i7 860 or wait?

[RobS10]

Hi,
I'm new to building computers and considering building my first around an i7 860. I know there will always be something faster coming "soon" but wondered if the new Westmere chips in the pipeline have any features worth considering. I plan on using a dedicated GPU, so the on-board graphics doesn't matter. Are the extra features like support for Remote Assistance, high end Audio like Dolby TrueHD, AES encryption and decryption for file and whole-disk security, and lower power consumption worth waiting for, over what an i7 860 has now? Does it take a quite a while before prices on new processors/MBs come down?

Another thought...I still haven't completely ruled out a 920 build. I don't think I'd run dual GPUs, but adding USB3 stuff when it comes out might be nice in a year or three. This being my first build I'm not sure if I add a TV tuner, or sound card, or some other non-GPU, if those will cut into the PCI-E lanes, and USB3/SATA3 utilization making things worse.

My uses for the computer will be:

Internet
Word Processing
2D graphics (Corel Draw, Photoshop Elements)
Video encoding/editing (justhome movies)
HDTV
Movies
Possible XP Mode in Windows 7 Pro
Website construction
I will probably eventually play some games, but not sure which (maybe car racing and flight sim. type)
Music ripping and playback

Thanks!

P.S. trying to build with enough headroom to last 5+ years without anything major upgraded.

 

[*kjm]

The 860 sounds like a good chip for you. It will do great for everything you do and is one of the best as far as power use.

 

[kyp275]

I'm a big fan of the 860 myself, though I ended up going for the 920 in the end, mostly due to the $199 microcenter deal, which helped to negate some of that pricing difference. For me, the remaining price difference was worthy trade-off for sata/usb 3 and the 2 full pci-e lane.

That's for me though, you have to decide if the cost is worth it for you.

 

[aigomorla]

well the price difference between a i7 860 and a full blown lga1366 i7 920 is kinda small.

Id think about going over to the X58 platform instead.

When gulftown drops down in price... and it will after a few years, you can grab that and be on hexcore.
Or you can buy them used when the 22nm cpu's come out, and people like me start getting rid of there hexcores.

It would be the most logical path for a long lasting upgrade.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

computers are so cheap why would you keep it for 5 years. go out and get whichever is cheaper now and build a new one a year from now!

so go out and get the 860 which is cheaper when you take the board into account

 

[RobS10]

well the price difference between a i7 860 and a full blown lga1366 i7 920 is kinda small.

Id think about going over to the X58 platform instead.

When gulftown drops down in price... and it will after a few years, you can grab that and be on hexcore.
Or you can buy them used when the 22nm cpu's come out, and people like me start getting rid of there hexcores.

It would be the most logical path for a long lasting upgrade.

Kind of what I've been thinking in the back of my mind. From what I've read, the 860 is really a good chip, and in some ways a little better than the 920, but the fact that the x58 platform supports 16X16, has QPI, and maybe a little clearer path to next upgrade (which I hope to only do once, right before I see the end of the platform). I do live within a hour of a Micro Center, which is the only reason to consider it. I'll have to compare MoBo price/features. The gray area seems to be memory, since I'd need either 3MB (seems like a little under kill) and 6MB (seems a little over kill, and $$), and there are like a LOT of choices in brand, speed, latency, bla, bla, bla, LOL!

 

[RobS10]

computers are so cheap why would you keep it for 5 years. go out and get whichever is cheaper now and build a new one a year from now!

so go out and get the 860 which is cheaper when you take the board into account

Wish I had the discretionary doe, Oblama. As a rule, I tend to keep things a while, even when the are a bit past their "usable" lifespan, lol! I'm typing on my first computer, a Dell with a 933MHz PIII (one below the fastest CPU available then), and I still watch a 32" Toshiba CRT TV. The other issue is money. I don't have a lot to sink into the upgrade game. I would like to build a nice, fairly fast computer that I can keep going for at least 5 years. Changing HDs or adding RAM (maybe a GPU) I can live with, but hope to avoid the new CPU/MB costs.

 

[aigomorla]

if i was gonna build a machine for a friend.

And he fell in the same catigory as you did.

i would push the X58 platform and tell him not to look at the P55.

In 2-3 yrs.. who knows if microcenter doesnt have a sale on gulftown like it did on the 9550.

