Core i7 a waste of money for gamers, says Nvidia

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Kraeoss

Senior member
Jul 31, 2008
450
0
76
ok well sorry for how i stated that but nvi has great cards no doubt about it, but their marketing strats almost always come out trying to belittle someone...and i still cant afford a GTS 250 lol
 

nbowman

Member
Jun 7, 2007
49
0
0
Originally posted by: solofly
Do any of you actually own an i7 rig? lol

Wait till you get yours and then you'll be signing a different tune.

says the guy with 3 GPUs....
benchmarks do back up what the Nvidia guy is sayin, even if he says it like an asshole.

IF you must compromise something pricewise (IE can't afford a "Ferrari" (I'd rather have a Pagani or Koenigsegg or ZR1, depending on which Ferrari we are talking about ;) ))
AND you are primarily a gamer, then compromise on the CPU rather than the GPU will keep your framerates up the most.

Of course it is vice versa if you run primarily matlab, CAD, crunch huge spreadsheets or do any of the other myriad of problems that the CPU is mainly responsible for.
I really don't see how you can fault this reasoning, even if you don't like the company, or the spokesperson.
 

OCGuy

Lifer
Jul 12, 2000
27,224
37
91
Originally posted by: MegaWorks
Originally posted by: OCguy
Originally posted by: MegaWorks

You're right Intel high end CPU is a rip off, but an SLI platform benefits a lot more with a Quad and the i7 920 is not that expensive either and if you overclock it you see my point.

This is incorrect. Just because right now the gaming software does not take advantage of a 8 thread monster chip like i7 does not mean it is a "rip off."

It may not be the smart buy for someone who plays WoW and surfs the web, but then again you can get a E5200 and 8800GT or a 3850 and do those things just as well as a Q9650 and GTX280 on a 17 inch monitor.


It all depends on your situation.

Let me get this, you're saying that the Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 is not a rip off? I didn't mean the entire i7 line to be a rip off only the "high end" CPU.


For someone who needs absolute stability at that frequency, or does not want to void the warranty by overclocking, no it is not a ripoff.

For someone who knows how to go into BIOS on a cheaper i7 and make it perform the same or better, than yes, that would be money down the drain, and absolutely retarded.

Like I said, it all depends on the situation you are in.




 

WaitingForNehalem

Platinum Member
Aug 24, 2008
2,497
0
71
First of all, it doesn't make sense you invest in a weak, old cpu and get a super graphics card because you'll eventually be cpu bound and will be required to do a cpu update which will cost you more money in the first place and you'll be on a dead socket. Rather you should invest into the cpu and upgrade the gpu later.

This is to all you people who say Core i7 is expensive:

Zipzoomfly

Prices after rebate:

Core i7- $265
MSI X58 PRO- $155.89
OCZ OCZ3G1333LV6GK 6GB PC3-10666 - $40 (yes thats right, $40 bucks)

 

Cogman

Lifer
Sep 19, 2000
10,286
147
106
Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
First of all, it doesn't make sense you invest in a weak, old cpu and get a super graphics card because you'll eventually be cpu bound and will be required to do a cpu update which will cost you more money in the first place and you'll be on a dead socket. Rather you should invest into the cpu and upgrade the gpu later.

This is to all you people who say Core i7 is expensive:

Zipzoomfly

Prices after rebate:

Core i7- $265
MSI X58 PRO- $155.89
OCZ OCZ3G1333LV6GK 6GB PC3-10666 - $40 (yes thats right, $40 bucks)

Gahhh.. Don't temp me like that :p Those are amazing prices.

But yeah, I completely agree with your sentiment. Not buying a good CPU because lower end CPUs are fast enough is dumb, its like begging for you system to be outdated in a few months.

That being said. If you already have a low end cpu and you are looking at best game bang for the buck, then an investment in a good GPU will most likely go further then getting a new CPU.
 

MegaWorks

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2004
3,819
1
0
Originally posted by: OCguy
Originally posted by: MegaWorks
Originally posted by: OCguy
Originally posted by: MegaWorks

You're right Intel high end CPU is a rip off, but an SLI platform benefits a lot more with a Quad and the i7 920 is not that expensive either and if you overclock it you see my point.

This is incorrect. Just because right now the gaming software does not take advantage of a 8 thread monster chip like i7 does not mean it is a "rip off."

It may not be the smart buy for someone who plays WoW and surfs the web, but then again you can get a E5200 and 8800GT or a 3850 and do those things just as well as a Q9650 and GTX280 on a 17 inch monitor.


It all depends on your situation.

Let me get this, you're saying that the Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 is not a rip off? I didn't mean the entire i7 line to be a rip off only the "high end" CPU.


For someone who needs absolute stability at that frequency, or does not want to void the warranty by overclocking, no it is not a ripoff.

For someone who knows how to go into BIOS on a cheaper i7 and make it perform the same or better, than yes, that would be money down the drain, and absolutely retarded.

Like I said, it all depends on the situation you are in.

