i7-950 or 2600K ? Please help explain which route to upgrade.

[Kemble]

Currently running:
Intel Duo Core 6600 @ 2.4
Abit AW9D Max
OCZ Reaper HPC 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
2 x ATI 4870HD in Crossfire

It's time for an upgrade and I was just about to purchase:
Set-Up #1
Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
ASUS P6X58D-E LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
OCZ Reaper Edition 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)

Then I saw the new Sandy Bridge Processors came out.
Set-Up #2
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155
ASUS P8P67 PRO LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX
(Keeping current Ram) - OCZ Reaper HPC 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)


Which set-up, #1 or #2 would be the better choice for me? I use my computer during the day for work doing graphics in photoshop CS5 ~6-8 hours a day, then at night I'm a heavy Call of Duty 4 & Black Ops gamer. My main concern for this build is the gaming aspect of the rig.

I'm not much of a computer guru other than reading specs. My biggest concern is I noticed that the P8P67 Mobo says: 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (single at x16 or dual at x8/x8 mode) - Whereas the P6X58D-E says: 3 (@ x16/x8/x8 or x16/x16/x1). Although I only have 2 cards, wouldn't 2 cards run at x16/x16 and isn't it much better than the x8/x8 ? Would I be only running my video cards at 1/2 potential with set-up #2?

Many thanks in advance for your suggestions/comments.

[ProStreetCamaro]

Your better with option 2

1. Your DDR2 is not supported
2. Your not really going to loose anything at 8X/8X

[zanzabar]

i would go for the 2600K, they OC higher, use less power and are cheaper. its really a win all-round since 16x16 pci-e wont make a difference over 8x8 and u will save some money on the SB.

and u cannot use ddr2 on the intel i platform its ddr3 only

[OC Nub]

I agree, p67 and 2600k would be a better choice.

[Kemble]

Why would 16x16 not make a difference over 8x8 ? Like I said, I'm just a noob when it comes to the logic of how a computer works, I just see it as 16 vs 8 (double the number).

Good call on the ram, I'll look for some DDR3 and post it and see if it's a good buy (or you can recommend a good set? 8gb+ preferred).

Would it be better if I dropped my 2 x 4870HD and got a single 470 ?

[OC Nub]

Maybe look at the 570 if you plan to upgrade your gpu.

[fgw]

first of all, if i understand you correctly you plan to use your the DDR2 memory currently installed in the AW9D-MAX in the P8P67 PRO?

this is not possible. the P67 chipset used for sb processors supports DDR3 memory only! you will need to get new ram for setup 2 in the same way as for setup 1, except the X58 chipset in setup 1 will support either 2 or 3 memory channels, thus 4 or 6 DDR3 modules.

regarding crossfire: from what i have read, you won't see a noticeable difference in running your vga cards in a x8/x8 or in a x16/x16 configuration. even x8 has more bandwidth than the cards will need.

guess you will be getting more bang for the buck with the 2600K than with the 950. i'm currently sitting in the same boat, where i have an x58 motherboard already laying around which i planned to equip with a 990x as soon as it is available. but i might change my mind to go with a 2600K instead as for the price of the 990x i can get the 2600K, a new mb and also some vga cards. i also haven't seen comparisons between a 2600K and a 980x, leaving alone the 990x, but i doubt the 980x will be much more powerfull than the 2600K.

on the other hand, its all up to the usage of your system. in almost every situation - besides benchmarking - all current cpu's have more power we will need on every day use.

but finally its up to you...

[fgw]

Why would 16x16 not make a difference over 8x8 ? Like I said, I'm just a noob when it comes to the logic of how a computer works, I just see it as 16 vs 8 (double the number).

very simple:
you can compare it to a 16 lane wide highway. if there are just 8 cars on the road, it doesn't matter if they have 8 or 16 lanes available. they simply wont need the additional 8 lanes.

[btdvox]

very simple:
you can compare it to a 16 lane wide highway. if there are just 8 cars on the road, it doesn't matter if they have 8 or 16 lanes available. they simply wont need the additional 8 lanes.

Haha thats exactly what we were taught when it came to designing pipelines and looking at superscalar designs back in school haha.

But yeah, I don't think 16x lanes will be needed for quite some time, at least a few years. 8x @ PCie 2.0 is more than enough. I also went this route with 2 GTX 580's, every single person said that 8 PCIe lanes is enough for each GPU.

[PolRoger]

Option #2 (SB) will clock much higher and with cooler temps then option #1.

SB does 24/7 daily clocks on air like the best batch# bloomfield chips do on water.

[Kemble]

You guys are awesome !! Thanks so much for educating me. Looks like I will definitely go with the 2600K.

Now for the Ram. What do you think of: OCZ Reaper Edition 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) ?
I've always had OCZ Ram in my 5-6 previous builds. Never had any problems with DOA Ram. But am I limiting myself since I can't find anything faster than 1333 in larger than 2gb per stick by OCZ.

[danielkza]

You guys are awesome !! Thanks so much for educating me. Looks like I will definitely go with the 2600K.

Now for the Ram. What do you think of: OCZ Reaper Edition 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) ?
I've always had OCZ Ram in my 5-6 previous builds. Never had any problems with DOA Ram. But am I limiting myself since I can't find anything faster than 1333 in larger than 2gb per stick by OCZ.

There's at least this 2x4GB DDR3-2000 kit from OCZ. But I wouldn't get OCZ RAM unless it had some sweet pricing, 'casue they're leaving the memory business for good and nobody knows how well they'll honor their warranties in the future.

[CedricFP]

To be honest, there is little reason - if any at all - to go i7950 instead of 2600k at this point in time.

[Kemble]

Oh really? That's good to know. If not OCZ, then what brand and ram would be a good buy then? I'd like to get 2x4GB ram this way i'll have 8gb now with 2 slots open to upgrade in the future if I ever needed to.

I saw that ram you linked earlier but it's out of stock.

[Kemble]

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
CORSAIR XMS 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
These look promising ! Thoughts ?

[KoHaN69]

if you can snag a quad fro ur 775, u will be fine as well

there's virtually no realistic performance increase in games

[ProStreetCamaro]

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
CORSAIR XMS 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
These look promising ! Thoughts ?

Those are fine but make sure you will have enough room under your heatsink to fit the tall heat spreaders or are you going to run the stock heatsink?

I am running this kit right here myself.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231431

[Kemble]

Because I knew I was going to upgrade my computer soon, I had purchased this before 12/31/10 because of the $20 rebate they had going on that ended on the 31st. Got it for $39.
COOLER MASTER V8

Fortunately it will work with the LGA1155 socket.

[Kemble]

ProStreetCamaro - Are you running a 2600K ?