toast:

I forgot to mention shipping costs are included on the average $500 budget, and the cheapest USPS Intl. shipping to Brazil is about $45.50. That's also the reason it's not worth adding RAM or HDD later when not combined with a larger shopping cart to spread the shipping cost.

I'm more inclined to pick the 2500k, 2TB Samsung HDD, and this Gigabyte mobo + this 4GB RAM kit. That goes for $480 with promo codes + shipping (US first, BR later), setting me back around $550 total.

Is this a good way to spend the cash? Or is there any better (cheaper) option?

Thank ya all! :respect:

shakaxd · Mar 24, 2011

Just updating, due to cash constraints, taxes, shipping costs and paypal fees, I had to ask my US friend to place an order slightly different than the options I listed up there. Ended up getting just the 2500k + Gigabyte mobo + 4GB DDR3-1600 CL7 kit. It should be a great system nonetheless and from what it looks a 40~50% performance gain over the Q6600 =)

xenocide · Mar 24, 2011

shakaxd said:
Just updating, due to cash constraints, taxes, shipping costs and paypal fees, I had to ask my US friend to place an order slightly different than the options I listed up there. Ended up getting just the 2500k + Gigabyte mobo + 4GB DDR3-1600 CL7 kit. It should be a great system nonetheless and from what it looks a 40~50% performance gain over the Q6600 =)

I wouldn't be surprised if you saw a much larger performance gain than even that in some situations. I had a Q6600\4GB DDR2-800 for quite a while and went for a i5-2500k, MSI P67A-GD65, and 8GB of the same RAM you got and the biggest performance increase I saw was in gaming. Rift for example jumped from 20fps in Meridian (I have an HD5850) to upwards of 70fps on the same settings, even throwing AA on still kept me steadily above 50fps. If you do a decent amount of rendering work I believe the Z68 will interest you in the future, so keep an eye out for it.

shakaxd · Mar 24, 2011

Thanks for the tips! Given I'm upgrading pretty much from the same settings you were, including same VGA (5850) I think I'll be positively surprised!

I don't plan on running it higher than 4.0~4.2GHz anyway, I just don't like seeing it running too hot considering it must last 4, maybe 5 years before I get my next CPU

Is there anyone flying FSX with similar settings? From what I saw on Youtube there's a huge performance gain on that, fps sky high (no pun intended)

LAN_deRf_HA · Mar 24, 2011

FSX will see massive gains with a sandy in the 4ghz range. Like playable on max for the first time.

cever89 · Mar 31, 2011

shakaxd said:
Hey folks,

My Q6600 is 3.5 years old and is showing no signs of aging, but I want to upgrade before its value drops to below the point it's worth selling to buy a new rig. The idea is to buy new CPU+RAM+MOBO, and maybe a 2TB Samsung HDD.

Budget is tight, $500, maybe a little more. I use PC mainly for racing games (GTR², rFactor, F1 2010), flight simulator X and video rendering. What would be the best bang for buck, improving from the overclocked Core2Quad?

- H67 + i5-2500 + 8GB RAM + 2TB HDD
- P67 + i5-2500k + 8GB RAM
- H67 + i7-2600 + 8GB RAM
- P67 + i7-2600k + 4GB

Thanks for opinions

Funny... this is the exact situation I'm in as well! But I think if I were to actually do this, I would have to add an SSD and a new GFX card to my shopping list. My GeForce 7800 just isn't cutting it these days...

shakaxd · Apr 16, 2011

Just got the parts, and WOW! It's impressive, awesome improvement over a 3.4GHz Core 2 Quad! I'm speechless, saw up to 100% gains on FSX / GTR² under stressful conditions. If anyone is still in doubt, the 2500k rocks HARD! Already gave it a mild overclock to 4GHz for everyday, but saw it going fine up to 4.6GHz without much effort!

