Upcoming CPUs

[Solefald]

watts per sq cm huh. does your heatsink shrink when the processor die does? if so, i can see that being an issue, but last i checked a 750g heatsink is going to have an easier time dissipating 95w than 130w.

i5 lacking hyperthreading isn't that bad since hyperthreading does tend to slow down games slightly.

[mootsfox]

watts per sq cm huh. does your heatsink shrink when the processor die does? if so, i can see that being an issue, but last i checked a 750g heatsink is going to have an easier time dissipating 95w than 130w.

i5 lacking hyperthreading isn't that bad since hyperthreading does tend to slow down games slightly.

The point, I don't think you are going to see a big improvement over the 1366 i7's with the 860/870. The limiting factor is still going to be the architecture, at least at room air temps, not taking any exotic cooling into account here.

HT used to do that in some games, it actually increases performance in everything now. You can switch HT off in the BIOS anyways.

[Stromgarde]

Picked up an i7 920 batch 3849A866 S-SPEC SLBEJ earlier today from MicroCenter. Thanks for the advice everyone, apparently this is a pretty good batch so I'll have high hopes for when I put it together 2 months from now!

[Cephius]

2 months? I'm pretty sure you could have gotten the same processor for less in 2 months

You should be happy with that though, it's a great processor. Make sure you give it a good cooler to make it happy.

[Zigma]

I'm in the process of building an i7 system at the moment, and in short the answer is yes. Intel is expected to put out the i9 series (iirc) sometime in the Spring of '10, but I can't verify that at the moment since I can't browse at work. (I can browse BG thank GOD, they block Google and most every search engine, ;_; I can't do any searchings)



edit: fixed, D: posting at work ftl, see Ceph's info

Install and use AoL. You can use it for free and a lot of times it gets past cheap web filtering proxies

[Stromgarde]

2 months? I'm pretty sure you could have gotten the same processor for less in 2 months

You should be happy with that though, it's a great processor. Make sure you give it a good cooler to make it happy.

Heh, yeah I know, but $200 is a hard to beat price and while they have a MicroCenter here in Houston while I'm visiting family, the closest one to me in Wyoming is 2 hours away in Denver, CO... and at that point cost of gas starts eating into savings. Today, it was about 10 minutes away from the deli where I had lunch with my sister, so I figured I might as well bite while the opportunity was close at hand. Anyway, as far as fans go, something like this? (Zalman CNPS9900)

[Cephius]

Heh, yeah I know, but $200 is a hard to beat price and while they have a MicroCenter here in Houston while I'm visiting family, the closest one to me in Wyoming is 2 hours away in Denver, CO... and at that point cost of gas starts eating into savings. Today, it was about 10 minutes away from the deli where I had lunch with my sister, so I figured I might as well bite while the opportunity was close at hand. Anyway, as far as fans go, something like this? (Zalman CNPS9900)

Holy crap!

You live in Wyoming?! A rare breed indeed

[Stromgarde]

Indeed! I thought it was uninhabited too until I got orders there.

[mootsfox]

Zalman sucks for the cost.

A megahalems or TRUE would be better.

[SamanosukeShiva]

is buying another cooling device preferred for processors? how about the one that come with the processor?

sorry, newb question, hoping to build my 1st PC in near future (still saving for parts) =P

any tips/suggestions?

[Khalil]

Think in most cases, you're better off buying a separate cooling device for CPUs. Although, I think it's really only needed for overclocking.

[Stromgarde]

Unless you're overclocking, you don't need to spend extra on an aftermarket cooling solution.

[Stromgarde]

Forgive me if it would have been a better idea to make a new thread, but this is what I'm looking at picking up. Any suggestions/critiques? Quiet is valued.

Case:
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

PSU:
XIGMATEK MC NRP-MC651 650W ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V Ver. 2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

Motherboard:
EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 SLI LE Intel Motherboard

CPU:
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor

Heatsink:
Prolimatech Megahalems
Fans for heatsink:
ENERMAX MAGMA UC-MA12 120mm Fan x2

Memory:
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ x2

Video card I'm kind of stuck on. Is there anything good in the pipeline coming out in the next few months? ATI or Nvidia, either is fine, I've been out of the market for a while and not sure what I should be looking at.

