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[Minsc]

*edit* yeah I was close, 30GB SSD from amazon.co.uk is £93, I will keep my eyes open on them as I feel it's worth it.

*2nd edit* Another make, £80 for 32GB, damn I am so tempted to buy but I think I will also need another wire to connect it to my motherboard, my MB can support two internal drives right?

I've never heard of a motherboard that couldn't support at least 4 drives. Don't buy any SSDs other than the Vertex or X25, unless you want your system choking up a lot. Those are the only two that don't fall apart when multi-tasking, I've read all the other SSDs are horrible at doing multiple things at once.

Edit: I'd be a little curious that your amazon link doesn't label the drive as the Vertex Series, like Newegg's photo.

And that's because they're not the same series. I'm pretty sure the SSD you have in your Amazon link is no where as good as the OCZ Vertex in the newegg link.

 

[Diablohead]

I've never heard of a motherboard that couldn't support at least 4 drives. Don't buy any SSDs other than the Vertex or X25, unless you want your system choking up a lot. Those are the only two that don't fall apart when multi-tasking, I've read all the other SSDs are horrible at doing multiple things at once.

Edit: I'd be a little curious that your amazon link doesn't label the drive as the Vertex Series, like Newegg's photo.

And that's because they're not the same series. I'm pretty sure the SSD you have in your Amazon link is no where as good as the OCZ Vertex in the newegg link.

Just dug the same drive up on amazon but the cost is £155. I will remember to look for vertex drives so thanks for that

 

[Brandon F]

If anyone is curious, I upgraded from a 4850 512 to an XFX 4890 1gb(OC to ~900mhz) this weekend.

Basically Crysis runs at 1900x1200 with Enthusiast settings(max) at around 30fps almost perpetually(no AA or AF tho). Earth shatteringly gorgeous. I also have the mster 'time of day' mod which may have enabled a bit of optimization. But regardless to get the same performance with my 4850 I was running 1440x900 with the same settings. Now running at my native res makes a noticeable difference. Granted, I have not played far enough to see if things go sour once the lategame 'stuff' rolls around, but a few levels in and its all good.

NWN2 still sucks ass with shadows fully on tho. There is no hope for that engine.

Oh yea and specs:

Intel Core i7 920
9GB GDDR3 RAM
XFX Radeon 4890 1gb
WD 1tB HDD
550 PSU

 

[brain_stew]

I've been looking into getting a laptop and I've just got two questions if anyone can answer them:
1. What's the general consensus on Dell Laptops? From what I've heard they seem pretty acceptable but I'm just wondering if there's anything about them that I should be aware of?
2. I've been looking specifically at the Studio 17 Dell laptops and just wondering if they're any good and if they're good value for money?

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/p...&ref=lthp&s=dhs
Looking at the £579 or £649 in particular.

A machine with a 17" screen is not a laptop. Its a dektop replacement, that's something you've got to get very clear in your head before going down the road of buying a massive laptop. Its fine for occasionaly moving from a few static places but simplt not designed for someone always on the move. When we're getting into laptops of this size I tend to find the desktop + netbook is a better solution for many, as you get the best of both worlds.

 

[brain_stew]

Only a week or so before my new machine arrives in the post but I been constantly thinking about it's performance, for £450 I know i'm not getting the full beans available for gaming but if I can recap what I have some feedback would be great to hear.

Intel® Core 2 Duo E7400
CPU Cooler: Standard CPU heatsink & fan
Motherboard: Asus P5KPL-AM (Intel G31 chipset,
onboard video)
Memory: 4.0GB Corsair DDR2 800mhz XMS2 (2x 2GB)
Hard Drives: 160GB S-ATAII 3.0Gb/s
Optical Drive: 20x DVD±RW DL
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 896MB
Sound card: Onboard 7.1 Audio
PSU: 500W Eagle

I'd really try and get a better motherboard included in your build if possible, ideally P45 based. Heck, then you can even bump down the processor and OC to get the extra performance. I'm just not a fan of m-ATX motherboards, they're far too restrictive and the G31 is outdated and low spec.

