Is P45 dead? Should we jump to i5/7 or wait?

sev

sev

Associate
Joined
26 Jan 2009
Posts
96
I've currently got an Asus P5Q Deluxe board.

I was looking to move to a Gigabyte UD3 variant, and it got me wondering, if the memory requirement was for DDR3 (which it was on the UD3P - until I realised that for some reason it's not available in the uk), what would be the point when there is the new i5 / i7 1156 boards?

If the only component on the board you were going to port was the cpu (s775), and you were thinking of buying mobo and ddr3 ram; why not just upgrage to i5 / i7?

I know that there's always adopters of the new technology, but is P45 truly dead?
 
Associate
Joined
25 Oct 2009
Posts
576
Location
York
Not really, I'm currently using a P35 board and I'm happy with it (granted, I fried the NB when overclocking and it crashes regularly, but other than that...:p). People still happily use C2D/C2Q processors for gaming and workstations, especially if they're on a budget

I'm actually in the market for a P45 board myself when I come across some more funds
 
Associate
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
2,332
Missing the point here chaps.
The OP is asking is it worth buying a new P45 board and DDR3 to go with it.

To me the answer is no you might as well bite the bullet and go i5 if on a budget,or i7 if money is no object.
There are nice gains in gaming and apps from either platform,depends what you use your pc for at the end of the day.

Some of the comments here are still true,especially that the P45 will still make a decent backbone for a couple of years yet,but if you are planning to buy new hardware I'd spend it on a new platform rather than flogging a dead horse so to speak.

You'd be able to recoup some of the cost with the sale of your old kit and while s1156 and s1366 arent going to last beyond a couple of years,it's still a better path than throwing money into s775 which is a dead end.
 
Associate
Joined
26 May 2008
Posts
1,774
I think it depends on your usage and budget, the cheaper Intel 775 CPU's are great value for money, and Intel 775 quad cores are being released with 65w power ratings.

I have to say I myself am pretty tempted with the idea of a 65w Q9550s with 4 gig of PC-8500 as a future replacement for the E6300 and Corsair PC-6400 I currently have for my Gigabyte board.

For an all round PC that does not break the bank socket 775 is still a viable opton with plenty of upgrades available. DDR3, is it really going to offer that much of an improvement in real world apps? I think i5 and such are great, I am planning such a build myself next year, but I know I don't need it, and I am wanting to hold off and see if a newer more energy efficient stepping of the Lynfield CPU's is released and if costs drop, as there are still cheaper 775 options available.
 
Last edited:

sev

sev

Associate
OP
Joined
26 Jan 2009
Posts
96
Thanks for all of your comments so far guys.

Legion, thanks for the insight, it told me pretty much what was in the back of my mind already. The board I was looking at which got me thinking was the Gigabyte EP45-UD3P which as it turns out is not available in the uk, (which is why OCuk didn't show stock!)

I currently have a Q9550 on an asus P5Q Deluxe with 8GB Corsair matched ram.
The whole point of considering the switch was to build a hackintosh, and the Gigabyte boards for some reason just lend themselves to this so very well.

I don't really use crossfire as I run an Nvidia Quadro 4500.

Your comment about 1156/1366 not lasting more than a couple of years is interesting, as this was the other thin i'd wondered about. Don't get me wrong I know the technology will move on regardless and nothing is really future proof, but I think i'd be more tempted to consider a change if I knew say that 1366 would have the same longevity of 775.

It would, after all be a mobo / cpu / memory upgrade if I did overhaul, as I have my case pretty much sorted (3x velociraptors in raid 0) and am really waiting for SSD prices to stop being daft money for the good stuff.

I don't really overclock to any great extent, and the work is mainly image processing/3d modelling.
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Apr 2003
Posts
13,513
P45 is still a great chipset for s775, i actually kinda regret selling my p5q deluxe, q9550 combo.

And i regret not enquiring whether you would be selling the above when you did your initial 'i7 enquiry post' so i could have bought it off you and had a play ;).

EDIT: @ OP - you have a great CPU, and oodles of memory and, as you're aware, you wouldn't notice a massive increase in performance over your present rig (especially if you clocked the Q9950). If you have concerns i would wait - as a new P45 MB coupled with your present setup should last you another year comfortably, probably more considering your usage. Plus, your total outlay would be only ~£100 - so you could perhaps treat your self to a SSD?
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
29 Jul 2009
Posts
294
S775 is still a good upgrade path if you're on a budget and don't have to replace more than one component.

For me, I think I'll be sticking with my X38 board and upgrade to a 2nd hand Q6600/Q6700 when I need 4 cores. I know it's a cheapo upgrade but, with the right amount of overclocking, it'll still be sufficient for every game out there imho. ;)
 

sev

sev

Associate
OP
Joined
26 Jan 2009
Posts
96
Why the change from the P5Q Deluxe in the first place?

well, to be truthfull I've been trying to get a hackintosh on the go, and i'm running round in circles with the asus :( , the gigabyte boards seem to lend themselves to it really easily!

it doesnt help that the asus bios has dsdt tables or such, which requires the bios to be hacked :(
 

sev

sev

Associate
OP
Joined
26 Jan 2009
Posts
96
thats right, its effectively trying to make mac osx run on regular pc hardware. There isn't really any compromise,.
when you look at the system specs of apple gear you understand why people do it.
Apple build quality and design cant be faulted, but for that money you can build an awesome pc and still have change.

the entry level mac is the mini and you can build a mini itx comparable system for a fraction of the 500 quid of the mini.
 
Soldato
Joined
24 Jul 2004
Posts
22,594
Location
Devon, UK
I'm still using G33.

I'm not moving to i5/i7 until I see which out of the two high end sockets Intel decide to continue support for. I'm not moving and risking getting burnt. :p
 
Soldato
Joined
3 Feb 2008
Posts
5,483
I've got 16Gb of ram in my P5Q Deluxe. To move onto anything realistically faster for what I do would be mega bucks with i7 and DDR3. I'm certainly forseeing a fair amount of life in this old girl yet. Heck My Q6600 still pulls its weight fine.
 
Associate
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
2,332
wait because there's no must play games etc that warrant much over a duo @3 ghz +

That's totally true,an i5 and i7 are absolute overkill atm for gaming.

But I'll say it again the OP was asking if it was worth buying a new P45 board and ddr3 to go with it.
The answer as we all know is absolutely not,if you are going to spend money on an upgrade that requires you to buy ddr3 as well you might as well go the whole hog and change platforms.

Now that was before he confessed to wanting to build a hackintosh lol.
That actually could be worth it to him,and tbh there's nothing to stop you doing that with a DDR2 board as opposed to DDR3.
That would be a much cheaper alternative as he already has DDR2 and DDR2 gigabyte P45 boards arent hard to find.
 
Back
Top Bottom