i7 950 cpu - good buy or a waste of time?

[Vampirrella]

I bought an EVGA X58 SLI mobo for cheap a few months ago thinking I would drop in an i7 950 cpu later. Now I am wondering is this going to be a bust and a waste of money as this platform is starting to show its age with the sandy out and newer cpus coming?

I would use this as a mid range gaming rig, but Im wondering if I should shelf this mobo and go with the newer socket?

Ideas?

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

If you can sell that motherboard then I would do that and go with a socket 1155 motherboard and a i5 2500k.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Ew. Why go with LGA 1155 over LGA 1366, which has the 6-core chips as an upgrade path?

 

[sangyup81]

what do you have on it right now? no need to go 6 core, just get a quad and OC it to the max!

 

[RussianSensation]

Ew. Why go with LGA 1155 over LGA 1366, which has the 6-core chips as an upgrade path?

Overclocked 2500k and 2600k are at least as fast as an overclocked 990X. So the 6-core "upgrade" path is not a selling point for a 3 year old platform.

I would sell the X58 mobo and grab a 2500k combo instead. An overclocked 2500k @ 4.7ghz is going to be 20-25% faster than the 950 @ 4.2ghz.

 

[OCGuy]

Where is it starting to show its age?

The original i7s are still more than you need for most tasks......I have played with a 2500k system and I really didn't notice a difference.

Now if you are into encoding, etc....that may be a different story.

 

[FalseChristian]

Don't sell your great mobo. You'd be more than happy with a Core i7 which overclocks like a champ. GPU power is what really matters now.

 

[chihlidog]

Im running an i5-750. I was pretty set on upgrading to a 2500k, but based on posts here, on other forums, and on benchmark numbers, there isnt a whole lot of reason for i5/i7 owners of the previous generation to go SB. No doubt SBs are fantastic, but that i7 is an awesome CPU as well. No reason not to go that route.

 

[Avalon]

Ew. Why go with LGA 1155 over LGA 1366, which has the 6-core chips as an upgrade path?

Well, if you're aiming for a mid ranged system, I really see no reason to go LGA1366. It looks like the cost of an i7 950 is going to be about $235-245, and you already have the motherboard, so getting one wouldn't be a bad option. If you did want to sell it and go the 2500k route, that would be viable as well since that CPU is a bit cheaper and would mitigate your losses on selling the X58 mobo for the most part.

 

[fluffmonster]

If I was choosing from scratch, I'd with with 1155 just to keep the heat output down. Room gets a bit toasty on warm days with a 1366 heater unit.

 

[qliveur]

Since you're starting from scratch, I'd sell that mobo and go 1155, especially if you can break even when you sell it.

No reason to start out with a platform that's nearly 3 years old at this point.

 

[Spikesoldier]

the 950 is still a good cpu, since you already have a (cheap) mainboard, i would try to find another (cheap) used 950 to throw in there.

the triple channel memory is nice on the x58 platform. the 950 will get you a lot more frames than your e8500.

 

[MyLeftNut]

Starting from scratch, I would personally only build on that X58 if you can get a cpu for it for dirt cheap, like $100. Otherwise, I'd be more compelled to sell off the board and build on SB.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Do the math and figure out which route would be cheaper.

Side by side, 1155 chips are nice because they run cooler and consume less energy.. and overclock "dependably" a little higher than Nehalem

 

[bryanW1995]

I have 2 of those mobos, one is still in the box. I kept the 2nd as a backup since I got them for ~ $70 each last year. It looks like Gulftowns are never going down in price, however, so I'll probably sell the backup in the next month or two.

 

[Concillian]

Ew. Why go with LGA 1155 over LGA 1366, which has the 6-core chips as an upgrade path?

Value.