Compatability between LGA 1366 and 1155

[joshuagahan]

I'm looking to upgrade my computer, and eventualy replace each of the components in the computer until I have essentially a new computer. Presently my computer has a gigabyte LGA 1366 mobo and I am looking to rip the mobo out and put a new LGA 1155 in. With the 1155 being the present generation of intel microprocessors, I basically want to ensure that for the next 2-3 years I will be running a viable chipset to upgrade upon (future-proofing, if you prefer). That being said I'm new to DIY computer building (barely know the difference between the north bridge and the south bridge) and I want to know what components will be incompatable between these motherboards. my processor is a i7 900 @ 3.2 ghz, graphics cards are GTS450 x2 (sli), 2x 30gb ssd kingston drives in raid 0, I have 6gb of DDR3 ram (either 2x3 or or 3x2).

 

[Pinhedd]

The LGA1366 platform and the LGA1155 platform are two different sockets and the CPUs on each platform are incompatible with the other platform. These CPUs are still quite powerful and I don't think that you need to upgrade yet.

At a bare minimum you would need to buy a new CPU, new motherboard, new RAM (unless you're okay with only 4GB in dual channel or 6GB in single channel), and a new GPU because your current one is kinda meh by today's standards.

I personally think that your system is still very viable. If you want to invest in something invest in some more memory (if your motherboard has 6 DIMM slots you can buy a matched set of memory identical to that which you already have which will bring you up to 12GB) and perhaps a better GPU. There's no need to change your processor or motherboard at this time.

 

[joshuagahan]

Thanks for the advise, upgrading the gpu is my first priority and, you make a very valid point about the ram. I will take what your saying into consideration, I just don't want to wait so long on upgrading the sytem that by the time I get around to it, its cheaper just to build a new box from scratch.

 

[jaquith]

The LGA 1366 is fine, upgrade your GPU(s) and IMO wait for the new stuff next year i.e Haswell.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I just don't want to wait so long on upgrading the sytem that by the time I get around to it, its cheaper just to build a new box from scratch.

It usually is.

I don't see a real value in changing MoBo / CPU. I'd grab one of these instead and use the 450 for a PhysX card

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_670_Direct_Cu_II/33.html

 

[joshuagahan]

ok i'm letting my noob creds show here, but what your saying is if I drop a 670 in the computer, I can still use one of the 450's as a dedicated PhysX card? What kind of benefit can I expect from this, sorry I'm a little shaky on PhysX and exactly what it does

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

X58 chipset based boards and the socket 1366 are still fairly good products and I would stand pat for the time being with them for now. Outside of adding in a video card I would also look at an SSD as a boot drive for faster boot and access time for anything stored on it.

 

[Pinhedd]

ok i'm letting my noob creds show here, but what your saying is if I drop a 670 in the computer, I can still use one of the 450's as a dedicated PhysX card? What kind of benefit can I expect from this, sorry I'm a little shaky on PhysX and exactly what it does

Absolutely. You can use the 670 to render the scene and 450 to crunch the particles. This has to be setup on a game by game basis but it can usually be found in the settings menu somewhere.