Lynnfield or Bloomfield

[pashbe1]

I want to start building a new system next week, and along come Lynnfield and upsets my apple cart.

By day I do 3d CAD and Rendering + CS4 + multitasking internet, music, skype. By night I game.

I've been using a 6 year old dual Xeon workstation and thought I wanted to get an i7 920, do a mild overclock (because everyone says its so easy), and be happy for many years more.

My reasoning for the i7 920 is that my rendering software and CS4 can utilize the hyperthreading, turbo and all the cores. Plus the extra memory. The downer is the price.

Now I'm wondering if the i7 860 might not be the way to go. The only doubt that I have is the future upgradeability. The LGA 1156 wont carry the 6 core cpu's coming up? The i7 860 won't go on a LGA 1366?

I don't want to make a mistake here. The way the economy is, it might be another 6 years before I can afford to upgrade again !

Thanks for your input!

 

[alyarb]

there's still good pricing on the 920+x58 parts, and hyperthreading will go a long way for your CAD stuff. overclocking a 920 to 3.5-3.8 is really a no-brainer. heavily threaded programs seem to be a primary concern, while gaming is secondary. i would still recommend bloomfield in this case.

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: alyarb
there's still good pricing on the 920+x58 parts, and hyperthreading will go a long way for your CAD stuff. overclocking a 920 to 3.5-3.8 is really a no-brainer. heavily threaded programs seem to be a primary concern, while gaming is secondary. i would still recommend bloomfield in this case.

i7 860 has HT.

 

[a123456]

Based on your usage, I'd still recommend the i7 920 since you'd actually be (one of the few people) that might take advantage of the extra performance that the 1366 offers. 1156, as currently scheduled, won't offer a 6-core and 860s can't go in a 1366. You'd also be looking towards the 6-8GB of RAM range rather the 4GB. The 860 isn't that much cheaper right now.

Approx pricing:
i7 920 - 280 CPU (200 if Microcenter) + 180 mobo + 120 RAM = 580 (500 if MC)
i7 860 - 300 CPU (230 if MC) + 140 mobo + 80 RAM for 4GB (or 160 RAM for 8GB) = 520 (or 600 with the extra ram) (-70 for MC)

 

[pashbe1]

Okay Alyarb, you got the first vote in favoring Blooming Bloomfield. I appreciate your thought ful advice.

Your right, the CAD and Rendering are my primary concern. I am looking forward to being amazed and astounded by these new processors, not to mention such innovations as USB2!!!!! And SATA. You can't even imagine how long I have been keeping this old box of mine going, parting out other same boxes.

Okay, another vote for the i7 920. Can't tell if Jumpem is voting....

Spicedaddy makes 3 for i7 920, zip for i7 860

but wait, the conclusion of the Anand article said the i7 860 might be the Lynnfield sweetspot. I'm still conflicted.

 

[HOOfan 1]

I've got the same question...for gaming.

Considering the i7 950 and i7 870 are the same price, and it doesn't seem to me that the P55 boards are that much cheaper, what is the draw toward going for Lynnfiled over Bloomfield?

 

[Spicedaddy]

IF you're doing work on the system, go for X58 + 920, they've been out a while and won't have the little bugs of a brand new platform.

 

[pashbe1]

Originally posted by: HOOfan 1
I've got the same question...for gaming.

Considering the i7 950 and i7 870 are the same price, and it doesn't seem to me that the P55 boards are that much cheaper, what is the draw toward going for Lynnfiled over Bloomfield?

Uhm, the latest cpu article on Anandtech shows pretty clearly that the i7 870 outperforms anything in the same price point...

 

[a123456]

Originally posted by: HOOfan 1
I've got the same question...for gaming.

Considering the i7 950 and i7 870 are the same price, and it doesn't seem to me that the P55 boards are that much cheaper, what is the draw toward going for Lynnfiled over Bloomfield?

If you're looking at i7 950 versus i7 870, then budget is not a primary concern seeing as how the i7 870 CPU is more than the whole i7 920 setup.

For gaming, it depends on resolution and # of GPUs but if you're just going single GPU, right now even C2Q and X4 955 can game just fine with a single GPU (like GTX 200 series or 4000 series) on most games. See the AT review. 5000 series might change things slightly but it's not out yet so we don't know the performance.

