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Seeking CPU and Memory Upgrade advice for EVGA 780i MB

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RLymburner
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2014/12/11 06:45:24 (permalink)
I'm trying to squeeze another year or two out of my faithful rig, I'm not a gamer anymore so I don't need cutting edge.  My weekend hobby is taking 100s of pictures of my kids sports on my DSLR, dumping them into Photoshop Elements, parsing through them and editing in Photoshop. I don't play video intensive games anymore, but I do some video editing.   If I were to specify a $200 budget, where do I put my money?
 
CPU: According to CPU benchmarks, going from E6850 to Q9505 ($60 on ebay) will double CPU performance and another 25% bump going to Q9550 ($80 on ebay).  Which Intel CPU makes the most sense?  Note: Those chips are 95w, will my MB support? 
 
RAM: I'm at 4 GB with fast RAM, would like to go to 8 GB.  Specific brand/model recommendations?

SYSTEM SPECS:
MB: EVGA 780i (EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775)
CPU: Intel C2D E6850 (3.0 GHz, DDR3-1333, 4 MB L2 cache) --> plan to upgrade
HD: Intel 530 SSD 480 GB, WD 250 GB SATA-II (3 in RAID 5)
NAS: Synology DS213J, 2 WD RED 1 TB
RAM: 4 GB Patriot DDR2 800 (PDC22G6400LLK) --> plan to upgrade to 8 GB
VID: EVGA 260 GTX
PWR: Thermaltake Toughpower 850W
OS: Windows 7sp1
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    RLymburner
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    Re: Seeking CPU and Memory Upgrade advice for EVGA 780i MB 2014/12/11 07:42:11 (permalink)
    Alternatively ... do I go with a Q6600 for $30 and use this as a stop gap until I can afford (time & money) to upgrade to new MB/CPU/RAM?
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    RainStryke
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    Re: Seeking CPU and Memory Upgrade advice for EVGA 780i MB 2014/12/14 20:20:44 (permalink)
    The 780i can use the E8000 and Q9000 series CPU's. Going to a Q6600 isn't a great idea. If you stick with that board, i'd recommend looking for a E8400, E8500, E8600 or E8700.
     
    If you have a 200 dollar budget, that can get you into a pretty nice set-up. There is actually someone selling a i5 2500K and Z67 board on the EVGA marketplace right now for $180. If you're interested in it, you should PM warthorn right now.
     
    Here is his profile
    http://forums.evga.com/Profile/364960/

    Main PC | Secondary PC
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    NordicJedi
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    Re: Seeking CPU and Memory Upgrade advice for EVGA 780i MB 2014/12/18 18:01:56 (permalink)
    As RainStryke suggested, look for an E8*00 or Q9*50 chip.  A Q6600 is a very slight upgrade, but an E8*00 or Q9*50 chip will have a lot more cache on the CPU, which will definitely help with better peformance.  If the prices of those are a bit higher than what you're interested in, then I'd really start thinking about upgrading to a new chipset, CPU, and memory, rather than sinking the money into something that will only have a small benefit for you.

    6012mhz on L/N2 
    5321mhz on L/N2
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    RLymburner
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    Re: Seeking CPU and Memory Upgrade advice for EVGA 780i MB 2014/12/21 21:25:10 (permalink)
    Thanks for your thoughts guys.  Amazon has Q9505 refurb for ~$109-119.  12MB L2 cache and 3x the processing transistors as my E6850 (820mill vs. 291) Any reason not to jump on this?
     
    btw I upgraded memory to 8GB for $100 at the same brand & timing (Patriot 4-4-4-12) so I'm pretty excited about that!
     
    Crossing fingers here but I think I can dramatically improve my performance right at my $200 budget!
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    NordicJedi
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    Re: Seeking CPU and Memory Upgrade advice for EVGA 780i MB 2014/12/22 05:29:23 (permalink)
    Make sure you're looking at the Q9550, and not the Q9505.  I see them both listed at Amazon, but the Q9505 has half the cache of the Q9550.  That will make a big difference in performance, and if you're already looking to buy used or refurbished, the cost will be close to the same.  Otherwise, as long as the CPU is good, it's going to be a good upgrade from what you're currently using.

    6012mhz on L/N2 
    5321mhz on L/N2
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    RainStryke
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    Re: Seeking CPU and Memory Upgrade advice for EVGA 780i MB 2014/12/22 11:16:27 (permalink)
    It's not worth it to stick with an old set-up. It would be much better for you to move up to a newer set-up with new parts.
     
    I see you have a SSD, with that motherboard you are not going to get the full potential of that SSD.
     
    This is what i'd recommend:
    CPU:
    http://www.newegg.com/Pro...x?Item=N82E16819117301
    RAM:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231667
    Motherboard:
    http://www.newegg.com/Pro...x?Item=N82E16813132199
     
    Gives you a lot of room for improvement if you do decide to get back into gaming as well.
     

    Main PC | Secondary PC
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    RLymburner
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    Re: Seeking CPU and Memory Upgrade advice for EVGA 780i MB 2014/12/27 20:14:35 (permalink)
    Thank you both guys, I didn't see RainStryke's last post about MB limitations (thank you so much for the time you put into that research!) but went with the upgrades as previously suggested.  Picked up a Q9550 CPU and upgraded RAM from 4 to 8 GB and stayed right at my budget of ~$200.  Tricky finding (older) RAM with similar timings (4-4-4-12) but I was able to secure some for $100 on ebay. 
     
    CPU-Z validated views (remove space from address below)
    previous: http:// valid.x86.fr/i3yy94
    upgrade: http:// valid.x86.fr/z8yk1c
     
     
    I haven't overclocked anything and I did capture benchmarks using Everest Ultimate but the numbers are weird - they dropped in a couple of areas and rose in others.  Difficult to determine what those results mean.  However, in the real world, the upgrade absolutely passes the 'eye test'.  I fired up Adobe PSE 12 and quickly scrolled through dozens of pictures without any of the lag I had experienced previously.  Seriously, couldn't be happier - mission accomplished.
     
    Extremely pleased I stopped by these boards and took your suggestions.  I hope Santa took care of you guys! 
    post edited by RLymburner - 2014/12/27 20:19:48
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