Core i7, worth the upgrade? Unleash GTX280 or X2?

[douglatins]

Now my setup is a P5Q DLX and a E6750, i'm struggling for a decision to upgrade to a Q6600, E8400, Q9450 and purchase a good cooler, like a 9700
OR...
Look for a buyer for my Mobo and CPU and upgrade to nehalem, what performance gains are expected?

 

[PVTCaboose1337]

Not for you, your CPU will carry you just fine.

 

[farlex85]

Right out of the gate, no it probably won't be worth it. DDR3 is still expensive, the boards will be expensive, the cheapest proc is $300, and we're still not sure how the clock. But it kind of depends why your upgrading in the first place. Benches? Cause your current set-up should do you fine for most things, you'll certainly pick up some performance here and there depending on which proc you upgrade to, but it's not like you'll be getting much more that you'll notice outside of benchmarks.

 

[oli_ramsay]

If you're into PC gaming, then certainly not. The i7 performs quite a lot worse than core2duo and phenom in games due to only 512kb L2 cache.

It's faster in all other areas though. I think you should wait until the inevitable early bugs and high prices cool down (maybe 6-12 months) or even when the 32nm die shrink comes out until you should upgrade.

 

[farlex85]

If you're into PC gaming, then certainly not. The i7 performs quite a lot worse than core2duo and phenom in games due to only 512kb L2 cache.

It's faster in all other areas though. I think you should wait until the inevitable early bugs and high prices cool down (maybe 6-12 months) or even when the 32nm die shrink comes out until you should upgrade.

Ummm, where are the benchies to back that up? And they actually seem to have 1mb of L2 (4x256) and 8mb of L3........Games are gpu reliant, but even if one is into gaming, that doesn't mean one doesn't want a fast cpu. Nehalem probably won't make a lick of difference in games until they support more threads, although the charts will likely show it comes out on top (but only by a few fps).

 

[douglatins]

The thing is that i have a 4870X2, i dont want a processor holding my VGA back, i have clocked my E6750 to 3.4, and with stock HSF, thinking about purchasing a 45nm CPU and a High performance HSF (witch i really don't know if its worth right now since nehalem have a different socket)

 

[Scrizz]

me personally, I'm gonna w8 for nehalem

 

[Kursah]

At this point I see no real reason to switch over, the current line of processors in the Core family handle games and tasks quite well, though upgrading GPU's every once in a while can help. DDR2 is dirt cheap, Core2's will get cheaper, so will 775 stuff for quite a while until stocks are low and the "next best thing" is more mainstream and popular.

I see no reason to jump ship atm, unless benches and having the newest of everything is important. I may eat my words in the future, but at this point, a good dual core at around 3.5GHz, 4GB of DDR2, and a decent GPU or two should be performing quite well at this point, and should quite a ways into the future I would imagine...these new chips aren't going to redefine anything for us initially, they look good and sound promising, but there are going to be plenty of bugs, bios issues, compatability issues, and a lot of money invested for those looking to jump that way (to an extent depending on what you can use from your current setup to support the new stuff). I say stick with what you have and enjoy it for a while!

 

[kwchang007]

I agree with Kursah, I mean prices are just going to come down so there's no reason to rush in and buy the new stuff. Maybe if you're going for records and what not and also have the money, but if you get a 45 nm core 2 (or quad) now and then decided to upgrade when nehlam's making the switch to 32 nm I think you'll be running the best course.

 

[Fastmix]

You guys are all speculating, there are no actual benchmarks to prove it worthy or not, from what I understand just the triple channel memory will give you a huge boost, so let's wait and see.

I need an upgrade really bad, I am still running a 939 rig but I have saved a few buck here in there for nehalem.

 

[Kursah]

You guys are all speculating, there are no actual benchmarks to prove it worthy or not, from what I understand just the triple channel memory will give you a huge boost, so let's wait and see.

I need an upgrade really bad, I am still running a 939 rig but I have saved a few buck here in there for nehalem.

I agree that I have some speculation, and I agree on waiting. I do have a strong feeling bios bugs and possible compatility issues will still be there, hell they're still there on current stuff...so not really speculation there more than expectation lol. But I also believe in not worrying about the "next best thing" atm, I have what I have, it runs good, and until I find a good reason to spend more money, I feel I'm pretty well set on both rigs, they both are sure things for good performance and getting the job done, I'm all for sure things! And I'm sure the new i7 stuff will be good, how can't it be? You are right tho...too much speculation and hype, waiting to see what really comes of it is the best route to take atm.

 

[kwchang007]

You guys are all speculating, there are no actual benchmarks to prove it worthy or not, from what I understand just the triple channel memory will give you a huge boost, so let's wait and see.

I need an upgrade really bad, I am still running a 939 rig but I have saved a few buck here in there for nehalem.

Yeah, but do you need the performance, or do you just want it? Oh wait, hold up if your 939, sorry I thought you were running a LGA 775 rig. Well then yeah wait for Nehalem, see how it does.