Thank you guys!

qubit · Apr 16, 2011

That's great dude. I've heard that these babies can easily run at 5GHz on the stock cooler, so don't hold back. :cool:

Processor	Core i5-2500k 4.2GHz (42x100)
Motherboard	Gigabyte P67A-UD3-B3
Cooling	Akasa AK-967
Memory	2x2Gb G. Skill Ripjaws-X F3-12800CL7D-4GBXM (1600MHz 7-8-7-24-2N)
Video Card(s)	XFX 7950 Core Edition
Storage	Samsung 2TB + Samsung 250Gb + Seagate 1Tb + Spinpoint 1Tb + 2x Samsung 500Gb + WD MyPassport 320Gb
Display(s)	LG 22" 1920x1080 + Panasonic HDTV 37" 1366x768
Case	CM HAF 912, 2x120mm + 1x200mm in, 1x120mm + 1x200mm out
Power Supply	Corsair 750 TX
Software	Win7 Ultimate 64
Benchmark Scores	need to re-run them

System Name	Dual Build Streamer
Processor	Ryzen 7900x3d : Ryzen 4600G
Motherboard	AsRock B650E Steel Legend : Giga B450i Aorus
Cooling	Custom Water 1x420 : Stock
Memory	32GB T-Force Deltas : 16GB Dominator Platinums
Video Card(s)	PowerColor 7900 XTX Liquid Devil: iGPU
Storage	20+ TB
Display(s)	Sammy 49" 5k Ultrawide
Case	Custom White Painted Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2
Audio Device(s)	Onboard : Onboard
Power Supply	EVGA 1200W P2
Mouse	Corsair M65 RGB Elite White
Keyboard	Hyperx Origins 65
Software	Windows 10

System Name	TheBruise
Processor	i7-960
Motherboard	Gigabyte x58A -Ud5
Cooling	Vantage ALC push pull/2x180mm fans/1x120mm silverstone
Memory	12GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz
Video Card(s)	2 Sapphire Vapor-X 5870's in Xfire
Storage	Ocz Vertex 3 Max Iops (OS) 300GB Velociraptor, 750 GB WD Black
Display(s)	Asus 23" VS238H-P
Case	Silverstone Ft01-BW Fortress
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-fi Titanium
Power Supply	Corsair HX-850
Software	W7pro SP1

Processor	Intel Core i7 4790K
Motherboard	Asus Z97i Plus
Cooling	Antec Kuhler 620 + Gentle Typhoon 3000RPM
Memory	A-DATA XPG V2 DDR3-2400 16GB
Video Card(s)	MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G
Storage	Samsung 850 Ev0 500GB
Display(s)	Qnix QX2710 @100Hz
Case	Silverstone SG13
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Silverstone SX-500LG
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Corsair K70 Lux
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Not interested in benchmarks

System Name	Filtration tower
Processor	i9 7900@4.4ghz
Motherboard	ASRock X299 Taichi
Cooling	Air
Memory	64g 3200 quad channel
Video Card(s)	ASUS GTX 1080Ti
Storage	500gb Nvme, 200gb SSD, 1700gb HDD
Display(s)	34" Acer Predator 3440x1440
Case	Thermaltake v71
Power Supply	EVGA supernova 850 T2

Upgrading Q6600 -> Sandy Bridge: which one?

shakaxd

New Member

JrRacinFan

Served 5k and counting ...

stevednmc

Anusha

BraveSoul

Frizz

Over_Lord

News Editor

Shou Miko

Frizz

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder

CrAsHnBuRnXp

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit

yogurt_21

LagunaX

Hayder_Master

Zen_

overclocking101

shakaxd

New Member

shakaxd

New Member

xenocide

shakaxd

New Member

LAN_deRf_HA

cever89

New Member

shakaxd

New Member

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit

System Name	White Theme
Processor	Intel 12700K CPU
Motherboard	ASUS STRIX Z690-A D4
Cooling	Lian Li Galahad Uni w/ AL120 Fans
Memory	32GB DDR4-3200 Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte Aero 4080 Super 16GB
Storage	2TB Samsung 980 Pro PCIE 4.0
Display(s)	Alienware 38" 3840x1600 (165Hz)
Case	Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO White
Audio Device(s)	2i2 Scarlett Solo + Schiit Magni 3 AMP
Power Supply	Corsair HX 1000 Platinum

