Morning,First off, please know I have been out of the tech-loop for a while. Also, I'm not that bright anyway, so please be gentle.My rig: E6700 dual-core on an Asus P5N socket LG775 MB w/ 4GB Corsair DDR2 RAM and an 8800GTS 640 Video card. X-Fi sound card, 650W PSU, all in an Antec 900 case.The question: I have a couple of bucks for an upgrade and am considering a new CPU that will fit my present MB. The 9650 Quad-Core will fit my board and looks to be a much faster CPU than my E6700. This will set me back about $350, not petty cash for me, and given my specs seems to be a good upgrade. And all I have to do is swap CPUs, nothing else.But with all these i7 CPUs, I'm wondering if there is something in the same price range for a CPU and MB together that will outperform the 9650, and work with my 4GB of DDR2. I figure with an i7 CPU and MB, I'm looking to the future. Also, I might change my video card, but that is another question.Thank you. :Peace:

Morning,First off, please know I have been out of the tech-loop for a while. Also, I'm not that bright anyway, so please be gentle.My rig: E6700 dual-core on an Asus P5N socket LG775 MB w/ 4GB Corsair DDR2 RAM and an 8800GTS 640 Video card. X-Fi sound card, 650W PSU, all in an Antec 900 case.The question: I have a couple of bucks for an upgrade and am considering a new CPU that will fit my present MB. The 9650 Quad-Core will fit my board and looks to be a much faster CPU than my E6700. This will set me back about $350, not petty cash for me, and given my specs seems to be a good upgrade. And all I have to do is swap CPUs, nothing else.But with all these i7 CPUs, I'm wondering if there is something in the same price range for a CPU and MB together that will outperform the 9650, and work with my 4GB of DDR2. I figure with an i7 CPU and MB, I'm looking to the future. Also, I might change my video card, but that is another question.Thank you. :Peace:

No ther's no way you could get a i7 MObo and an i7 for under 350$ but I suggest this get this i3 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115222&cm_re=i3-530-_-19-115-222-_-Product overclock if you can and get this motherboard or similar http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131634&cm_re=1156_motherboard-_-13-131-634-_-ProductYou total is only 250$ and this can deliver performance on par with an i5 check out this thread http://forum.avsim.net/topic/292181-i3-530-fsx/page__st__75but if you wanna go all out a i7-950 and a decent motherboard will cost around 500-600$

The i7 line uses the LGA 1156 and LGA 1366 sockets. As far as I know, there are no motherboards with either of those sockets that run DDR2 memory. If you want to get an i7 (or i5 or i3), you would need new RAM too.From a value standpoint, if money is tight you're probably better off getting a 9650 and overclocking it. What video card do you have? If future-proofing is a concern, you may want to wait until the next generation of Intel processors (Sandy Bridge) comes out. They're going to use new sockets, meaning the aforementioned 1156 and 1366 will become obsolete faster.

Ok so he can pick up http://www.newegg.ca...5-260-_-Product for 90$ and it performs better than a quad and costs the same. Plus then he can go for an i5 or i7 later on.

I would also switch to LGA1156. CPU + MOBO + 4GB DDR3I3 for some 350$I5 7xx for around 450$We agree again Lucky?

What video card do you have?

He said GTS 8800

I would also switch to LGA1156. CPU + MOBO + 4GB DDR3I3 for some 350$I5 7xx for around 450$We agree again Lucky?

yay!

He said GTS 8800

Erm... whoops. That'll teach me to pay attention before answering. Maybe I shouldn't get on here at work, haha.

You need your morning coffee too

You need your morning coffee too

Already on my second cup! Anyway, one other thought - if you wanted to go ahead and upgrade your processor, motherboard, RAM, etc., you would be able to pull it off with a Core processor without breaking the bank, especially if you avoided the i7 9XX line. These are the ones that use LGA 1366, and those motherboards cost significantly more than their LGA 1156 counterparts. The main thing you're paying for with those is hyper threading, which FS has little use for.

yes, as per our i3 suggestion.

If your budget is $350 - $400 - go for the 9650. My old system was a 9650 clocked to 3.88 (it will do 4ghz) running with a GTS 8800 and later a GTX 280. It was an exceptional system - steady 30fps and no stutters with most sliders maxed.My current system 980x @4.43 and a GTX480 runs faster with more bells and whistles but certainly not a night & day comparison except inbenchmarks.IMHO, you get what you pay for - get the 9650 and, when $$$ allows do a complete upgrade to an I7 system. Playing around with the i3 and i5's is a waste of money in your specific situation and will get you little more than you can achieve with a properly clocked 9650. Yes, you would see a difference but if I understand your situation correctly, right now you want the best bang for the buck. It this case - stay with the 9650.Also I didn't see your OS listed - you might also consider W7 64.Vic

If your budget is $350 - $400 - go for the 9650. My old system was a 9650 clocked to 3.88 (it will do 4ghz) running with a GTS 8800 and later a GTX 280. It was an exceptional system - steady 30fps and no stutters with most sliders maxed.My current system 980x @4.43 and a GTX480 runs faster with more bells and whistles but certainly not a night & day comparison except inbenchmarks.IMHO, you get what you pay for - get the 9650 and, when $$$ allows do a complete upgrade to an I7 system. Playing around with the i3 and i5's is a waste of money in your specific situation and will get you little more than you can achieve with a properly clocked 9650. Yes, you would see a difference but if I understand your situation correctly, right now you want the best bang for the buck. It this case - stay with the 9650.Also I didn't see your OS listed - you might also consider W7 64.Vic

Sounds good. And thanks to everyone for the replies. Good info.I'm running Win7-64. I added 2 more GB of DDR2 (at the same time as the Win7 up) to the 2GB RAM I had to get some advantage right away. I guess the 9650 will get me through the winter and then in spring when work picks up I can get medium level i7 rig for not too much cash.Thanks again. :Peace:

What he said is worng.... so your gonna get the 9650??It defies logic it performs very close than that quad and if you want to get an i7 after you still need to change the motherboard and RAM! The thing is SO overpriced it costs 320$, you can get an i7 for less!

What he said is worng.... so your gonna get the 9650??It defies logic it performs very close than that quad and if you want to get an i7 after you still need to change the motherboard and RAM! The thing is SO overpriced it costs 320$, you can get an i7 for less!

But if I go to an i7, then I need a new (and apparently expensive) MB plus the i7 CPU plus I have to change my 4GB RAM. Isn't that the case? If I get the 9650 - and I'm not saying I'm right, I'm must saying - I only have to make a single purchase and my rig gets a qualitative boost without too much cash. For me the difference between less than $400 and more than $500 is the difference between can and can't. I've got kids and my "fun money" is limited. If I was single I would have an i7 with a 480GTX tomorrow.I'm not dissing your advice, my brother, believe me I'm listening and I appreciate what you are saying.

Yea im not telling you to get an i7 but im saying for 50$ less you can get an i3 and 1156 motherboard which sets you up later for a i7-875K for example. And you will have the DDR3 RAM already, and it's less than just that Quad!