 

[Diablohead]

Using google shopping search it's amazing how the same SSD comes up as $130+ but in uk shops it's £150+ oh my

I'd really try and get a better motherboard included in your build if possible, ideally P45 based. Heck, then you can even bump down the processor and OC to get the extra performance. I'm just not a fan of m-ATX motherboards, they're far too restrictive and the G31 is outdated and low spec.

It's a little late change the MB but once the machine starts to show age in the future i'll upgrade it instead of waiting it out like I have done on this machine, The change to PCI-E is what hit me hard and I just stuck with this for way too long.

 

[brain_stew]

OK Gaf, I could really use some help here.

I've been wanting a new PC for a while now, but I don't have a whole lot of money. The only game I play these days is WoW. Occasionally I'll play some CoH, but the rig I want to get is going to be a WoW rig 99.99 percent of the time.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131376
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103672
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811162042
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130297
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136199

I don't want to spend a lot of money, so what I just posted should do the job, right? I'll be getting a monitor and keyboard separately, but I really just wanted to know two things.

Are all those parts compatible with one another? And do you think that that's a good machine for WoW use only? I'm pretty much a PC noob, so any help/advice would be greatly appreciated

EDIT: The monitor I'll be running WoW on will be at 1440x900 res.

There's buying bang for buck parts and then there's simply just cheaping out, the latter is where I'd put that build and its rarely a smart financial investment.

Have a look at Tech Report's April "Econobox", for $500 you get a great little machine, built with excellent, quality parts that'll last you. You could bump down the GPU in the Econobox build to a 4830 or the soon to be released 4770 if you want to save some cash.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

OK Gaf, I could really use some help here.

I've been wanting a new PC for a while now, but I don't have a whole lot of money. The only game I play these days is WoW. Occasionally I'll play some CoH, but the rig I want to get is going to be a WoW rig 99.99 percent of the time.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131376
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103672
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811162042
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130297
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136199

I don't want to spend a lot of money, so what I just posted should do the job, right? I'll be getting a monitor and keyboard separately, but I really just wanted to know two things.

Are all those parts compatible with one another? And do you think that that's a good machine for WoW use only? I'm pretty much a PC noob, so any help/advice would be greatly appreciated

EDIT: The monitor I'll be running WoW on will be at 1440x900 res.

YIKES, $165 for Vista home premium? What happened, it used to be $99?

 

[Minsc]

YIKES, $165 for Vista home premium? What happened, it used to be $99?

Perhaps it's a retail, not OEM copy? Too lazy to find out, but it better come with a free Windows 7 upgrade voucher, or you're throwing that money out the window (imo) with a rumored september release.

 

[Barso]

Brandon I just ordered a PC with identical specs to yours.
Glad to hear to runs crysis like you have described.
Thanks.
How many months or years do you think it will last without an upgrade?

 

[Chinner]

A machine with a 17" screen is not a laptop. Its a dektop replacement, that's something you've got to get very clear in your head before going down the road of buying a massive laptop. Its fine for occasionaly moving from a few static places but simplt not designed for someone always on the move. When we're getting into laptops of this size I tend to find the desktop + netbook is a better solution for many, as you get the best of both worlds.

you're quite right and i should have made it clear that it will be pretty much static so its not a problem.

 

[Gauhst]

Other than the OS, does everything else check out for what I posted?

 

[brain_stew]

Other than the OS, does everything else check out for what I posted?

Read my comments, those are horrible parts (well apart from the RAM), sorry but you can do a decent rig on a budget but utterly cheaping out on everything is NEVER worth it.

With the latest expansion WOW can be quite a drag on system resources, a 8600GT is a terrible buy for the money, it just doesn't cut it.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

OK Gaf, I could really use some help here.

I've been wanting a new PC for a while now, but I don't have a whole lot of money. The only game I play these days is WoW. Occasionally I'll play some CoH, but the rig I want to get is going to be a WoW rig 99.99 percent of the time.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131376
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103672
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811162042
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130297
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136199

I don't want to spend a lot of money, so what I just posted should do the job, right? I'll be getting a monitor and keyboard separately, but I really just wanted to know two things.

