New Gaming Rig, lga 1156 or 1366 ?

[spac18]

Hi!
I will buy a new gaming pc later this month. Here is my configuration.
CPU - i7 950
MOBO - Gigabyte x58a ud3r
RAM - 3*2 gb ddr3 1333, 9 sec
CPU COOLER - Cooler master hyper 212+ with a second fan
GPU - gtx 460 1gb
PSU - 850 hx or 950tx
CASE - Haf 912
HDD - Seagate 7200 rpm 1.5 tb
DVD DRIVE
SOUND - Asus xonar dx
SPEAKER - Logitech x540

I have these quistions about my build :-
1. I can get i5 760 or i7 870 setup for $300 or $200 less. Techspot review shows that lga 1366 build gives higher framerate than i5 750 built. Will future games make use of tri channel memory and increased processing power? I wont upgrade my cpu for 3 years, but i will upgrade gpus. Xbitlabs overclocking review shows that i7 950 can hit 3.8 ghz without voltage tweaking, and it consumes less power than i7 860 in higer speeds. Does these facts justify choosingvi7 950? My heart is fully towards i7 950. I just need one or two facts to convince my brain ;-).
2. Does hyper 212+ has enough power to make high overclocks stable?
3. Is there any need to buy ddr3 1600 ram with faster timings?
4. I am thinking of buying Msi gtx 460 cyclone 1 gb and overclock it to 850 mhz. Will this void warrenty? And msi wont take bfg path, aint it?
5. Is cavier blacks any faster than seagate?
6. I might buy two radeon 6800s a year later and use gtx 460 as physX card. Will hx 850 have enough power for that?
7. In the case of audio, my main priority is music. Is x540 good enough for that?
Please feel free to advice on anything else.
Thanks in advance.

 

[darkewaffle]

1. For gaming, an i5 and an i7 are nearly identical. The i7s shine in heavily threaded scenarios and heavy data processing; neither of which are present in games

2. For the most part, yes. It's a good value cooler, but it isn't quite top of the line.

3. Not really, unless you really really care about benchmarks, there is very little real world performance impact from ram timings.

4. MSI probably will not go bankrupt, no. And they probably would not deny your warranty claim, but it is possible seeing as overclocking is arguably 'misuse.'

5. Yes. But you should get a Samsung Spinpoint F3 anyway. Great performance, great price.

6. We have no idea because there is so little information on the next series of Radeon cards. I would say "No".

7. Yes, though if your primary concern is music I think a nicer set of 2.1 speakers would be superior.

 

[skuzzzzy]

Hi!
I will buy a new gaming pc later this month. Here is my configuration.
CPU - i7 950
MOBO - Gigabyte x58a ud3r
RAM - 3*2 gb ddr3 1333, 9 sec
CPU COOLER - Cooler master hyper 212+ with a second fan
GPU - gtx 460 1gb
PSU - 850 hx or 950tx
CASE - Haf 912
HDD - Seagate 7200 rpm 1.5 tb
DVD DRIVE
SOUND - Asus xonar dx
SPEAKER - Logitech x540

I have these quistions about my build :-
1. I can get i5 760 or i7 870 setup for $300 or $200 less. Techspot review shows that lga 1366 build gives higher framerate than i5 750 built. Will future games make use of tri channel memory and increased processing power? I wont upgrade my cpu for 3 years, but i will upgrade gpus. Xbitlabs overclocking review shows that i7 950 can hit 3.8 ghz without voltage tweaking, and it consumes less power than i7 860 in higer speeds. Does these facts justify choosingvi7 950? My heart is fully towards i7 950. I just need one or two facts to convince my brain ;-).
2. Does hyper 212+ has enough power to make high overclocks stable?
3. Is there any need to buy ddr3 1600 ram with faster timings?
4. I am thinking of buying Msi gtx 460 cyclone 1 gb and overclock it to 850 mhz. Will this void warrenty? And msi wont take bfg path, aint it?
5. Is cavier blacks any faster than seagate?
6. I might buy two radeon 6800s a year later and use gtx 460 as physX card. Will hx 850 have enough power for that?
7. In the case of audio, my main priority is music. Is x540 good enough for that?
Please feel free to advice on anything else.
Thanks in advance.