[Kurp]

ATI's 5800 series is scheduled for Sept/October. Hopefully reviews and benchmarks start coming out soon.

The Centurion 5 case can be cramped if you have a very long hi-end video card. I was looking at buying one because of how it looked, but this post turned me off: The Offical Coolermaster Centurion 5 Club - Page 8 - [H]ard|Forum As you can see in a couple of the photos, the video card (GTX 285) is long enough to go into the hard drive bay which could limit your options when upgrading and may cause heat issues. Many people are happy with the case, but I just didn't want to deal with that issue.

[Octavious]

I would definitely try to check out the case you want in person before buying, if possible. I've got a Antec 902 and it fits my GTX 285 pretty well since it's the same dimensions (width, depth) as the 1200 (just not as tall). I would also look at the heatsink. I use a Xigmatek Dark Knight, I wasn't confident enough to get any of the heat sinks near the 800g mark. It's really up to you though. I used to be an ATI fan, but a few bad experiences drove me to nVidia. I've never gone back.<3

edit: Also, depending on how much space you have, you may or may not be able to use both the fans for the heat sink. I know the Noctua one people use had this. Usually the rear exhaust is too close to mount it in a mid-tower, but it really depends.

[kyamei]

Forgive me if it would have been a better idea to make a new thread, but this is what I'm looking at picking up. Any suggestions/critiques? Quiet is valued.

PSU:
XIGMATEK MC NRP-MC651 650W ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V Ver. 2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

I'd drop that PSU for something better like an Antec TP-650, not to mention it's cheaper.

[Stromgarde]

I'd drop that PSU for something better like an Antec TP-650, not to mention it's cheaper.

The Xigmatec seemed similar to the other power supplies I was looking at in that category - namely 650 watts and modular - and of those, it was the least expensive.

I don't think the heatsink will be too much of a problem. The bolt-through mechansim that you attach the Megahalems with didn't cause too much concern in most of the reviews I have read... although the card length might be an issue if I get a long one. I use a Centurion in my current rig, I can take some measurements once I decide on a card, although I might wind up waiting for the new series to come out... Either way, quiet cards in the 4870+ series seem to be hard to find. Haven't had a chance to look at the GTX 200 series yet.

[Olo401]

Xigmatek is new to the PSU market, so I haven't seen any info on which supplier makes their units or any reviews on how good/reliable they are. I'll have to look around.

[kyamei]

The Xigmatec seemed similar to the other power supplies I was looking at in that category - namely 650 watts and modular - and of those, it was the least expensive.

The Antec is $15 cheaper before rebates on the Xigmatek, and if you use the promo code its $5 less than the Xigmatek's after rebate price (code expires today though). The Antec is also 80+ Bronze where the Xigmatek is simply 80+. The Antec has 22/22/25/25 amps on the 12v rail vs. the Xigmatek's 18/18/18/18 amps. Of course when it comes to PSU's specs don't say anything about it's quality. However, the Truepower New line of PSU's from Antec are better than their Earthwatts line which were already excellent quality PSU's, so I don't think you could go wrong with the TP-650. It's got all the features the Xigmatek has (modular), is more efficient, has more amps, and is cheaper.

[Stromgarde]

The Antec is $15 cheaper before rebates on the Xigmatek, and if you use the promo code its $5 less than the Xigmatek's after rebate price (code expires today though). The Antec is also 80+ Bronze where the Xigmatek is simply 80+. The Antec has 22/22/25/25 amps on the 12v rail vs. the Xigmatek's 18/18/18/18 amps. Of course when it comes to PSU's specs don't say anything about it's quality. However, the Truepower New line of PSU's from Antec are better than their Earthwatts line which were already excellent quality PSU's, so I don't think you could go wrong with the TP-650. It's got all the features the Xigmatek has (modular), is more efficient, has more amps, and is cheaper.

Hmm, I must have been looking at the wrong one. That does look like a good one, the one I was looking at earlier wasn't modular. I assume this is the one you're talking about?