Upcoming CPUs

[kyamei]

Yes that is the one I was talking about. Sorry, would have linked to it earlier but I can't post links.

[mootsfox]

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.

I've got the same RAM and it's pretty nice. Rebate came fast too.

[Stromgarde]

I think I've found a video card to go with; the Gigabyte GV-R489OC-1GD. Any thoughts before I bite the bullet? Seems decently fast, as well as quiet and cool; My only concern is that I'm putting it in an EVGA motherboard and I'm not sure how that would react to an ATI card. On the other hand, I'm building this for Win7 and I have a spare video card I could slip in there while setting everything up and buy a video card closer to purchase date. Would that be a better idea given that DX11 cards are likely to appear between now and October?

[Olo401]

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: August '09 : Introduction - Review Tom's Hardware

Pretty good article that spans all the currently available processors from $50-$300, plus a chart at the end matching up AMD's line against Intel's. They don't include the new i5 and i7s yet though since they're technically not on the market until next week.

[SamanosukeShiva]

just a random question, how much RAM is too much? what's the limit when adding more RAM is just wont do anything?

[Cephius]

just a random question, how much RAM is too much? what's the limit when adding more RAM is just wont do anything?

Unused RAM is wasted RAM. You don't gain any benefit for having 8 gigs of ram if the most you ever use is 2. Get some kind of RAM monitoring program and see how much you use. If you max out, get an extra gig or two. If you don't, you're fine.

Faster timings and clocks on your RAM helps too.

[SamanosukeShiva]

thanks

[SamanosukeShiva]

bump,

How does Intel i7 920 compare vs AMD Phenom II X4 BE?

the spec does not differ very much, in fact they're almost the same. Except AMD is cheaper, $90 cheaper

Spoiler: show

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2626/...683815a2_o.jpg

i've been looking at forums, but every debate on this seems filled with fanboys arguement.

any take on this?

[Cephius]

The i7 scored almost 2000 points higher on CPU benchmarks, as seen here.

[kyamei]

The i7 is quite a bit faster than the Phenom II as the i7 has 4 cores, 8 threads, and triple-channel RAM vs. the PII's 4C/4T and dual-channel RAM. In one of the comparisons on HardOCP, the i7 @ stock (2.66) performed pretty similarly to a PII X4 810 overclocked to 3.6ghz in most games.

[Solefald]

If all you do is play games and surf the web on your computer, the CPU won't make any difference. The video card is what matters most when running games. A faster CPU might be able to squeeze a few more FPS out of some games, but at that point you're already getting 80+ FPS which is well beyond the rate the human eye can detect.

If you're heavy into multimedia stuff like video editing or 3d modeling then the i7 is a better investment.

Also keep in mind that AMD motherboards are cheaper than LGA1366 ones on average, so you're looking at a total savings of $150~$200.

[Olo401]

The i7 is quite a bit faster than the Phenom II as the i7 has 4 cores, 8 threads, and triple-channel RAM vs. the PII's 4C/4T and dual-channel RAM. In one of the comparisons on HardOCP, the i7 @ stock (2.66) performed pretty similarly to a PII X4 810 overclocked to 3.6ghz in most games.

Actually the difference in speed between the Athlon/Phenom IIs and the Core i7 is due more to the processor architecture and larger cache sizes. IIRC the Phenom II x4 810 is about comparable to the Q9650 in benchmarks and the P2-965 is close/even with the i7-920 at base speed... need to double check the comparison charts to be sure.

[Olo401]

Welp the day has arrived - the new Core i5 and i7 CPUs and their Socket 1156 boards supposedly hit the market today. And here's a pair of the first comparison & benchmark articles:

Intel's Core i5 Analyzed and Tested (150+ Benchmarks) | Maximum PC

Intel Core i5 And Core i7: Intel’s Mainstream Magnum Opus : Introduction - Review Tom's Hardware

Biggest problem I saw was that CPU cooler brackets designed for 775 or 1366 will NOT fit 1156, which means using the stock cooler until new brackets hit the market. Not a huge issue, just an inconvenience.

[Arkanna]

Welp the day has arrived - the new Core i5 and i7 CPUs and their Socket 1156 boards supposedly hit the market today. And here's a pair of the first comparison & benchmark articles:

Intel's Core i5 Analyzed and Tested (150+ Benchmarks) | Maximum PC

Intel Core i5 And Core i7: Intel’s Mainstream Magnum Opus : Introduction - Review Tom's Hardware

Biggest problem I saw was that CPU cooler brackets designed for 775 or 1366 will NOT fit 1156, which means using the stock cooler until new brackets hit the market. Not a huge issue, just an inconvenience.

Looks to me like if you already have an i7 920, you're set until the 6-core CPU's arrive next year that SHOULD (in theory) be a drop-in replacement in those X58 motherboards whose manufacturer isn't a total failure. Ie, the BIOS will need an update. But yeah, the Lynnfield i5's/i7's probably won't have such a nice upgrade path, assuming it pans out.

For those that DON'T have an i7 920 already, and can't get one for Microcenter's $199 price, then the new Lynnfield CPU's have some nice potential. Particularly at the lower end.

Seems to me that Intel really likes turning to screws on AMD. While this is no AMD killer, it just makes things that much harder on them. It's almost like beating someone with a pool cue in a bar fight when someone already dropped them with a busted bottle over the head..

[Solefald]

i5 750 blows everything else out of the water in terms of performance/price. $209.99 on Newegg, and they're even running combo deals on the motherboards.

[Olo401]

http://www.bluegartr.com/forum/attac...1&d=1252427319

Jeez you'd think he was buying a mail order bride.

[SephYuyX]

I cant even find i5 on newegg with their search, I had to google it.

[SamanosukeShiva]

fuck i just bought 1366 socket mobo too....

[Rellikard]

Biggest thing you're losing going from an i7 to the i5 is the Hyperthreading and that's pretty big IMO...

But nice that the i7 800s and the i5 are all 95w instead of 130w.

[mootsfox]

fuck i just bought 1366 socket mobo too....

Good, pick up a 920 and raep. The LGA1156 platform is lower performance.