System Name	BAH! - - tHE ECo FReAK
Processor	Athlon II X4 620 @ 1.15V
Motherboard	ASUS 785G EVO
Cooling	Stock
Memory	Corsair Titanium 4GB DDR3 1600MHz C9
Video Card(s)	Sapphire HD5850 @ 1.049v
Storage	Seagate 7200.12 500GB
Display(s)	BenQ G2220HD
Case	Cooler Master Elite 334
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair VX550W
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate x64

System Name	Lynni PS \ Lenowo TwinkPad T480
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Raphael \ i7-8550U Kaby Lake-R
Motherboard	ASRock B650M PG Riptide Bios v. 2.02 AMD AGESA 1.1.0.0 \ Lenowo 20L60036MX Bios 1.47
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 Chromax.Black (Only middle fan) \ Lenowo WN-2
Memory	G.Skill Flare X5 2x16GB DDR5 6000MHZ CL36-36-36-96 AMD EXPO \ Willk Elektronik 2x16GB 2666MHZ CL17
Video Card(s)	Asus GeForce RTX™ 4070 Dual OC GPU: 2325-2355 MEM: 1462\| Nvidia GeForce MX™ 150 2GB GDDR5 Micron
Storage	Gigabyte M30 1TB\|Sabrent Rocket 2TB\| HDD: 10TB\|1TB \ SKHynix 256GB 2242 3x2
Display(s)	LG UltraGear 27GP850-B 1440p@165Hz \| LG 48CX OLED 4K HDR \| AUO 14" 1440p IPS
Case	Asus Prime AP201 White Mesh \| Lenowo T480 chassis
Audio Device(s)	Steelseries Arctis Pro Wireless
Power Supply	Be Quiet! Pure Power 12 M 750W Goldie \| 65W
Mouse	Logitech G305 Lightspeedy Wireless \| Lenowo TouchPad & Logitech G305
Keyboard	Akko 3108 DS Horizon V2 Cream Yellow \| T480 UK Lumi
Software	Win11 Pro 23H2 UK
Benchmark Scores	3DMARK: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/89434432? GPU-Z: https://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/details/v3zbr

Processor	Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard	AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling	Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory	32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s)	RTX 2070 Super
Storage	500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s)	Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case	Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s)	Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply	eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

Processor	Intel i9 9900K @5GHz w/ Corsair H150i Pro CPU AiO w/Corsair HD120 RBG fan
Motherboard	Asus Z390 Maximus XI Code
Cooling	6x120mm Corsair HD120 RBG fans
Memory	Corsair Vengeance RBG 2x8GB 3600MHz
Video Card(s)	Asus RTX 3080Ti STRIX OC
Storage	Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB , 970 EVO 1TB, Samsung 850 EVO 1TB SSD, 10TB Synology DS1621+ RAID5
Display(s)	Corsair Xeneon 32" 32UHD144 4K
Case	Corsair 570x RBG Tempered Glass
Audio Device(s)	Onboard / Corsair Virtuoso XT Wireless RGB
Power Supply	Corsair HX850w Platinum Series
Mouse	Logitech G604s
Keyboard	Corsair K70 Rapidfire
Software	Windows 11 x64 Professional
Benchmark Scores	Firestrike - 23520 Heaven - 3670

System Name	Quantumville™
Processor	Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard	Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling	Noctua NH-D14
Memory	16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage	Samsung 850 Pro 256GB \| WD Black 4TB \| WD Blue 6TB
Display(s)	ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) \| Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case	Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s)	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply	Corsair AX1600i
Mouse	Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard	Yes
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

