Core 2 Quad / p45 platform - how long can I extend?

[dsc106]

It's my secondary computer and I'm thinking of setting it up for using as an HTPC/2nd video edit computer for "assistant editors"

Q9950 (I believe) - The Core 2 Quad 2.66ghz part. 8gb RAM. 128gb Samsung 830 SSD Boot. A few HDDs for storage. Blu Ray Burner. GTX 285. Single Rail 600w OCZ PSU. Good case (Antec 900), strong air cooling.

My questions are:

How does the Core2Quad hold up nowadays for general compute tasks VS the Haswell chips in performance? Is there some sort of general comparison? How about for gaming?

If I drop a new GPU in there (such as a GTX 670), will the CPU bottleneck me much? What's the best bang for buck GPU I could upgrade the GTX 285 from to extend life of platform for gaming?

And will the Core2Quad still hold up OK for basic video editing tasks, including AVCHD for some time to come? Doesn't have to be WOW FAST! Just enough to get job done.

Also, can I OC this platform much? I never have. It has a Gigabyte EP45 UD3P motherboard:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2717/4

Thanks, I know these are sort of general and subjective questions but I'm trying to get some subjective feedback from those of you who deal with this more, as well as some objective links to a benchmark comparison or numbers where I could see it up against a Haswell E or even just a modern IB-E? Though I'm probably most interested in subjective feedback on that platform and it's lifespan. I've noticed computer platforms are holding up MUCH longer these days than in the past

 

[yepp]

See this thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2318094

You should have no problem overclocking with the Gigabyte EP45 UD3P, RAM speed is also a factor.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Core2Quad is still fairly powerful for daily tasks, including video editing. However, SB/IB/HW is faster. So is an AMD Thuban 1045T hex-core, which can be found cheaply these days.

Since you have the chip and motherboard for it, all you really need is an aftermarket heatsink/fan, and some decent RAM to overclock. 400FSB is possible with DDR2-800 RAM set at 1:1 (or 2.0 in Gigabyte parlance). Faster than that (450FSB) should be fairly easy as well, if you have overclockable DDR2-800 (many GSkill blue DIMMs can do it easily), or purchase some DDR2-1000 or 1066 RAM.

At 450FSB, your chip will do 3.6Ghz.

 

[Shephard]

I don't understand...?

You want to use it as a 'HTPC/2nd video edit computer' or a gaming computer? Make up your mind.

A celeron can be used an HTPC. Anyone quad core is better than a dual core video editing.

 

[dsc106]

I don't understand...?

You want to use it as a 'HTPC/2nd video edit computer' or a gaming computer? Make up your mind.

A celeron can be used an HTPC. Anyone quad core is better than a dual core video editing.

All Three. I have cables setup to the HDTV for gaming and/or HTPC. I also have cables setup at a table. Can move over for video, back for gaming & HTPC. The most important thing is video because it's work related.

Sounds like even 5 years later, this platform can hold its own fairly well. And that I could add a faster GPU to gain significant gaming performance, if desired.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I was looking at the nvidia website and it looks like the GTX 285 is lower in performance than a GTX 650 ti. Something like a GTX 660 or AMD equivalent would give you about double the gpu performance. You might have to overclock your cpu though to extract all the performance from a card of that level. Even though it is a nice quad, the clockspeed is low by current standards and you also lose some IPC compared to IB.

 

[WTSherman]

This is similar to my setup, and its my only system. I've got the Q9550 with a Foxconn P45. I had a GTX 275, just below your 285, but just upgraded to a GTX 650ti Boost. I was encouraged by the performance of the Q9550 compared to the modern chips in that Tom's article YEPP linked to.

I had my Q9550 up around 4 Ghz for a long time, now I just run it stock but I know they clock well on these P45 boards. It did really well on the ASUS P45 Pro I used to have.

