Core i7 or C2Q?

[tim924]

First I'd like to mention that im currently using a 5yr-old P4 2.8Ghz,I know it's much outdated by now,so im considering buying a new computer in a month.But what bothers me is that Ci7 is launching in less than 2 weeks,I really dont know if I should jump on the new platform or just grab a Q9550 instead,and I have a major concern about Ci7's bug and stability issues,that's basically what holds me back against it at the moment.
Anyways,my budget will be around $1300-1500 for this new rig(I have a samsung 22" LCD which I bought few months ago already.)Please give me some advices on this,any opinions are appreciated,thanks!

 

[Markfw]

I don't think you will be able to buy an i7 in 2 weeks, and if so, that budget it low, as motherboard, cheapest cpu and decent memory will be ~$900 alone.

I say go with the Q9550 now.

 

[tim924]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
I don't think you will be able to buy an i7 in 2 weeks, and if so, that budget it low, as motherboard, cheapest cpu and decent memory will be ~$900 alone.

I say go with the Q9550 now.

But even if the i7 path will cost $900 for mobo+cpu+ram,consider I have $600 left after that still not enough to get other parts?And what are your opinions regarding i7's bug and stability issues if lets say Ill get one by christmas time,well im still pretty undecided,any other inputs as well?Thanks

 

[ochadd]

Nehalem rigs right now are for bragging rights imho. In order to make use of them you need ultra high end multi GPU setups. With anything GTX 280 or below an overclocked 45nm would be the sweet spot. They have been fleshed out and are stable while the Nehalems are still unproven.

 

[tim924]

Thanks for the quick replies,back to the topic,for a safe bet C2Q is really a viable choice atm,but the reason I'm considering i7 is that I'll most likely not upgrade the cpu(not GPU) for another 3-4 years,I know i7 is not much of a upgrade clock for clock but I heard it advances in multithreaded apps so for that time frame it will probably at least last longer than the current C2Q,but if stability is really a main concern here I would just choose something like a Q9550 which is not a bad choice also atm

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: tim924

Originally posted by: Markfw900
I don't think you will be able to buy an i7 in 2 weeks, and if so, that budget it low, as motherboard, cheapest cpu and decent memory will be ~$900 alone.

I say go with the Q9550 now.

But even if the i7 path will cost $900 for mobo+cpu+ram,consider I have $600 left after that still not enough to get other parts?And what are your opinions regarding i7's bug and stability issues if lets say Ill get one by christmas time,well im still pretty undecided,any other inputs as well?Thanks

Good video card $300, Good PSU $150 Good case $100, Good HD $100, burner, $40

= $690, But a really high end video card to match that CPU ? 2 x $500, otherwise you are GPU bound.

I still say get the 9550.

 

[tim924]

Since im not going dual GPU at first,i'd most likely go with a GTX 260 core 216 or 4870 1gb,which one is better for a single card performance on my 22" LCD?Btw $150 for both case and psu is more realistic for me,and probably $80 for a 640gb HD and $30 for a DVD burner,and the aforementioned GPUs can be had for around $300 each,so i think the $600 budget for other parts is still plenty viable,but i7 or c2q is still the main undecided factor here since im with a P4 and will be using the new rig for another 3-4 yrs,any other inputs?

 

[Sureshot324]

I am in a similar situation as you. I'm running a socket 939 Athlon with DDR1 memory. I'm gonna go with a Core i7 920 when it comes out. The CPU itself should be about the same price as a 9550 and is generally faster right now, and the gap will only widen when more apps are optimized for i7. DDR3 is considerably more expensive, but I think in a couple years when I want more RAM, I'll be happy I went with DDR3 now.

Since I'm getting a socket LGA1366 right when it comes back, I expect to get at least one CPU upgrade during it's lifetime, like I did with my Socket 939 system.

IMO, if you already have a Core 2, it's not worth going i7, but if your coming from a system older then that, it is worth it.

 

[dguy6789]

+1 vote for the Q9550.

 

[Burnsman]

Intel Core i7 920 $300-$360
ASUS P6T Deluxe $300-$340 (MSI X58 Platinum and SmackOver should be cheaper)
G Skill or A Data triple channel DDR3 1333,1.65v, $100-$115
=
$700-$800 cpu+mobo+ram

 

[tim924]

thanks for the suggestions guys,and a off-topic question:which single video card is better bewteen a GTX260 core 216 and a 4870 1GB for a 22" LCD?Also any other opinions regarding the i7 or C2Q choice?I'm still pretty open minded!

 

[dguy6789]

I use a nice 22" lcd and do everything at 1680x1050 on my HD 4870 512. Everything looks really nice and everything runs very smooth.

 

[tim924]

Originally posted by: dguy6789
I use a nice 22" lcd and do everything at 1680x1050 on my HD 4870 512. Everything looks really nice and everything runs very smooth.

I'm pretty sure 4870 512mb is decent video card,but im pretty confused about which one is the better choice out of these two: GTX 260 core 216 or 4870 1GB,they are priced almost exactly the same,so what i need to know is performance wise which one will have the edge?