Are all those parts compatible with one another? And do you think that that's a good machine for WoW use only? I'm pretty much a PC noob, so any help/advice would be greatly appreciated

EDIT: The monitor I'll be running WoW on will be at 1440x900 res.

you can do a lot better than that.
edit: oh for god's sake, always a page late...

 

[EviLore]

My E6600 is showing its age lately, cpu bottlenecking me in several cases. Worse, it appears that my motherboard isn't suitable for quad core overclocking (at all), and OCing is pretty much a must for me, leaving a new core 2 chip as an insufficient upgrade.

*stares into the eyes of Core i7*

 

[Labombadog]

My PC froze and restarted by itself recently while playing Crysis. I figured that my GPU, Asus 4850, was over heating. I tried to increase the fan speed (CCC and RivaTuner) and realized that my fan was not going any faster (or slower for that matter), and it is stuck at one speed. I had 9.4 drivers then went back to 8.12 and still the same problem. I also tried to do the old 'fan trick' by manually going into the users file and editing the fan speed but it was already on manual.

Before I could of messed with the fan speed, but not anymore...whats going on?

My E6600 is showing its age lately, cpu bottlenecking me in several cases. Worse, it appears that my motherboard isn't suitable for quad core overclocking (at all), and OCing is pretty much a must for me, leaving a new core 2 chip as an insufficient upgrade.

*stares into the eyes of Core i7*

I have an E6600 (@ 3.2ghz) as well, what I am doing is waiting till 2011, seem like the best time to upgrade.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

My E6600 is showing its age lately, cpu bottlenecking me in several cases. Worse, it appears that my motherboard isn't suitable for quad core overclocking (at all), and OCing is pretty much a must for me, leaving a new core 2 chip as an insufficient upgrade.

*stares into the eyes of Core i7*

I just built a phenom II X4 920 box with a 780g chipset. It overclocks like a champ, got it up to 3.4ghz last night, on air cooling. Only thing holding me back is the RAM, need to swap out the ddr800 for some 1066.

I was going to get a Core i7, but the motherboard, CPU, memory price was just to pricey for the performance. I have read a statement by nvidia saying Core i7 adds nothing to modern games...

 

[EviLore]

I have read a statement by nvidia saying Core i7 adds nothing to modern games...

At equal clocks to a core 2 quad, there's no significant difference in most cases (except in SLI) because games are typically gpu bottlenecked right now, not cpu bottlenecked, on quad cores.

In my case, though, like I said, a core 2 quad isn't going to be OCable on my current mobo, which makes the i7 more attractive that it'd otherwise be. Especially with the new d0 stepping apparently making 4ghz stable on air a common occurrence w/ the i7 920, and at low voltages.

 

[Minsc]

I just built a phenom II X4 920 box with a 780g chipset. It overclocks like a champ, got it up to 3.4ghz last night, on air cooling. Only thing holding me back is the RAM, need to swap out the ddr800 for some 1066.

I was going to get a Core i7, but the motherboard, CPU, memory price was just to pricey for the performance. I have read a statement by nvidia saying Core i7 adds nothing to modern games...

For some reason World in Conflict benefits tremendously from a Core i7, ~50% improvement from a Core 2 Duo and even more from a Phenom (over 100% from a Phenom X4). If that's a sign of things to come, a Core i7 may just be worth the added cost if you want to avoid upgrading as long as possible.

 

[mr jones]

Sup, guys.

I want to build a computer. I want to stay under 1000 US dollars. I want it to be a media machine, so I want to have a Blu-ray drive, and a decently sized HDD, I would like to have it connected to my television via HDMI. I would like to be able to play games at 1080p.

Basically, I want to have a PC, that's setup like a game console. Any ideas? I know that HDMI is going to make things interesting, but this is primarily going be used for movies and games on the big screen.

Thanks!

