Upgrade to C2D: Looking for advice on CPU and memory selection.

I'm looking to upgrade to an Intel C2D system, and I need a bit of advice. As far as the CPU, I really don't want to spend more than $200, so E8400 and Q6600 are out of the question. That leaves the E6550 and E6750 as my prime candidates. (BTW, why the heck is the E6300 priced the same as the E6550??? What am I missing?) I was set to pull the trigger on the E6550 (~$170), but then I was reading about how the 7x multiplier could really limit my overclock if my mobo and memory didn't play nice. So now I'm leaning more towards the E6750 for ~$190.

What memory would be a nice compliment to the E6750? I'm looking for a 2x1GB kit. I keep reading about how there are great $30 kits available, but will such kits give me enough overclocking headroom to run up to 440 MHz FSB in the event that my CPU lets me go that high? That brings up another question: Can one run the memory at a speed slower than the FSB on C2D systems without a significant performance penalty (like the memory dividers on 939 systems)?

As far as motherboards go, I think I'm leaning towards the Abit IP35-E. I rarely use Firewire devices, and I'll probably never set up a RAID, so the barebones board is all I really need. Plus at $60 AR how can I pass up this board?!

Any advice you can give would be appreciated.

KillrBuckeye,

What is your overall system budget, system goals and current system specifications?

GameSinewPCs said:

KillrBuckeye,

What is your overall system budget, system goals and current system specifications?

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I'm only looking to replace my motherboard, memory, and CPU (I guess I may need a new HS/fan as well). I will be keeping my 8800GT, HDDs, PSU, sound card, and case (as described in my sig) for the new system. Budget is not to exceed $500 for these new parts, but the lower the cost the better. This is primarily a gaming rig, but I also do some audio recording and video encoding.

Sorry, I missed your sig. That socket 939 is the only thing holding you back from an inexpensive AMD upgrade so you're right in thinking a core2 would be more beneficial in your budget.

As far as a solid motherboard goes, I find this one to work greathttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131188 for single card solutions.

CPU: The E6550 should OC over 3.0Ghz without any problems on the P35 board, but if you're doing audio editing then it may be worthwhile to spend the extra cash and go with a Q6600 (which should oc to 3.2+Ghz). Also, if you're ocing, then look into an after market cooler such as the Zalman 9700 and artic cooler freezer for somethin a little cheaper, or basically any thermalright solution. Also, you should take into consideration the availability of the E8200 now (2.6Ghz stock with high ocability) and the Q9300's will soon be available so is it worth it to wait a few weeks or months for price drops?

-Hope this helps

GameSinewPCs said:

Sorry, I missed your sig. That socket 939 is the only thing holding you back from an inexpensive AMD upgrade so you're right in thinking a core2 would be more beneficial in your budget.

As far as a solid motherboard goes, I find this one to work greathttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131188 for single card solutions.

CPU: The E6550 should OC over 3.0Ghz without any problems on the P35 board, but if you're doing audio editing then it may be worthwhile to spend the extra cash and go with a Q6600 (which should oc to 3.2+Ghz). Also, if you're ocing, then look into an after market cooler such as the Zalman 9700 and artic cooler freezer for somethin a little cheaper, or basically any thermalright solution. Also, you should take into consideration the availability of the E8200 now (2.6Ghz stock with high ocability) and the Q9300's will soon be available so is it worth it to wait a few weeks or months for price drops?

-Hope this helps

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Yeah, I'm considering that Asus board as well, but I'm not sure if I need to spend money for RAID capability and Firewire. The E8200 is tempting, but it's $50 more than the E6750 and runs at the same stock speed. I'm not sure if ~500 MHz of overclocking headroom justifies the extra money.

Any memory suggestions for me?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145177

Those are great modules for OCing. Just make sure you check the voltage and settings on the first post.

