Socket 775 compatibility

sparky05084 · 28 Mar 2015 at 11:30

Hey all long time no speak so hope everyone is well.

Basically, I am off loading my old system to my Brother (aren't I generous

) which comprises the socket 775 setup with a Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H mobo.

My plan is to stick a Core 2 Extreme 6800X in it to replace the E6700 Core 2 Duo. My graphics card died (8800GTX) so it's currently running a very temporary Nvidia 7200GS.

It's running Windows 7 btw and has 2 x 2GB DDR2 sticks in it.

So, what I would like here is some help/advice on a few things please:

1. Is the CPU the highest rated for mobo?
2. Best graphics card (preferably above an 8800GTX) for mobo?

Not massively fussed about budget but don't want to go mad if I can avoid it. So yeah, that's pretty much it.

Thanks.

kefan77 · 28 Mar 2015 at 11:36

1, no. it's a dual core. highest would be Quad (ideally Q6600, no need for QX6700 and such)
2, depends on budget and intended use and PSU. I'd be looking at HD7770.

sparky05084 · 28 Mar 2015 at 11:58

You sure highest is Quad? Checked mobo spec list and it states Core 2 Extreme in CPU support:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2144

Thanks for the advice anyways.

sastusbulbas · 28 Mar 2015 at 12:17

The better CPU's for the old LGA775 platform were the Q9550 and Q9650 quad cores, and the E8500 and E8600 dual cores. Would your motherboards BIOS be up to date for one though. Like mentioned above, the Q6600 would be another choice but it will need overclocked also.

The cost of a Q9550 quad core could probably buy you a new socket 1150 Pentium or i3, the cost of an E8500 considerably less.

Is the memory PC6400 or PC8500?

You can easily get use out of the old Q6600, Q9550 and E8500 CPU's when overclocked, and they will run fine with GPU's like the HD-7950 and R9-280. I would prefer 8gb of PC8500 though as I daily run over 4gb of memory here even during mundane mornings with browsing and WoT in the background.

Personally I would advice a strong NO to buying another LGA775 CPU or more DDR2 memory.

List all your components, inc case, HDD's, PSU, cooler etc, and consider whether or not this system is going to get periodic upgrades every month or so. For instance, your PSU may not be up to the upgrade, or the case may be an area for improvement?

As an example, two of my old LGA775 systems had appalling cases, dust magnets. I got both better cases, better PSU's, better CPU coolers with LGA775 and Haswell compatability. They ran cooler, quieter, and were able to play many games when I added MSI Twin Frozr 7950 GPU's. The biggest difference was an SSD though, only 120gb, but a massive boost.
Due to now having reasonable cases with dust filters, up to date PSU's, an SSD and acceptable GPU, all these old PC's needed was a new CPU/motherboard/ram bundle.

Personally I would say with the old system you have, an AMD 270x or AMD 280 could be an option but a bit of a spend on such old hardware if you have no intention of further upgrades, such a GPU will be bottlenecked by that old system.
Second hand you may find something a little older but even an HD-7950 could be taking it a bit too far, and you may want to check your PSU's ability for such cards.

With all that in mind, what sort of budget do you want to set on this upgrade, and what sort of cards, new and second hand do you see within that budget?

sastusbulbas · 28 Mar 2015 at 12:22

sparky05084 said:
You sure highest is Quad? Checked mobo spec list and it states Core 2 Extreme in CPU support:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2144

Thanks for the advice anyways.

http://www.foxconnchannel.com/ProductDetail.aspx?T=motherboard&U=en-us0000171

kefan77 · 28 Mar 2015 at 12:28

sparky05084 said:
You sure highest is Quad? Checked mobo spec list and it states Core 2 Extreme in CPU support:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2144

Thanks for the advice anyways.

yes I am. best CPU for that MB is QX6800.

once again, the Extreme you linked is DUAL core.

Deus Ex · 28 Mar 2015 at 12:34

clean install of windows will probably do wonders.

sparky05084 · 28 Mar 2015 at 12:38

Ah, sorry mate my mistake. Will do a bit of research on that particular chip. Would rather the card be a NVidia. Recommendations?

kefan77 · 28 Mar 2015 at 13:08

as said, depends on PSU, usage and budget.

if the PSU is decent, cheap GTX460/70 will do.

as for CPU, I wouldn't put in anything better than Q6600.

sastusbulbas · 28 Mar 2015 at 13:24

sparky05084 said:
Ah, sorry mate my mistake. Will do a bit of research on that particular chip. Would rather the card be a NVidia. Recommendations?

Well without a budget or actual complete spec, I guess the Nvidia 750ti would do if your not pushing high settings too much on a 1080p monitor, the 960 would most likely be overkill, there are of course many older cards in the £100 bracket on a popular auction site, though I would rather have a new GPU myself and keep it under £150 on such an old system.

You using molex to PCI-E?

Anyway, here is a CPU compatability list, I was wrong with the Q9550 and E8500, the older Extreme's like the QX6700 or QX6800 quads (around £40 to £80 on popular auction site) and your X6800 dual core are indeed the best options. The Q6600 may well be available cheaper too. But like I said, as an owner of a few LGA775 systems, I would not spend any money on that tech. Throwing money on a decent GPU is only worthwhile if you plan on upgrading further, even if it is just a budget G3258 gaming system.

http://www.foxconnsupport.com/cpusupportlist.aspx?type=mb&model=P9657AA-8KS2H&cputype=