System Name	Thought I'd be done with this by now
Processor	i7 11700k 8/16
Motherboard	MSI Z590 Pro Wifi
Cooling	Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4, 9x aigo AR12
Memory	32GB GSkill TridentZ Neo DDR4-4000 CL18-22-22-42
Video Card(s)	MSI Ventus 2x Geforce RTX 3070
Storage	1TB MX300 M.2 OS + Games, + cloud mostly
Display(s)	Samsung 40" 4k (TV)
Case	Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic EVO Black
Audio Device(s)	onboard HD -> Yamaha 5.1
Power Supply	EVGA 850 GQ
Mouse	Logitech wireless
Keyboard	same
VR HMD	nah
Software	Windows 10
Benchmark Scores	no one cares anymore lols

System Name	Primary Rig
Processor	e8500 Q822A549 4.5ghz AIR
Motherboard	Foxconn Mars P35
Cooling	TRUE
Memory	2 x2GB Patriot Viper 1066 5-5-5-12 @ 1.8v
Video Card(s)	Sapphire 5870 Unlocked
Storage	300gb Velociraptor
Display(s)	Dell 24" Ultrasharp
Case	Coolermaster CM690
Power Supply	PC Power & Cooling 750w Quad Silencer
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate x86

System Name	MASTER
Processor	Core i7 3930k run at 4.4ghz
Motherboard	Asus Rampage IV extreme
Cooling	Corsair H100i
Memory	4x4G kingston hyperx beast 2400mhz
Video Card(s)	2X EVGA GTX680
Storage	2X Crusial M4 256g raid0, 1TbWD g, 2x500 WD B
Display(s)	Samsung 27' 1080P LED 3D monitior 2ms
Case	CoolerMaster Chosmos II
Audio Device(s)	Creative sound blaster X-FI Titanum champion,Creative speakers 7.1 T7900
Power Supply	Corsair 1200i, Logitch G500 Mouse, headset Corsair vengeance 1500
Software	Win7 64bit Ultimate
Benchmark Scores	3d mark 2011: testing

System Name	The wifes worst enemy
Processor	i5-9600k
Motherboard	Asrock z390 phantom gaming 4
Cooling	water
Memory	16gb G.skill ripjaw DDR4 2400 4X4GB 15-15-15-35-2T
Video Card(s)	Asrock 5600xt phantom gaming 6gb 14gb/s
Storage	crucial M500 120GB SSD, Pny 256GB SSD, seagate 750GB, seagate 2TB HDD, WD blue 1TB 2.5" HDD
Display(s)	27 inch samsung @ 1080p but capable of much more ;)
Case	Corsair AIR 540 Cube Mid tower
Audio Device(s)	onboard
Power Supply	EVGA GQ1000W MODULAR
Mouse	generic for now
Keyboard	generic for now
Software	gotta love steam, origin etc etc
Benchmark Scores	http://hwbot.org/user/philbrown_23/

Processor	Intel i7-10700k
Motherboard	Gigabyte Aurorus Ultra z490
Cooling	Corsair H100i RGB
Memory	32GB (4x8GB) Corsair Vengeance DDR4-3200MHz
Video Card(s)	MSI Gaming Trio X 3070 LHR
Display(s)	ASUS MG278Q / AOC G2590FX
Case	Corsair X4000 iCue
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair RM650x 650W Fully Modular
Software	Windows 10

System Name	Obelisc
Processor	i7 3770k @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard	Asus P8Z77-V
Cooling	H110
Memory	16GB(4x4) @ 2400 MHz 9-11-11-31
Video Card(s)	GTX 780 Ti
Storage	850 EVO 1TB, 2x 5TB Toshiba
Case	T81
Audio Device(s)	X-Fi Titanium HD
Power Supply	EVGA 850 T2 80+ TITANIUM
Software	Win10 64bit