The E8200 has more than 500mhz headroom (up to 1Ghz), as it can be OC'd to 4.0+Ghz. Though in order to do this you need highly overclockable ram or unsync'd memory settings. I'd recommend going with Dominator if you wanted to be certain of reaching stability above 4.0Ghz because I personally have never taken/seen these modules taken past 450mhz(I don't know if they can or cannot).

But of course taking budget into consideration, Dominator memory (1066mhz or other) tends to get pricey on top of the E8200's price tag being above your desired limit.

$500 and the Q6600 is out of the question? Not at all. Get the Q6600 along with the IP35-E you originally mentioned. That will cost you about $320. Now you have $180 for RAM.

I don't understand how the Q6600 was ever out of the question?

ancalime said:

$500 and the Q6600 is out of the question? Not at all. Get the Q6600 along with the IP35-E you originally mentioned. That will cost you about $320. Now you have $180 for RAM.

I don't understand how the Q6600 was ever out of the question?

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I did see that Microcenter has the Q6600 for $200! Unfortunately it's in-store pickup only and the closest one is about 40 minutes from my house. The $255 price on Newegg just seems a little steep to me. I guess this upgrade will probably have to last me for a while, so going with a quad-core may be my safest option. It's just too bad that the Q6600s are a bit tougher to overclock (from what I've read).

I will probably go with that Corsair memory that you recommended GameSinewPCs. If I do end up getting the Q6600, then those modules should give me plenty of overclocking headroom. Heck, I won't even be able to get them up to stock speeds, will I?

The Q6600 is VERY easy to overclock. People are getting 3.6Ghz with high end air, and even more with water. These G0 beasts are really something!

As for RAM, I would probably get 4GB. 2 x 2GB would be even better since that gives you the option of upgrading to 8GB later. DDR2 is so cheap now, 2GB with such a large budget is pretty silly imho.

ancalime said:

The Q6600 is VERY easy to overclock. People are getting 3.6Ghz with high end air, and even more with water. These G0 beasts are really something!

As for RAM, I would probably get 4GB. 2 x 2GB would be even better since that gives you the option of upgrading to 8GB later. DDR2 is so cheap now, 2GB with such a large budget is pretty silly imho.

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The Q6600's can hit 3.6Ghz fairly readily, also consider the Q9XXXs which will (allegedly) be available within the coming weeks.

It is not a bad option to go with 2GB modules of ram, especially with a Quad Core. Just remember that you will need to use 64-bit windows to take full advantage of the 4+GB of memory. The two real downsides though are cost (not necessarily per GB, but to buy 4GB now will of course raise your budget by about $40+) and overclockability (the 2GB modules tend not to OC as well, though you should be fine at 400mhzX9 anyhow so it should matter for a Q6600).

You guys just want me to spend every penny of my $500 budget, don't you? Well, the combination of Q6600, Asus P5KC, Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C5, and XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 cooler comes to exactly $500 after rebate. Do you think the CAS 5 2GB modules will be okay since I probably won't need to exceed 400 MHz anyway?

Well what do you want to spend?
We are just saying the quad core is well worth the extra expense.

You also do not need the P5KC. You said it yourself, you have no need for RAID, Firewire, etc.. Go with the IP35-E and save like $80.

ancalime said:

Well what do you want to spend?
We are just saying the quad core is well worth the extra expense.

You also do not need the P5KC. You said it yourself, you have no need for RAID, Firewire, etc.. Go with the IP35-E and save like $80.

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At first I was wanting to spend as little as I could get away with, but now I think I'm sold on the Q6600 and 4GB of RAM. I definitely don't need RAID, but I'm debating whether or not I want Firewire. I plan to buy a digital camcorder soon, so I thought having Firewire would be convenient. However, I looked around a bit at camcorders and it seems most manufacturers have abandoned Firewire and only offer USB connectivity. If this is really the case, then maybe the Abit board is the better choice.