 

[Diablohead]

Sup, guys.

I want to build a computer. I want to stay under 1000 US dollars. I want it to be a media machine, so I want to have a Blu-ray drive, and a decently sized HDD, I would like to have it connected to my television via HDMI. I would like to be able to play games at 1080p.

Basically, I want to have a PC, that's setup like a game console. Any ideas? I know that HDMI is going to make things interesting, but this is primarily going be used for movies and games on the big screen.

Thanks!

Long ago I use to be fond of the small pc cases which looked like a long gamecube, I can't remember the name (capsule?) but it's something which would fit next or under a tv well. They seem to have small motherboards so you get limited in extra slots for upgrades.

 

[Darklord]

Sup, guys.

I want to build a computer. I want to stay under 1000 US dollars. I want it to be a media machine, so I want to have a Blu-ray drive, and a decently sized HDD, I would like to have it connected to my television via HDMI. I would like to be able to play games at 1080p.

Basically, I want to have a PC, that's setup like a game console. Any ideas? I know that HDMI is going to make things interesting, but this is primarily going be used for movies and games on the big screen.

Thanks!

So you want games to run at 640p/30FPS? You don't need $1000 for that.

Really though, go for an i7 computer. That'll make 1080p games like no problem. Although I have no idea about prices over there so I can't be much help. I recommend a GTX260 216 or 4870HD card at least too.

 

[godhandiscen]

My E6600 is showing its age lately, cpu bottlenecking me in several cases. Worse, it appears that my motherboard isn't suitable for quad core overclocking (at all), and OCing is pretty much a must for me, leaving a new core 2 chip as an insufficient upgrade.

*stares into the eyes of Core i7*

Choose an Asus P6T rev 2.0 mobo for the i7 if you plan on OC'ing. They are the best bang for your buck.

 

[EviLore]

Choose an Asus P6T rev 2.0 mobo for the i7 if you plan on OC'ing. They are the best bang for your buck.

Yeah, already had it picked out


Not quite sure yet if I'll bite, but knowing me it's probably inevitable.

 

[godhandiscen]

Yeah, already had it picked out


Not quite sure yet if I'll bite, but knowing me it's probably inevitable.

You will not regret it. I have never felt such a difference as the time I upgraded to a Corei7.

 

[rohlfinator]

Sup, guys.

I want to build a computer. I want to stay under 1000 US dollars. I want it to be a media machine, so I want to have a Blu-ray drive, and a decently sized HDD, I would like to have it connected to my television via HDMI. I would like to be able to play games at 1080p.

Basically, I want to have a PC, that's setup like a game console. Any ideas? I know that HDMI is going to make things interesting, but this is primarily going be used for movies and games on the big screen.

Thanks!

Are you going to be using it for transcoding video (or any other heavy computing tasks), or just for video playback and gaming?

If it's the latter, I'd start with something like TR's Utility Player and throw in a Blu-ray drive and a bigger HDD. The i7 is overkill for most games right now, and it would probably kinda hot for a home theater PC.

If you're concerned about space, you could switch out for a micro-ATX motherboard and a smaller case... you'd just have to be a little more careful about cooling. You could even go for a nice HTPC case, although a lot of those require a half-height graphics card, which would cut down on your options there.

 

[Darklord]

Yeah, already had it picked out


Not quite sure yet if I'll bite, but knowing me it's probably inevitable.

I wouldn't recommend the P6T mobo. A fair few people told me its not too good. They recommended me the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5.

 

[Barso]

What is the best place for me to download the official patches for games?

 

[Hazaro]

My E6600 is showing its age lately, cpu bottlenecking me in several cases. Worse, it appears that my motherboard isn't suitable for quad core overclocking (at all), and OCing is pretty much a must for me, leaving a new core 2 chip as an insufficient upgrade.

*stares into the eyes of Core i7*

I went from a E6600 to a E7200.

3.4Ghz should be possible or at least 3.2 on a average cooler, that not enough?

