Poll: upgrade to q9550 or buy i7 system?

[nowwhatnapster]

So i have three PC's here.

■Primary I use for gaming and work.
■Secondary is for friends and family to use. (occasional gaming)
■Third is a server/nas, i store all my sh*t on it.

Secondary has crashing issues, haven't been able to figure it out. Not worth my effort to try and figure it out at this point.
Primary might have some crashing issues, but i think its software related, so just going to assume its fine. they are infrequent and not terribly bothersome.
The server is fine, it does its job. Below are their prices/specs for your reference.

I dont really NEED to upgrade my PC, but I would like to get my secondary PC functional again. So please look at the Poll and tell me what you think I should do. I listed a couple of options I was thinking of. I obviously want the most performance for my $$. As you can see I have only splurged on a few items. Namely my hannsG monitor.

Primary Specs:
■$67 e5200 (reduced to stock speeds)
■$89 8GB DDR2 PC6400
■$171 8800GT OC w/fanless heatsink <3
■$154 ASUS P5N-D
■$170 500GB HDD, dual boot visa 64/xp 32
■$60 Antec 300
■$213 Seasonc M12 700w PSU
■$51 Xigmatek Dark Knight
■$683 HannsG 28" LCD
■$62 Razor Lachesis
■$66 Logitech G15 (the original)
Cost:$1786

Secondary Specs:
■$71 e2180 (stock speeds, used to overclock the sh*t out of it) <- could be crashing cause
■$26 2GB DDR2 PC6400
■$27 Radeon 7000 (my 6800gt's fan died)
■$96 GA-p35-DS3L
■$138 500GB HDD, dual boot visa 64/xp 32
■$60 Antec 300
■$?? Antec TruePower 480 PSU + 24 pin adaptor
■$51 Xigmatek HDT-S1234 & retention bracket
■$340 HannsG 28" LCD
Cost:$809

Server specs:
■$44 Celeron 430 (never OCed)
■$26 2GB DDR2 PC6400
■$353 Adaptec 5405 Raid 5+1
■$104 Istar 4 HDD hot swap unit
■$442 500gb HDD x4
■$76 ASUS P5N-D (had to get a mobo with 2 PCI-e 8x slots due to raid card)
■$38 Xigmatek HDT-S1234 & retention bracket
■$0 40GB HDD, Windows Server 2003, Generic Case & 300w PSU, no monitor.
Cost:$1083

 

[sonofjenova7]

I don't think the i7's are worth the money at the moment. If you're going to get an i7, wait until the mobo/ram drops. Since you don't really need to upgrade, try to resolve the issue and ride out the recession.

 

[boulard83]

First yes i would just look for deal cause some times it worth it to watch DAYLI !

I would grab a Q9550 + HD4870 ( or E8400+HD4850.. something like this ) and have some fun with your main PC. If you go Nvidia, GTS250, GTX260 are good cards. Watch the 9800GTX+ that are cheap now ( renamed to GTS250 ).

Use you 8800GT one the secondary PC
Use the E5200 on the secondary.

 

[Twoboxer]

Thinking outside the poll . . . er, box . . .

Step 1) swap your Sys#1 processor into Sys#2. When that doesn't stop the crashes,
Step 2) swap Sys#1 psu in and stop the crashes.
Step 3) Post a new poll.

Seriously, you've got enough parts to diagnose the problem which is more likely to be worn out psus than anything else you have described. Then decide what to do.

 

[nowwhatnapster]

I suppose you are right. It's such a pain to swap CPU's with xigmatek heatsinks installed. You gotta pull the whole mobo out. Then I gotta wait, because the crashing doesn't occur for days. Then it progressively gets worse, until it's restarting nonstop. Now that you mention it, it sounds like the old antec PSU could be the problem. =/ I have yet to find a trend in the crashes, other than they get progressively worse over time. Even when stressing the cpu/ram it wont crash any faster. If I find time to do that I'll post back, if not, keep voting.

 

[Twoboxer]

Then here's a thought - buy a good, sized-for-the-future psu.

It'll be a cornerstone, and you're gonna need it anyhow.

 

[nowwhatnapster]

Then here's a thought - buy a good, sized-for-the-future psu.

It'll be a cornerstone, and you're gonna need it anyhow.

true, i <3 my seasonic m12, could get a new one for like 140 or...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151068 would be a nice upgrade, extra 50w, and silver instead of bronze 80 plus certified, for 150 AR

ok edit again,
same wattage, 7 year warranty instead of 5, gold instead of silver certification, for 163.63 after bing cashback. me likey. i think ill buy that tomorrow.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

 

[Slee_Stack]

I was in a not-entirely-different situation as you. Just sans server.

I began with Q6600 and e2180 machines. In my Main Rig and HTPC respectively.

I now have the Q6600 and Q9550 running. The e2180 has been put to use to build a third PC from spare parts. Future server maybe?

I tend to TRY to pick up components at their low price point in their life. With DDR2 likely at this point, it seemed to make sense to load up all PCs with it and stick with the architecture.

The Q9550 is probably NEAR a low price point seeing as it is $170. Granted the i7 is only $30 more, but dang aren't those MBs and DDR3 modules pricey!

I had been wanting to convert my HTPC from an ATX mid tower to a uATX cube for a long time now. This required a uATX board purchase. of course. I have no complaints gaming or application wise on my main rig either. Seeing as a new CPU, MB, and Case purchase were in the cards for me, I opted to go the CHEAPer route.

In retrospect, a Quad Core is very probably overkill for an HTPC, so I probably should have saved my money and NOT BOUGHT a new CPU.

The bright side is that with the extra CPU I can now have a third system which, at worst, will be donated to the 'rents. I also have an extra Quad which COULD be more handy than a lesser cpu down the line. Lotsa 'coulds'!

In the end I spent $400, ack! But I do have a very pretty and small, new HTPC!

Still, I could have saved $70 and opted for an E8200 and done the same thing.

In the end....it's only money!

You have to decide between the hassle of diagnosis (and everyone's been there..no fun!) and dropping some coin.

 

[OvrClkr]

I agree with Twoboxer and if all else fails wait a couple of months as price's are dropping by the day. Once the i5's come out most prices will drop and we will finally be able to buy at a reasonable price....

 

[redgarl]

Get the Q9550