Q6600 trade-up

[owcraftsman]

The answer to both Q's is yes, especially the QX9650 she's holding some high marks woohoo.., pricey though, but I like the way your thinking go used why pay retail most peeps are tossing there junk at forums and have barely had them 6months of use. They just want something new. Probably didn't auto O'clock it self haha. So I'll bet you could get that guy down on the Q9550 for the same reasoning as mentioned above, from $250 to say $235-240 shipped, in any case it might be worth a shot. That said I buy a lot of used stuff and I have been burnt. A used 7900Gt, for example, that failed a month after purchase... a resister fell out... prolly due to rough handling. So it's not always rosie... be careful...Check out the seller, read some of his post see what problems he's been having and posssibly how long he's had it and if he OC'ed it. If that fails ask, not that you'll get an honest answer but worth a shot.

GOOD LUCK

[PTRMAN]

Yeah, I try to buy from established, well-rated sellers only.

Do you think a new EVGA Nvidia 780i and a new Q9550 would be a step sideways or up from what I've got now?

[owcraftsman]

Wow that edit is a loaded Q.... yes and no would be the apropriate answer.

780i supports for the new 3-way SLI mode (+)
Two of its three PCI Express x16 slots are PCI Express 2.0 (+)
nForce 780i is in fact a propelled version of 680i: they both use the same north bridge chip. (-)
The only difference between the two is that 780i uses a small nForce 200 bridge chip to allow PCI Express 2.0 (+/-) -1
That said it does not meet your DDR3 requirements. You would have to move up to 790i for Native support for PCI Express 2.0, which competes with Intel X38, and adds DDR3 support.

This motherboard (780i) also supports ESA (Enthusiast System Architecture),and I can tell you there bios are efficent. (++) +2
You can see my specs below and all I have to do to get these setting is Link/Sync, turn off C1E, speedstep and raise the FSB(QDR) everything else is auto. Suffice to say OCing is a breeze the bios adjust timings and voltages precisely and effectively. I've only been able to lower my CPU voltages a knotch or two and remain stable. Very Stable in spite of it's shortcomings. (+)
It's truly high-end motherboard the only thing missing on this board vs your P5Q is eSATA ports
but it addes dual Gigabite ports and a host of other ugrades too. (+)
Sadly it falls short using some inferior components but uses solid aluminum capacitors on the voltage regulator but (another but monkey) only a 6 phase PMW so..(-)
Considering it's stability at high clocks it's excellent but again one has to wonder for how long?? (-)
It most definetly could use a better audio chip but it's on par with what you have and nothing an addon wouldn't fix (+/-) -0 <<spam
The overclocking on EVGA 780i is not close to cutting edge, but it is super stable at 450MHz front side bus as mentioned which is more than most enthusiasts need. (+)
We all heard of some flacky bench marks results but, the fact is that in real world usage the board is not anywhere close to slow and impresses the hell out of me. Plus If you are looking for SLI/ Tri-SLI, and DDR2 this is pretty much your only game in town.
The thing is this motherboard is a filler product as Triple-SLI is not a real motivator for most to buy a new board, I mean, c’mon the cost alone on three cards is rather excessive and that is the only real appeal to the board as an upgrade if you have a 680i if not every enthusiast with and nvidia GPU should have one or the other. (+++)

Also with the release of the 790i this board has become some what obsolete further making the 780i a non attractive product for most buyers. Sadly you may not find to many on the used scene. You could look for a 780i FTW series which upgrades the caps pwm etc etc very nice for long term considerations but maybe a little pricey.

The final word... Thank God hugh??... As far as versitility is concerned I don't know of an nvidia chipset that supports both DDR2 and 3 on the same board so if that's a requirement look else where. Weighing the pluses above I suppose it's a narrow yay to your question.

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by PTRMAN

Yeah, I try to buy from established, well-rated sellers only.

Do you think a new EVGA Nvidia 780i and a new Q9550 would be a step sideways or up from what I've got now?

Up a small notch.

[owcraftsman]

hahaha love the short answers I should try it LOL

[PTRMAN]

OK, pulled the trigger on a Q9550 and a 780i for a bit over $400 net on ebay. Couldn't stomach nearly $500 or more on a QX6850 alone, and the QX9650 is way out of my league. Sounds like the 780i will meet my needs pretty well, especially on the OC side.

I'll swap out the board and CPU next weekend. Next up is RAM. Keep what I have or pick up something that OCs better? Prices are so amazingly low now. Board supports up to DDR2 800, but can I OC something at that range?. Any suggestions?

[owcraftsman]

If I had it to do over again I would have bit the bullet for a 2x2GB kit as it is to have 4GB I have 4 sticks , oh and I bought the first pair 2x1GB thinking I would upgrade to 4Gb 4x1GB later on, only thing is the second pair when I finally got around to buying them was not identical. Turns out that Corsair decided to change chips at least according to Corsair's Yellowbeard. When asked, he said (via PM) they are different but they will run together at manufactures timing specs @ rated speeds in 4x1GB config but I'm stuck at 2t on memory. Not a big deal but, I known I can run a 2x1Gb kit at 1t. His argument was solid but I have sold some OCZ memory that would run 1t in a 4x1GB config so something isn't quit right regardless of his argument. I'm not trying to dis Corsair or Yellowbeard because I have a great deal of respect for both, he, for one, has helped me many times. Besides plenty others manufacturers do the same without informing the public but, beware upgrading doesn't always work as planned. If I had a recommendation/redo it would be the OCZ Reapers I've seen lots of folks have good luck with them on that board you just bought. $79 after rebate OCZ OCZ2RPR10664GK 4GB PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066) DDR2 Memory Retail ***FRee Shipping***

[PTRMAN]

That's a great price. Thanks for the heads-up. I'll definitely check it out.

[trapz123]

Q9550 will do yu jus fine

[Tech Geek Deluxe]

Let me know your Impressions on that Q9550 versus the Q6600 ... I have been eyeballing the Q9550 and was hoping to pick one up on the cheap and see if I can get a super stable overclock at 3.6Ghz. [I'm sure I can if I get the better Stepping Model ... just not sure if it will be rock stable.