 

[Darklord]

I just got my new PC. However rather that going back and forth with my external HDD, can I just hook one USB into the old PC and one into the new and transfer it like that?

What is the best place for me to download the official patches for games?

Filefront probably.

 

[Labombadog]

My PC froze and restarted by itself recently while playing Crysis. I figured that my GPU, Asus 4850, was over heating. I tried to increase the fan speed (CCC and RivaTuner) and realized that my fan was not going any faster (or slower for that matter), and it is stuck at one speed. I had 9.4 drivers then went back to 8.12 and still the same problem. I also tried to do the old 'fan trick' by manually going into the users file and editing the fan speed but it was already on manual.

Any help guys?

 

[EviLore]

I wouldn't recommend the P6T mobo. A fair few people told me its not too good. They recommended me the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5.

P6T seems to be the way most of the OCing community folks are going at the moment. If you have any specific examples...

 

[Grayman]

I just got my new PC. However rather that going back and forth with my external HDD, can I just hook one USB into the old PC and one into the new and transfer it like that?



Filefront probably.

You could probably go to the games official sites for list of mirrors and find one without a queue.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

I've heard nothing but good things about the P6T asus boards. I almost picked up the Asus gene II rampage micro ATX board. Only DFI and Asus make a lga1366 x58 micro atx board at the moment and the DFI is poorly reviewed.

Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131371

 

[godhandiscen]

I wouldn't recommend the P6T mobo. A fair few people told me its not too good. They recommended me the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5.

VictimOfGrief has the enthusiast edition of the Gigabyte mobos, and even he recognizes the P6T is better. The P6T allows you to overclock without increasing the voltage that much. Asus is the only way to go when it comes to CoreI7 mobo's. I have a REII and I am running at 3.7GHz at stock voltage.

I've heard nothing but good things about the P6T asus boards. I almost picked up the Asus gene II rampage micro ATX board. Only DFI and Asus make a lga1366 x58 micro atx board at the moment and the DFI is poorly reviewed.

Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131371

The Gamer's Republic line of Asus mobos use 16 phase circuits which allow for maximum stability when overclocking. You cannot go wrong with one of them. The Gene version, is only missing a couple PCI ports and the ROG belt (which I've never needed to use). I would say go for the Gene, no contest. Once you load that sweet bios and see all the OC options you will be amazed.

 

[EviLore]

Ordered.

Core i7 920 d0 stepping
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2
OCZ Platinum 12GB (6 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W PSU
Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO HSF

 

[godhandiscen]

Ordered.

Core i7 920 d0 stepping
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2
OCZ Platinum 12GB (6 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W PSU
Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO HSF

12GB of RAM? What applications do you run? Also, remember that with a higher amount of ram is more difficult to overclock. Or the other trade off is that you will have to lower the clock in your ram.

 

[mr jones]

Are you going to be using it for transcoding video (or any other heavy computing tasks), or just for video playback and gaming?

If it's the latter, I'd start with something like TR's Utility Player and throw in a Blu-ray drive and a bigger HDD. The i7 is overkill for most games right now, and it would probably kinda hot for a home theater PC.

If you're concerned about space, you could switch out for a micro-ATX motherboard and a smaller case... you'd just have to be a little more careful about cooling. You could even go for a nice HTPC case, although a lot of those require a half-height graphics card, which would cut down on your options there.

Looking over the specs of the utility player, that's getting close to the specs (and price) that I would be looking at for a multimedia pc. However, its not HDMI. I'm looking up what an HTPC case is now. Do the mini cases have a problem with cooling? Can they fit modern video cards?

 

[EviLore]

12GB of RAM? What applications do you run? Also, remember that with a higher amount of ram is more difficult to overclock. Or the other trade off is that you will have to lower the clock in your ram.

Yeah, that's not a big deal, I'll downclock or loosen timings as necessary. Doing so doesn't appear to affect performance on the i7 either way, from what I've seen.

I sometimes use heavy apps and I do multitask, but really, with the prices being pretty low, I don't see much reason not to go with 12.

 

[mr jones]

Ordered.