 

[Markfw]

Obviously you are a gamer. (video card choice), So the 9550 is all the cpu you need for many years. The I7 in your case is a waster of money.

 

[tim924]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Obviously you are a gamer. (video card choice), So the 9550 is all the cpu you need for many years. The I7 in your case is a waster of money.

thx for your suggestion Mark,but can I have a comfirmation on which one out of the two aforementioned cards is better consider they are priced the same?

 

[OCGuy]

Originally posted by: tim924

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Obviously you are a gamer. (video card choice), So the 9550 is all the cpu you need for many years. The I7 in your case is a waster of money.

thx for your suggestion Mark,but can I have a comfirmation on which one out of the two aforementioned cards is better consider they are priced the same?

They are about the same. It is going to come down to preference in board partners, warranties, etc.

 

[Tempered81]

If you aren't opposed to crossfire, consider the 4850. In a "crossfire headache-free" scenario, two HD4850's (costing less than $290) preform much better than both the 48701GB & GTX260 216. The GTX260 216 is 10% faster than the GTX260, and 4870 1GB is at most 5-10% better than the 4870 512mb on average. However 4850 Crossfire can be as much as 65% faster than either of them. They do especially well at higher resolutions with high levels of AA & AF.

HardwareCanucks:

65% faster in Cod4
http://images.hardwarecanucks....SFIRE/CROSSFIRE-64.JPG

50% faster in DMC4
http://images.hardwarecanucks....SFIRE/CROSSFIRE-39.JPG

40% faster in WIC
http://images.hardwarecanucks....SFIRE/CROSSFIRE-52.JPG

Anandtech:

40% faster in Crysis
http://images.anandtech.com/gr...062408145208/17136.png

60% faster in Cod4
http://images.anandtech.com/gr...062408145208/17137.png

55% faster in Oblivion
http://images.anandtech.com/gr...062408145208/17140.png

Edit: Considering the performance of a 4870 in Farcry2, the 4850 Crossfire would scale nicely in this benchmark from Bjorn3D:
http://www.bjorn3d.com/Materia...Far_Cry_2_DX9_4xAA.jpg

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: tim924

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Obviously you are a gamer. (video card choice), So the 9550 is all the cpu you need for many years. The I7 in your case is a waster of money.

thx for your suggestion Mark,but can I have a comfirmation on which one out of the two aforementioned cards is better consider they are priced the same?

I am not as much into video cards, I see jaredpace has some good links to consider. I don't see anybody saying that a core I7 is warranted...

 

[tim924]

Thanks for the clarification,according to Mark's suggestion for Q9550,I have come across two interesting options with newegg:
1.http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16883229057

2.http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16883229054

The main differences bewteen the two is that #1 has 4850 gpu/1000w psu/p45 mobo/blue ray,#2 comes with GTX 260/800w psu/750i mobo/DVD/250gb less HD,and #2 is about $160 more expensive than #1,I was thinking I could probably use the price difference to buy another 4850 to crossfire for #1 later,but which one will be the better choice if you were the one to buy?Thanks!

 

[walk2k]

Unless you plan to dump 2 (or 3..) $500 video cards in there (SLI/Crossfire), you won't see much if any speed gains with i7 in games on a 22" LCD (19x12?)

i7 is a monster, but unless you are doing serious number crunching, they aren't worth the extreme premuim price.

Tests show a $350 setup like below (cpu+ram+mobo) keep pace in games with $1500+ i7 systems.

Also keep in mind Intel plans to release another socket next year for "mainstream" i7 chips. Smart money says wait.

 

[tim924]

Thanks for the suggestion regarding the i7 and c2q,so I had come down to the two options I listed above,any inputs on that?

 

[Markfw]

oh.... So no DIY ? You can build one easily if you want, just ping us, we will help.

 

[tim924]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
oh.... So no DIY ? You can build one easily if you want, just ping us, we will help.

Reason Im considering those two pre-built systems is that they are pretty much within $100-200 to the amount I would have spent if I were to build one myself not to mention they will come with a free os system and warranty,unless there is some concerns regarding buying a pre-built from newegg,or I would think it's pretty good deal without much hassel.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

You only get a one year warranty on the system. If you were to build it yourself, many of the parts come with warranties longer than a year. Hard drives are 3-5 years, video cards can have up to a lifetime warranty, RAM can have up to a lifetime warranty, and etc.

Here's my suggestion as far as the processor is concerned:
-If there is any chance you will want to upgrade the processor, or you feel you would get a benefit from upgrading the processor, in 2-3 year's time (or longer), then go with Core i7

-If you have absolutely no will to upgrade the processor of this new sytem for the life of the system, then stick with a Core 2 Quad.

Video Card:
The GTX 260 and HD4870 swap blows with each other. Look at as many benchmarks as you can and then determine what games you will be playing with this system. You can't go wrong with either card, but a "winner" between the two really depends on what game you are playing and what settings you like to use (since the Radeon cards handle AA very well with little performance drops).

 

[Markfw]

When you diy, you can beat that, and have better parts, OC'ability, and still have the OS. Plus the fun of learning.

Its up to you. If you like the idea of DIY, I am sure we can put together better parts for the same price.