Build Advice Help - 10% until midnight tonight T.T - Planning upgrade

Well I'm asking myself a whole bunch of questions and I think I need your advise

My current rig is as following :

- Q6600 @ stock
- XFX MI-9300-7AS9 (NVidia 630i chipset / mATX)
- 4GB Kingston PC6400 CAS4 @ 800MHz
- Asus Radeon HD5870-V2 1024MB
- 2x 160GB Hitachi Sata2 HDD (crappy one's, very slow .... 5.9 W7 indices in RAID 0)
- 2x 1TB Western Digital Caviar Green (Raid 1)
- Eizo L550 17"
- Antec P182 + Corsair HX520W

I have some lagging in games (Dirt 2 for example), even in 1280x1024 with vert sync ON. I'm wondering if I am CPU limited or if it comes from my crappy HDD.

So I did plan two options :

- 1st : I buy a NAS and throw the 2 caviar green in it as I use them for DATA ONLY. I replace my crappy 160GB raid by an SSD for system + everyday apps and a fast HDD for everything else ... and I buy myself a nice IPS screen (NEC MultiSync EA231WMi for example).

- 2nd : I change everything but the 5870 ... but it kills my saving.

I'll throw away my P182 as I really can't bear it anymore (hard to work into, not very efficient) and build a case that matches my use.

My main uses is Digital creation software (3D animation, 2D painting), gaming (Dirt 2, Shogun 2, Civilization V ... Diablo III when it comes out).

 

With the CPU at stock, it's likely you're not getting the best from your GPU.

I was going to suggest fitting a Corsair H70 to the Q6600, and overclocking it; but I'm not sure your board can handle it. Does it have much in the way of overclocking options in the BIOS?

 

There is a switch on the board to enable overclocking feature in the bios.

I can change FSB and voltage for sure, as well as chipset voltage and RAM frequency, voltage and timing. CPU FSB and RAM frequency can be linked or unlinked.

 

Well, it's something to consider. The Q6600 is still a decent CPU, might be worth squeezing a little more life out of it. Is it a B3 or G0 stepping?

The other option is to find a buyer for your current kit and mitigate the impact of the upgrade on your savings account.

 

How can I know for the B3 G0 ? I bought it in august 2008

 

CPU-Z will tell you.

 

thanks, I'll give it a try tonight.

 

I have a Noctua NH-U12P sitting on my Q6600 ... will it be enough to keep it cool when OC ?

 

Ok, this is a G0 stepping ... but what is bothering me is that I can only increment the CPU voltage by 0.025V step

 

The NH-U12P is a decent cooler - you got both fans fitted?

I'm sure I read that as 0.25v

 

Tes typing mistake, it is 0,025V. I have both fans with no resistor. I also have two exhaust fans, one top and one rear

 

Well it's a pretty good cooler, so it will provide some headroom.

Download Core Temp to monitor the temperatures, either the 32 Bit or the 64 Bit version, depending on what OS you're running.

Then, have a look at the overclocking guides listed at the top of the Hardware forum.

 

Achieved 2.8795 GHz under 1.375V ... can't do better at the moment. Crappy 4 phases mobo I think.

Almost 20% (19.9%) overclock is quite good I think.

 

Is Dirt 2 running any better?

 

I disagree. The money spent on a H70 + selling your Q6600 and mobo = i5 750/i7 920 + new mobo.

 

Not really, the OC is not stable . Even at 2.7GHz it is freezing. I can't even achieve the first test in Prime95, my comp got complety frozen (thankfully I have a clear CMOS button at the back of the mobo, on the IO shield).

Core temps are 49-51 °C under 100% load @2.9 GHz (with around 30°C abient) but W7 froze after only 2 minutes of prime95 test.

At stock spead, with voltage set on "auto" in the bios, my CPU-Z and core temp report a core voltage of 1.106V (I thought it was more around 1.31V for the Q6600). Is it normal ?

I'm completly lost. In other hand, Dirt2 is really smooth but I got lags when dust appear during drifts.

EDIT : My Mobo only has 4 phases, could it be the source of the problem ? I have a Gigabyte EP35-DS4 lying around, but I'm not motivated to open my P182 and spend 2hours working in it to have everything clean.

I think I'll just buy a new mobo + cpu + ram. Maybe P67 + i5 2500K or X58 + i7 950. Is the Asus Sabertooth a good value ? Maybe a Maximus IV gene-Z (Z68) or Rampage III gene (X58).

 

Your HSF can handle a reasonable overclock - I would try out the EP35-DS4. Why throw money at something when you may have a potential solution sitting there? Especially, if all it will cost you is a few hours of your time.

I understand your reluctance - I loved my P182, but I used to get p!ssed off making significant changes, because it was such a tiresome job to keep the cables tidy.

 

I'll give it a try ... but I'm worried about my raid setup. I'm not sure that my mirroring will work on the DS4 (since it's been created using my nvidia 730i raid controller). I already planned to upgrade my computer, but still this time I wanted to get the best out of my current setup.

It seams like too much pain for "almost nothing" (disabling everything + assembling it on the DS4, probably recreating the mirroring RAID, reinstalling W7 since it is on a stripping RAID, reinstalling all apps, downloading all games from steam, playing with the bios, ....).

I'll just wait 3/4 more month and buy the new parts. This comp will be recycled as a file server with the Q6600 downclocked and a nice linux distro.

Thanks for your help.

 

Ok, I have a 10% on a mobo but this internet offer ends at midnight ... here my question :

Maximus IV gene-Z or Sabertooth P67 + core i5

OR

Crosshair V Formula + PII X6 1090T ?

thanks by advance

 

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