OVERCLOCK or UPGRADE IT?!? Intel Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9650 SLAWN C1 3.00GHz 12MB Cache

[langoman]

Last year I bought a used Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 SLAWN C1 3.00GHz 12M Quad Core LGA775 from ebay for $300.
As we know, the great advantages of this processor are have the multiplier unblocked and a very good L3 Cache.

I'm using the motherboard Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R with the CPU at 333MHz x 9.0, with automatic voltage.
One of the restrictions is the motherboard memory maximum capacity ("only" 4GB DDR3 or 8GB DDR2).
I was using Kingston 4GB DDR2 800MHZ and did an upgrade to Corsair Venegance 4GB DDR3 (1600Mhz), but I'm using it at automatic frequency and timing. The motherboard supports until 1333Mhz.

The video card is a HIS 7950 IceQ Boost Clock 3GB GDDR5 PCI-E Graphics Card H795QC3G2M (spent about $480 on it this year, import fees deposit included). It's was upgraded from a Geforce 8800GTS 512MB and did A LOT of gaming improvement.

THE BIG QUESTION IS:

Try to overclock it now (for free) or is it time for a good CPU/motherboard upgrade (spending about $500)?

PS: My air cooler is a Thermaltake V1 (copper). Specs: P/N CL-P0401, 147(L)x92(W)x143(H)mm,
Heatsink Copper Base & Copper Fin, Heatpipe Copper Tube 6mm x 4 pcs, 110x25 mm, 12V,
Start 7V, 3.00W, 1300 ~2000 RPM, Air flow 86.5CFM, Air pressure 2.22mmH2O.

 

[armapker]

Three things:

1. No motherboard that I have heard of supports both DDR2 and DDR3 RAM, so I don't think yours does

2. Your CPU is currently the bottleneck of your computer, with that kid of GPU

3. Overclocking that would get you some decent performance gains, however that processor is begining to show its age, and an upgrade to a i5 would be a good choice (which, by the way, would only cost you about $300). Either upgrading or overclocking is necessary if you want to get better performance in your system, though.

My final verdict? Upgrde if your not tight on money (I reccomend the i5-4670k), or if you would rather not spend the money overclock that thing! Just make sure you have a good cooler.

Hope I could help

 

[langoman]

Three things:

1. No motherboard that I have heard of supports both DDR2 and DDR3 RAM, so I don't think yours does
2. Your CPU is currently the bottleneck of your computer, with that kid of GPU
3. Overclocking that would get you some decent performance gains, however that processor is begining to show its age, and an upgrade to a i5 would be a good choice (which, by the way, would only cost you about $300). Either upgrading or overclocking is necessary if you want to get better performance in your system, though.

My final verdict? Upgrde if your not tight on money (I reccomend the i5-4670k), or if you would rather not spend the money overclock that thing! Just make sure you have a good cooler.

Thank you very much for your oppinion.

I'll give some more details for you about my PCs configuration:
1. The motherboard can use both DDR2 or DDR3, but not at the same time...
2. GPU now is a HIS RADEON HD7950 3GB DDR5 ICEQ OC. I think it's enough for my gaming style.
3. I'm looking for a i7-4770k or i7-4820k, because it's almost the same price now (about $300 dollars).

MAIN QUESTION is: How to choose a best cost/profit combo: motherboard, CPU and aircooling?!? =D

Many thanks again.
Best Regards!

 

[armapker]

Here's my suggestion:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116901

MB:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157370

Air Cooling: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103052 (If you have 120mm fan slots) or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200044 (if you have 80mm fan slots)

Hope this helps

 

[langoman]

Here's my suggestion:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116901

MB:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157370

Air Cooling: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103052 (If you have 120mm fan slots) or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200044 (if you have 80mm fan slots)

Hope this helps

And what about i7-4820K and i7-3930K (OEM) ? Good options for aplications/gaming?

 

[armapker]

Here's my suggestion:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116901

MB:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157370

Air Cooling: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103052 (If you have 120mm fan slots) or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200044 (if you have 80mm fan slots)

Hope this helps

And what about i7-4820K and i7-3930K (OEM) ? Good options for aplications/gaming?

The 4820K and the 3930K are both outdated processors, (and more expensive for that matter) so I would just stick with the i7-4770K

 

[jaguarskx]

I would simply overclock to see if you like the performance.

I my current PC has a Q9450 @ 3.0GHz. It is still a capable PC albeit old. It will go into HTPC PC case when I upgrade and will serve as a backup gaming rig. But for simple media duties, I will just drop it down to stockspeed to reduce heat.

 

[langoman]

Here's my suggestion:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116901

MB:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157370

Air Cooling: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103052 (If you have 120mm fan slots) or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200044 (if you have 80mm fan slots)

Hope this helps

And what about i7-4820K and i7-3930K (OEM) ? Good options for aplications/gaming?

