Best cpu / socket path for me (AutoCAD & encoding)

[JonnyBlaze]

I have somehow managed to keep using this old p4 northwood system for a long time. I want to upgrade. I'm confused about going to i7, cqd, i5 etc...

Is the i7 920 a good choice? I live near a Microcenter so I could put it up for $199. Everything else I would probably get at Newegg.

Any input would be great.

thanks

JB

 

[zsdersw]

It will mainly depend on your budget.

 

[aigomorla]

the i7 platform has 8 possible threads with HT ON.

Will give you the best performance out of a single processor which is multi threaded.

However that performance will cost you a pretty penny.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

An i7 920 would probably be your best choice. Next best would be the i7 860, and then the i5 750.

 

[JonnyBlaze]

thanks for the iinput. are i7 motherboards still very pricey?

 

[lsv]

Fairly expensive yes. Compared to other boards anyway.

 

[SunnyD]

I'm gonna say S1366 + i7. Autocad and encoding will enjoy all the threading goodness.

 

[Markfw]

thanks for the iinput. are i7 motherboards still very pricey?

Mine is $170, and it has served me well. But I only get 3.7 out of it, probably due to memory.

 

[Arkaign]

I did some research recently on this, and AutoCAD, AutoDesk, and most other similar software doesn't really benefit from multi-core at this point in time. I guess it's tricky to program due to the very sequential nature of most of the work (ie; workpart 1 MUST be done before workpart 2 can begin calculation based on the results of workpart 1, etc).

Encoding, OTOH, benefits MASSIVELY from multi-core and HT.

Best answer, i7 920 is the best route I could think of there.

 

[douglasb]

I have somehow managed to keep using this old p4 northwood system for a long time. I want to upgrade. I'm confused about going to i7, cqd, i5 etc...

Is the i7 920 a good choice? I live near a Microcenter so I could put it up for $199. Everything else I would probably get at Newegg.

Any input would be great.

thanks

JB

Buy it. That's the best available socket for what you're trying to do.

 

[lopri]

How you managed AutoCAD and encoding on Northwood is difficult to imagine. Upgrading to i7 will be literally a night and day experience!

 

[Arkaign]

How you managed AutoCAD and encoding on Northwood is difficult to imagine. Upgrading to i7 will be literally a night and day experience!

AutoCAD is just crap on pretty much anything, being notorious along with Autodesk Inventor for STILL not really supporting SMP. Encoding on a Northwood was equal or better than most single-core AMD64 chips. I agree though, an i7 will be a ridiculous upgrade considering Northwood was circa 2002 tech I wouldn't expect miracles with AutoCAD though, probably the fastest AutoCAD performance would be on a 4.5ghz+ E8xxx series.