i5 750 vs i7 860 vs x3440 which one to get

[Kenmitch]

First off I just sold my cpu/mb/mem combo from my sig so not like I'm gonna get a huge upgrade anyways

I'm looking for the cpu for my upgrade now as I already got the MB and Ram.

EVGA P55 SLI 132-LF-E655-KR LGA1156 Intel P55 ATX (Lotes Socket)
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 1.50v

I guess my goal would be 4ghz or so. My use for the system would be to play around with newer technology. That would be the first use and then more or less used for media server etc.

I'm leaning towards the Xeon x3440 at the current time as it seems like it has the potential to be a good overclocker. That and it has hyper threading and cost less than the i7 860.

Is the x3440's hyperthreading worth the slight price premium over the i5 750?

Decided I'd just get the i5 750 as most likely I'd have to disable hyper-threading anyways to get a nice overclock....Hmm maybe x3440 next time

Thanks,
Ken

 

[Axon]

Sounds like the X3440 would be the best choice for you. I rarely use all 8 workers on my 920, but it's nice to have the two times a month I need/want it.

 

[cr0ssfire]

I agree. Seems like the ideal compromise between the 750 and 860.

 

[aamsel]

I think the hyperthreading is worth getting either the 860 or the Xeon.
As to which one, my question would be the 4.0GHz target.
Yes, the Xeon's should be better binned, and hopefully run cooler than the 860.

However, the Xeon has a lower base clock rate than the 860 (even lower than the 750),
and a 19 multiplier to the 21 of the 860. That is going to make for a substantially tougher
overclock. Hey Zeus says that the Xeon should get to 4.0 easily, but I don't know.
I don't think he is doing simple air cooling?

The 750 only has advantages in price and possibly heat.

 

[toyota]

I think the hyperthreading is worth getting either the 860 or the Xeon.
As to which one, my question would be the 4.0GHz target.
Yes, the Xeon's should be better binned, and hopefully run cooler than the 860.

However, the Xeon has a lower base clock rate than the 860 (even lower than the 750),
and a 19 multiplier to the 21 of the 860. That is going to make for a substantially tougher
overclock. Hey Zeus says that the Xeon should get to 4.0 easily, but I don't know.
I don't think he is doing simple air cooling?

The 750 only has advantages in price and possibly heat.

is he permanently banned?

 

[DrMrLordX]

is he permanently banned?

Hard to tell since the post (or posts) that got him banned can not be clearly identified. Some of the mods seem to be fond of stealth bans now.

OP, I'd go with the Xeon.

 

[aamsel]

is he permanently banned?

If Hey Zeus was permanently banned, wouldn't the mods have disabled his ability
to login?

Anyhow, he (Zeus) says he has the X3440, but he is one of the very few
that do (or one of the few that have posted comments about it) and, not
surprisingly, Newegg sells very few of them also. I also have found very little
information about it (again, not surprising since it is a server chip) and also,
being a server chip, few have any interest in overclocking it, since servers
are run at stock speeds.

Anyhow, if the P55 has the same BCLK "challenge" of the X58 (does it?) then
having a 2x lower multiplier on the X3440 than on the i7-860 could make an
overclock more difficult.

Again, I think in a 3-way comparison, the 750 gets left out of the final decision.
Now that I have said that, we will probably hear from 750 owners defending their
purchases! It sure would be nice if people would not simply recommend the chip
that they owned in these discussions!!

It seems that most people using 860's do not get to 4.0 easily if at all.
It would be nice to hear from someone else who has run the X3440.

 

[Markfw]

is he permanently banned?

Nope. He got a vacation for a rule violation, thats all I can say.

Hard to tell since the post (or posts) that got him banned can not be clearly identified. Some of the mods seem to be fond of stealth bans now.

OP, I'd go with the Xeon.

What other people do should not be advertized. Personal Privacy ? Would you like it if you made a mistake and I told the whole world what you did ? Even if it was a tiny error ?

