Widescreen Gaming Forum

I'm running a q6600 with 4gb ddr2 and a HD 6970 in Eyefinity.

This upgrade should see a significant performance increase, no?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-023-OB&groupid=43&catid=339&subcat=1802

Obviously it will improve performance, but will it be massive?

I'm playing with GTA4 episodes and Bad Company 2 atm, both of which are a little too heavy for my CPU, particularly in Eyefinity.

Is spending a few quid more on sandybridge worth it? This one for example.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-063-OE&groupid=43&catid=339&subcat=1802

My budget only stretches to the first one I've linked, but if someone convinces me that sandybridge is worth it, I will consider putting my granny up on Ebay.

Well, you will see a slight increase in performance. But my recommendation is to play on lower settings until you can get both more memory and the cpu. Sandy Bridge is good, but if you wait it will drop and you can grab something when the fix their supply problems (if they still have them).

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Professional... well I'll figure that out.



"I sense something, a presence I've not felt since......."

I was looking at going from my Q9550 to a Core i7 1156 socket, and from what i gathered the increase would be a little slim. So i waited. I got an i5 1155 socket a few weeks ago and it's a pretty big increase. playing at 6048x1200, I max the games out (well, 2xAA) and i get a solid 40-60FPS in Bad Company 2 , and 40 fps in GTA4.

If you use any programs that use Hyperthreading, slap on another $90 for an 2600k. The 1155's overclock like a motherfucker.

I mean, very well.

And the issues relating to the SATA ports have been fixed, just look for the "B3" version of motherboards. (which that second package has)

1155 was quite worth the extra cash. See ya later, Granny.

Is that very high settings in GTA4, shadows, reflections etc, coz 40fps is impressive at that resolution.

I'm of the opinion that if a PC can max GTA4 or Metro2033 in a superwide res at a 40+ frames then it'll own anything else out their too.

(Granny hasn't figured out why I'm taking photos of her, she's just happy for the attention, she's been missing Grandad, which reminds me, I should really use bubble wrap this time)

Yes, I shit you not. Very high everything, Detail distance at max, draw distance at 80, vehicle density at 100, no vsync.

It IS a very CPU-dependant game. Plu smy 2600k has hyperthreading, which now lets me encode a full 50gb Blu-ray to a BD-25 in about 100 minutes. My q9550 would take about a day.

This...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-360-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1275

this...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-447-AS&tool=3

and these...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-203-CS

would be pretty sexy with my 6970.

What ya think...

I already have one of these, so I'll dump the stock fan and overclock it as far as air and stability will allow.

http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=160

I'd go 2600K, P8P67 Pro and Corsair Vengeance RAM (stock 1600MHz profile is @ 1.5V), but otherwise good. :)

Actually, I'd probably go 2500K... real cores > hyperthreading.

Yes I believe it's that Deluxe variant of that ASUS mobo that was my close second choice.. Looks good, guy. And it's the B3 version, which has the fixed SATA ports that caused that flaw from a few weeks back.

Looking at the Zalman cooler page, I don't see support for 1156/1155. But surely you can buy a bracket. I see that the Overclockers store you linked to does not carry it. I'd suggest emailing Zalman and asking them about it. I would indeed, be a shame to waste a nice cooler like that.

Indeed you can get a bracket, it'd be a shame to waste such a nice CPU fan

http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=364

Finally got this upgrade just prior to BF3 launch, my oh my, the difference coming from a q6600 to a 2500k is impressive. Overclocked to 4.2 with two clicks in the Uefi bios. I'll go more aggressive with the OC when theres a need, nice to keep a bit in reserve for the future.

Went for the p8p67 pro in the end, thx Abram.

Next upgrade will be in January I hope, a 2nd HD 6970 and crossfire.

I reckon that setup will be maxing out framerates for a few years.