 

[RobS10]

if i was gonna build a machine for a friend.

And he fell in the same catigory as you did.

i would push the X58 platform and tell him not to look at the P55.

In 2-3 yrs.. who knows if microcenter doesnt have a sale on gulftown like it did on the 9550.

True enough...I am finding fewer choices for USB3 MBs though. Asus makes one, and it's pretty pricey (I was going to go with an Asus for p55), and Gigabyte has two ore three. The GA-X58A-UD3R is the more affordable one ($210 at Newegg), so I'm trying to gather info on it.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

Wish I had the discretionary doe, Oblama. As a rule, I tend to keep things a while, even when the are a bit past their "usable" lifespan, lol! I'm typing on my first computer, a Dell with a 933MHz PIII (one below the fastest CPU available then), and I still watch a 32" Toshiba CRT TV. The other issue is money. I don't have a lot to sink into the upgrade game. I would like to build a nice, fairly fast computer that I can keep going for at least 5 years. Changing HDs or adding RAM (maybe a GPU) I can live with, but hope to avoid the new CPU/MB costs.

check the hd forum daily, you dont have to live like that e.g., right now im typing on a pentium 6300 system i got for $50 with g31 board. it feels pretty fast and defintely does everything you listed well and im sure it will still be decent two or three years from now. even cheap machines are pretty good. id rather have a midrange system with current features and replace it in a year than have an expensive high end system with features that i probably wouldnt make use of

 

[ElFenix]

The gray area seems to be memory, since I'd need either 3MB (seems like a little under kill) and 6MB (seems a little over kill, and $$), and there are like a LOT of choices in brand, speed, latency, bla, bla, bla, LOL!

memory does not have to be installed in 3s. the difference between dual and tri-channel on quad core processors is... not much.

if i was gonna build a machine for a friend.

And he fell in the same catigory as you did.

i would push the X58 platform and tell him not to look at the P55.

In 2-3 yrs.. who knows if microcenter doesnt have a sale on gulftown like it did on the 9550.

microcenter has been running cheap 920s since they came out, practically, so maybe they'll be running loss-leader or at cost gulftowns soon.

 

[ehume]

Well, I built a machine last fall in a hurry because my six-year old workhorse died a sudden death. The machine I built is Meimei in my sig - only I had 8GB RAM, which was overkill.

Then I decided i wanted to overclock. So, what to build? You can see my second machine - Hotrod - was also an 860.

OTOH, the new dual core 32nm chips can be OC'd with the stock cooler, which is mind-boggling. I think Intel deliberately refrained from releasing a 32nm quad core. That would be the chip to get.

 

[RobS10]

Well, I built a machine last fall in a hurry because my six-year old workhorse died a sudden death. The machine I built is Meimei in my sig - only I had 8GB RAM, which was overkill.

Then I decided i wanted to overclock. So, what to build? You can see my second machine - Hotrod - was also an 860.

OTOH, the new dual core 32nm chips can be OC'd with the stock cooler, which is mind-boggling. I think Intel deliberately refrained from releasing a 32nm quad core. That would be the chip to get.

I know I don't currently need a LGA1366 platform, and to get USB3, the MoBos are definitely more money. The only reason for me to still look at them is that I have been living with this old Dell for so long, I really haven't tried anything intensive (my shobox full of unedited MiniDV tapes a perfect example). I use Photoshop Elements, but it's slow on this computer, and OK on my Core2 Duo laptop, I've never gamed, and HATE importing CDs into iTunes. I'm kind of in transition as to my needs, which makes the decision murky. I just read this http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/14524/35/ on Sandybridge. I know it's all speculation, but kind of makes sense that Intel is going to want to keep the 1366 platform high end (and new Gulftown chips for it at the higher price point), and the 1156 platform for more mainstream, which if I'm honest with myself, is probably more me and my budget. I still feel so confused though

 

[happy medium]

well the price difference between a i7 860 and a full blown lga1366 i7 920 is kinda small.

Id think about going over to the X58 platform instead.

When gulftown drops down in price... and it will after a few years, you can grab that and be on hexcore.
Or you can buy them used when the 22nm cpu's come out, and people like me start getting rid of there hexcores.

It would be the most logical path for a long lasting upgrade.

+1 If you want a clear upgrade path for 5 years.