New Build - need another source of input please

[atamplin]

So, Im a new member to the forums as you can tell, although I have read them quite frequently looking for advice.

I recently went to MaxPC forums to ask them for help building a new i7 rig, and it seemed like to me that they dont want anyone to build an i7 rig and to just build a q9550. They kept saying an i7 is over kill, but my question is dosent overkill last longer before another upgrade is needed?

Here's what I plan on buying on the 1st, maybe you can shed some light on why they think i would be better off going with a q9550 instead of an i7

Antec p182
Intel i7 920 (d0 if newegg ships it to me hopefully)
Asus rampage II extreme
EVGA Nvidia gtx285
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W
OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB
Western Digital Caviar 1TB
ASUS VH226H Black 21.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor
LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
COOLER MASTER V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler

All in all spending like 1900 or so.

Im upgrading from

AMD Athlon64 3500+ 2.2ghz
Asus A8N somthing or another
EVGA 7800gt
Antec truepower 2.0 500w psu
Crucial DDR400 4x512mb
WD 120 & 240gb drives
Samsung SyncMaster 997df (yea crt im still rockin one)
Sony dvd burner
A loud ass Thermaltake volcano HSF

Do you think they are warranted in pushing me away from an i7? I really dont understand why they would, I didnt think I needed to justify needing an i7 in order for them to help me with my build and suggest components that might be better or cheaper(other than the i7 since thats what I was basing the build off of.)

What do you guys think?

Mostly I would be using it for Games, encoding and ripping dvd's, VMware w/vista,win7,unbuntu and possibly Leopard. with some cs4 and vegas thrown in as i randomly do side projects. I feel as if its a needed upgrade. so idunno just seeing if everyone feels the same as they do over there.

 

[Horsepower]

I built an i7 920 in February. I feel I made the right choice.

 

[elconejito]

encoding and maybe VMware you'll do better with an i7. Also photoshop, if you're using that part of CS4. For the rest you would get just as good, if not better with q9550 at a slightly lower price point (this isn't as big of an issue as it was a few months ago).

To answer the question, I don't think it was necessarily warranted to sho you away from an i7. I can't speak for their forum, but here it seems like most people are just looking out for you. So if you spec out a $3000 system and say "I'm just surfing the internet and checking email" you'll probably get a lot of folks telling you to get something less. But from the stuff you do, it seems like either a C2Q or i7 are both feasible options and it just boils down to how much you want to spend.

Originally posted by: atamplin
They kept saying an i7 is over kill, but my question is dosent overkill last longer before another upgrade is needed?

Well, not necessarily. A high-end system built even just 2 years ago pales in comparison to whats available today for the same cost. Want and need are (usually) relative. There are people who upgrade every 6months to a year. On the other hand, some people go 6 or 7 years in between upgrades. So it's all about what you are comfortable paying now, and how long until you get upgraditis.

 

[Blain]

They're just "Haters" and know that you'll be cooler than them, when you build your Monster Core i7 build. :laugh:

Rock On brother-man! But why stop at the i7 920?

 

[atamplin]

Originally posted by: Blain
They're just "Haters" and know that you'll be cooler than them, when you build your Monster Core i7 build. :laugh:

Rock On brother-man! But why stop at the i7 920?

Thats kind of what I thought too!

I picked the 920 because I figured I could overclock it to a higher clock speed than the more expensive 965, but I have been thinking about the xeon more and more!

How long do you think this socket will last? It will have to change for the 35nm stuff thats coming out next year wont it?

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: Blain
They're just "Haters" and know that you'll be cooler than them, when you build your Monster Core i7 build. :laugh:

Rock On brother-man! But why stop at the i7 920?

:shocked:

Are you implying he could get 90% of the performance for 50% (or less) of the cost ?

Gosh. Maybe it would be better to spend $950 now on a Q9550 rig (or *GASP* Phenom II).

In a few years we can buy a 22nm nuclear-powered 128-core mega-processor for $85 (but it will only run on the new Win NT - for 'nice try')

 

[deputc26]

ditch the vRaptor for an SSD, you'll see a bigger performance difference than you will by going C2Q to i7.

 

[WildHorse]

Originally posted by: atamplin

<cutout>
Mostly I would be using it for Games, encoding and ripping dvd's, VMware w/vista,win7,unbuntu and possibly Leopard. with some cs4 and vegas thrown in as i randomly do side projects.
<cutout>

Seriously, and although this may strike you as flippant I do mean seriously, budget a lot more time in your life for hiking trails, chatting up girls, helping people, surfing, sailing, horseback riding, tennis, rock climbing, snowboarding, sharing coffee & talk with friends, maybe don't give so much of your life to a box.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo

Originally posted by: Blain
They're just "Haters" and know that you'll be cooler than them, when you build your Monster Core i7 build. :laugh:

Rock On brother-man! But why stop at the i7 920?

Are you implying he could get 90% of the performance for 50% (or less) of the cost ?

How in the world did you arrive at that conclusion, given my statement? :roll:

 

[atamplin]

Originally posted by: scott

Originally posted by: atamplin

<cutout>
Mostly I would be using it for Games, encoding and ripping dvd's, VMware w/vista,win7,unbuntu and possibly Leopard. with some cs4 and vegas thrown in as i randomly do side projects.
<cutout>

Seriously, and although this may strike you as flippant I do mean seriously, budget a lot more time in your life for hiking trails, chatting up girls, helping people, surfing, sailing, horseback riding, tennis, rock climbing, snowboarding, sharing coffee & talk with friends, maybe don't give so much of your life to a box.

Well since CS i smy major, it would be kinda hard to ignore computers all together. Also im pretty active w/intermural sports, and my fraternity of which i spend 50% of my time with doing socials, community service, and the like, but in my spare time I like to dabble with alot of different os's and do some photoshoping and coding(which also happens to be alot of my homework and I would rather code in linux than windows.).. Money's obviously not a problem or I wouldnt be spending this much on a new computer.

 

[atamplin]

Ordered! Should be here Wednesday/Thursday. Will let you know how the build goes