The draw of Lynnfield (the i5 750 specifically) over Bloomfield is that it will be a lot cheaper for 90% of the performance. The 870 is kind of pointless right now until they discontinue the 920 if you're an overclocker since they'll both ramp up to around 4Ghz after disabling Turbo mode.

 

[alyarb]

Originally posted by: HOOfan 1
I've got the same question...for gaming.

Considering the i7 950 and i7 870 are the same price, and it doesn't seem to me that the P55 boards are that much cheaper, what is the draw toward going for Lynnfiled over Bloomfield?

It hardly makes any sense to get an 1156-based i7 CPU unless you get one hell of a price for the motherboard. The 750 and P55 were really made for each other, but the other chips are quite difficult to justify compared to X58+920.

Originally posted by: pashbe1
Okay Alyarb, you got the first vote in favoring Blooming Bloomfield. I appreciate your thought ful advice.

Your right, the CAD and Rendering are my primary concern. I am looking forward to being amazed and astounded by these new processors, not to mention such innovations as USB2!!!!! And SATA. You can't even imagine how long I have been keeping this old box of mine going, parting out other same boxes.

Okay, another vote for the i7 920. Can't tell if Jumpem is voting....

jumpem was just reminding us that there is a single i7 processor available for the P55 platform, but this alleged perk of P55 does not mitigate other sacrifices you'd be making, such as a 32nm 12-threaded CPU next year. With P55 you are buying an "already maxed out" platform, in a sense. It's possible that sandy bridge will use socket-1156, but unlikely that it will be the same implementation as P55. For upgradeability and high freq, high-threaded power I would stick with X58.

P55/i5 are new on the market, but the technology itself is not new nor is it superior to that implemented in X58. Turbo mode is an arguable exception, but if you plan on overclocking on X58, this is easily made into a non-issue. Turbo mode, to me, is for OEM/non-tweaker users so that these people can get a sample of high freq behavior without touching their BIOS or getting a fancy heatsink.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Originally posted by: pashbe1

Originally posted by: HOOfan 1
I've got the same question...for gaming.

Considering the i7 950 and i7 870 are the same price, and it doesn't seem to me that the P55 boards are that much cheaper, what is the draw toward going for Lynnfiled over Bloomfield?

Uhm, the latest cpu article on Anandtech shows pretty clearly that the i7 870 outperforms anything in the same price point...

This is because of the more advanced turbo. Since you will overclock, turbo won't be as big of a factor. Besides, the 870 is a $500 chip. The 860 is the $300 chip, rivaling the 920.

My vote goes for the 920+x58 setup. You have the potential for 12GB of RAM (cost effectively) and six-core processors, and you won't be getting any less performance in the meantime.

 

[pashbe1]

Originally posted by: pashbe1
Okay Alyarb, you got the first vote in favoring Blooming Bloomfield. I appreciate your thought ful advice.

Your right, the CAD and Rendering are my primary concern. I am looking forward to being amazed and astounded by these new processors, not to mention such innovations as USB2!!!!! And SATA. You can't even imagine how long I have been keeping this old box of mine going, parting out other same boxes.

Okay, another vote for the i7 920. Can't tell if Jumpem is voting....

Spicedaddy makes 3 for i7 920, zip for i7 860

but wait, the conclusion of the Anand article said the i7 860 might be the Lynnfield sweetspot. I'm still conflicted.

Alyarb is getting me back in line with my earlier thoughts for the i7 920, and Cusideabelincoln is solidifying it. But I'm thinking of keeping OC'ng just enough to keep the turbo. That seems to be doable and more balance? correct me if I'm wrong...

 

[alyarb]

i would have to disagree. the highest turbo mode is likely to get you on lynnfield will be in the low 4 ghz range, and with i7, probably lower. furthermore you need an inordinate amount of voltage to achieve even mediocre overclocks with lynnfield because the PCI-e host is not decoupled from the bclk in any way, nor can you over/undervolt it separately from the vcore.

on the other hand, with i7 920, people are getting 4.0-4.2 ghz overclocks with less than 1.4v, considerably less than what was required to get anand's i5 sample to 4.0 ghz. With an overclocked i7, you don't have to worry about only 2, or only 3 cores performing at their best at any given moment based on the thermal budget or whatever; all 8 threads run at 4GHz (or whatever you settle on) regardless of other activity. i7 assures you of higher OCs that use less energy and perform better than turbo mode by itself on eitheri7 or i5.

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: pashbe1
Can't tell if Jumpem is voting....