That said, if it was a gross error, and it was a permaban, then pointing out something this serious might not be a problem.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I have an 860 and could not get for the life of me 4.0ghz on it. I had to turn off HT, which then made it into a i5 to get 4.0.

I rarely use HT in the first place, so I do kind of regret getting an 860 compared to an i5.

 

[Markfw]

I have an 860 and could not get for the life of me 4.0ghz on it. I had to turn off HT, which then made it into a i5 to get 4.0.

I rarely use HT in the first place, so I do kind of regret getting an 860 compared to an i5.

If you had a app that could use HT, then 3,6+HT better than 4.0 no HT, and you could probably have gotten 3.7 or 3.8.

 

[aamsel]

I have an 860 and could not get for the life of me 4.0ghz on it. I had to turn off HT, which then made it into a i5 to get 4.0.

I rarely use HT in the first place, so I do kind of regret getting an 860 compared to an i5.

I understand, but then I also thought that most i5's 750's don't get to 4.0 either, since they start at an even lower clock rate than the Xeon. However, with a multi of 20x they are between the 19x of the Xeon and the 21x of the 860.

I am guessing that without HT, the 750 is overall a cooler chip.

Please correct me if I am wrong on anything.

 

[DrMrLordX]

What other people do should not be advertized. Personal Privacy ? Would you like it if you made a mistake and I told the whole world what you did ? Even if it was a tiny error ?

If I screw up and break the rules on a forum where posting is a privilege and not a right by posting inappropriately in a thread that everyone can read, then I would expect the mods to make an example of me which is more-or-less what they used to do before we switched the forum over (regardless of the severity of the infraction). If I did something inappropriate in a PM . . . that's a different story.

Nevertheless, at least a bolded message from a mod under the offending post(s) advertising the vacation/ban/whatever let everyone else would know what was going on so they wouldn't get all paranoid.

I can see where you're coming from, but you have to understand that stealth bans confuse people and raise questions. Long-term posters here may take a long time getting used to that sort of thing. On the plus side, stealth bans make it difficult (if not impossible) for people to complain about bans since they may never know why they took place at all . . . though that hasn't stopped people from trying in PFI.

It's not a big deal, and is more than a bit off-topic for this forum, but there you have it. Honestly I'm not offended by the ban, just a little confused, that's all. I think I know what might have gotten him into trouble, but when I searched for ban/vacation messages, nothing was there . . .

As I said above, it'll take some of the old hands around here to get used to the new way of doing things, that's all.

Back on topic!

To AznAnarchy99/aamsel: one thing to keep in mind with the 750 is that it's a lower-binned chip, so the saying "your mileage may vary" certainly applies more prominently with the 750 than the x3440 or 860. Chances are a 750 will take more volts to reach the same clock at high clockspeeds (3.6 ghz+) than would an x3440 or 860. Lynnfields do not, as a rule, seem to be motherboard/BCLK limited.

About the only advantage I can see to the 860's multiplier is that Lynnfields seem to like odd CPU multis for stable overclocking, so the 860 should be at home with its stock 21x multi while the x3440 would probably need to be stepped back to 19x (like a 750) for maximum stability.

 

[aamsel]

...the 860 should be at home with its stock 21x multi while the x3440 would probably need to be stepped back to 19x (like a 750) for maximum stability.

The X3440 is already stock at 19x, so it wouldn't need to be stepped back to 19x:
http://processorfinder.intel.com/Details.aspx?sSpec=SLBLF

The i7 750 is at the "less stable" 20x:
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLBLC

The 860, as already stated is at 21x.

 

[n7]

i5 750 is easier to OC than those chips w/ HT.

If you need HT, then the Xeon is the way to go in bang for buck terms.

4 GHz is never guaranteed for anything, but i'd bet on the i5 750 getting there w/ good cooling.

The HT chips will make 4 GHz alot tougher due to temps.

 

[biostud]

HT only helps in image, 3d, video rendering, but if you just use your computer for intarweb, office and gaming then the i5-750 is the best choice.

