New i5 or used i7?

[Mech0z]

Its not like I have all the money right now as I just bought a HD5870, but I would like to upgrade my Q6600 within a few month. But I cant decide if I should get a i7 or i5. i7 would allow me to get used stuff so its about the same price as the i5 setup Iam planing

My cooling is
RX360 with 3 GT15
Swiftech 240 with 2 GT15

This cools both gfx and cpu.

The 2 setups would be:
i5: i5-750, EVGA Classified FTW, 4 GB G.Skill Eco
i7: i7-920, Asus Rampage ll Gene, 6GB Patriot Viper DDR3 PC3-12800 CL8

The price would be about the same as I can get the Gene for abit over 100$ but I just wonder if I would be able to overclock the i5 much higher because its 32nm and the classified mb.
But with the i7 Iam much more futureproof and can get the hexacore when it comes in a none extreme model.

Also considered just waiting for AMD Thuban and getting that + FX890

[OgaiB]

Its not like I have all the money right now as I just bought a HD5870, but I would like to upgrade my Q6600 within a few month. But I cant decide if I should get a i7 or i5. i7 would allow me to get used stuff so its about the same price as the i5 setup Iam planing

My cooling is
RX360 with 3 GT15
Swiftech 240 with 2 GT15

This cools both gfx and cpu.

The 2 setups would be:
i5: i5-750, EVGA Classified FTW, 4 GB G.Skill Eco
i7: i7-920, Asus Rampage ll Gene, 6GB Patriot Viper DDR3 PC3-12800 CL8

The price would be about the same as I can get the Gene for abit over 100$ but I just wonder if I would be able to overclock the i5 much higher because its 32nm and the classified mb.
But with the i7 Iam much more futureproof and can get the hexacore when it comes in a none extreme model.

Also considered just waiting for AMD Thuban and getting that + FX890

I suggest i7 rig, because i7 920 has 4 core with 8 thread, while i5 750 has 4 core with only 4 thread

[Mech0z]

I suggest i7 rig, because i7 920 has 4 core with 8 thread, while i5 750 has 4 core with only 4 thread

Wont use HT as its just a heatdump and only want real cores (Bulldozer might change that)

[tranngocminh]

I7 ftw

[ChaosAD]

Since both setups cost the same, there is no point going with i5 at all.

[Chrono Detector]

i7 of course, you won't regret it

[zanzabar]

get a better board than the evga classified 1156 like the evga ftw no nf200 (also $180 instead of $300+) and get the 1156. unless u need xfire or sli the 1156 is faster than the 1366 and on good boards they will oc the same or the 1156 a little better.

and the i5 750 is a 32nm the only 32nm as of now is the i3/i5 dual cores

[PatRaceTin]

i prefer 1366

[Coldon]

i7 has pretty much no real performance benefits over i5, and an i5 750 IS AN i7 with HT disabled.
The whole dual channel vs triple channel memory is pretty moot, it's been shown that there isnt much of a real world performance difference between the two.
The only benefit of 1366 is SLI/crossfire (which brings in all the SLI/crossfire issues like microstuttering, lack of driver/game support etc) and gulftown, which seeing as very few games are fully multi-threaded isn't that much of a big deal.

If you're benching / crunching then 1366 makes a little more sense, but for every day use, 1156 is perfect. I barely even strain my machine for everyday use: have visual studio open, firefox, outlook, foobar2k, word, powerpoint, pidgin and everything is still smooth as silk.

Also !!! new = warranty !!! which in this day and age is a good thing, especially seeing as some companies now have non-transferable warranties (ie warranty is only valid for the person that bought and registered the product). So rather just buy new and save yourself the headache of having to replace parts if they die.

[zalbard]

s1156 = questionable upgrade paths, though, possibly none (since it's supposed to be replaced by s1155 Sandy Bridge). s1366 = 6 core 12 threads (and I'd say HT does matter) 32nm chips, they are going to be expensive for the next 6 months, but eventually they will be affordable anyway.

[Coldon]

by the time the gulftowns become affordable, there'll be something new out. I know everyone loves playing the waiting game, but if he buys the used i7 parts now in the hopes of getting a gulftown later on down the line, he's going to be running a machine that's roughly the same speed (sometimes a little faster or slower with HT on) or exactly the same speed (HT off) as a new 1156, just with no warranties. And realistically speaking gulftown will not be affordable probably until mid to late 2011 and by then there may be a better / cheaper option...

[zalbard]

And realistically speaking gulftown will not be affordable probably until mid to late 2011 and by then there may be a better / cheaper option...

You mean Q3 2010. And upgrading just a CPU only is cheaper than upgrading a bunch of stuff at once.
Also, HT gives a benefit to quite a lot of programs. But guess you're not using those.
i5 750 is never faster than 920, don't be delusional. It's rarely on par, but that's it. That being said, the difference isn't big if the apps don't know how to use more than 4 cores.
6GB > 4GB of RAM as well.
And last but not least, 920 is easier to overclock, so it'll be higher clocked after all.

