Help Decide: Core i5 vs Core i7 930

[railven]

Hello,
My first post, but have been lurking for some time now. I've finally saved up the cash (damn economy) to upgrade my aging rig to the new Intel line up. I've been reading as much as I could and had decided on getting the following:

Intel Core i5 750
Giga-byte P55 UDx series [unsure if I want to get a Crossfire ready board or not]
8GB (4x2GB) 1033mhz Corsair XMS2 CAS 7/CAS 9 [still doing some reading on the differences, XMP is mentioned for CAS 7 set] v1.5
ATI Radeon HD 5870
~$950


But, with the recent release of the Intel Core i7 930, and it being on sale at Microcenter, I've got that itch to look back into the X58 series.

Benches I've seen for the 750 vs the 920, put the 750 ahead on non-thread heavy applications. So my guess would be the 930 would edge out the 750 on those tests as the 920 only lost by a few.

For someone who will focus more on PC gaming, versus encoding/decoding, why of the two would be more bang for the buck. With the pricing of the i7 930 at Microcenter, the builds would differ by about ~$50, with the X58 build costing more, but that margin isn't too great as before it was closer to $150.

Oh the other build
Core i7 930
Giga-byte X58 UDx series [not sure if I want to invest out of the gate in SATA 6gbs/SATA 3.0, most likely not]
6GB (3x2GB) 1033mhz Corsair CAS 9 v1.5
ATI Radeon HD 5870
~$1000


Thanks in advance.

PS. Just to add to the mix up, would the 5850 be more than enough for either of these builds, gameplay resolutions would be 1650x1050 on the monitor, and 1920x1080 for the big screen (can do 1280x720 to avoid VRAM issues) with the intention of full AA/AF, when possible.

I've been thinking about getting the cheaper 5850 now, and pocket the difference for when the 5850 prices stabilize and going CF, which if I do, would make the P55 vs X58 prices difference less as I'd pick a 2x16x PCIE 2.0 P55 ready motherboard, versus the 2x 8x on chip versions of the LGA 1156.

 

[NastySquared]

I would probably go for the i5 setup over the i7 setup simply because with the i5 you'll be able to get the extra 2GB of RAM and, in my opinion, that will benefit you more than the performance increase from the i7 if you're not doing any graphic / video work.

Then again, I've been out of the upgrade loop for a while, so I'm interested to see what the other members have to say.

 

[mb103051]

Guy ,go i7 1366, these rigs are so impressive..if you can fit a i7 into your budget go for it..Ive built 2 recently for me and my son and these things scream...personally id never build an 1156 system with top of the line 1366 being so close in price...
as far as motherboards for x58 there all almost exactly the same as far as performance goes ,and there a few that are built for extreme o/clocking but a lower priced x58 foxconn, asrock are a few of the most affordable and perform as good as the $250 dollar boards...you can do it, its also nice with the tripple channel ram and a killer processor you have the horsepower to do what ever you want and do it fast...as far as temps go most of my use it runs 38c-45c running ie,sirius radio,defraging, many tabs open on ie...go i7 920 or 930 and even at stock speed its so fast its impressive too .mine is at 3.2 on stk volts and im so happy with this system also im an amd guy too.i came from a 955 quad amd to this i7 system and you will notice a difference everything is snappier...well good hunting ....and just a note im running a dfi t3eH6 x58 board, my first dfi and this board is as good a board as ive ever had ..its just wonderful but there hard to find now...i personally would go with one of the foxconn board or the asrock if i was build another system for myself.......

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

1366 for sure. No reason to limit your build over $30 savings. Now if there were $100+ savings to be had I'd consider an i5. They are so close in price especially with having microcenter near I wouldn't even think of an i5.

 

[railven]

Yeah, I've been leaning towards the 1366 build when Microcenter slashed the 920 to $230, but now the 930 at $200, that just can't be beat.

The scale of balance I was using to rationalize which build to go was:
1. Do I need Crossfire?
2. Do I need all that B/W?
3. Do I want 6GB Tri or 8GB Dual

I guess in the end, if its only a few pennies more, just have those extra features for the long haul, since I can no longer afford bi-annual upgrades, let alone annual upgrades, this will have to last at least 2 years.

Might downgrade to the 5850, not sure yet. Found the Sapphire for $300 with CoD:MW2 (I've yet to buy this game, refuse to pay console prices for my PC gaming.)

Thanks for the perspective.

 

[tweakboy]

I totally agree with all of you. Their right my friend its worth spending 30 bucks or so more.

No you don't need crossfire, that is up to you if you want a bit more performance. What you mean by B/W . Also as for RAM, you should do 6GB tri channel then later on in a year or so you can add another 6gb kit and have 12GB RAM ,,, good luck

 

[lsquare]

Like what others said, given the small difference in price, I'd go i7.

 

[jaydee]

With a Microcenter nearby, i5-750 isn't worth considering in this situation. I think the question you should be asking is Core i7-860 vs Core i7-930/930.

