Upgrading, would appreciate advice

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Mon, 02/08/2010 - 08:48
xrefused
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Posts: 27

Well I would like to upgrade my PC to a quad core, here are my current specs.

Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200
Asus P5Q Pro Turbo
4GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2
ATI Radeon HD4890
Corsair 650TX PSU

Now I am not sure whether to upgrade to a Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 which is within my budget, or save up and go for a core i7 920 which would mean I would have to upgrade my Mobo + buy new ram as well. So I would have to wait a couple more weeks to be able to afford that. I just want a system that will last and I am pretty happy with my video card, my processor holds me back in some games so thats why I want to get a new CPU.

I am afraid that going with the Q9550 will be a bad move since I actually do a lot of photoshopping and video editing and its definitely something I would like to do more of. Plus, I will probably have to upgrade my motherboard eventually since P45 has no real future.

Thoughts?

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Mon, 02/08/2010 - 14:21
#1
Wookie Man
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A) What are you using this PC for?

B) What are you currently unsatisfied with?

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Mon, 02/08/2010 - 14:48
#2
nilzxx
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I'd suggest you go with the latest available (i7) to ensure that you will be covered for as long as possible.

--complete specs-- Intel Quad Q6700 | Tt TMG i2 | 4GB Crucial Balistix Tracer PC6400 | 1TB Seagate Barracuda | 500GB Seagate Barracuda | XFX GeForce 9800GTX | Asus P5N-D | XION 600W PSU | DVD-RW 16x | DVD 16x | SABRENT TV Tuner | Saitek Cyborg Mouse 3200dpi | Cyba Snipa LED Mousepad | Logitech G15 Gaming keyboard | Aspire Blue X-Dreamer Case | VisionQuest 2ms 22" 19:10 LCD screen (1680x1050) | Logitech Z-5500 Surround Sound

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Mon, 02/08/2010 - 15:03
#3
xrefused
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A) Mostly games, but some video editing & quite a lot of photoshopping

B) Speed. FPS isn't as smooth or as consistent as i'd like it to be, getting stutters and im certain its not my graphics card. New battlefield beta just doesn't run above 11fps and the recommended spec is a quad core so I take that as a sign games are moving into the age of the quad core now.

Even multi tasking with lots of applications (which i do heavily :P) can be a total pain, the ram is nowhere near full and my cpu can't handle the load without stuttering.

I want a system that runs very very smoothly and that will have everything but the graphics card futureproofed for the next couple of years. When i got the E5300, it was supposed to be temporary but I am starting to think getting an i7 is a better idea than getting a Q9550.

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Mon, 02/08/2010 - 16:17
#4
Warmacblu
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Joined: 05/26/2007
Posts: 155

Either the Q9550 or the i7 920 would be a great upgrade. If you can save up, then do that. If not, then purchase the Q9550 and be happy.

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Mon, 02/08/2010 - 17:16
#5
dustyschaffner
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the multitasking says to me i7
i have seen a guy stress test his i7 920 to the crashing point and it took 25 firefox windows, 1 internet explorer, 2 wow accounts, 2 720p videos, 1 decoding 1080p video, 1 windows media player,1 msn messenger and 1 crysis warhead maxed out all together.

i think the i7 will be a good choice for the heavy multitasker
http://www.youtube.com/user/efaco5#p/u/102/pcO4oigH_FA

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Mon, 02/08/2010 - 18:58
#6
Vortex88
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Joined: 02/05/2010
Posts: 67

Well if you only need a couple more weeks in order to upgrade to the i7 and everything else, I'd say go for that. If you want something that's really going to last get a new mobo that has usb and sata 3.0 support.

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