all the i7's should game the same if clocked to the same speeds. same with the i5, the hyper threading on the i7's dont help with gaming.

if you are planning on crossfire and a physics card you should probly go 1336 since with the 1156 the pci-e lanes will run at 8x with dual cards.

shouldnt void warranty if you use afterburner / evga precision it doesnt save the settings into the gpu itself, just the program clocks it for you when you turn the computer on.

id maybe look at the v6 gt or the thermaltake frio for a cooler.

i personally have been threw about 6 sets of cheap computer speakers. ca, creative, altec lansing etc. the 540's are my favorites.

xfx 850w psu will be cheaper if you can deal with the color get that, if not the hx 850 is better then the 950 tx.

soundcard really isnt needed with a budget 2.1 or 5.1 speaker set


samsung spinpoint f3 is indeed a better hdd as the other guy said.

 

[Davidh373]

I'm going to say nix the Seagate as well. They are CRAAAAAAP....

 

[Blain]

1156

 

[Davidh373]

1156

agreed!

 

[mfenn]

Agree with Darke.

I would like to emphasize that if your priority is music, forget about a cheap 5.1 set with no mids. Get a pair of nice bookshelf speakers and a stereo amp (Crutchfield links for reference only, their prices are high).

 

[spac18]

I know currently there is almost no difference between 1156 & 1366. But will tri channel memory and increased processing power handle high end multi gpu setups in the future? Theres already some differences in starcraft ii.

 

[f4phantom2500]

Agree with Darke.

I would like to emphasize that if your priority is music, forget about a cheap 5.1 set with no mids. Get a pair of nice bookshelf speakers and a stereo amp (Crutchfield links for reference only, their prices are high).

or a nice pair of headphones. you'll be able to get a better value with headphones; you'd have to spend substantially more to get the same level of sound quality from speakers. the caveat, of course, being that you have to wear them and that nobody else can hear what's going on.

 

[mfenn]

I know currently there is almost no difference between 1156 & 1366. But will tri channel memory and increased processing power handle high end multi gpu setups in the future? Theres already some differences in starcraft ii.

Huh? Unless games become hugely threaded monsters in the next 3 years (unlikely) their general workload profile is going to remain the same. Thus the no difference will remain no difference.

or a nice pair of headphones. you'll be able to get a better value with headphones; you'd have to spend substantially more to get the same level of sound quality from speakers. the caveat, of course, being that you have to wear them and that nobody else can hear what's going on.

Very true. :thumbsup:

 

[spac18]

"Huh? Unless games become hugely threaded monsters in the next 3 years (unlikely) their general workload profile is going to remain the same. Thus the no difference will remain no difference."

I am not talking about games getting more cpu dependant. I am talking about the fact that hi end gpus needs a powerfull cpu to compliment its work. As I will not upgrade mu cpu for atleast three years, will i7 950 handle high end multi gpu setups better than i5 750 three years later?

 

[Sp12]

Per clock the have the same performance, so I'm tempted to say no.

 

[Davidh373]

No, not really. I mean, If you were comparing the 760 and the 970 six core I would say that will last you longer. There really isn't a point to all that 6-core nonsense for games yet. Get the i5, you'll enjoy it .

 

[darkewaffle]

"Huh? Unless games become hugely threaded monsters in the next 3 years (unlikely) their general workload profile is going to remain the same. Thus the no difference will remain no difference."

I am not talking about games getting more cpu dependant. I am talking about the fact that hi end gpus needs a powerfull cpu to compliment its work. As I will not upgrade mu cpu for atleast three years, will i7 950 handle high end multi gpu setups better than i5 750 three years later?

If you're not upgrading your CPU for three years, what are you doing with a "high end multi gpu setup"?

And no, by and large it's much easier for CPUs to keep up than GPUs. I'd rather have a 5 year old CPU and a new GPU than vice versa.

 

[Davidh373]

I'd rather have a 5 year old CPU and a new GPU than vice versa

Same here.

 

[Spikesoldier]

get the i5 760 and get a second gtx460 for better gaming performance.

 

[Davidh373]

get the i5 760 and get a second gtx460 for better gaming performance.

I can't really agree with that. SLI is too expensive...

