Are there cost-effective upgrades for my 2008 desktop?

[uncleezno]

Hey Everyone,

I haven't posted here in ages, since I built my first desktop back in 2008. You were all incredibly helpful in assisting me with picking out components for the build and giving advice. The machine, which I built for around $1200 including the monitor, is still running strong with Windows 7, now, but I'm wondering if I should upgrade it. It's not that it's slow, it's that with all the new hardware that's come out, and with the sequel to Oblivion around the corner, I'm kind of getting itchy. Here's what it looks like:

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R
Intel Q6600, G0 stepping
4 Gigs (2x2) of DDR2 800 RAM
EVGA Superclocked 8800GT, 512 megs of RAM

I think because I sprang for what was, at the time, a really good video card, I've had good luck with longevity. I know that I can't get a better processor without also getting a new motherboard. Would it be worth it to snag some more RAM - I'm running 64-bit Windows 7 - or upgrade the video card without rebuilding the whole thing?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Blain]

Are you OCing the Q6600?

 

[Lazarus52980]

Cost effective is a subjective term, but an SSD is likely your best upgrade. At this point if you do not have one, its still the best bang for your buck of any upgrade IMO.

 

[uncleezno]

I had considered overclocking it and gave up due to the difficulty I had translating the guides. Because I had considered it, the CPU has a giant cooling unit strapped to it. Should I overclock - does it really make a big difference?

 

[mnewsham]

yes you should OC yes it will make a difference. and if you can spring for it and your PSU can support it, an nvidia GTX 460 or the 560 (on the 25th) would be good upgrades.

 

[BoomerD]

By "giant cooling unit," are you talking about the factory cooler? Those are pretty inefficient for overclocking.

 

[uncleezno]

No, by "giant cooling unit" I mean the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, an aftermarket cooler that, at the time, was top of the line. Thing has huge pipes!

 

[mnewsham]

feel free to OC somewhat, and get a new graphics card. what resolution are you at?

 

[uncleezno]

I run windows at 1680x1050, but not all games at that rez, if I'm trying to maximize frames. Thanks for the advice on overclocking and the new video cards. Could any of you point me in the direction of a solid guide for OCing the q6600?

 

[mnewsham]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=47089

 

[uncleezno]

Thanks!

 

[tynopik]

It's not that it's slow

then don't upgrade

 

[darksidesteve]

I've got a P35 Gigabyte board too, and it's running a Q6600. Mine clocks up nicely to 3.2GHz.

Those gigabyte boards are solid boards just update you HSF. Thermal Take or Artic Freezer. ($20-$25)

DDR2 RAM is getting expensive, so adding 4 more GBs is going to cost, and you won't be able to move that over to a newer motherboard in the future.

Think of running a RAID array with 3 or more HD's. You'll be surprised at how fast it will run. Newegg had some WD Sata3, 500GB drives on sale for $39 shipped just yesterday. 3 of those would be super fast!

Get a GTX 470 or better for graphics. ($230-250 on a good day)

You're looking at $250 to $350 for upgrades that will make a noticable difference in overall performance.

 

[mfenn]

Most cost effective upgrades in order of bang-for-buck:
- SSD
- midrange GPU (GTX 460, 6850)
- 2500K + UD3 + 4GB DDR3