i7 or not i7?

CDdude55 · May 21, 2009

I could make a page long post on to go i7 or not(which i have in the past.), but since im lazy.

All i am going to say since i am lazy right now is that if you mainly going for gaming you really don't need i7 as of now, if your really trying to future proof for those quad optimized games and your doing photoshop and video editing then you will benefit from going i7, Phenom II is a great pick also it really gives the Core 2's a run for there money when it comes to gaming and what not, Core 2's have proven them self to be very overclockable and the Phenom II's and pushed some nice clocks to. Price wise the Phenom II's can be generally cheaper, the Core i7's are expensive, they push alot of power out but hurt you wallet wise, no point in getting the Ferrari if your just going to be driving it around a parking lot(unless your buying it for looking cool). You stated it's going to be used for gaming, ao i would recommend not going i7 unless you do alot of extra CPU heavy tasks and you want to get ready for ''next gen'' gaming. If not, Phenom II is always a great pick if your dont mind going AMD. The Core 2's are kind of fading out but still pack alot of power and if want to do alot of OCing the Core 2's are perfect if you can get ahold of one.

n-ster · May 21, 2009

Thing is, next gen gaming... when it comes won't I be able to replace the PII for example? Depends how tech goes... I might even go for a 700$ complete rig... who knows? I am VERY flexible in my purchase for now, but atm it seems i7 isn't that much more...

I mean, if I go PII, nothing will change but mobo, RAM and CPU... atm, let's compare a am2+ system with AM3 720BE CPU vs the i7 system...

CPU: 135$ vs 200$
Mobo: 100$ vs 190$
RAM: 40$ 4gb vs 40$ for 3gb or 80$ for 6gb

that makes 155$ diff + RAM difference maybe... though I'd probably go with 6gb...
Now if there was a PII 940 instead, it would only be 100$ difference, because of the board mostly... but the board is a much higher quality, which enables me to also have Xfire or SLI etc... and if Intel keeps their lga1366 line-up, upgradability is much higher with this...

only PII that competes right now is 720BE...

I just don't know... because better mobo, better future etc...

ShadowFold · May 21, 2009

AMD still has AM3 6 cores and most likely revisions to the Phenoms planned right now. If you're gonna do a CPU upgrade in the future, S1366 isn't going to have anything new as far as I know.

erocker · May 21, 2009

Wait, where can you find an i7 for $200 bucks and a X58 mobo for $190? In the future some will consider anything you buy right now obsolete anyways. I just don't see the point in spending more money on one system when your needs will be fully satisfied with the cheaper system.

CDdude55 · May 21, 2009

As only a gaming machine, i7 for the price isn't worth it. I7 is going to be great later on when more games are multithreaded, as of now tho if the rig is solely gaming PII or a nicely clocked Core 2 will be good enough.

AllHopeIsGone1 · May 21, 2009

If you already have a system like mine, do not bother. My system is same performance as a Core i7.

CDdude55 · May 21, 2009

AllHopeIsGone1 said:
If you already have a system like mine, do not bother. My system is same performance as a Core i7.

He doesn't, from what i heard from him before, he has a crappy laptop.

AllHopeIsGone1 · May 21, 2009

Oh then by all means i7 it is then

_33 · May 21, 2009

Dude, look at my system in the tab on the left. I can't be happier. The right combination of the right parts at the right price. Just go with what feels right (after reading all the reviews on all the parts and all).

_33 · May 21, 2009

ShadowFold said:
AMD still has AM3 6 cores and most likely revisions to the Phenoms planned right now. If you're gonna do a CPU upgrade in the future, S1366 isn't going to have anything new as far as I know.

You're wrong there.... Intel are already releasing new models of the i7 from the D0 chip revision with higher clocks than the C0/C1. And, the octo-core will be for LGA1366 also. i7 is the high end Intel platform and will remain like that till surely 2011.

By new D0 chip revision, read this thread: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=94894

n-ster · May 21, 2009

I think quads will take time to become obsolete since it is hard for people who make games to optimize games with CPUs that have many cores

Darren · May 21, 2009

n-ster said:
CPU: 135$ vs 200$
Mobo: 100$ vs 190$
RAM: 40$ 4gb vs 40$ for 3gb or 80$ for 6gb

$100? in for a AM2+/AM3 motherboards start at like $45! $60 an get you a fantastic board full of overclocking features. $100 for a crossfire board but is crossfire necessary?

Edit:

n-ster said:
I want crossfire or SLI as an option for sure... and 60$ for a fantastic board?

$50-60 can get you a AMD SB700/SB710 based board!

n-ster said:
Why I'm hesitating immensely is:

1. I may get into other stuff that MAY be CPU intensive.. idk...
2. i7 might become obsolete practically as fast as the 720BE
3. i7 may leave me with much better future upgrades
4. i7 may be much more futureproof then 720BE
5. I may be stupid
6. I have a flexible budget

That is a lot of mays when money is on the line.

n-ster · May 21, 2009

I want crossfire or SLI as an option for sure... and 60$ for a fantastic board?