[Coldon]

i'm sorry did you just say the 15 750 is never faster than a i7 920, its the same chip?! like literally the same chip just with HT off... I dont crunch, render 3D, raytrace or run servers so no HT doesnt have much use for me, the HT boost is minimal at best in apps that support it and sometimes even kills performance in apps that aren't optimized for it. Pretty much all the apps that require more than 4 cores aren't user apps, they are workhorses that sit in the back and process away, for multitasking HT doesn't really help.

the i7 920 is not easier to overclock either, its about the same once you disable HT (hm... wait isn't that an i5 750? why yes it is) How many people with i7 920s disable HT? quite a few. Why cause HT just pumps the heat and doesn't really give much in return. I've got my i5 750 at 4.2 ghz 24/7 all by increasing the bclk and tweaking the vcore, I'm running 4.2 ghz at 1.32v at 40deg full load... Wow what a terrible overclocker the i5 750 is...

also 8GB > 6gb, and 24gb > 22gb? whats your point?

And i guess my definition of affordable is different to yours: its launching in q3 2010 at ~$570, not really my idea of affordable... And that's for the cheap one, i can go out now and drop $1000 for the i7 980xe, but yeh i got better things to spend my money on, That $1000 investment is gonna look great once he plays a games and sees "4/8" cores sitting idle...

Stop giving the guy bad advice, he wants a good PC now and is asking about new vs second hand, and the warranty issue in my opinion outweighs the supposed upgrade path. Until last year december I was still running an e8400 at 4.2ghz and you know what nothing really strained my machine, if he gets a nice i5 system, overclocks it to 4ghz, he should be fine for the next two years, pretty much till the warranties expire.

[cowpuppy]

I went with I7 myself and the future never looked better.

There will be affordable 32nm for 1366 down the road doesn't mean it has to be a 6 core Gulftown XE. Intel will produce 32nm 4cores 8 thread cpu's for the 1366, they will have to make the move to save $$$ It just won't be feasible with all the other plants producing 32nm and not make the move, and these should overclock like crazy even better than the Gulftown
You can upgrade to SATA3 and a SSD drive later. Heck you can even ad another V/C when they drop in price.

I see my board lasting a good 4 years with me and possibly more after it gets handed down to the kids and family. I invested 600.00 in the combo purchasing all the goods at MC it's to bad there isn't a MC in your country as it's just a few bucks more for the 920 and it would be all new.

[zalbard]

Stop giving the guy bad advice

No need to act so arrogant like your opinion is the truth in the last instance since it's still just your opinion.

[Toss3]

i'm sorry did you just say the 15 750 is never faster than a i7 920, its the same chip?! like literally the same chip just with HT off... I dont crunch, render 3D, raytrace or run servers so no HT doesnt have much use for me, the HT boost is minimal at best in apps that support it and sometimes even kills performance in apps that aren't optimized for it. Pretty much all the apps that require more than 4 cores aren't user apps, they are workhorses that sit in the back and process away, for multitasking HT doesn't really help.

the i7 920 is not easier to overclock either, its about the same once you disable HT (hm... wait isn't that an i5 750? why yes it is) How many people with i7 920s disable HT? quite a few. Why cause HT just pumps the heat and doesn't really give much in return. I've got my i5 750 at 4.2 ghz 24/7 all by increasing the bclk and tweaking the vcore, I'm running 4.2 ghz at 1.32v at 40deg full load... Wow what a terrible overclocker the i5 750 is...

also 8GB > 6gb, and 24gb > 22gb? whats your point?

And i guess my definition of affordable is different to yours: its launching in q3 2010 at ~$570, not really my idea of affordable... And that's for the cheap one, i can go out now and drop $1000 for the i7 980xe, but yeh i got better things to spend my money on, That $1000 investment is gonna look great once he plays a games and sees "4/8" cores sitting idle...

Stop giving the guy bad advice, he wants a good PC now and is asking about new vs second hand, and the warranty issue in my opinion outweighs the supposed upgrade path. Until last year december I was still running an e8400 at 4.2ghz and you know what nothing really strained my machine, if he gets a nice i5 system, overclocks it to 4ghz, he should be fine for the next two years, pretty much till the warranties expire.

Just take look at the recent BF: BC2 bechmarks and tell me having no HT won't matter(link)?

When an i5 setup costs as much as an i7 one, with the latter offering far more features, you should always go with the i7 no question about it.