I'm up in the air. An i7 860 would come in a couple hundred dollars cheaper, and be much superior to the i7 920 if both are kept at stock settings.

If you don't mind overclocking the i7 920 would be the choice.

I don't know...

 

[monovillage]

I'll vote i7 920/X58

 

[pashbe1]

Goto crash now, will check back on thread tomorrow. Thanks to all the posters for your thoughts...

 

[HOOfan 1]

Originally posted by: a123456
C2Q and X4 955 can game just fine with a single GPU (like GTX 200 series or 4000 series) on most games. See the AT review. 5000 series might change things slightly but it's not out yet so we don't know the performance.

Yes, but I like the future upgrade ability of X58 or P55

Certainly am not going to build brand new with a LGA775 motherboard.

 

[a123456]

Originally posted by: HOOfan 1

Originally posted by: a123456
C2Q and X4 955 can game just fine with a single GPU (like GTX 200 series or 4000 series) on most games. See the AT review. 5000 series might change things slightly but it's not out yet so we don't know the performance.

Yes, but I like the future upgrade ability of X58 or P55

Certainly am not going to build brand new with a LGA775 motherboard.

Definitely agreed, but the point is that for gaming, you're going to want to divert funds as much as reasonably possible away from the CPU and towards the GPU. I'm assuming that most gamers have an LGA775/AM3 already and are looking to upgrade. For new computers right now, there's no point in the 775.

Assuming reasonable prices on the 5870, for example, the most likely outcome is that
i7 920 or 950 + 5870 < i7 750 + 5870x2.

As far as future upgrade ability is concerned, it's a bit up in the air. The current (could change of course) Intel roadmap doesn't have anything in the 1156 better than the i7 870 so your upside isn't that much higher. The 1366 will have the i9 but might be just the EE. There's been no announcement of a cheap i9 yet. Beyond that, Sandy Bridge might not be compatible with the current crop of mobos.

Thus, it's probably better to make a purchasing decision based on today's price and performance.

 

[Shmee]

if overclocking, 920 D0 definitely. I am very disappointed with the OC results of the lynnfield chips. And the prices.

 

[MODEL3]

If you are buying next week and you want to overclock and you have a Microcenter near you, you can get a good price for 1366 platform. (if Microcenter has still the offers...)

You should think a 1156 platform, only in case of 750+cheap P55 mobo (if you can find at launch...)
But for 3d CAD and Rendering + CS4 + multitasking, the 920 with HT will be better...

I am not sure, so take the below with a grain of salt,
but on 18th of October Intel should drop the prices of some 1366 CPUs and it will introduce a new model ( i7-960)

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: pashbe1
My reasoning for the i7 920 is that my rendering software and CS4 can utilize the hyperthreading, turbo and all the cores. Plus the extra memory. The downer is the price.

Since you know your software can take advantage of it, go for the 920. There are motherboards under $200 and the CPU is around $215 out the door if you have a Micro Center near you.

 

[faxon]

since you do a lot of memory intensive work i would highly recommend the 920+X58 mobo route. though performance benchmarks today show no major gains to be had going this route @ stock CPU speeds, the apps you are running do tend to be memory hogs as well as CPU hogs, and given your upgrade turnover rate i would say that by the time you upgrade again, you will have long since realized the benefit of having a triple channel DDR3 system, especially with prices on DDR3 1600 kits at the same price/gb for dual channel as for triple channel, but limiting you to 8gb unless you pay $200+ for a motherboard, in which case you might as well go X58 anyway at that point. also, with the work you do, you will notice instant gains going to a 6 core system later on, and though they will start out at $1000+ mark, even once they do drop in price we wont see them on 1156 for quite a while to come, where as 1366 will just need a bios update for the X58 chipset to run the CPUs. gotta love being so close to microcenter eh

 

[imported_the machinist]

In case you are interested OP......I am 3d artist and I have a similar thread here- http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=28&threadid=2332065
Looks like i7 920 over clocked is way to go.

 

[pashbe1]

Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts on this. It seems the i7 920 got all the votes in this case. My original idea is confirmed and I'm going that route.

Unfortunately I do not have a Microcenter nearby. My budget is $1200. Any specific hardware recommendations are appreciated.

I checked out your thread Machinist, thanks.

Vray will utilize up to 12 cores, but it seems real time, GPU based rendering is right around the corner too. Interesting times. I'm actually sort of glad I held on to my box this long (maybe not).