Hi guys, i want to "upgrade" my old rig and i d like some help to make it the best it can be.
 
Here s the specs :
Mobo: X58 classified
Cpu: I7 940 @ 2.93ghz
Ram: 12 Gig Corsair dominator Tri 1033
Video card: AMD radeon 7800
 
Im ok with computers but im far from being really knowledgeable on the subject of hardware. I mainly do 3d renderings in max, maya and other video editing softwares (and some gaming).
 
Im mostly interested in upgrading Cpu and ram (cheapest possible please). My video card seem to be holding up its mainly the responsiveness of the 3d environments (heavy 3d scenes) that slows me down. So, ... I have several questions that maybe you guys can help with! So here it is
 
1) is 12 gig the max that the x58 mobo can take (or i can install more?)
2) whats the best ram for $ that i can find (ebay second hand is welcome!) , i saw G.skill, corsair and mushkin that looked interresting, now question is which model would fit the mobo? any suggestion?
3) I tried overclocking my cpu up to 3.99 (stable, i ran prime 95 for 10 hours and was ok)  but no avail cause the system, in my opinion, became sluggish and unresponsive (probably im just really bad at overclocking also), so... is overclocking worth it? why did my system got worse?
4) What else could you recommend for cpu? I saw the i7 975 (for cheap) that had better specs than what i currently have or i saw some Xeon X5687, W5590...X5680 .. etc.. Which cpu would be worth to buy at this point to upgrade without breaking the bank?
 
Sorry for the numerous questions, but i d like to make that purchase count ! thank you so much guys
 
Louis

Thank you for your reply! i will check that cpu.

I wouldnt mind editing the bios a bit for the ram. What settings specifically would i have to change ? The dimm voltage? Or...?

What kind of ram would you recommend at that point? Or any ddr3 1600 240 pin would work?


Thank you so much for your help my friend!

 
Hi again, Thank you so much for your help guys! i really appreciate it. 
 
From the looks of it it looks like i have the classified ( not the classified 3). But the info doesnt show up in cpuz, gpuz or the Evga E-leet tunning utility. The thing is im not so sure because i sent my mobo for RMA before and they sent me a "newer" model instead. I went to check in windows system information and it says : Baseboard model ...not available  (bummer). I attached two pictures i hope they can bring some light to the subject. 
 
Thank you again friends

Hello! sorry for the late reply!
 
On the corner of the board is says :REV 1.0  
Is that the one?
 
Thank you so much for the help!
 
cheers
 
Louis

I don't mean to hijack the thread but I am looking to bumping up to a Xeon since they are so cheap.

I'm on a E770 Classy 3 and I currently have a i7 970 that will not go beyond 4.2ghz. Would it be worth picking up a X5660? Can I expect at least ~4.5ghz? It will be underwater via an EK Predator 240.

One last question, im looking to upgrade ram as well. I been reading some people got up to 32 gig ram with x58 boards.
 
With my  Xeon X5690 cpu (w moded board), which ram could you guys recommend that would work best to acheive my goal? does it absolutely need to be tri channel? 
i  aim for 32 gig but i guess 24 would be fine as well, i just want the fastest ddr3 possible (tested on this mobo). I researching on google... but so much info that im getting abit lost.
 
Any input?
 
Thanks alot!
L.