The main thing that discourages me and makes me want to upgrade to the new tech is the price of DDR2 RAM and the fact that new LGA 775 boards are so hard to find. The only RAM sticks I have left are 2 x 4 gb G skill Pi 1066 and 2 x 1 gb Transcend AxeRam 800 Micron D9s. Not going to buy any more parts for this system, if anything goes out I'm making the change.

 

[dsc106]

Sherman, did you feel a large boost with the GTX 650i? Do games "feel" responsive or can you notice running on a lower CPU?

I do have a hefty cooler on there, I can't remember which one but it is a good one and quite large. I'm sure I could OC a decent amount w/out much trouble.

 

[blipblop]

I have a pretty similar set up that I spiffed up with a 7850 graphics card. I currently run a QX9650 @3.6 GHz and have 8GB RAM. It's still fast enough for me. When I want to really upgreade it, I will look into a SSD. That seems to be what is currently slowing me down the most.

 

[WTSherman]

Sherman, did you feel a large boost with the GTX 650i? Do games "feel" responsive or can you notice running on a lower CPU?

I do have a hefty cooler on there, I can't remember which one but it is a good one and quite large. I'm sure I could OC a decent amount w/out much trouble.

Yes the 650ti Boost is noticeably faster in games, although I wish I would have gotten the 2 gb version. I only have a 1680 x 1050 monitor but I can crank the settings in BF3 or Skyrim where with the 275 I couldn't. I think the Q9550 is powerful enough that you don't have to worry about it being a bottleneck even if running a higher end video card.

I've been thinking about getting a SSD myself as blipblop says, this seems to be the slowest part for me too. Everything is in the high 7s on the windows experience index where my hard disk is at 5.9.

 

[Roland00Address]

For simplicity sake this is Cinebench 11.5 numbers. I am listing two numbers the first is single core use, the last is multi core use. Bold is where your cpu is listed

AMD A4-5000* at 1.5 ghz (4c/4t)---0.39///1.50

Simulated AMD A6-5200* at 2.0 ghz (4c/4t)---0.52///2.00

Intel Core i3-3220 (Ivy Bridge 2c/2t)---1.38/// 2.73
3.3 GHz, DDR3-1600, 0.5 MB L2, 3 MB L3"

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 (Yorkfield 4c/4t)---0.88///3.47
2.83 ghz DDR3, 1333 mhz fsb, 12mb l2 cache

Intel Core i5-3570K (Ivy Bridge 4c/4t)---1.60///6.05
3.4 GHz (Turbo 3.8 GHz), DDR3-1600, 1 MB L2, 6 MB L3)

Intel Core i7-3770K (Ivy Bridge 4c/8t)---1.66///7.91
3.5 GHz (Turbo 3.9 GHz), DDR3-1600, 1 MB L2, 8 MB L3

Intel Core i7-3930K (Sandy Bridge-E 6c/12t)---1.56///10.44
3.2 GHz (Turbo 3.9 GHz), DDR3-1600, 1.5 MB L2, 12 MB L3

So a current i5 is almost double speed (75% faster), a current i7 is more than double (128% faster)

The new amd "atom" (that anandtech just reviewed this week) called Kabini has almost the same ipc as your core 2 quad (your core 2 quad is only 22% faster at the same clock speed), but because it has lower clock speed because of this your core 2 quad is 73% faster than the top end amd "atom" called kabini.

Your core 2 quad can still video edit just find, it can also game at 1080p and below, it is showing its age though. I would not upgrade the video card without upgrade the processor though. Your computer is fine for htpc use as long as it is now too loud for you.

 

[aigomorla]

you only really need a c2d processor class at 2.0ghz to run 1080p 10-bit mkv flawlessly.

 

[Denithor]

Upgrade to a GTX 650 Ti Boost (2GB) or a GTX 660/Ti and you should be good to go. And if, for some reason, the CPU doesn't keep up (which it should - especially if overclocked a bit) you can always use the new GPU in your new build.