 

[n7]

HT only helps in image, 3d, video rendering, but if you just use your computer for intarweb, office and gaming then the i5-750 is the best choice.

I'd have to agree.

I could OC my i5 750 to 4.15 GHz (vs. 3.9 GHz w/ my i7-860), & i notice absolutely zero benefit from having HT as i don't do video stuff.

 

[DrMrLordX]

The X3440 is already stock at 19x, so it wouldn't need to be stepped back to 19x:
http://processorfinder.intel.com/Details.aspx?sSpec=SLBLF

The i7 750 is at the "less stable" 20x:
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLBLC

The 860, as already stated is at 21x.

ah alright, I had the 750 and x3440 mixed up. Woops!

I could OC my i5 750 to 4.15 GHz (vs. 3.9 GHz w/ my i7-860), & i notice absolutely zero benefit from having HT as i don't do video stuff.

That's an impressive clockspeed for a 750. Most of the ones I've seen have topped out at around 3.7 ghz with uncomfortably high voltage levels.

 

[Kenmitch]

Hmm....Me looks at the posts and tries to digest all of it.

Pretty much figured from the get go that in the end it will be luck of the draw....The question is am I feeling lucky.

Heat should be tamed by water. I'd think if my setup could tame the Q9550 @4ghz it should have similar results on the new chip.

If one has to disable hyper threading to maybe get to the 4ghz range then it would be of no benefit at all.

I'm guessing for the i5 or i7 to overtake the Q9550 @4ghz one would need roughly 3.6ghz plus or better.

Now I guess the question would be would the chip run at that speed or above with hyper threading enabled....Maybe the Xeon has the advantage on this due to binning?

Guess the good thing is this jump is pretty much gonna be a free upgrade after selling off my items I no longer have a need for anyways

Good thing this is a just for the fun of it kinda thing.

As far as video encoding etc I guess the question would be at what mhz jump would without hyper threading remove the benefit of hyper threading?

Hmm....Anybody got some good links to some benchmarks that would show the benefit or the demise of hyper threading.

At current pricing all three chips are within my cpu budget.

 

[cbn]

So the odd multiplier of the lower clocked Xeon may actually be of benefit?

19x multiplier > 20x multiplier because of bclk issues?

 

[biostud]

you have a q9550@4Ghz and want to upgrade??? Why??? Why not spend the money on a SSD?

 

[Kenmitch]

you have a q9550@4Ghz and want to upgrade??? Why??? Why not spend the money on a SSD?

In the original post it was stated my upgrade was for fun and to play around with newer technology.

Not like I needed more power anyways and not like I planned on getting a huge increase in power.

More like the thrill of the hunt. Kinda like bass fishing catch and release if you can relate to that

SSD's are cool but untill the price per gb is more reasonable I just xant get myself to pull the plug on one. Unless you want a higher windows index score

 

[Munky]

I think the hyperthreading is worth getting either the 860 or the Xeon.
As to which one, my question would be the 4.0GHz target.
Yes, the Xeon's should be better binned, and hopefully run cooler than the 860.

However, the Xeon has a lower base clock rate than the 860 (even lower than the 750),
and a 19 multiplier to the 21 of the 860. That is going to make for a substantially tougher
overclock. Hey Zeus says that the Xeon should get to 4.0 easily, but I don't know.
I don't think he is doing simple air cooling?

The 750 only has advantages in price and possibly heat.

I don't believe the hype about server chips binned better and all. Even if it does help slightly, you're still starting off with a slower stock clock and multi. Expecting that a 4ghz OC is guaranteed using 24/7 settings is just unrealistic IMO.

 

[biostud]

In the original post it was stated my upgrade was for fun and to play around with newer technology.

Not like I needed more power anyways and not like I planned on getting a huge increase in power.

More like the thrill of the hunt. Kinda like bass fishing catch and release if you can relate to that

SSD's are cool but untill the price per gb is more reasonable I just xant get myself to pull the plug on one. Unless you want a higher windows index score

What about the thrill of shipping a "used" system to Denmark and follow its Journey around the world