Yea 200$ atm at MC the i7 920... and the ECS x58 is 190 at the egg...

Why I'm hesitating immensely is:

1. I may get into other stuff that MAY be CPU intensive.. idk...
2. i7 might become obsolete practically as fast as the 720BE
3. i7 may leave me with much better future upgrades
4. i7 may be much more futureproof then 720BE
5. I may be stupid
6. I have a flexible budget

Studabaker · May 21, 2009

n-ster said:
1. I may get into other stuff that MAY be CPU intensive.. idk...
2. i7 might become obsolete practically as fast as the 720BE
3. i7 may leave me with much better future upgrades
4. i7 may be much more futureproof then 720BE
5. I may be stupid
6. I have a flexible budget

1. such as what?
2. the 720BE is already nothing compared to an i7, outside of gaming that is
3. i guess the architecture will be more expandable than the i5 socket but not AM2+/3
4. yeah just a little
5. maybe just a little

6. i say you get the best you can get!

Studabaker · May 21, 2009

I wouldn't settle for a $60 700/710 board. I would get this minimum: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130191R

hat · May 21, 2009

depends on what you have already...

ShadowFold · May 21, 2009

My friend has a AsRock 780G/SB710 and I OC'd his X3 710 to 3.6ghz

n-ster · May 21, 2009

hat said:
depends on what you have already...

nothing... like NOTHING except a crappy laptop (dual core 1.66ghz 1gb RAM 80gb HD 945 integrated graphics card)

solaris54 · May 21, 2009

ShadowFold said:
Buying i7 soley for gaming is a bit silly imo. My dad has an i7 rig and two 4870X2's and the difference with one 4870X2 and my rig is almost negligible. The only game his does better in is Crysis, but we both still sustain 50+FPS. PII X2/X3/X4 @ 3ghz is all you need for gaming, anything higher is just for epeen and benching.

I agree. I tried mine with two 4870 X2s in Crossfire and it wasnt worth it.

n-ster · May 21, 2009

I am getting a GTX 275 or a 4890 or 2 4770 or something... btw, does 2 4770 beat GTX 275 or 4890?

Studabaker · May 21, 2009

n-ster said:
I am getting a GTX 275 or a 4890 or 2 4770 or something... btw, does 2 4770 beat GTX 275 or 4890?

Maybe in somethings, but not in everything, sometimes dual cards just don't scale too well if at all.

My advice to every single person all of the time these days is avoid ever having to use two cards.

n-ster · May 21, 2009

Studabaker said:
Maybe in somethings, but not in everything, sometimes dual cards just don't scale too well or at all.

My advice to every single person all of the time these days is avoid ever having to use two cards.

hmmm interesting thoughts... I thing GTX 275 is a pretty good choice then

Zebeon · May 21, 2009

n-ster said:
I want crossfire or SLI as an option for sure... and 60$ for a fantastic board?

Yea 200$ atm at MC the i7 920... and the ECS x58 is 190 at the egg...

Got a stupid question... What is MC???? :ohwell:

Studabaker · May 21, 2009

Zebeon said:
Got a stupid question... What is MC????

Microcenter.

Zebeon · May 21, 2009

do lots of ppl buy parts there... guess I have never heard of that one, I am a fan of the egg mostly.
is it a us site?
sorry guess i could go look

System Name	CDdude's Rig!
Processor	AMD Athlon II X4 620
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3
Cooling	Corsair H70
Memory	8GB Corsair Vengence @1600mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX HD 6970 2GB
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Display(s)	ASUS VH232H 23" 1920x1080
Case	Cooler Master CM690 (w/ side window)
Audio Device(s)	Onboard (It sounds fine)
Power Supply	Corsair 850TX
Software	Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SP1

System Name	Homelabs
Processor	Ryzen 5900x \| Ryzen 1920X
Motherboard	Asus ProArt x570 Creator \| AsRock X399 fatal1ty gaming
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Video Card(s)	EVGA RTX 3080 \| ASUS Strix GTX 970
Storage	Optane 900p + NVMe \| Optane 900p + 8TB SATA SSDs + 48TB HDDs
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Mouse	Razer Viper Ultimate (still has buttons on the right side, crucial as I'm a southpaw)
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman Elite, Pro Type \| Logitech G915 TKL

System Name	The ShadowFold Draconis (Ordering soon)
Processor	AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8ghz
Motherboard	ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870
Cooling	Stock
Memory	Kingston ValueRAM 4GB DDR3-1333
Video Card(s)	XFX ATi Radeon HD 5850 1gb
Storage	Western Digital 640gb
Display(s)	Acer 21.5" 5ms Full HD 1920x1080P
Case	Antec Nine-Hundred
Audio Device(s)	Onboard + Creative "Fatal1ty" Headset
Power Supply	Antec Earthwatts 650w
Software	Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Benchmark Scores	-❶-❸-❸-❼-

