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XPS 710 MoBo upgrade- need advice/tips
I have been reading a bit on the forum regarding the mobo upgrade and frankly, I am in kinda two minds about whether to go for the upgrade or not. I have a XPS710, bought in april this year. This is 2Gram, with E6400 and standard 250G HDD and i believe nvidia 5x series MoBo. Was wondering does it make sense to go for the upgrade ? I use it mainly for routine stuff, + doing some dvd editing/burning/home movies etc.. and for some minor gaming. Would it make sense to just buy the Q6600 and install that (i don't know if my mobo would support that, so it might be just a moot point). I do want to get the newer mobo and faster chip.. but again, am not really in the mood to re-install the OS and all the other stuff ! All advice/tips appreciated.., in short: would going for the new mobo and Q6600 be worth the effort/money/time given my general usage of this thingie ?
MacDaddy05
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Posted August 15th, 2007 08:00
Oh, if you did replace the Mobo, the only way to get a real increase in power would to get a Mobo capable or faster memory, or maybe overclocking features, but in the long run, I think that'd be more expensive and time consuming then a simple processor upgrade.
Message Edited by MacDaddy05 on 08-15-2007 04:16 AM- I'm in a similar boat - I filled out the request online, but I think I am going to change my mind. I have a quad 710H2C and its running great - 17802 on 3DMark06. I finally got the nVidia drivers working well, all my games are running fine, and for me to realize any benefits I would have to replace my 4GB of memory and get a new processor for what? a few hundred more 3DMarks? In real terms, the performance difference would hardly be worth $1500 when you add it all up.Comments anyone?
odenwalder
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Posted August 15th, 2007 12:00
One of the big differences is the Nvidia chipset upgrade available with the 720 motherboard.. The 570/590 chipset never lived up to its goals while the 680i chipset gets very good reviews. There is a definite question open as to whether you would need to reinstall your OS and programs. I for one will have my system imaged with Acronis True Image 10 so if a reinstall is required it will be a 10 minute exercise to restore the original image, and this may not even be necessary. I have a 700 and consider the upgrade to be future proofing my investment in the machine. Whether the 680i chipset will support the next generation of processors will depend on Dell and the ability to upgrade the bios but it will be more likely with the 680i than the 570/590. Just my thoughts.Regards - MichaelO
XPS700 - Black
E6700 1.4.1 Bios - OS XP MCE 2005
4GB DDR2 PC2-5300 @ 667 Mhz
24 in Dell 2405FPW
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XFI Fatal1ty w/ Logitech Z-5450 5.1
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E6850 - OS XP Pro
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7900 GTX 512 MB
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ZeroTherm Butterfly Cooler
Corair HX620 Modular PSUpointguard1122
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Posted August 15th, 2007 17:00
You don't HAVE to upgrade the RAM, but it is recommended. You should Easily be able to find some OCZ PC2-8500 for well under $200. This can be OCed to 1066. That is a HUGE performance boost from 667.- Thanks odenwalder and MacDaddy05 for your inputs.. yeah, for me the MoBo upgrade to 6x series is the main deal-clincher. have heard good reviews about it, and since i just bought the machine a few months back and expect this to last me a while, i think that the mobo would be a good idea to future-proof it (in a sense!). I have acronis and will definitely image it back to way it was - but i thought that Lionel's/Chris's posts meant that you have to actually re-install and not just re-image ?? Would re-imaging and then upgrading with the newer drivers (if required) work ? [since, i would keep the same processors, hopefully the chipset drivers etc. wouldn't need to be re-installed] I didn't know that system RAM would have to be upgraded though :( now, have to figure out the actual costs to see if it's worth it or not.
odenwalder wrote:
.. The 570/590 chipset never lived up to its goals while the 680i chipset gets very good reviews.
I have read the same reviews, but I question what the real world impact of a 710H2C with a Quad processor OCed to 3.2GHz on 590 vs. 680 will be. Is is worth $250? Assuming the same processor, same memory, same video card, what exactly will the 680i chipset accomplish that Dell's implementation of the 590 hasn't already?For some this upgrade may be worth it - I am questioning whether it is worth it for ME given my current system and performance.Comments?
MacDaddy05
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Posted August 15th, 2007 08:00