Intel i5-750 or i7-860

[NinjaNife]

I am basically building a new computer, and am considering these two processors. I don't know much about the 860, but like the sound of the i5. I know the i5 doesn't have HyperThreading, but that is the only difference I know about lol. Which of these is better? Or should I go to the LGA 1366 socket and get a better i7?


Also these are the other parts for the rig (if staying with one of these two processors:

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 ...

Motherboard: MSI P55-GD80 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherbo...

 

[SystemViper]

if your considering a 750 and such, which is a nice set up look here...


i5 750, MSI GD-80, 2x2gb Gskill DDR3-2000 Combo

 

[Tatty_Two]

There are other differences also, like the restrictions of the P55 chipset for the 750, 2 PCI-E slots operating at 8x8, as opposed to 3 slots on many S1366 the first 2 of which operate at 16 x 16, although both now and in the future..... SLi or XFire may not interest you. Of course with the i5 you also only get dual channel memory configurations.

You don't say what your PC's main use will be, in most CPU tasks and apps the 860 is the faster, but in many, not by a great deal, but in a few by a lot, of course most of these can use more than 4 threads so thats where the advantage lies. if you game a lot, the two are pretty much neck for neck however it is rumoured that as more DX11 games become available, many of them will be multithredded so that should help the 860 move ahead slightly.

If it were me, i would take the 860, the 750 is a nice chip but for all round performance, plus what I beleive to be a slightly better chipset, my money just about goes to the 860. Now the practicalities however are slightly different, bang for buck the 750 probably edges it, it is a little cheaper and most of the boards should be cheaper also..... only you can decide!

Here is a review of the 750/870 but you will see in the results the 860's comparisons.......

http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i5-750-core-i7-860-870-processor-review-test/13

 

[Kantastic]

There are other differences also, like the restrictions of the P55 chipset for the 750, 2 PCI-E slots operating at 8x8, as opposed to 3 slots on many S1366 the first 2 of which operate at 16 x 16, although both now and in the future..... SLi or XFire may not interest you. Of course with the i5 you also only get dual channel memory configurations.

You don't say what your PC's main use will be, in most CPU tasks and apps the 860 is the faster, but in many, not by a great deal, but in a few by a lot, of course most of these can use more than 4 threads so thats where the advantage lies. if you game a lot, the two are pretty much neck for neck however it is rumoured that as more DX11 games become available, many of them will be multithredded so that should help the 860 move ahead slightly.

If it were me, i would take the 860, the 750 is a nice chip but for all round performance, plus what I beleive to be a slightly better chipset, my money just about goes to the 860. Now the practicalities however are slightly different, bang for buck the 750 probably edges it, it is a little cheaper and most of the boards should be cheaper also..... only you can decide!

Here is a review of the 750/870 but you will see in the results the 860's comparisons.......

http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i5-750-core-i7-860-870-processor-review-test/13

The 750 & 870 run on the same chipset (P55).

 

[theonedub]

if your considering a 750 and such, which is a nice set up look here...


i5 750, MSI GD-80, 2x2gb Gskill DDR3-2000 Combo

Good call, I saw this thread and thought, 4x4 has this nearly exact setup for sale. If you decide the i5 is your path there is your system.

Also good info above to take into consideration. As an i7 860 user myself I highly recommend it (if its not overkill for your use).

 

[a_ump]

yep, i think the i7 860 is the sweetspot. better than the i7 920, overclocks good. and should hyperthreading ever get fully utilized by games then it's performance will be a good bit higher than the i5 750, as it is in current applications(not games) that are multi-threaded. If you have the money get the 860, if your kinda on the fence, then get the 750 as it's still a great processor and perf/buck, it'll win until the majority of games and apps support multi-threading.

 

[DanishDevil]

My personal preference for the 1156 socket is the i5 650. It's a dual core with hyperthreading, so in multi-threaded tasks, it can act like a quad, but in most applications that don't take advantage of multi-threading, its higher clock speeds will rip them to shreds. It is also built on a 32nm process with the others using 45nm which leads to better overclocking (if you so desire) and lower temperatures (which you do desire).

 

[NinjaNife]

This is going to be my main gaming rig for the next year (possibly longer), and I think at the most dual graphics cards would be all I need. Forgot to say that lol. Also, as far as I know the 860 uses the same chipset as the 750.. So would you suggest a different motherboard if I went with the 860, or would the one I linked work?