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling	EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory	32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s)	Asus RTX 4090
Storage	WD m.2
Display(s)	LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case	Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s)	Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse	Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard	Tester84
Software	Windows 11

System Name	CDdude's Rig!
Processor	AMD Athlon II X4 620
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3
Cooling	Corsair H70
Memory	8GB Corsair Vengence @1600mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX HD 6970 2GB
Storage	OCZ Agility 3 60GB SSD/WD Velociraptor 300GB
Display(s)	ASUS VH232H 23" 1920x1080
Case	Cooler Master CM690 (w/ side window)
Audio Device(s)	Onboard (It sounds fine)
Power Supply	Corsair 850TX
Software	Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SP1

Processor	Q9550 @ 4.02GHz
Motherboard	ASUS Rampage Formula X48
Cooling	Custom water on CPU
Memory	4GB OCZ Platinum 1066
Video Card(s)	2 ASUS 4890 in CrossfireX
Storage	1 Maxtor 500GB 7200rpm, 2 OCZ Vertex 120GB SSD's
Display(s)	Samsung 22" T220
Case	SilverStone TJ07
Audio Device(s)	X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro
Power Supply	Thermaltake Toughpower 1200w modular

System Name	BEAST
Processor	Intel Core i7 920 C0 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.66GHZ Bloomfield 8MB LGA batch 3844A509
Motherboard	ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 X58 ATX LGA1366 DDR3
Cooling	CoolIt ECO A.L.C. 120mm radiator
Memory	G.SKILL F3-12800CL8TU-6GBPI PC3-12800 6GB 3X2GB DDR3-1600 CL8-8-8-21
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 1GB 850MHZ 1GB 3.9GHZ GDDR5 PCI-E 2XDVI HDTV
Storage	SAMSUNG SPINPOINT F1 750GB X 2, WD2500KS 250GB, WD15EARS 1.5TB, WD20EARS 2.0TB
Display(s)	LG W2361V-PF Monitors 23” Widescreen LCD Monitor (23.0” diagonal)
Case	Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced
Power Supply	Thermaltake Toughpower 600W Power Supply ATX V2.2 20/24PIN EPS12V Qfan 140MM Fan Active PFC
Software	Windows 7 Pro 64bit

System Name	Cheap yet powerful gaming and entertainment rig!
Processor	AMD Athlon 3800+ X2 Windsor, 1 MB L2 Cache (512k L2 Per Core), 65W Energy efficient, 2GHz @ 2.78 Ghz
Motherboard	Asrock ALiveNF7G-HD720p Rev v5.0
Cooling	Freezer 64, 2x120mm, 1x92mm
Memory	8 GB DDRII PC6400 @ 929 MHz OCZ (2GBx4) timing: 5-5-5-5-16-2T
Video Card(s)	XFX ATI4830
Storage	Seagate 320 GB SATA (16 MB Cache)
Display(s)	19' HannsG (1440x900 @ 75hz)
Case	Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Case
Audio Device(s)	Auzentech X-Meridian, Pioneer VSX-516 Receiver 7.1 with DD/DD EX/Prologic II/DTS/DTS-ES//DTS: Neo
Power Supply	Cool Master eXtreme Power 460W PSU
Software	Vista Ultimate X64 Corporate Edition

System Name	Built Entirely With Parts From CompUSA
Processor	E7400 2.8 @ 3.6 [9.0*400/1.31v]
Motherboard	Gigabyte EP45-UD3R
Cooling	Masscool 8WA741
Memory	2x1GB Corsair XMS2 800 4-4-4-12
Video Card(s)	BFG 9800GTX+OC; GTS250 BIOS
Storage	2x WD 250GB AAKS in RAID0!
Display(s)	19" I-Inc LCD @ 1440x900
Case	Ultra X-Blaster Clear Side
Audio Device(s)	Audigy with X-Fi drivers; Logitech X-540s
Power Supply	Corsair TX750
Software	Vista 32-Bit

System Name	Starlifter :: Dragonfly
Processor	i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400
Motherboard	ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus
Cooling	Cryorig M9 :: Stock
Memory	4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400
Video Card(s)	PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630
Storage	Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5
Display(s)	Onn 165hz 1080p :: Acer 1080p
Case	Antec SOHO 1030B :: Old White Full Tower
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Bose Companion 2 Series III :: None
Power Supply	FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550
Software	Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly
Benchmark Scores	>9000

System Name	gamer/htpc (light gamer)
Processor	i7870/i3530
Motherboard	EVGA LE/Gigabyte hn55-usb3
Cooling	stock/stock- for now
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Video Card(s)	Gigabyte 570/Gigabyte 560
Storage	7200 hard drives
Case	Full ATX tower/SugoB mitx
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Power Supply	750W silverstone/300W mini ITX

i7 or not i7?

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