Been out of the game for awhile... is the i7 the way to go?

[Trevelyan]

I haven't upgraded my computer in awhile. I'm still running an ATI X1800XT video card and an AMD Athlon 4000+ with 2Gb of ram. My system still keeps up, actually, but I'm thinking about upgrading in the next two months...

My question is, for my budget ($1000 upgrade for cpu/mobo/ram/video card) is the i7 920 the way to go? What do you guys think?

My daily computer use: game, photoshop, dreamweaver, internet.

 

[Philippart]

I'd prefer an AMD 955/945 or similar on AM3 with ddr3 ram and a decent gpu like a nvidia gtx280

I hear AMD is better for gaming, for the rest both a pretty much equal, as you don't do much multithreated stuff which could use nehalems HT.
Also a nvidia gpu is recommended since it can accelerate the most recent version of photoshop which ati/amd can not...

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Just depends on what you want. Do you want the fastest but most expensive out there? Then i7 is the way to go. Looking for something cheaper but still get most of the performance? Then go with a core2 or high end amd system Phenom II. It looks like your a guy that doesn't upgrade much. If you were to build an i7 system I can't even imagine when that thing would become obsolete it would be good for years.

 

[Philippart]

in case you do want to upgrade, don't go with core2, there won't be any new high end cpus for its socket, so amd am3 or i7 is the way to go in case you want to have some freedom with upgrades

 

[Trevelyan]

Well I used to upgrade once a year, but I've been so happy with the performance of my rig I haven't felt the need to upgrade in awhile...

I think if I'm going to upgrade now, I might as well get close to the top of the line as I can, within reason.

And I want to stick with Intel for now. I am considering dual booting with OS X and Intel processors seem to be more suited for those attempts.

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
I haven't upgraded my computer in awhile. I'm still running an ATI X1800XT video card and an AMD Athlon 4000+ with 2Gb of ram. My system still keeps up, actually, but I'm thinking about upgrading in the next two months...

My question is, for my budget ($1000 upgrade for cpu/mobo/ram/video card) is the i7 920 the way to go? What do you guys think?

My daily computer use: game, photoshop, dreamweaver, internet.

$1000 is a fair chunk for an upgrade...
i7 is the fastest there is, so why not...

GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI - $210
i7 920 - $280
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 2000 Low Voltage - $115
EVGA 01G-P3-1280-TR GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 - $255

Total $860

 

[Zstream]

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
Well I used to upgrade once a year, but I've been so happy with the performance of my rig I haven't felt the need to upgrade in awhile...

I think if I'm going to upgrade now, I might as well get close to the top of the line as I can, within reason.

And I want to stick with Intel for now. I am considering dual booting with OS X and Intel processors seem to be more suited for those attempts.

Well to be honest you would be best getting the best GPU like a gtx 280 or 295 and a PHII 940.

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: Zstream

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
Well I used to upgrade once a year, but I've been so happy with the performance of my rig I haven't felt the need to upgrade in awhile...

I think if I'm going to upgrade now, I might as well get close to the top of the line as I can, within reason.

And I want to stick with Intel for now. I am considering dual booting with OS X and Intel processors seem to be more suited for those attempts.

Well to be honest you would be best getting the best GPU like a gtx 280 or 295 and a PHII 940.

Intel won't have an effect on the OS X install, but if he's got the money to burn then I agree with him on the platform...

 

[Zstream]

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
I haven't upgraded my computer in awhile. I'm still running an ATI X1800XT video card and an AMD Athlon 4000+ with 2Gb of ram. My system still keeps up, actually, but I'm thinking about upgrading in the next two months...

My question is, for my budget ($1000 upgrade for cpu/mobo/ram/video card) is the i7 920 the way to go? What do you guys think?

My daily computer use: game, photoshop, dreamweaver, internet.

$1000 is a fair chunk for an upgrade...
i7 is the fastest there is, so why not...

GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI - $210
i7 920 - $280
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 2000 Low Voltage - $115
EVGA 01G-P3-1280-TR GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 - $255

Total $860

Epp error!

ASUS M4A78 Plus AM3 - 80$
AMD Phenom II X4 945 - 225$
G.SKILL 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 - 140$
BFG Tech BFGEGTX2951792E GeForce GTX 295 1792MB - 529$

Total
974$

 

[mozartrules]

We really need to know what resolution you run your games in (and to some extent which game), that has implications for what the tradeoff should be between CPU and GPU cost. The GTX 295 suggested with the AMD build is most likely overkill and you always overpay for getting the absolute fastest of anything (like an i7 975). I think the i7 920 + GTX 280 looks balanced though one could argue that AMD has better value for money on the GPU side right now.