What people who overclock are retarded now! Excuse me but anyone who spends $1000 on a dollars CPU to get the same performance as overclock CPU with a significant lower price is retarded. So why do you overclock then, isn't retarded to do so?
 

PUN

Golden Member
Dec 5, 1999
1,590
16
81
Originally posted by: MegaWorks
Originally posted by: OCguy
Originally posted by: MegaWorks
Originally posted by: OCguy
Originally posted by: MegaWorks

You're right Intel high end CPU is a rip off, but an SLI platform benefits a lot more with a Quad and the i7 920 is not that expensive either and if you overclock it you see my point.

This is incorrect. Just because right now the gaming software does not take advantage of a 8 thread monster chip like i7 does not mean it is a "rip off."

It may not be the smart buy for someone who plays WoW and surfs the web, but then again you can get a E5200 and 8800GT or a 3850 and do those things just as well as a Q9650 and GTX280 on a 17 inch monitor.


It all depends on your situation.

Let me get this, you're saying that the Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 is not a rip off? I didn't mean the entire i7 line to be a rip off only the "high end" CPU.


For someone who needs absolute stability at that frequency, or does not want to void the warranty by overclocking, no it is not a ripoff.

For someone who knows how to go into BIOS on a cheaper i7 and make it perform the same or better, than yes, that would be money down the drain, and absolutely retarded.

Like I said, it all depends on the situation you are in.

What people who overclock are retarded now! Excuse me but anyone who spends $1000 on a dollars CPU to get the same performance as overclock CPU with a significant lower price is retarded. So why do you overclock then, isn't retarded to do so?

It's all relative...someone making millions a year, $1000 for a cpu is not much.
 

cbn

Lifer
Mar 27, 2009
12,968
221
106
Originally posted by: Golgatha
Originally posted by: Just learning
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/h...of-money-says-nvidia/1


Wow. This is pretty amazing coming from a company that is competing with AMD (ie, ATI).

For gamers, yes, the Core i7 is a complete waste of money if you're trying to get better gaming numbers. For everything else, the Core i7 is smooth as butter.


I also like the idea of being able to buy a mobo that supports two full PCI-E 2.0 x16 lanes for only $120.

We are definitely approaching the point (with GT300 and HD58xx on the way) where PCI-E 2.0 x8,x8 won't be cutting it anymore. That means a intel person needs x58 chipset which costs a lot more than a $120 AM2+.

 

WT

Diamond Member
Sep 21, 2000
4,816
60
91
Good read .. the i7 upgrade bug has been bothering me lately, bu I just can't bring myself to scrapping most of my hardware just to see little to no gaming improvements.

I was under the impression that SLI was more scalable on an i7 platform compared to a C2Q. Anyone care to comment on that one ?
 

Acanthus

Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
19,915
2
76
ostif.org
Originally posted by: Just learning
Originally posted by: Golgatha
Originally posted by: Just learning
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/h...of-money-says-nvidia/1


Wow. This is pretty amazing coming from a company that is competing with AMD (ie, ATI).

For gamers, yes, the Core i7 is a complete waste of money if you're trying to get better gaming numbers. For everything else, the Core i7 is smooth as butter.


I also like the idea of being able to buy a mobo that supports two full PCI-E 2.0 x16 lanes for only $120.

We are definitely approaching the point (with GT300 and HD58xx on the way) where PCI-E 2.0 x8,x8 won't be cutting it anymore. That means a intel person needs x58 chipset which costs a lot more than a $120 AM2+.

Im not seeing that limitation coming anytime soon.

An 8800GT doesnt even saturate a PCI-e 4x.
 

venkman

Diamond Member
Apr 19, 2007
4,950
11
81
I'm playing Crysis at 1920x1080 with everything set to very high and 8x AA and it is very smooth and playable with nary a dropped frame. I don't know what my exact FPS are, but I don't really care. Oh year, I'm running this on an E4300 at Stock along with a Radeon 4890.
 

Hauk

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2001
2,806
0
0
The nV rep makes a good point in that gamers typically are looking for the best bang for the buck. Savvy users know where to spend the money and how to build a balanced rig. He was simply trying to demonstrate that it would be unwise to invest heavily on the cpu side without having the right equipment on the gpu side. I'd not build an i7 gaming rig and use a single gpu, none out there right now anyway.
 

Hauk

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2001
2,806
0
0

cbn

Lifer
Mar 27, 2009
12,968
221
106
Originally posted by: Acanthus
Originally posted by: Just learning
Originally posted by: Golgatha
Originally posted by: Just learning
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/h...of-money-says-nvidia/1


Wow. This is pretty amazing coming from a company that is competing with AMD (ie, ATI).

For gamers, yes, the Core i7 is a complete waste of money if you're trying to get better gaming numbers. For everything else, the Core i7 is smooth as butter.


I also like the idea of being able to buy a mobo that supports two full PCI-E 2.0 x16 lanes for only $120.

We are definitely approaching the point (with GT300 and HD58xx on the way) where PCI-E 2.0 x8,x8 won't be cutting it anymore. That means a intel person needs x58 chipset which costs a lot more than a $120 AM2+.