I don't think you could go wrong either way. i7-920 will have higher overclock potential, crossfire capable. i7-860 is a little less power hungry, slightly faster in most applications (assuming stock clock speeds), will allow you to buy a cheaper motherboard. Debates are ongoing with which socket will have better compatibility going forward.

 

[railven]

With a Microcenter nearby, i5-750 isn't worth considering in this situation. I think the question you should be asking is Core i7-860 vs Core i7-930/930.

I don't think you could go wrong either way. i7-920 will have higher overclock potential, crossfire capable. i7-860 is a little less power hungry, slightly faster in most applications (assuming stock clock speeds), will allow you to buy a cheaper motherboard. Debates are ongoing with which socket will have better compatibility going forward.

Wow, I completely ignored the 860 on sale too.

Damn, now I don't know which way to go again. I know all that extra B/W of the 1366 might go to waste as I doubt I'd be running heavy multi-thread programs.

The more I can shave off the price tag, the sooner I can get it all! haha. I could shave coins off by not going with a dual PCIE mobo.

 

[n7]

If you really plan to go CF (which i'd never recommend due to all the horrors associated with multi-GPU), then go X58.

Otherwise, save the $$$ & put it toward a better GPU or SSD on P55 w/ an i5 750.

X58 is NOT worth the price premium over P55 in the majority of situations unless you can actually utilize the benefits, & right now, the only real benefit is more PCI Express lanes, which is good for multi-GPU & USB3/SATA3.

For a gamer, i'd suggest i5 750 + good cooling (higher end air or light water like an H50).
You'll be doing 4+ GHz, which is more than enough for all current games, & like i said, put the dollars saved toward GPU/SSD.
8 threads = useless for us gamers, for now, & for a while into the future.

 

[Dadofamunky]

The i5 is a very good chip. The i7 is better, and 1366 gives you the hexacore upgrade path. Get the 930. You won't look back. And no, I don't think 2 GB extra RAM makes any difference whatever. And the 5850 is an excellent choice to create a balanced system. If i was building a rig now (and heck, I just might in a few months) I would go with the 920/930 and the 5850 combo. The LGA 1366 i7 is the only chip that interests me at this point.

 

[AdamK47]

I would probably go for the i5 setup over the i7 setup simply because with the i5 you'll be able to get the extra 2GB of RAM and, in my opinion, that will benefit you more than the performance increase from the i7 if you're not doing any graphic / video work.

Then again, I've been out of the upgrade loop for a while, so I'm interested to see what the other members have to say.

I'd take the 6GB on the X58 over the 8GB of the P55 any day.

 

[Zargon]

yeah the 5850 should be more than enough man

i have a buddy running 1920x1200 eyefinity on one in BC2 with stuff cranked up

it can handle it

 

[klocwerk]

I'd take the 6GB on the X58 over the 8GB of the P55 any day.

I have to agree with this. 6GB is more than enough for 99% of us.

The i5-750 and the i7-920 are pretty much neck and neck in every set of benchmarks I've been able to find. With the prices roughly equal (via the lovely microcenter), I'd go for the newer socket. (And did, see .sig.)

The 1366 socket will let you drop in the 32nm hex-cores launching soon. Try that on a P55 build. (Admittedly they'll be pricey, but in 2-3 years I expect to see a lot of them in the FS/FT forum for an easy upgrade path.)

Just my $.02

 

[SunnyD]

Like what others said, given the small difference in price, I'd go i7.

This.

 

[railven]

If you really plan to go CF (which i'd never recommend due to all the horrors associated with multi-GPU), then go X58.

Otherwise, save the $$$ & put it toward a better GPU or SSD on P55 w/ an i5 750.



X58 is NOT worth the price premium over P55 in the majority of situations unless you can actually utilize the benefits, & right now, the only real benefit is more PCI Express lanes, which is good for multi-GPU & USB3/SATA3.



For a gamer, i'd suggest i5 750 + good cooling (higher end air or light water like an H50).

You'll be doing 4+ GHz, which is more than enough for all current games, & like i said, put the dollars saved toward GPU/SSD.

8 threads = useless for us gamers, for now, & for a while into the future.

This post is on par of my mentality going into this upgrade. The 1366 offers a plethora of power, which I'd love, but the boards offer a plethora of features (most like Dual/Tri 16x lanes) that I don't see myself using. I had an 8800 GTS SLI back in the day, and when it worked it was awesome, when it didn't it was a nuisance and dropping down to 1 card was heart breaking.

The only reason I'd get the price so close to one another is by buying the extra 4GBs of RAM and upgrading the MOBO to a similar X58 mobo (just for comparative sakes.)

If I went cheap, I could skim ~$100-150 off the 860 build, buy dropping to 4GBs and then buying a board with 1x16PCIE versus 2. At this point in time, USB3/SATA 6 aren't a deal breaker so I don't think I'd drop for an SSD any time soon.