I am convinced that a new Intel build with high performance aspirations has to be i7 based. Core2 has been a great architechture and the performance difference isn't huge right now, but you want something that you can upgrade one-two years from now (there is a risk that there won't be any sub 300 dollar socket 1366 CPUs at that time but there will be a 6-core 32nm part and you will be no worse off than with a Core 2 system since there will be no upgrade at all for that).

It is quite possible that you should think about a new PSU as well.

 

[yh125d]

unless you have a 30" monitor no need to buy a GTX295. 4870x2 is a better choice anyways

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
I haven't upgraded my computer in awhile. I'm still running an ATI X1800XT video card and an AMD Athlon 4000+ with 2Gb of ram. My system still keeps up, actually, but I'm thinking about upgrading in the next two months...

My question is, for my budget ($1000 upgrade for cpu/mobo/ram/video card) is the i7 920 the way to go? What do you guys think?

My daily computer use: game, photoshop, dreamweaver, internet.

$1000 is a fair chunk for an upgrade...
i7 is the fastest there is, so why not...

GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI - $210
i7 920 - $280
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 2000 Low Voltage - $115
EVGA 01G-P3-1280-TR GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 - $255

Total $860

No reason to spend extra money on a GTX280 when a 4890 is clearly better and $50-$70 AR cheaper- could use that for something else, an SSD or something.

 

[Stoneburner]

Originally posted by: Sylvanas

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
I haven't upgraded my computer in awhile. I'm still running an ATI X1800XT video card and an AMD Athlon 4000+ with 2Gb of ram. My system still keeps up, actually, but I'm thinking about upgrading in the next two months...

My question is, for my budget ($1000 upgrade for cpu/mobo/ram/video card) is the i7 920 the way to go? What do you guys think?

My daily computer use: game, photoshop, dreamweaver, internet.

$1000 is a fair chunk for an upgrade...
i7 is the fastest there is, so why not...

GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI - $210
i7 920 - $280
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 2000 Low Voltage - $115
EVGA 01G-P3-1280-TR GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 - $255

Total $860

No reason to spend extra money on a GTX280 when a 4890 is clearly better and $50-$70 AR cheaper- could use that for something else, an SSD or something.

This is an excellent point. I've tried SSD's and their responsiveness is pretty impressive. A 4890 for $150 - $170, phenom II 955, any $110-$150 based motherboard, plus maybe a vertex 60gb would be a very good upgrade.

 

[MagickMan]

I see that the video card wars spill over into ALL the forums on AT... sheesh.


I'd go with a nice AM3 system and pocket the extra presidents.

 

[richierich1212]

Yeah, factor in SSD into your budget.

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: Stoneburner

Originally posted by: Sylvanas

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
I haven't upgraded my computer in awhile. I'm still running an ATI X1800XT video card and an AMD Athlon 4000+ with 2Gb of ram. My system still keeps up, actually, but I'm thinking about upgrading in the next two months...

My question is, for my budget ($1000 upgrade for cpu/mobo/ram/video card) is the i7 920 the way to go? What do you guys think?

My daily computer use: game, photoshop, dreamweaver, internet.

$1000 is a fair chunk for an upgrade...
i7 is the fastest there is, so why not...

GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI - $210
i7 920 - $280
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 2000 Low Voltage - $115
EVGA 01G-P3-1280-TR GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 - $255

Total $860

No reason to spend extra money on a GTX280 when a 4890 is clearly better and $50-$70 AR cheaper- could use that for something else, an SSD or something.

This is an excellent point. I've tried SSD's and their responsiveness is pretty impressive. A 4890 for $150 - $170, phenom II 955, any $110-$150 based motherboard, plus maybe a vertex 60gb would be a very good upgrade.

Still don't understand the point of SSDs for anything but laptops now that we have uber cheap RAM and Windows Vista/7. Vista/7 Precache everything; right now 5.8GB of my 8 are being used to cache programs. The only time I ever have to wait is when I am on a loading level for a game-- and even then the upgrade to SSD will be a minimal improvement-- the level and textures and everything needed are all packaged up, so assuming you've defragmented since install, you're not going to be wasting any time with your drive seeking. Minimum framerates (Crysis, perhaps WoW) are another issue I suppose.

 

[Trevelyan]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies.

