Reddit reviews Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 Processor 3.0 GHz 12 MB Cache Socket LGA775

I can't help myself...

It looks like that mobo can handle Core 2 Quads, so check out this deal:

CPU top: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001D86S3G/ref=dp_olp_used_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=used

CPU cheap:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4RE66V1325

RAM: https://www.ebay.com/itm/8GB-KIT-2-x-4GB-DIMM-DDR2-NON-ECC-PC2-6400-800MHz-800-MHz-DDR-2-DDR-2-Ram-Memory/321784568907

RAM is tough, as it seems the DDR2 800Mhz 2x4GB arrangement you need to get to 8GB is over $100 almost everywhere. Look around, though. Watch out for Apple, AMD, and Dell specific memory modules which probably won't work for you.

For video cards, you're gonna need a GTX 1050 at minimum to get what you want, I think. Take a look at this GPU value chart and decide on the price you can stomach: https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html

I'm thinking maybe this: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814126170

Hello again. Here is the best price/performance you can get on that socket. Anything better than that chip will cost $100+ and you won't get much more power.

You can easily overclock to 3.6ghz with the FSB set to 1600 and a decent set of 800mhz DDR2 (PC2-6400). I actually have a setup like this about 3 feet to my right.

Side answer: yes.

Thank you for the detailed analysis and the build.

Does your comment about migrating from Win 7 to Win 10 refer to when support ends fully in 2020? Or were you referring to something else?
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13853/windows-lifecycle-fact-sheet

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[Hardware Diagnostics Questions]

Thanks for the suggestion to verify the health of my HDDs.

My manufacturer, HP, has a diagnostic tool that can be accessed through the BIOS that checks the health of the drives and memory. Apparently, it's provided by PC Doctor, and it found no issues with my machine. It appears it checked the memory and the drive.

Honestly, I'm not really sure what I'm looking for in terms of diagnosing hardware health. My speccy report seemed to suggest the HDDs are okay, though:
http://speccy.piriform.com/results/KGOLcRLQ7G1rNmfIjOQCAZy

Does something like HWiNFO provide worthwhile information about hardware health? Or would I really need to look at individual tools for testing to see what pieces of my hardware might be worth retaining or near failure?

A quick Googling suggests that individual tests might be superior, and I've seen that suggested at /r/techsupport's chat. (memtest and furmark are frequently mentioned in the chat, for example.)
https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/5msgua/pcdoctor_is_it_any_good/dc65q9z/
[That's another memtest and furmark reference, for memory and GPU, respectively. They also recommend prime95 for testing the CPU.]

If anyone has any recommendations for tools to use to determine hardware health, I would definitely appreciate it. I will check out CrystalDiskInfo as well, especially since it might find something the other diagnostics have missed.

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[Comparing iGPU and current dedicated GPU, as well as an upgraded CPU for the current machine vs. the CPU in the new build]

Now that I think about it, is there anyway to salvage my GeForce 8500 GT in the new build? (The GPU in the current machine?)

Nvidia claims it is supported with Windows 10, and so that shouldn't be an issue when I do eventually migrate over with this system:
http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3710/~/nvidia-gpus-supported-under-windows-10

However, if the new build doesn't have a GPU of its own, would the 8500 GT be an improvement over the iGPU?

Additionally, if we're going to be saving so much stuff from the old build, I'm beginning to wonder if I should just try to breathe a little more life into my current machine...

I had made a post about a month ago to determine if there was anything worth salvaging:
https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/634o9n/salvaging_a_vintage_pc_hp_pavilion_elite_m9150f/

It seemed like there was quite a bit that I could use. One comment in that thread mentions that the front panel wiring is proprietary. Does that wiring integrate with the motherboard, so I would be stuck with my current motherboard if I wanted to make use of this case?

As indicated in my first post in this thread, it looks like upgrading to 6 GB of DDR2 RAM would be about $24, and then upgrading to 8 GB, if RAM prices stay the same, would add another $24.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c01301711

The support website lists a number of potential processor upgrades, which are probably my second bottleneck, alongside the 8 GB DDR2 RAM limit of the motherboard.