 

[DanishDevil]

The one you linked will work just fine. I've heard good things about that board.

 

[NinjaNife]

I also was wondering if it is true that the 750's multiplier is locked.. If that is the case, does it still have good OC potential? I have an AMD 965BE right now, and most of my OC experience was just upping the multiplier. Any ideas are appreciated.

 

[DanishDevil]

Almost every CPU sold has a locked multiplier (expect to pay a premium for most of those who don't). Both the 750 and 650 have good overclocking potential, but the 650 has far greater.

 

[NinjaNife]

So I think the overall consensus is that I should go for the i7-860 if I have the money (if the other option is the i5-750). Is that correct?

 

[theonedub]

^yes

 

[Tatty_Two]

The 750 & 870 run on the same chipset (P55).

Lol fookin ell @ confused.com!

 

[kid41212003]

For non-OC purpose, take the 860, turbo boot up to 3.6GHz is really nice.

 

[NinjaNife]

For non-OC purpose, take the 860, turbo boot up to 3.6GHz is really nice.

What about for OC purposes then? Any different opinions on that?

 

[Cold Storm]

A 860 will be a little hotter then a 750 due to volts. I've have had a 750,860,870. The 750 was a great easy 4ghz chip. With a good board, low volts. The 860's that I've seen are hotter at load then a 750 at 4ghz. Mine was screaming water after priming it for the 9h. Would I ever see those temps again, no since I don't fold, crunch. So, I was happy with my buy. It gave me more boost at 4ghz then the 750 even without hyperthreading on.

In all.. a 750 will do nice in a "money tight" sort of way, while a 860 is one hell of a chip due to it hyperthreading capabilities..

 

[NinjaNife]

Thanks. Lastly, does the motherboard I linked support HyperThreading? I was unable to find that out. I think it does, but couldn't find anything to tell for sure.

 

[Cold Storm]

Thanks. Lastly, does the motherboard I linked support HyperThreading? I was unable to find that out. I think it does, but couldn't find anything to tell for sure.

Yeah, the board will support it. All p55,H55(57) support it. Along with X58 boards.

 

[NinjaNife]

Okay thanks.

I know I said "Lastly" in my other post, but I have another question. You said you had the i5-750 and i7-860, and OC'd both to 4GHz. Do you think I could OC the i7-860 to 3.5GHz or so with little trouble? I am restricted to air cooling for now, and have a Zalman CNPS9900NT along with a Cooler Master HAF 932 case. What kind of temperatures do you think I would be looking at (for both the 750 and 860) if I OC'd to 3.5GHz or 4GHz? Not sure if you can answer that, but any ideas would be great (my AMD Phenom II X4 965BE 3.4GHz stock clocked with the fan is running at 35-40C idle, and 45-50C 100% CPU usage). Thanks for your help.

 

[theonedub]

My i7 860 is @ 3.5ghz with a Vcore of 1.176 @ 100% load and 1.12VTT- this was very simple to setup and although your voltages may be different there should be no issue getting to the same clock.

Temps wise, I have a Mega and do not use air conditioning- when its in the mid 70s outside the temps stay under 55C. Personally, I would not trust that Zalman though to cool an overclocked i7 adequately.

 

[kid41212003]

After running my PC at 4GHz for over a year. I found it pretty pointless. None of the games that I have played dropped under 60FPS at default speed, and since summer just started, I'm running my PC @ default speed. My point is Core i7 doesn't need more juice than default speed. i7 860 is a better choice.

 

[NinjaNife]

I found another question, but it is about the motherboard. On the specs list, the Memory says this:

Memory Standard: DDR3 2133 (OC)/2000 (OC)/1800 (OC)/1600 (OC)/1333/1066

What does the "(OC)" mean after every MHz (I think it is the MHz anyway lol)? Does that mean that either the 1333 or the 1066 can be OC'd to those other speeds, or does the board support all of those anyway (for instance, I am planning on getting DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800), and am not completely sure anymore that this motherboard supports it stock...)?

 

[Cold Storm]

All it is saying. The ram will be at 1066 unless you change it yourself. So, If you want the 1600mhz that your ram runs, you gotta go in there and set it yourself.. Which isn't a bad thing due to you all ready wanting to oc the system to begin with.

 

[theonedub]

The board supports all those RAM speeds. If you plan on OCing to ~3.5 plan on using 1333 and if you plan on taking it to 4.0 expect to use 1600. If you plan to take it higher you will probably need to look into 1800+ RAM.