I mostly game at 1680X1050 since that is my monitor resolution.

I currently have two 74Gb Raptors in RAID0 and would consider upgrading them for my main OS/applications drive.

 

[Trevelyan]

Oh, and yeah I think I need a new PSU. I has a FOSGROUP 450W now. Those modular Corsair ones look pretty good. Would 620W be enough?

 

[Allio]

Easily.

 

[2March]

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
I haven't upgraded my computer in awhile. I'm still running an ATI X1800XT video card and an AMD Athlon 4000+ with 2Gb of ram. My system still keeps up, actually, but I'm thinking about upgrading in the next two months...

My question is, for my budget ($1000 upgrade for cpu/mobo/ram/video card) is the i7 920 the way to go? What do you guys think?

My daily computer use: game, photoshop, dreamweaver, internet.

$1000 is a fair chunk for an upgrade...
i7 is the fastest there is, so why not...

GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI - $210
i7 920 - $280
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 2000 Low Voltage - $115
EVGA 01G-P3-1280-TR GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 - $255

Total $860

Agreed,

Whilst they are still out there go get the I7 920. It's not for nothing that Intel is going to discontinue them. Too good a deal

 

[mozartrules]

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
I mostly game at 1680X1050 since that is my monitor resolution.

I currently have two 74Gb Raptors in RAID0 and would consider upgrading them for my main OS/applications drive.

There is no reason to get a high-end graphics card for that resolution, even a single 4890 would be overkill. Use the amazing offers right now on something in the 4850-4870-4890 family and plan to upgrade in a year or two when DX11 becomes interesting.

Then use the money for an SSD drive. Drive performance must be important to you if you went to Raptors in RAID0. A 60Gb Vertex is now $199 at NewEgg.

 

[SunSamurai]

Originally posted by: Philippart
I'd prefer an AMD 955/945 or similar on AM3 with ddr3 ram and a decent gpu like a nvidia gtx280

I hear AMD is better for gaming, for the rest both a pretty much equal, as you don't do much multithreated stuff which could use nehalems HT.
Also a nvidia gpu is recommended since it can accelerate the most recent version of photoshop which ati/amd can not...

Youre an idiot. How can people get away with crap like this on the very site that has countess graphs and tests proving you wrong? Even in single threaded applications i7 blows any AMD processor away. Its not even close to equal. The only thing you were almost correct about was gaming, and thats between the highest-end AMD and the lowest-end i7!

 

[evolucion8]

Originally posted by: aeternitas

Youre an idiot. How can people get away with crap like this on the very site that has countess graphs and tests proving you wrong? Even in single threaded applications i7 blows any AMD processor away. Its not even close to equal. The only thing you were almost correct about was gaming, and thats between the highest-end AMD and the lowest-end i7!

How could you be so uncivilized and call people with names? Have you posted an evidence to prove him wrong? No.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...owdoc.aspx?i=3551&p=14

Here actually shows the great performance of the Phenom II X4 955 in games which tends to outperform the i7 920 in some scenarios and lose in some others, in the end, games today aren't heavily multi threaded, and the Core i7 single thread performance isn't stellar.

Instead of insulting people and rant without reason, be polite and say something smart, or don't say nothing at all.

If you care about games only, both are pretty much equally fast, but if you like to do other stuff like media encoding etc, the Core i7 is the way to go.

 

[Trevelyan]

Originally posted by: 2March

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
I haven't upgraded my computer in awhile. I'm still running an ATI X1800XT video card and an AMD Athlon 4000+ with 2Gb of ram. My system still keeps up, actually, but I'm thinking about upgrading in the next two months...

My question is, for my budget ($1000 upgrade for cpu/mobo/ram/video card) is the i7 920 the way to go? What do you guys think?

My daily computer use: game, photoshop, dreamweaver, internet.

$1000 is a fair chunk for an upgrade...
i7 is the fastest there is, so why not...

GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI - $210
i7 920 - $280
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 2000 Low Voltage - $115
EVGA 01G-P3-1280-TR GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 - $255

Total $860

Agreed,

Whilst they are still out there go get the I7 920. It's not for nothing that Intel is going to discontinue them. Too good a deal

Anything to look out for? I've read something about C0 vs D0... does that still matter?

 

[taltamir]

i would wait a little until the i5 comes out, it seems to be right around the corner. i am already seening benchmarks of ES units and P55 motherboards...
Even if you choose to go with a core 2 or a phenom2 system, you will get better prices.