Im not seeing that limitation coming anytime soon.

An 8800GT doesnt even saturate a PCI-e 4x.

I've seen two reviews where it definitely looks like a PCI-E 1.x (x16 lane) is limiting a 4850x2.

If that is true then it looks like next generation high end single GPUs may actual need more than x8 PCI-E 2.0 (which is equal to x16 PCI-E 1.0)
 

Zenoth

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2005
5,202
216
106
There was an article made here at Anandtech previewing the Core i7 architecture before its release, and the conclusion was very clear even back then that the Core i7 architecture had never been built with gaming in mind by Intel, because the Core architecture already does a superb job at it basically, so they (Intel) made an architecture that focused more on multi-tasking without necessarily putting gaming within that aspect of the architecture.

And Intel aren't idiots, it's a business, so claiming that making a system based on a Core i7 CPU will increase gaming performance by 80% is just a gimmick to attract and impress the uninformed who's probably going to bite at the line when he's/she's going to make the next system upgrade from a previous architecture, and yes, generally speaking the uninformed are gamers, even in the PC market.

I think it's just naive from NVIDIA to go out and say «hey Intel, guys, it ain't gaming performance, it's CPU difference, and... c'mon, you're basing your claims on 3DMark Vantage's CPU results, couldn't you be less professional?», the thing is Intel knew perfectly well the truth already... what NVIDIA may have missed is that Intel is just a business trying its best (or its worst, like in this case) to attract the gamer's (amongst others) attention with such claims.

It's like some DDR-2 and DDR-3 Memory kits sold around with a "SLi-Ready" sticker on their package. Now who's going to come out and say «hmmm, hey guys, that can't be!», probably no one, because everyone in the business world smiled at it, being the obvious selling gimmick, however ridiculous it may look, the only people who might possibly actually believe in that claim and buy the said Memory kit because of that is a gamer for sure, or someone who's just starting its stuff in the enthusiast affairs.
 

KeithP

Diamond Member
Jun 15, 2000
5,664
202
106
From a bang-for-your-buck standpoint, Core i7 is definitely not the way to go. Although from a gaming perspective it is not a total waste of money, like say, Phsyx. ;)

-KeithP
 

cbn

Lifer
Mar 27, 2009
12,968
221
106
How long till Nvidia launches it own CPU?

At the moment we have Intel and AMD with their own CPUs, chipsets, and Video cards (with larabee on the way)

Nvidia just has Video cards and chipsets? When is their CPU coming?

Then we would have a three way competition for PC building? Or could Nvidia branch off with their own CPU/OS and be competition to Apple in some kind of niche market?
 

nitromullet

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2004
9,031
36
91
Biggest thing attracting me to X58/i7 is the potential for SLI and Crossfire support. No longer does one purchase dictate the options for the other with regard to mobo and video card(s), as it should be.

While it's true what NV says in the presentation, I think the loss of the SLI chipset market is their real concern. As this opens up the option to instead of adding another GTS 250 in their scenario to getting rid of the GTS 250 altogether, swapping it for a 4870, and still maintaining the flexibility of a multi-gpu upgrade path all without having to swap motherboards.
 

Golgatha

Lifer
Jul 18, 2003
12,432
1,122
126
Originally posted by: nitromullet
Biggest thing attracting me to X58/i7 is the potential for SLI and Crossfire support. No longer does one purchase dictate the options for the other with regard to mobo and video card(s), as it should be.

While it's true what NV says in the presentation, I think the loss of the SLI chipset market is their real concern. As this opens up the option to instead of adding another GTS 250 in their scenario to getting rid of the GTS 250 altogether, swapping it for a 4870, and still maintaining the flexibility of a multi-gpu upgrade path all without having to swap motherboards.

Yes, it is very nice having the choice to run SLI or Crossfire without changing anything other than the video card hardware. You've got to have an nVidia chipset with C2D to get SLI, which is one of many reasons for nVidia marketing to push C2D systems.
 

TotalLamer

Member
Feb 13, 2009
112
0
0
Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
First of all, it doesn't make sense you invest in a weak, old cpu and get a super graphics card because you'll eventually be cpu bound and will be required to do a cpu update which will cost you more money in the first place and you'll be on a dead socket. Rather you should invest into the cpu and upgrade the gpu later.

This is to all you people who say Core i7 is expensive:

Zipzoomfly

Prices after rebate:

Core i7- $265
MSI X58 PRO- $155.89
OCZ OCZ3G1333LV6GK 6GB PC3-10666 - $40 (yes thats right, $40 bucks)

Posting prices after rebate is a joke, unless it's an instant rebate.

 

alyarb

Platinum Member
Jan 25, 2009
2,425
0
76
Originally posted by: venkman
I'm playing Crysis at 1920x1080 with everything set to very high and 8x AA and it is very smooth and playable with nary a dropped frame. I don't know what my exact FPS are, but I don't really care. Oh year, I'm running this on an E4300 at Stock along with a Radeon 4890.

the g button throws grenades.