Ancalime is right, if you don't need the features then it is not a bad idea to back down to the other board. The quad core and 4GB you should seriously consider though. Just keep in mind, in order to take full advantage of the 4GB of system memory you will need to install Windows 64-bit as opposed to 32. As for firewire, it is normally easier to go with USB 2.0 connectivity(which is faster than firewire 400 anyhow).

Thanks a lot for the advice guys. I completed the CPU/mobo/memory swap and now I'm tinkering with the BIOS settings to see what this Q6600 can do.

Let us know!

KillrBuckeye said:

You guys just want me to spend every penny of my $500 budget, don't you? Well, the combination of Q6600, Asus P5KC, Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C5, and XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 cooler comes to exactly $500 after rebate. Do you think the CAS 5 2GB modules will be okay since I probably won't need to exceed 400 MHz anyway?

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Dont get the p5kc I picked one up used on the forums and I am very unimpressed. I didnt think they made motherboards without raid anymore.. well apparently they do

Q6600 200 bucks at Microcenter

Tuniq Tower 53 dollar after shipping at newegg (I got mine for 40.. .so thats half the cost of a TRUE with very little differnce in Quad core cooling performance)

2x2GB RAM kit at newegg.. .$100 if you want a kit that does 4-4-4-12 at 800MHz (patriot brand) I would recommend this. Tight timings might not be as useful as top end speed, but your quad is not going to need more then a 400MHz FSB... so might as well get sticks that run at 4 instead of 5

Ip35 pro afte MIR its 150 shipped. you do not want the p5kc.. I have one. I immediatly turned around and bought another ip35 pro to replace it. No raid on the desktop makes me an unhappy man. There is an ebay seller selling refurbed ip35pros with all original accessories for about 90 dolalrs + 15 shipping.. .if you do not mind gambling that can save you a few dolalrs more.. (might be lower now cause of hte rebate... but he had a ton of them last time I looked)


If you get the ip35 pro then look into...

Couple of 80GB sata drives will set you back about 50-60 bucks + shipping on geeks, then run that in a stripe for some super nice performance, ditch your pagefile since you got 4GB of ram, and you will have a screaming machine... at stock! Let alone overclocked.

Now with the HDDs you are over 500... but its well worth it IMHO

EDIT:
LOL just read some of the other posts and saw you said you did not need raid. Also saw you already bought the stuff I have been away from the forums too much

But do not worry the p5kc does not really have raid either.

It supports raid with one internal sata port and the ESATA port.. no internal raid. p5kc FTL...

Thanks for your input Neur0mancer. I've actually already purchased, received, and installed my new hardware. I went with the Abit IP35-E ($60 AR), so it sounds like I made a good choice. For memory I got a CAS 5 800 MHz 2x2GB kit (Corsair, $74 AR). I've never been much of a benchmark junkie, so the tighter timings are not important to me (and as you said I won't be needing to push these things over their rated speeds). I purchased the $250 Q6600 from Newegg. I thought about driving the 30 miles to the nearest Microcenter, but I decided my time wasn't worth the ~$30 I'd save. For the CPU cooler I actually went with the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 after reading about it in this thread. So far it seems to be doing a great job. Total purchase after rebates comes to $430, so I'm well under budget!

Killr,

Well, I'm happy you went with the abit instead of the P5KC, because that was a quick "typo." What I had intended to suggest was the P5K-E. The KC tends to be buggy and problematic. Sorry about that, best of luck with your system.

GameSinewPCs said:

Killr,

Well, I'm happy you went with the abit instead of the P5KC, because that was a quick "typo." What I had intended to suggest was the P5K-E. The KC tends to be buggy and problematic. Sorry about that, best of luck with your system.

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No problem. I couldn't pass up the Abit board for $60 after reading so many good things about it!

So far I'm up to 3.2 GHz (356x9) with CPU-Z showing a core voltage of 1.256V. Core Temp is showing mid-to-high 50s for temps under full load. I think I'll let the torture test run overnight before proceeding any further.