 

[Spikesoldier]

let me rephrase by he should drop the i7 950 and get the i5 760, and using the savings to double up on the 460 or get a faster single card instead.

 

[Davidh373]

That's a bit better. Really, when all is considered I believe I've heard 2 GTX 460s in SLI are a little better than a 480, but then again add the utilities in and the cost of the extra psu and you'd break about even. I guess SLI sounds better than a single card though. Anyway...

 

[Zap]

1. ... Will future games make use of tri channel memory and increased processing power? ... Xbitlabs overclocking review shows that i7 950 can hit 3.8 ghz without voltage tweaking, and it consumes less power than i7 860 in higer speeds.

Too little difference in memory channels to matter.

Power consumption of CPU is close enough to not matter.

No matter what anyone says, overclocking is always YMMV. Your takeaway from Xbitlabs should not be "i7 950 can hit 3.8GHz stock volts." It should be "i7 950 can be a good overclocker."

2. Does hyper 212+ has enough power to make high overclocks stable?

Yes, to a point. I had a socket 1366 Core i7 at 4GHz using a Hyper 212+, but running Prime95 got the cores close to 90°C. Of course, NOT running Prime95 (or any other torture test), the CPU was easily cool enough for normal operation at those speeds.

Let's put it this way. The Hyper 212+ is very good for a MID PRICED cooler.

3. Is there any need to buy ddr3 1600 ram with faster timings?

Nope. My recommendation is to buy DDR3 RAM that only requires 1.5v, and since slower stuff isn't much cheaper you should probably get at least 1333MHz.

6. I might buy two radeon 6800s a year later and use gtx 460 as physX card. Will hx 850 have enough power for that?

Nobody really knows, but extremely likely NOT. Also, likely that you won't be able to run that configuration (Nvidia PhysX with AMD graphics) using stock drivers.

7. In the case of audio, my main priority is music. Is x540 good enough for that?

IMO (very subjective of course) if you want good MUSIC playback, you need speakers that are good for music. IMO "surround sound" speakers are NOT "good for music."

My recommendation for the low end would be a decent pair of 2-way bookshelf speakers and a cheap amp like a T-amp.

My recommendation for a bit higher end would be a better pair of 2-way bookshelf speakers and a receiver with low level sub-out (usually a home theater surround receiver) and a powered subwoofer.

Please feel free to advice on anything else.

Start off w/o the sound card and use onboard sound. If after using onboard sound you still feel you need the card, then go for it. Otherwise, you will save some money.

 

[spac18]

How long a motherboard normally lasts? In case of lga 1366, will there be more hexa core chips or it will be dead with the arrival of lga 2011? And how does second gen core 2 quads performs against i5 750?

 

[mfenn]

How long a motherboard normally lasts? In case of lga 1366, will there be more hexa core chips or it will be dead with the arrival of lga 2011? And how does second gen core 2 quads performs against i5 750?

A mobo generally lasts me until it fails or I upgrade. :awe:

AFAIK, there no more 6-core LGA1366 i7's planned other than the 990X. The platform will be officially dead with the release of LGA2011.

As for your second question, here's the Bench.

 

[Davidh373]

AFAIK, there no more 6-core LGA1366 i7's planned other than the 990X. The platform will be officially dead with the release of LGA2011.

oooooo noooooooo!

I guess the Hexicores will hold me for a while though. Don't forget there are 8-core Xeons that run on X58, so it is possible that a consumer/ prosumer option is made available. Otherwise if you want an Octicore, you'll have to pop the premium for a mobo that supports a Xeon. Really, the Xeon motherboard isn't all that expensive, but it's processor counterpart is!

 

[spac18]

Everybody knows that something lasts until it fails or gets replaced. How long means the length of time.
If radeon 6870 smokes gtx 480, then graphics power standerd will go sky high. Will the games then require more powerfull gpus? Will gtx 460 sli be any good then?

 

[mfenn]

Everybody knows that something lasts until it fails or gets replaced. How long means the length of time.

If radeon 6870 smokes gtx 480, then graphics power standerd will go sky high. Will the games then require more powerfull gpus? Will gtx 460 sli be any good then?

GTX 460 isn't going to magically get any faster or more power efficient just because AMD releases new GPUs.