Upgarde my i7 920?

[Joe C]

I have a 920 processor with an MSI X58 Pro motherboard. I recently got an SSD drive but can't get the best out of it because my board only has Sata II ports. getting a new 1366 pin board (X58) is nearly extinct, but I have seen an Asus X58 on Ebay with Sata III ports and USB 3.0. They are in the range of $100. to $150. ranging from used in very good condition to refurbs.

Is it worth it to upgrade and keep the out dated i7 920 for the $150.board?
It's always been a good chip that worked very well for me
Thanks

 

[PP Mguire]

Just wait until you're ready to upgrade the big 3. SSDs on SATA2 are still rather quick and there isn't a real world difference between SATA2 and 3 with SATA3 SSDs. Unless you're copying from SATA3 SSD to SATA3 SSD or SATA3 to RAMdisk.
Not only that, but the i7 920 is still rather respectable in the performance area. Overclocked it's even better.

 

[Joe C]

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking that the Sata III might give me better performance
I recently built a gaming rig for someone with an i5 - 3570K cpu and a Samsung 840 SSD and that thing was twice as responsive as the one I use everyday...I was like wow.... I didn't realize I should be better!

 

[PP Mguire]

Which SSD do you own?

SATA3 bus only grants raw transfer speeds over SATA2. The biggest performance differences between SATA2 SSDs and SATA3 SSDs are IOPS. The bus doesn't limit IOPS speed on the drive itself so system responsiveness should be around the same, granted you both have comparable SSDs, both using the same OS, and both on a fresh install. My boot time going from the Vertex 2 to the Neutron GTX only dropped by about 1.5 seconds (AHCI screen on i5 board) but actual system responsiveness between the GTX on my 3960x rig and my Vertex 2 on my i5 750 feels absolutely the same within Windows.

I suppose the only other thing that could be making a good difference is just IPC, but that really wont make a huge difference just dicking around in Windows.

Edit: I should mention, that if you do any actual productive type stuff on your PC then the upgrade is worth it if you are switching to the 3570k or 3770k. If you just game on your PC then it's not worth it at all. Just try to remember that a newer PC should at least feel a little faster in comparison. If it didn't, it wouldn't be worth it to upgrade at all for anything.

 

[Joe C]

I have an older OCZ Vertex 2
I don't game but I do convert vhs to dvd and video edit. which could help with better speed. I wasn't considering switching to a 3570...that'll require a new board and if I'm going to go that route I might as well wait for the Haswell's to come out first

 

[PP Mguire]

Will be more money for only a 10% overall increase in performance.

 

[Joe C]

Think going with just an upgrade on the board that has USB 3.0 and Sata III might be my most economical alternative at this time then?

btw:
New Egg has that Samsung 840 250 gb SSD on sale today for $160.

 

[PP Mguire]

Could be economical if it gives you what you want in your setup. If you haven't overclocked your CPU you could also go that route as well.

 

[Joe C]

Already have it O/C'd somewhat
The MSI board I currently have made it a real PIA to get O/C'd so an Asus board that I'm thinking should make for an easier-better O/C
Lesson learned: bought a cheap X58 board and I ended up getting a cheap X58 board

 

[PP Mguire]

Lots of air came out of my nose on the last part lol. Still should be able to OC well though. Getting a better board doesn't always mean you can OC higher. My current situation screams that.