The 4820K and the 3930K are both outdated processors, (and more expensive for that matter) so I would just stick with the i7-4770K

Thank you for the information. I was looking for the new i7-4930K, but it's more expensive than i7-4770k.
I'll try to overclock the QX9650 again, and if it's not working well, I'll upgrade to i7-4770k in a good combo.

 

[langoman]

I would simply overclock to see if you like the performance.

I my current PC has a Q9450 @ 3.0GHz. It is still a capable PC albeit old. It will go into HTPC PC case when I upgrade and will serve as a backup gaming rig. But for simple media duties, I will just drop it down to stockspeed to reduce heat.

Thank you for the tip. I'll try to overclock it again, and if not work welll, i'll do the upgrade to i7-4770k.

 

[jaguarskx]

Unless you are using programs that can take advantage of Hyper Threading (HT) I would get the less expensive i5-4670k. Games do not use HT.

 

[langoman]

Unless you are using programs that can take advantage of Hyper Threading (HT) I would get the less expensive i5-4670k. Games do not use HT.

Thank you very much for your opinion. I'm reading lots of comments about HT processors. I'm thinking about i7-4770K or i7-4930K because I want to stay about 4 or 5 years without do another CPU upgrade. My last one was last year, from Q9300 (bought in 2008) to a QX9650 (spent $300 in a used one in 2012).

 

[armapker]

Unless you are using programs that can take advantage of Hyper Threading (HT) I would get the less expensive i5-4670k. Games do not use HT.

Thank you very much for your opinion. I'm reading lots of comments about HT processors. I'm thinking about i7-4770K or i7-4930K because I want to stay about 4 or 5 years without do another CPU upgrade. My last one was last year, from Q9300 (bought in 2008) to a QX9650 (spent $300 in a used one in 2012).

Get the 4770k the 4930k is ivy bridge

 

[logainofhades]

Unless you are using programs that can take advantage of Hyper Threading (HT) I would get the less expensive i5-4670k. Games do not use HT.

Thank you very much for your opinion. I'm reading lots of comments about HT processors. I'm thinking about i7-4770K or i7-4930K because I want to stay about 4 or 5 years without do another CPU upgrade. My last one was last year, from Q9300 (bought in 2008) to a QX9650 (spent $300 in a used one in 2012).

$480 for an HD7950 and $300 for an old Core 2 Quad? Where do you live that you are paying such high prices? I paid $300 for my 3570k and Z77 extreme4 over a year and a half ago. Since you are looking at 4770k, here would be my combo choice for it. I also would get more ram. 4gb isn't really enough these days.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($323.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $463.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-11 18:45 EST-0500)

 

[langoman]

Unless you are using programs that can take advantage of Hyper Threading (HT) I would get the less expensive i5-4670k. Games do not use HT.

Thank you very much for your opinion. I'm reading lots of comments about HT processors. I'm thinking about i7-4770K or i7-4930K because I want to stay about 4 or 5 years without do another CPU upgrade. My last one was last year, from Q9300 (bought in 2008) to a QX9650 (spent $300 in a used one in 2012).

$480 for an HD7950 and $300 for an old Core 2 Quad? Where do you live that you are paying such high prices? I paid $300 for my 3570k and Z77 extreme4 over a year and a half ago. Since you are looking at 4770k, here would be my combo choice for it. I also would get more ram. 4gb isn't really enough these days.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($323.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $463.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-11 18:45 EST-0500)

Unfortunately, prices in Brazil are too high.

Now, my options in Rio de Janeiro are:

Processors: i7-4770k for $360 or i7-3930k for $560. The new i7-4930k is selling for $796 (too expensive).

Motherboards:
LGA 1150: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H for $268 or ASRock Extreme 4 for $326.

LGA 2011:
Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 for $324,
ASUS P9X79 LE for $384,
Gigabyte GA-X79S-UP5-WIFI for $424, or
ASUS Sabertooth X79 (up to 64GB) for $540.

 

[logainofhades]

If you intend to keep this system for a long period of time, then going with the 3930k and the Gigabyte board isn't a horrible idea. The extra cores will be beneficial going forward and it holds its own pretty well still against the 4770k. If price is a concern, the 4770k and that Gigabyte board is a pretty good combo too. Personally, I would go with the cheaper option since I am a bit of a cheapskate. :lol:

 

[gamerk316]

The CPU is aging. To get a rough idea, compare against a AMD Phenom II X4 chip. If you can get a stable OC though, then its still "ok", but clearly holding the GPU back a bit.

 

[logainofhades]

Unless you are using programs that can take advantage of Hyper Threading (HT) I would get the less expensive i5-4670k. Games do not use HT.

Thank you very much for your opinion. I'm reading lots of comments about HT processors. I'm thinking about i7-4770K or i7-4930K because I want to stay about 4 or 5 years without do another CPU upgrade. My last one was last year, from Q9300 (bought in 2008) to a QX9650 (spent $300 in a used one in 2012).

Get the 4770k the 4930k is ivy bridge

The Sandy Bridge 3930k still holds its own well vs a 4770k. Just because the 4770k is haswell doesn't make it better.