Hi all this is more of an upgrade than a full blown build but I suppose its almost the same thing. KK now down to it, main specs are: Intel Quad Q6600 CPU 2.4ghz Asus P5K SE 4Gb 800Mhz Kingston RAM Seagate 1TB 32Mb cache 7200rpm 680 watt power supply ATi 2400 Pro 256mb I'm looking to upgrade my motherboard which isn't the best but it was fine with the current configuration, however I'm getting a ATI RADEON HD4870x2 2GB and I think its time for the upgrade. I'm not currently up with the new motherboards so I'm struggling a bit here, I suppose the biggest issue will be size as the gpu is pretty big but I have no idea what to get, money isn't really a big issue, I intend to do a bit of gaming and any help would be great.
Well, you have two options, you can either buy a new motherboard and keep the Q6600 for Socket 775, which will be a bottleneck for the card, I ran that same combination back in Autumn 2008. or, you can upgrade the CPU, Mobo and RAM to a Core i5 based system that won't hold the graphics card back. If you haven't bought the 4870X2 yet, you do realise they're being discontinued in favour of the HD5870 right? The HD5870 is 90-95% as fast as the 4870X2 but has no limitations for dual graphics, it's fast in every game. It also uses less than half as much power. I'd like to know what brand your PSU is - a lot of 680W PSUs are nowhere near it and you WILL need a high end PSU to run a 4870X2 or 5870 with a quad core processor, be it a Q6600 or Core i5. 775 build: Q6600 existing Kingston PC6400 Biostar TPower i45 4870X2 or 5870 Core i5 build: i5 750 Corsair 1600mhz DDR3 Biostar TP55 or Gigabyte P55-UD3/3R/4 4870X2 or 5870
I havn't brought the 4870x2 yet and was told the same thing, the only reason I was considering it was because of the price (mates rates 250-300 AUD). However after a little more research I've come to realise the 4870x2 isn't worth it for me. The 5870 is, but it will bottleneck anyway. So I'm thinking of going with the GTX 285 OC2 1G. I'm pretty sure I will go for the ASUS P5Q Deluxe or Pro for the motherboard now too.. Sound good? I'm prob going to have to oc the cpu to 3-3.2, do you think that will be too much strain for the q6600? I'm happy with the Q6600 for the mean time and prob won't switch to i5-i7 for a little while, I want to get some more use out of my quad and I can't justify the difference in cost vs the difference in speed with DDR2 and DDR3 yet. I'm guessing I will need some cooling then too, will air be sufficient? Any recommendations there? Sry for the million questions. Thanks
A GTX285? Why? The GTX285 is frankly, and always has been, an absolute ripoff. Your CPU is still going to bottleneck it unless you upgrade it, you may as well stick with an HD4870 or HD4890, they're much much cheaper and not that much slower. With your CPU you probably won't notice the difference. I'd try and stay away from Asus for motherboards in recent times, their build quality isn't what it used to be. A Gigabyte, Biostar or MSI P45 board will do the exact same job. Overclocking a Q6600 to 3.2-3.3 isn't too hard, but you will need an aftermarket cooler, something like a Thermalright Ultra-120 or Noctua NH-U12.
Well I can get a gtx285 for the same price, they both pretty pricy but I figured I'd see how it goes after I oc it and if needs be upgrade to a q9550 or something. I realise the smarter thing would be to leave the 775 because of their eol but I havnt had much use out of the quads yet. I've never really been a huge fan of ASUS but the reviews for the P5Q delux & pro were pretty compelling, do you know what a gigabyte equivalent would be?
Same price as what? The HD5870? The HD5870 is substantially faster than the GTX285 in every game. A comparative board to the P5Q series is Gigabyte's EP45-UD3R/UD3P boards or the Biostar TPower i45.
No the same price as the 4870x2 which is waht I was thinking about until I was offered a gtx285 for the same price (250-300 AUD) So you think go with the 4870x2 then? I don't really want to go too over the top with a gpu at the moment so directx11 is just around the corner, I just wan't something that will tie me over for a year or 2.
The GTX285 is also much slower than the HD4870X2, but just as big, hot and expensive. The HD4870X2 is a much better buy, if you can still get one.
