CPU / Socket Choice

[xlar8or]

Hey guys ! I can't decide between the i7 860 (socket 1156) and the i7 920 D0 (socket 1366). From what i've read here in the 860 review, in stock clock it's better than the 920 for what i want (maximum detail in games at 1920x1080, winrar, quickpar, firefox with lots of tabs, SO performance). I'm planning on overclocking with a noctua cooler, so the question is that if the 920 D0 @ 4 ghz is better than the 860 @ 4 ghz I'm also going to hd 5850 crossfire x in the future. what would you recommend?

 

[classy]

Read Anandtechs review. They touch on overclocking in great detail between the too. The 920 overclocks easier

 

[xlar8or]

But they don't show actual benchmark results between the 2 when overclocked. If the 860 and 920 were at 4 ghz would the 860 still be faster then the 920? But to get 4 ghz on the 860 with air is a pain from what i've heard, adjusting voltages and stuff.

 

[Arkaign]

No. The 860 is faster at stock because the turbo mode is a lot more aggressive. Once turbo is disabled and you're running all 4 cores at high speeds, they're both outstanding.

As you're into multi-GPU (crossfire), I'd go X58+920, as you'll have two full-speed PCI-E 2.0 x16 capability, rather than dropping to dual 8x on the 860. It may not be an issue with the 5850 crossfire, but as things rapidly accelerate, I could easily see the 6850/6870 crossfires suffering a bit with the 8x PCI-E 2.0 limitation. Having a confirmed path to hex-core is also nice, along with the 2 extra DDR3 slots.

Cliffs : if the price is close enough, go for the 9xx series on 1366. If you can save significantly with 860, then that might make sense then.

 

[xlar8or]

Thanks I'm wondering what PSU is good and recommended for the i7 overclock and hd 5850 crossfire from this list:

Fonte Nox ATX Apex 800W
Fonte Nox ATX Krypton 800W 80PLUS SLI
Fonte Seasonic ATX 700W M12 Modular
Thermaltake Toughpower XT 750W Modular

 

[Painman]

If I were to drop 775 today and hop onto the i7 bandwagon it would be via 1366. Robustness is worth something, and so is the implied longevity of the platform. 1156 is sort of an anomaly, to me.

Not familiar with "Nox". I'm familiar with Seasonic. Their units tend to be solid. Thermaltake ought to stick to heatsinks and enclosures.

 

[xlar8or]

What case would you choose from these:

Chassis NOX Raiden
Chassis NOX Coolbay 25 Black
Chassis NZXT M59
Chassis Nox Calypso
Chassis Thermaltake Soprano RS200 Window
Chassis Thermaltake M9 Window
Chassis Sunbeam Tuniq 2 Black

 

[xlar8or]

I'll probably go with the 920, although i'll never use the 6 GB completly, but since i have full pci-e bandwidth i don't know if going for the HD5850 or the HD5870, either way i'm going to crossfire, so what would you suggest between these two? The 5850 is a lot more money-wise, but on the other hand you want the best If i have a 5870 crossfire and an i7 920 at 4 ghz a 1000w PSU is still overkill right? The guy that is hooking me up can get me a Corsair CMPSU-1000HXEU 1000 W for 262 dollars, but i don't know if it is worth it. I've chosen the Thermaltake M9, will the 5870 fit there?

 

[Markfw]

PSU, anything from Seasonic (700 is good), Corsair 750. or OCZ 700 or bigger (rebadged Fortron)

And get the 920, as said for the 3 (or 3) PCIe X 16 lanes.

 

[SilentBobDC]

I'm glad I searched for this thread lest I repost the same question. I was all set to buy a 1156 until I heard all about the socket problems (foxconn parts that is).

 

[xlar8or]

I think 700 w will not be enough, from what i've read the 5870 crossfire consumes 500w and the i7 920 @ 4 ghz consumes 300 watts, so right there i have 800w. Is the 1000w still overkill or might not be that far way from what i need?

 

[Meghan54]

I think 700 w will not be enough, from what i've read the 5870 crossfire consumes 500w and the i7 920 @ 4 ghz consumes 300 watts, so right there i have 800w. Is the 1000w still overkill or might not be that far way from what i need?

Where are you getting those figures because they don't represent reality.

A 5870 Crossfire system, under full load, averages around 650-660W, using a Core i7 920 OC'd to 3.33GHz. True, getting to 4GHz will have the cpu consume more power, but the understanding is an i7 920 at 4GHz averages around 225-250W, more or less, consumed by itself....depending upon voltages that have to be applied to achieve the speed.

A similarly system set up with a 5850 Crossfire, under full load, has been shown to consume around 550W--for the system. (Load using OCCT to "simulate" a full gaming load....true gaming won't produce loading like OCCT will.)

 

[ScorcherDarkly]

I'm glad I searched for this thread lest I repost the same question. I was all set to buy a 1156 until I heard all about the socket problems (foxconn parts that is).

I wouldn't let one manufacturer's part defects scare you away from the entire platform. The socket burn problem was only observed when trying for super high overclocks, beyond 4 ghz, and most manufacturers have already started using non-foxconn cpu sockets just to make sure they don't end up with the same issue. I would find it very unlikely that you'd run in to the same problem now.

 

[Markfw]

Where are you getting those figures because they don't represent reality.

A 5870 Crossfire system, under full load, averages around 650-660W, using a Core i7 920 OC'd to 3.33GHz. True, getting to 4GHz will have the cpu consume more power, but the understanding is an i7 920 at 4GHz averages around 225-250W, more or less, consumed by itself....depending upon voltages that have to be applied to achieve the speed.

A similarly system set up with a 5850 Crossfire, under full load, has been shown to consume around 550W--for the system. (Load using OCCT to "simulate" a full gaming load....true gaming won't produce loading like OCCT will.)

Well, I burned up a Fortron 700 with 2 9800 GTX+ cards running 100% load and the 920@3.9@ 100% load 24/7, after about a month, and I replaced it with a 1010 watt (>65% efficiency).

So going with one for that setup may be a bit much, but you can never have too much power. It will always run cooler at a low% of rated load, and usually a higher efficiency rating also. But get one that is at least 80%, better yet like mine at >85% efficiency.