I gotta put some thought into this. With the economy as it is, I don't want to spend wrong, but I don't want to spend and regret it especially with such a great price on the 930. I just wish they offered a more scaled back X58 board, but that be impossible due to the nature of the X58 itself.

I'm leaning heavily for the X58 only for the extra B/W incase I do want to upgrade to a PCIE USB3/SATA6 controller, which the extra lanes would definitely handle. I just need to convince myself the extra cost now will be satisified later. My last build I went super cheap, ended up upgrading parts here and there which raised the total cost more versus had I spent the extra at the start.

Ah decisions...I'm sticking to my guns and getting the 5870, prices be damned (although I hope Fermi forces a price drop...)

 

[klocwerk]

My point was that for a $30 difference I'd go 1366.
If you're going to go for a more budget build, then don't go 1366 because you're not going to get the price that low.


My math for my build (for your reference)
i7-920 - $199
Asrock x58 mobo - $118 - newegg Open-box
RAM - $100 - if dual channel's all you need, $150 if you wanna go triple.

For me I could do it cheap enough that going 1366 was a no brainer. If you don't want to gamble on open-box, don't have a microcenter available, etc. then there are cheaper builds you can go with.

 

[railven]

My point was that for a $30 difference I'd go 1366.
If you're going to go for a more budget build, then don't go 1366 because you're not going to get the price that low.


My math for my build (for your reference)
i7-920 - $199
Asrock x58 mobo - $118 - newegg Open-box
RAM - $100 - if dual channel's all you need, $150 if you wanna go triple.

For me I could do it cheap enough that going 1366 was a no brainer. If you don't want to gamble on open-box, don't have a microcenter available, etc. then there are cheaper builds you can go with.

Yeah, I'd rather not go Open Box, but am comparing the ASRock to the Gigabyte EX58 UD3R. The ASrock has the better set of features, but its the name that is holding me back.

What RAM are you picking that sits at $150 for tri channel? I'm looking in the $180+ range, Corsair XMS3 v1.5 3x2GB CAS9.

I've about decide to go with the 1366 build. It isn't that price is a big factor, it is the weighing of "why spend X-amount on a motherboard with features I won't really use" that gets me. RAM/CPU/GPU prices will pretty much be the same.

The ASrock board is the sweet spot, brand new its $10 more than a good P55 board and ~$40 cheaper than the UDR3, but...never bought ASrock, not sure what to expect, and the "you get what you pay for" saying has stung me in the past.

 

[klocwerk]

Yeah, I'd rather not go Open Box, but am comparing the ASRock to the Gigabyte EX58 UD3R. The ASrock has the better set of features, but its the name that is holding me back.

What RAM are you picking that sits at $150 for tri channel? I'm looking in the $180+ range, Corsair XMS3 v1.5 3x2GB CAS9.

I've about decide to go with the 1366 build. It isn't that price is a big factor, it is the weighing of "why spend X-amount on a motherboard with features I won't really use" that gets me. RAM/CPU/GPU prices will pretty much be the same.

The ASrock board is the sweet spot, brand new its $10 more than a good P55 board and ~$40 cheaper than the UDR3, but...never bought ASrock, not sure what to expect, and the "you get what you pay for" saying has stung me in the past.

I was similarly wary but...
The Asrock is a great board, feel free to do some research on it. TomsHardware uses it as their reference X58 board last I checked. The full price is only $160 if you're skeeved out by the open-box.

If you do go with this board avoid OCZ RAM, lots of issues for some reason.
No one's figured out why last I checked, but OCZ RAM is often a problem child I've noticed.

As for RAM, i think I spent $165 on the gskill I got.
You can pickup Mushkin Blackline for $150 after MIR at newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820226118
Newegg has a bunch just over $150 actually. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...nd&Order=PRICE
That said, dual channel has only a tiny performance hit, and if you wanna save cash it's an easy place to skimp on $50. Just go 4gb in dual channel for now.

 

[jaydee]

I personally would have went with the i7-860 (for a non-CF, non-overclock build), but by no means did you make a bad choice. Time will tell whether or not USB 3 and SATA 6.0 will make any tangible difference, but I wouldn't expect so within the next couple years (unless you're an extreme power user).

ASrock is a spinoff from Asus, they're usually solid.

Here's a set of Tri-channel 3 x 2GB OCZ DDR3 1600 for $160-$30 MIR = $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227365

 

[railven]

@klocwerk

Yeah, I read a few things on the ASrock, especially that whole Toms Hardware where it got the 2009 Recommended buy Award. I'll give it a shot and see what I get. The ~$40 saved will be put towards my RAM.

@jaydee

Whether or not SATA 6.0/USB 3.0 takes off, I guess having the option to utilize it with a PCIE controller is a perk I guess for a few more dollars more.

The sale on the processor ends today. So, I'll go pick one up. Depending on stock I guess would decide which road I travel. But I'll be openly looking for the i7 930.

Thanks for all the ideas and recommendations.

EDIT: RAM wise I'll be sticking with the Corsair set I was looking at. I've been a Corsair guy since the P4. Thanks again.