Core i7 920 d0 stepping
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2
OCZ Platinum 12GB (6 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W PSU
Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO HSF

Jesus, dude. Do you run AutoCAD, 3D Studio, and SQL Server with a 4+ million record database at the same time or something? Wasup with all the RAM?

 

[JimmyV]

Yeah, that's not a big deal, I'll downclock or loosen timings as necessary. Doing so doesn't appear to affect performance on the i7 either way, from what I've seen.

I sometimes use heavy apps and I do multitask, but really, with the prices being pretty low, I don't see much reason not to go with 12.

Yeah. When I saw how cheap a set of 12gigs or DDR3 was I put it straight into my set-up, you can never have too much RAM

Spoiler

kinda

.

 

[Clevinger]

I have a question. On the side removable door of my case there's a circular cone type thing in the inside side of the wall, and inside the cone on the case wall are holes.

Can I remove that cone thing and put a fan there, or is that thing essential or better than a fan?


thanks

 

[Minsc]

Ordered.

Core i7 920 d0 stepping
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2
OCZ Platinum 12GB (6 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W PSU
Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO HSF

indeed.

On board video?

 

[rass]

P6T seems to be the way most of the OCing community folks are going at the moment. If you have any specific examples...

im not overclocking yet, but i got the P6T/i7 920 combo 2 days ago and it flies, only thing that annoys me about the mobo is the quick launch "feature" that comes up during system boot. It lets you use skype or internet and a couple of other bits without using Windows, seems pointless to me and adds 5/10 seconds to bootup

 

[Fredescu]

You can turn that off in the BIOS. I don't remember what it's called exactly but I had to do the same on my P5Q Pro.

 

[EviLore]

indeed.

On board video?

Will be keeping these components from my current rig:

260 GTX (OCed to >= 280 performance levels, don't have numbers handy since I just moved to Windows 7)
300GB Velociraptor OS/app HDD
750GB high performance WD dedicated game install HDD
500GB seagate media HDD
Sound Blaster X-Fi extrememusic (for all the good it does in a post-xp world...)
Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 case

The 750GB gaming drive is on its way towards getting full. I might RAID 0 a couple WD Black 1TB drives to replace it, or more likely I'll just wait until 2TB's the norm and get one of those. I like having all my relevant games installed indefinitely (steam list o' doom etc.)


And I'll have a full core 2 system left over, actually, since I have enough spare components to rebuild my core 2 box in another case (with an 8800GTS). Don't know what I'll do with it yet, sell it probably.

 

[nec99]

Is my mini upgrade worth it?
I bought a q6600 and a 260 GTX(NOT core 216 version) over a year ago, was looking at replacing them with an E8500 Wolfdale and maybe a GTX 275. Would this give me a nice boost or am I just wasting money?

 

[Labombadog]

Is my mini upgrade worth it?
I bought a q6600 and a 260 GTX(NOT core 216 version) over a year ago, was looking at replacing them with an E8500 Wolfdale and maybe a GTX 275. Would this give me a nice boost or am I just wasting money?

Don't waste your money. It is not worth the upgrade right now since a QUAD will last you longer than a dual core.

Did you overclock your cpu?

 

[EviLore]

Is my mini upgrade worth it?
I bought a q6600 and a 260 GTX(NOT core 216 version) over a year ago, was looking at replacing them with an E8500 Wolfdale and maybe a GTX 275. Would this give me a nice boost or am I just wasting money?

That's a pretty strange upgrade on both counts. If you must be more powerful:

-Overclock your q6600 if you haven't or get a q9650 (and OC it to 4ghz)
-SLI 260s, or wait for the next gen of gpus.

 

[nec99]

I can't run SLI 260s because my motherboards SATA port placement is retarded and the second 260 covers them up in such a way that they are impossible to use.
I haven't tried overclocking the CPU/GPU yet.. I was actually kind of hesitant to do so since the PC is on all day every day.. but I can give that a shot. I haven't overclocked a pc in years.
Ah well thanks for the quick reply guys.