looking to upgrade my CPU/MB/RAM, good combo?

[Matt_Smi]

I was planning to build a new computer soon, as mine is somewhat old (Built in the summer of 05) But then I started to think how I have pretty much upgraded everything except the board and CPU to stay up with the times so to speak.

Right now I see the weakest point of my computer being my processor, it is just plain dated, a 3.0 GHz P4. I really want a quad, but of course to do that I need to upgrade my motherboard, which means upgrading my 3 GB of RAM as well. The rest of my computer I think is perfectly fine, I have two 750 GB seagate 7200.10 drives, and two 320 GB (one Seagate 7200.10 and one Western Digital) drives giving me 2 TB of storage. I have a nice Evga 7950 GT with 512 memory that does everything I need it too, which is drive 2 displays and my HDTV at high resolutions (I don't even game much with this machine but it handles it fine), I also have a second video card, an Nvidia 280 NVS, which just serves to drive my third display, think one 19" one 20" one 19" in that order...I have an Antec Neopower 480 watt modular power supply that has never had a problem running everything stable and I have an IDE DVD burner as well as a CD burner which I prefer to SATA as it keeps ports free for my Hard Drives. I also have a Zalaman CPU and GPU heatsink in my Antec 900 case.

So again I see my weakness here mainly being my CPU/MB, so instead of building a new computer I am planning to just buy a new CPU/MB/RAM combo. I was wondering what you guys think of this setup for about $600? Or do you think it would be worth it to wait a bit and see how the i7 and LGA 1366 boards pan out?

Motherboard: EVGA 132-YW-E178-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI FTW ATX Intel
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188027

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115041

RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145197



Or again would it worth it to get something like this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115202

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188039

[Masaki 7-11]

I would go with Core i7 since it uses a newer socket and ram type, whereas LGA775 has kind of reached the end of the line. If you go with Core i7, use this motherboard instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131346 (ASUS P6T Deluxe).
For Core i7, here is a good 2x2GB ram kit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231200 (GSkill DDR3-1333 1.65V CAS 7)

[Doom]

The mobo you've picked out is one I've used in two builds and like very much. With the CPU you've picked out and 4GB of RAM... you sould be able to handle anything for quite a while. For the ram however...I don't know if the Dominator series is worth the extra cost. I use the XMS2 800 in my rigs and they perform just fine for me.

The core i7 may be nice if you can work that into your current budget... but you'd have to get more expensive RAM and a more expensive mobo. Given the relatively low demands of your usage, i7 may be a little bit of overkill for your demands. Any future graphics performance issues would be very easily reslolved by moving up in graphics cards... and in another year or so prices on great upgrades for you would be cheaper still.

[joshrogoff]

Originally Posted by Masaki 7-11 For Core i7, here is a good 2x2GB ram kit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231200 (GSkill DDR3-1333 1.65V CAS 7)

Wrong memory. For i7 you want a triple channel kit like this...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145221

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by joshrogoff Wrong memory. For i7 you want a triple channel kit like this... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145221

It's not the wrong type of memory, Core i7 requires DDR3 memory that works at 1.65V or lower and can be run in single, dual or triple channel. If you've read any reviews you'll notice that there was virtually no difference in performance between triple and dual channel ram. Why would you want to spend more money for no performance gain?

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by Doom The mobo you've picked out is one I've used in two builds and like very much. With the CPU you've picked out and 4GB of RAM... you sould be able to handle anything for quite a while. For the ram however...I don't know if the Dominator series is worth the extra cost. I use the XMS2 800 in my rigs and they perform just fine for me. The core i7 may be nice if you can work that into your current budget... but you'd have to get more expensive RAM and a more expensive mobo. Given the relatively low demands of your usage, i7 may be a little bit of overkill for your demands. Any future graphics performance issues would be very easily reslolved by moving up in graphics cards... and in another year or so prices on great upgrades for you would be cheaper still.

Comparing a Core i7 motherboard/cpu/ram to the proposed Core 2 Quad motherboard/cpu/ram in terms of price makes the Core i7 under $100 more expensive than the Core 2 Quad. Performance of the Core i7 920 is better than that of the Q9550, and the 775 socket is pretty much end of line, there will be very little in terms of CPU that you will be able to upgrade to if you go with the Q9550.

[not important]

I understand the wantt or need to build a new PC but what does the P3 3.0 NOT do that you need it to do.

[Matt_Smi]

Originally Posted by not important I understand the wantt or need to build a new PC but what does the P3 3.0 NOT do that you need it to do.

Well it does pretty much what I need it too, but not as fast as I would like it too, I can tell that I am hitting the upper limits of it many times. My machine is mainly used for media, lots of movies and music are stored and played from this machine, I need it to be a muti-tasking beast. The way it is configured like mentioned it needs to drive 4 displays, my 7950GT drives my main 20" LCD via DVI at (1680x1050) and my HDTV via Component at (1920x1080), and my NVS 280 drives my two 19" displays via DVI at (1280x1024). Now what I have it do is run the three displays on my desk while playing a video on my HDTV for example, it handles this ok but sometimes things get a bit choppy (NOT the video) while I am trying to do other tasks and run programs on the PC, I am pretty sure this is not due to my GPU, but the CPU. I also rip a lot of DVD's using this machine, and while doing that I would like to be able to use my PC, right now I can barely do that as ripping a DVD pretty much maxes out the CPU. Basically, as crazy as this might sound, I want to be able to rip a DVD, play a movie, run a virus scan all at the same time and still have enough headroom left to browse the web and open misc. programs.

And its not just the CPU that I want to upgrade, my MB is a micro ATX Intel and very limited in features, A few added benefits of getting a new MB will be it will have another PCI-E X16 slot, this will allow me to ditch my NVS 280 and put in my Evga 7900GS that I have laying around, this will be much better suited to running my two 19" displays. I also currently only have 4 SATA ports and am running four hard drives, yet I have two 320 GB unused Seagate SATA drives laying around that I would like to use. Also an optical audio out will be very nice to have, as will a firewire port.