Hey forum,

I'm still rolling with the Q6600 @ 2.4, and I'm thinking about upgrading but I have a question. Most likely I'd want to aim for something like the i5-2300 (or similar performance in that price range), but being a bit of a novice at this sort of thing, will I need to get a new motherboard as well? The Q6600 is of course am LGA 775 socket and the i5 is an LGA 1155.

Also, with that upgrade, will I see a significant bump in anything? It's a pretty modest rig: 4gb ram and a 6790 1gb.

Thanks for your help!

I guess that works. We don't have any of those stores in Kansas City, unfortunately.

I'm not sure if it's just in my little corner of the world, where Microcenter has 6870s and that's it (for any store), but I can't seem to find the 6850 in a brick-and-mortar store anywhere. I guess I'll order it online, but I'd like to pay cash if possible.

Has anyone seen the card actually IN-STORE?

I'm reading the initial reviews of the HD6 series mid-range cards, and like a bunch of other people have come to these forums to ask a possibly stupid question.

Should I upgrade my 4850 to the 6850? I mean, the numbers look good, but I'm just a little skeptical about the price tag, and ATI's incongruous model number system, and the fact that they are releasing mid-range cards first, and...

Like I said, I'm wondering if I'm overthinking shelling out $180 for what seems to be a nice little upgrade for me. I generally upgrade every other generation, don't every buy high-end gear, all that...

This will likely get swallowed up by the inundation of 6 series questions and posts, but if anyone reads this with a sharper mind than me, I'd love some feedback. Thanks!

I've owned my 360 since launch (well, not the original one. It RRoDed, and so did 4 of it's replacements). Except for the hardware issues, I've enjoyed it. A couple Christmases ago, I picked up a PS3 primarily as a Blu-Ray player and to play games like MLB: The Show and Metal Gear Solid second. Now, the PS3 is my main gaming system and I have to say I'm more interested in what's releasing on it in the next couple years than what will show up on the 360.

This is kind of a t(l)ame System Wars post, but for the 360 diehards, what exclusive games are on the horizon that really keep you hanging on to that system? What about the next Microsoft system? Do you think Halo: Reach is the last Halo franchise game to appear on this generation? Same for Gears 3?

Thoughts?