Upgrading Q6600 -> Sandy Bridge: which one?

[shakaxd]

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

 

[JrRacinFan]

P67 + i7-2600k + 4GB

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

 

[stevednmc]

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

 

[Anusha]

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]

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]

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]

P67 i5-2500k 8GB RAM

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

 

[Shou Miko]

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

 

[Frizz]

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]

- 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]

- 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]

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]

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]

P67 + i7-2600k + 4GB

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

 

[Hayder_Master]

sure p67 + i7 2600k

 

[Zen_]

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]

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

 

[shakaxd]

Thanks for the advices guys

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!

 

[shakaxd]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[cever89]

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]

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]

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