[zanzabar]

You mean Q3 2010. And upgrading just a CPU only is cheaper than upgrading a bunch of stuff at once.
Also, HT gives a benefit to quite a lot of programs. But guess you're not using those.
i5 750 is never faster than 920, don't be delusional. It's rarely on par, but that's it. That being said, the difference isn't big if the apps don't know how to use more than 4 cores.
6GB > 4GB of RAM as well.
And last but not least, 920 is easier to overclock, so it'll be higher clocked after all.

with no HT the 750 is always faster than the 920 unless u are running a ram bandwidth synthetic, the improved memory controller interface and program logic will make the 1156 quads faster than the 1366 thread for thread in every conceivable scenario except synthetic ram bandwidth but then the 1156 is close on that. and the 1156 clocks great if u have a good board, andrewzorn just got an 1156 setup with the evga ftw no nf200 and hes at over 4ghz with turbo with just changing the core qpi

Just take look at the recent BF: BC2 bechmarks and tell me having no HT won't matter(link)?

When an i5 setup costs as much as an i7 one, with the latter offering far more features, you should always go with the i7 no question about it.

thats a dual core with HT to make it look like a quad on a game coded for a quad, on a quad having 8 threads wont help (as of now).


there is also the i7 860 its like $250 if u wanted HT

[[AK]Zip]

I say go i7 you can get even a new 920 for cheap.

[prava]

get a better board than the evga classified 1156 like the evga ftw no nf200 (also $180 instead of $300+) and get the 1156. unless u need xfire or sli the 1156 is faster than the 1366 and on good boards they will oc the same or the 1156 a little better.

and the i5 750 is a 32nm the only 32nm as of now is the i3/i5 dual cores

That's nonsense. If you go to 1156 you are choosing the cheap way, Why buy such an expensive mobo that doesn't give you any benefit from a cheaper one?

At the same price, 1366 all the way, specially having one 5870 as you may upgrade for another one and you will have better CF performance with X58.
If I were to go to 1156 it would be the cheapest possible way, i5 750 + Giga P55A UD3 or something like that, its nonsense to go for the cheapest platform and then waste money in a mobo which features exactly the same as a cheaper one...

[zanzabar]

most people dont upgrade the cpu without a new MB so i dont agree with the gulftown needs and why do people like te 1366 so much if u dont use multi gpu the 1156 is faster, it puts off less heat even though its got the NB built in, and it has a better memory/pci-e controller (unless u need 32x lanes.) the 58xx also have a 2% difference from 8x to 16x its nothing meaningful and the lower latency by a good margine should make up for the 2% difference per card.

back in the 775 the p series was better than the X unless u needed 32x lanes and this is the exact same thing exept the 1156 cpus are better than the 1366 in 45nm but u wont see a hex core in the near future but then by the time hex cores are out sata6 and usb3 on chipset will be out so then u would want a new board anyways.

u are right on the MB the classified or maximus 3 on the 1156 are stupid as they get fake lanes from the nf200 that dont help and they are targeted for tri/quad gpu but for single or 2 gpu the 1156 is the better platform and the evga ftw no nf200 works great, clocks great and is a superior platform unless u need 3/4 gpus or 2 gpus and a raid card.

the ubiquitous car example, u need a 4 seater car to commute in but u also want a fast and comfortable one the best choice for your needs is the hot hatch or a small luxury car (335 or a4 or is), but then u see a large luxury car like a 7 series long or an s500, it has the same speed and features that u would use as the driver but no u want the future proof on what if u get a driver. so u sacrifice agility,size and efficiency to get something for a scenario that u know wont happen since if u would need or use those features u know that u would be getting a new one.

[Anemic]

Im have pretty much the same choises as MechOz. A used i7 920 or a new i5 750 (or mabye a i7 860). I do have a SLI system at the moment and Im planning on keeping my GPUs. I did have this great link explaining Turbo Boost and everything there is to know about i7 and i5 but now I cant find it. Anyways, it said that the 1366 is bether for SLI/Xfire then the 1156. My question is, is the 920 and the 1366 platform worth another $300 compared to a i5-750 1156? Im probably going to keep it for a year or two then Im guessing I will switch up again.

Sorry MechOz for hoggin your thread a bit, I hope you dont mind =)


EDIT: OOooh, sorry zanzabar, I didn't read your post proberly. You pretty much said what I wanted to hear *hehe* Im guessing a sound card wont put much stress on the PCI-E lanes?

[Coldon]

+1 to everything zanzabar said.

[Envy]

for the same price? I'd go i7 no doubt. anyways everyone overclock here whatever clock higher wins and that 1% extra crossfire/sli for the same price oh yes please.

[bt_medic04]

erm the i5 750 is a 45nm part. just thought i would correct that guys.

if you arent going to use HT on a 920, then go with the i5 750. yes, you lose out on triple channel memory, but you wont notice it unless you are benching or happen to do lots of photo editing. also, according to THIS article, it may be possible to use that i5 on a 1155 board. however it originated from the fud, so who really knows

[Envy]

take a look Intel 4.5GHz LinX Stable Club fact, isn't 7 superior than 5?