Upgrading to Quad core

almichev

almichev

almichev

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14 Jan 2008
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301
Hi all. Am considering upgrading to Quad as I plan to do video work and 3D digital art. At the moment I have AMD Dual core 4000+. My first question is would it be worth just upgrading to a faster dual core (max is 5800+ on my mboard)?

Next, are Intels better than Athlons at the moment? My PSU is a 450W Corsair. Would this be ok for a Quad system? And is DDR2 ram ok for a quad system?

Thanks.
 
p35-ds3r motherboard (or the ds3L if you don't want RAID)
q6600
4gb (or 8gb) ocz 6400 ddr2

£65
£140
£55 (£100)

quick price guesses, i'm dead pleased with mine, went from a 2.7ghz dual core opteron on 4gb ddr1 to this
 
Since you are using your PC for video and multi-media, you definitely notice the performance leap by upgrading to a quad core such as the Q6600.

The Q6600 offers excellent value for money since it's overclocking is outstanding.
 
bledd. said:
p35-ds3r motherboard (or the ds3L if you don't want RAID)
q6600
4gb (or 8gb) ocz 6400 ddr2

£65
£140
£55 (£100)

quick price guesses, i'm dead pleased with mine, went from a 2.7ghz dual core opteron on 4gb ddr1 to this
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. What is your PSU?
 
Admiral Huddy said:
Since you are using your PC for video and multi-media, you definitely notice the performance leap by upgrading to a quad core such as the Q6600.

The Q6600 offers excellent value for money since it's overclocking is outstanding.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the one to go for. Is it bothered about graphics card make though? Nvidia seem to be associated with Intel.
 
it ought to be. HDD's only use about 10Watts each.

unless you're going for a ATI HD3870X2 then i think 450W will be okay. you might want to get the HX520 though, because its slightly more capable, but also has detachable cables! :D
 
Aod said:
it ought to be. HDD's only use about 10Watts each.

unless you're going for a ATI HD3870X2 then i think 450W will be okay. you might want to get the HX520 though, because its slightly more capable, but also has detachable cables! :D
Click to expand...

Ta.

Ooooooooo. Now that's a bloddy good idea.

Have found a review that tests the 450 with a similar rig to what I'm aiming for, and on full CPU and GPU load it used 265W.
 
almichev said:
At the moment I have 2Gig of PC5400 ram, would this be ok for a Quad system or is it worth upgrading to faster please?

Cheers.
Click to expand...

You could get away with it if you are on a budget. But it would restrict the overclocking on the Q6600 to about 3GHz.

Also imo at current DDR2 prices it would be criminal to not get 4GB of PC2-6400 RAM. :p
 
Kalpsn2000 said:
You could get away with it if you are on a budget. But it would restrict the overclocking on the Q6600 to about 3GHz.

Also imo at current DDR2 prices it would be criminal to not get 4GB of PC2-6400 RAM. :p
Click to expand...

Thanks. I don't intend to overclock so will stick to the 5400. I intend to buy this board:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BG-080-GI

So will wait until the top speed DDR2 or DDR3 come down, as I've heard PC6400 isn't much of an improvement over 5400.
 
Kalpsn2000 said:
Not overclock the Q6600!!!:eek: That is also a crime:D

It's a 2 minute job in the bios and you could probably get 3GHz on the stock cooler. Up to you though.
Click to expand...

Feel so guilty now :p When I get the system I will 'ave a play. Am keeping an eye on Q6600 prices. Defo going back to Intel as not impressed with my Athlon.
 
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