Here are all the potential CPUs I can use with the motherboard, side-by-side:
https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/9kZQzy,ZpvRsY,gvGkcf,dkZQzy/

The one I have in there, the Q6600, is on this page:
https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/9kZQzy,ZpvRsY,dkZQzy,2vGkcf/

Comparing the 3 CPUs that look like they could be improvements:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=1050&cmp[]=1038&cmp[]=957

It looks like the Core 2 Quad Q9650 is the clear winner, and I can get a used one off Amazon for $63:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001D86S3G/ref=olp_page_1?ie=UTF8&f_new=true&f_refurbished=true&f_used=true&f_usedAcceptable=true&f_usedGood=true&f_usedLikeNew=true&f_usedVeryGood=true

The Q9650 also has a Thermal Design Power of 95 Watts, whereas the current CPU, the Q6600, has a TDP of 100 Watts, so it would seem my current PSU can handle that upgrade.

So that's $63 for the Q9650 CPU, $48 to get me up to 8 GB DDR2RAM (or $24 for 6 GB RAM).

So $111 to get this system up to:
>3.0 Ghz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650

>8 GB DDR2 RAM

>670 GB 7200 RPM HDD [Across two 335 GB drives]

>256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT

Is that worth it? Or should I just be focusing on a new build and potentially bringing along the 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT to offset the iGPU of my new build?

Is there any chance the newer iGPU is actually better than a dedicated graphics card (the old 8500 GT)?

Wow... Yes, there's a very good chance, according to this:
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp%5B%5D=1270&cmp%5B%5D=3647

>G3D Mark Rating (Higher is Better)

>Geforce 8500 GT ---- 139

>Intel HD 610 ---- 744

That was surprising. Time to dump the 8500, it appears...

Yeah, and the new 3.5 Ghz G4560 in our build, that has the Intel HD 610 iGPU, is less expensive than upgrading to a used 3.0 Ghz Q9650.

That settles that. Ditch the current CPU and the video card, but bring along the two HDD's and the media card reader.

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If the media card reader is limiting the new case, we could always get an external one:
https://www.amazon.com/Transcend-Flash-Memory-Reader-TS-RDP8K/dp/B001NS0OZ4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1495192267&sr=8-2&keywords=2.0+media+card+reader

It also seems like the internal card reader can be made external, but it involves rewiring, and re-soldering, the device:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Recycling-A-PC-Internal-Card-Reader-Make-it-Extern/

Thus, if it's a big deal to find a case for the internal reader, in a way that might impact upgradeability, it may be better to just buy a new external one than try to convert the internal to an external, at least based on current pricing. (Or, since I use the reader now, even infrequently, I guess we could always make this switch later if the case ever became too limiting, but I would hope that would be an upgrade for the very distant future, based on making intelligent choices now with the hardware.)

If dual channel RAM is a big deal, is there any benefit to buying two 8 GB sticks now, to get 16 GB total? I feel like if I go with 4 GB sticks, I am more likely to junk them in the future if 16 GB turns out not to be enough. (Which would hurt even more, since at that point I would have four 4 GB sticks that would no longer be used.)

Even if I were only discard the two 4 GB sticks we were considering in your build, that's still $58 of investment that isn't going toward the machine after a RAM upgrade. I could use that investment right now instead to boost the single 8 GB RAM stick to a dual-channel 8 GB RAM setup, for a total of 16 GB RAM

Thus, do you think it's worth spending extra for dual channel, 16 GB total RAM now, due to your preference for dual channel RAM?

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In addition, I would likely plan to save the SSD until later, when I presume the price would come down. Also, as an SSD-newbie, I'm a little afraid of the learning curve :p. In addition, as I have never experienced an SSD, I have no idea what I am missing, and can likely make do with the 7200 RPM HDDs.

Rereading your post, however, it sounds like your order of investment priority would be:

>1) SSD

>2) Better CPU

>3) More RAM

>4) GPU (predominantly for gaming)

Is that accurate?

Like I said, I'm concerned about wasting money if I buy two 4 GB RAM sticks and need more later, but I guess if the CPU is more important, would I want to try to spend money there first before I look to increase the RAM amount?

Basically, I'm trying to figure out the sweet spot where investing a little more now means less money wasted if I have to replace a part, since the slightly more expensive part would be less likely to be an early bottleneck for the overall system.

(However, it seems like this might be a poor plan, since I could try to future-proof this new machine to an excessively expensive degree.)

Thus, any feedback you could provide on how to be most cost effective now would be extremely appreciated.

Thanks, again, for all the insight. I'm learning a great deal working through this, although I sincerely apologize for my ignorance.

My lack of knowledge makes my learning curve rather steep, and while I am willing to put forth the effort to learn, I really don't mean to be irritating with my questions.

Thank you for your compassion :) I look forward to your feedback, should you be kind enough to share it. (Which should also be an invitation to anyone else who is feeling helpful and wants to chime in :) )

Please have an awesome day.