Upgrade dilemma, Q6600 vs. Q9650 on 680i mobo

[FX4]

Thanks for the reply. I'm sitting here looking at my CPU with normal things running like my web browser and email and the cpu is lopping along at 2% utilization.

BTW: My setup is nearly identical to yours except I am running an Intel DP35DP motherboard.

 

[freeagent]

Thanks for the reply. I'm sitting here looking at my CPU with normal things running like my web browser and email and the cpu is lopping along at 2% utilization.

BTW: My setup is nearly identical to yours except I am running an Intel DP35DP motherboard.

Yeah you dont need anything fancy for that. If you were doing A/V work or something, thats when you start asking questions like how much is your time worth? If it take a system say 6 hours to bust down a blueray to ipod format or something, where it would take a newer machine say 45 mins to do the same task, before an overclock

For everyday web/office/WMP you dont need more then a regular old quad core. Even a fast dualcore can work out, if you run it fast enough

 

[FX4]

Surprisingly I actually do run A/V through this computer. It actually serves as a media server for my house. I can't even tell when someone connects to it unless I am looking at CPU utilization. It does on the fly video conversion to take web only stuff and convert it to a video stream. I screen shift Hulu and some other websites onto our television sets at 720P. It really does not bother it at all. Converting an HD movie from one format to another can take some time but it's still only around 45 minutes. This was the pre-overclock utilization and time. I'm guessing it's better now.

 

[woboy]

Alright go to Amandtech Bench and do a comparison of Q9650 and i3 2100, they trade a few frames in the games listed, and except for a few aps favoring true four cores the I3 wins on all counts. This is the entry level Sandy Bridge "I" chip, about $110 on sale.
An H61 motherboard will replace your 680i for about $60.
2X4 GB Ram starts from $35 or so.
IOW for about $210 you can be gaming like you bought a Q9650 for your board. The only question is, is your operating system transferable??
Just being meself.
0pps looks like I5 2400 at $180 minimum. $270.

 

[FX4]

The i3 2100 is about the same performance as a stock q6600. A stock q9650 is definitely a faster processor. Go check passmark.
I don't like the Amandtech benchmark because it does not give me an apples to apples comparison. Passmark is an apples to apples CPU benchmark. What video cards were used?

 

[woboy]

FWIW the I3 2100 is about same performance for gaming as a Phenom II X4 955.
The motherboard has an upgrade path.
And the I5 2400 is much better indeed for what looks to me the total cost of a Q9650.
I do not expect used end of life CPUs to retain value as much when Ivory Bridge arrives.
We are also talking replacing a motherboard for overclocking.
Unless the OP finds a good used bundle deal it is not worth it.
OTOH there are I3 2100 used packages that show up around $150.

 

[FX4]

Don't forget memory. Honestly when I upgrade my system I don't screw around with the low end. I upgrade and forget about it for five or six years. I looked real hard at doing an upgrade now and did a whole lot of benchmarking to determine if I needed to do a full upgrade yet. My conclusion was no. As things stand now I don't come close to taxing my Q6600 system. However after reading a bit I decided to future proof it a bit more and got a good price on a new Q9650 and decided to top it off with a new GeForce GTX560ti. This will get me at least another three years out of this box. Just for grins I ran a video stream to the main television, an instance of Hulu+ destop on my second monitor and played BC2 on the primary monitor this was with just my Q6600 and 4 Gigs of Ram with a GTX 550ti card. My i7 2.83GHz dual core won't do that. It starts puking all over itself. That being said the i7 is faster if doing a single thing like playing a game.

 

[woboy]

A good price on a 9650 does change the dynamic.
Please check your bench marks vs the I5 2400 at $180.
I just feel 775 chip prices are too high in comparison, just me.