# Replacement for intel Q6600



## Alejandro_2509 (Jul 16, 2009)

Hello there, I decided it was time to upgrade/replace my ancient Intel core 2 Quad Q6600 with something that is current to keep up to date since latetly some newer versions of software run considerably slower. Specially Flash player and WoW since the last expansion. 

I have a budget of $300 or $400 even. I want to replace the the CPU, the motherboard and the RAM. I am aiming for 6 or 8 GB or RAM.

I currently have 6GB of Ram, a 500GB SATA 2 HDD a 600W Coolersmaster silent pro M and a Nvidia 560 Ti. I use the PC mainly to play games, mostly WoW, Diablo III, Empire Total War and RTS games. sometimes I do some programming. I also watch a lot of Youtube videos and movies in HD.

I have windows 8.1 as OS.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Make and model number of the RAM?

Do you have the install CD for Windows 8.1 correct?

The only reusable part is going to be the GPU and maybe the RAM if it is compatible.


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## R0B (May 20, 2011)

What size case do you have? MicroATX, ATX, etc?

Your RAM, is DDR2 which I am assuming. If it is DDR3 you may be able to use it, unless it is too slow. 

I will post some upgrade options after I know which case you have. Unless you want a new one.


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## Alejandro_2509 (Jul 16, 2009)

I want to replace the CPU, the motherboard and the RAM, I'll be buying DDR3 since the Q6600 uses DDR2. The case is a coolermaster HAF 922 it supports ATX and Micro-ATX motherboards. I have a CD with windows 7 ultimate 64 and 32 bits and a ISO image of windows 8 from microsoft dreamspark.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

You also need a new PSU since the one you have is very low quality and I would advise not putting that with new PC parts.

The only reusable part here is the case, CD drive, and GPU.

Take a look at our recommended build guide:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f255/tsf-hardware-teams-recommended-builds-2014-a-668661.html

and I would recommend the $800 Intel build but subtract the case, CD ROM, and GPU and buy the other bits.


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## Alejandro_2509 (Jul 16, 2009)

It would be like $300 for the processor and the motherboard plus the RAM, I do not think that I have to change the PSU since it is supposed to be of good quality according to coolermaster. The other problem is that I live in mexico and all the PC parts cost as much as double as in the US. My goal here is to be able to run WoW on ultra settings with a decent framerate like 30 or 25 be the bare minimum.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Of course CoolerMaster claims their products are "good". They want you to buy them :grin:.

In fact Coolermaster has come of the worse and lowest quality PSUs on the market. You really should consider upgrading it to a XFX or Seasonic model unit.

What website are you buying the parts from? Is there an Amazon Mexico?


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

Personally if you cant afford the latest and greatest, I'd suggest an i5 Ivy Bridge Processor and compatible Motherboard, your hard drive and power supply will be adequate. Hopefully you can pick up a motherboard/ CPU combination and Ram for around $300. W7 64 bit is still better than W8, so no need to use that.


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## Alejandro_2509 (Jul 16, 2009)

Yeah, I was aiming at something like that.

There is an amazon for mexico but it only ships books, I am not sure if amazon USA ships computer parts to mexico. I know that newegg does not (sadly). I usually buy stuff from a store named MiPC


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Here is what you will be looking at:

Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-4430 Haswell 3.0GHz LGA 1150 84W Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I54430

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z87-DS3H LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM - Newegg.com

XFX TS Series XFX TS 550W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Newegg.com

Total: $460


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

No reason to swap out the power supply. The Silent ProM line (by Enhance) are solid; maybe not the greatest but definitely not "the worse and lowest quality PSUs on the market."


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## Alejandro_2509 (Jul 16, 2009)

Surfing the web I found out this mexican website that sells stuff at good prices

I found the next parts:

DIGITALIFE - GIGABYTE MOTHERBOARD SOCKET AM3+ GA-970A-UD3P

DIGITALIFE - AMD PROCESADOR FX-6300 X6 3.5GHZ SOCKET AM3+ FD6300WMHKBOX

The CPU has about the same specs as the Q6600 and a higher clock speed.


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

Alejandro_2509 said:


> Surfing the web I found out this mexican website that sells stuff at good prices
> 
> I found the next parts:
> 
> ...


Looking at the Passmark scores, the AMD FX6300 is much higher, even in single core processing. So it is definitely worth looking at.
FX 6300 - 6384, Single core - 1415
Q6600 - 2978, Single core - 919


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## Alejandro_2509 (Jul 16, 2009)

Alright, Thanks for your help guys. If I can get enough moneys I'll get the i5; else I'll get the AMD.


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