OG i7 still relevant...and used?

[Burpo]

Your rig needs more ram, then a Xeon

 

[moonbogg]

My friend is still rocking his i7 965 Xtreme and has zero reason to upgrade. He kept up just fine in BF3/BF4 multiplayer with 64 players and high FPS. No issues. So, anything after that gen from sandybridge on could really last for ever if someone wanted it to.

 

[bigboxes]

I retired my i7 920 last January and it's just been sitting in my office. Fast forward a year and it's now doing duty in my new HTPC.

Reused: i7 920, Asus P6T Deluxe v2, 6GB Super Talent DDR 1600 (2GB x 3), Seasonic 850 M12
New: Lian Li PC-C60, Thermalright AXP-200R, MSI GTX950 Gaming 2G, Inatek USB 3.0 PCI-E, Samsung 850 EVO 250GB, Silverstone SATA 6Gbps card, Flirc, Logitech K400 Plus

The C60 is a wonderful case. It has two 140mm intake fans. The AXP-200 uses one as well. The video cards fans stay off unless it's being pushed. The whole setup is cool and quiet.

 

[nerp]

You absolutely cannot go wrong with Lian-Li.

 

[MrTeal]

A highly overclocked X5650 has about same single thread perf. as a 3770. In multi-thread, it slaughters even a 4790K.

Slaughters seems a little excessive. At the same clocks a Westmere hex core will still be faster than a 4770k/4790k in something like Cinebench, but not by a huge amount. Your X5650 in the 11.5 thread @ 4.87GHz scored 12% higher than Udgmin's 4770k @4.8GHz, but that's not really slaughtered territory.

 

[Deders]

Slaughters seems a little excessive. At the same clocks a Westmere hex core will still be faster than a 4770k/4790k in something like Cinebench, but not by a huge amount. Your X5650 in the 11.5 thread @ 4.87GHz scored 12% higher than Udgmin's 4770k @4.8GHz, but that's not really slaughtered territory.

I expect there are SIMD improvements that set these generations apart too.

 

[MongGrel]

12% is pretty substantial...

 

[lyssword]

OG = original gangster, right? xD

 

[Gikaseixas]

Had my i7 860 stored in the basement and last November decided to give it another go. Bought AIO corsair H80, DDR3 @2000mhz, pushed it to 4.0ghz and it runs every game and apps fluidly. Awesome little chip IMO.

 

[jimbob200521]

Anytime you want to upgrade, just drop a hexcore Xeon in your rig and sell the I7-920. The Westmere Xeons are 32nm instead of 45nm and use less power compared to the 920. They also overclock very well, and a cheap Xeon X5650 at >4.3Ghz, will mostly best a 4790K (except single thread).
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon-...789874?hash=item3abc45bbf2:g:kNIAAOSwLnlWprUb

Well I don't know whether to thank you or hate you but I ordered a Xeon X5650 this morning. Found a deal on eBay I couldn't pass up so I snagged it. I probably won't go too crazy on OC'ing this one, maybe stick around 3ghz or so (I probably don't even need that). I see 920's aren't going for too much on eBay but maybe I'll throw it on there anyway to make a few bucks back. Thought about investing in another motherboard and upgrading my home server from my Core 2 Quad to the 920 but the cost of motherboard and 3 sticks of DDR3 shut that down. So now I get to await the arrival of my first 6-core CPU and see what she can do. Thanks again for the heads up on this.

 

[Burpo]

Actually there are some Dell X58 boards that overclock well still available cheap. You do have to Flash them with Alienware bios, but they're solid boards that work well (once flashed). You could do what you're thinking with the I7-920

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151586313094?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Del...rd-P270J-0P270J-MS-7543-Original/231819372777

Same OEM (MSI) board used in the Alienware Area 51 system from that era.

http://www.notebookparts.com/dell-a...sDRIt0UOYWZjwYYbODdMMb-vUCamjD6-CyxoCmU3w_wcB

 

[jimbob200521]

Actually there are some Dell X58 boards that overclock well still available cheap. You do have to Flash them with Alienware bios, but they're solid boards that work well (once flashed). You could do what you're thinking with the I7-920

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151586313094?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Del...rd-P270J-0P270J-MS-7543-Original/231819372777

Same OEM (MSI) board used in the Alienware Area 51 system from that era.

http://www.notebookparts.com/dell-a...sDRIt0UOYWZjwYYbODdMMb-vUCamjD6-CyxoCmU3w_wcB

I hate you, go away!

It's a good idea and thank you for sharing but I need to slow down on the spending front. Not only is my honeymoon coming up but if I'm going to keep investing $70 and $80 here and there, I might as well rebuild my current system's core (CPU/Mobo/RAM) and re-purpose my soon to be 6 core setup to server duty (which would be excessive overkill). $70 to upgrade to a hexacore setup and extend the life of my system was money well spent but beyond that I don't see any other viable upgrades until something groundbreaking comes out.

 

[Zodiark1593]

Glad to see a few guys out there still using the OG i7 line of CPU's and happy with them. I believe they are a great CPU and still hold there own in today's real world for most situations. Anyone else care to share?

OG dually i5 in my lappy is still plenty for basic needs and light gaming, could probably take on heavier games were it not held back by a Radeon 5470. Heck, even without GPU assist in HTML5, it still has the uumph to drive 1080P playback in Youtube without frame drops.

 

[tweakboy]

Of course ............ i7 is a strong foundation. Get a Sandy for a really good price.. gl

 

[ioni]

Well I don't know whether to thank you or hate you but I ordered a Xeon X5650 this morning. Found a deal on eBay I couldn't pass up so I snagged it. I probably won't go too crazy on OC'ing this one, maybe stick around 3ghz or so (I probably don't even need that). I see 920's aren't going for too much on eBay but maybe I'll throw it on there anyway to make a few bucks back. Thought about investing in another motherboard and upgrading my home server from my Core 2 Quad to the 920 but the cost of motherboard and 3 sticks of DDR3 shut that down. So now I get to await the arrival of my first 6-core CPU and see what she can do. Thanks again for the heads up on this.

Good luck with it. If you're happy around 3GHz you shouldn't have too much trouble with it. I upgraded my 920 to a 5650 a few months ago and even at 3.4 it's not technically stable (I've had 2 BSODs at idle since I got it). But if you're not planning to OC it much anyway, at least you get the power savings.

 

[jimbob200521]

Good luck with it. If you're happy around 3GHz you shouldn't have too much trouble with it. I upgraded my 920 to a 5650 a few months ago and even at 3.4 it's not technically stable (I've had 2 BSODs at idle since I got it). But if you're not planning to OC it much anyway, at least you get the power savings.

I don't plan to OC too much but I have read that it is about the best overclocker for that line of Xeons. Have you played with all the OC options your board has? I would expect it to do a little better than 3.4ghz but who knows. Luck of the draw and all.

Are you overall happy with it?

 

[ioni]

I'm happy it works, but other than that, there's not much difference in user experience, so it was kind of a waste of money. But since I sold my 920, it wasn't too much money wasted. I was hoping to get some better performance in Blender out of it but there wasn't really any noticeable bump in performance.

 

[Burpo]

Then your settings are wrong. The Xeon is a much more capable cpu than the i7-920, especially when overclocked. They overclock very easily if you have a decent board & know how to set it up.

 

[ioni]

Is an MSI x58M a decent board?

 

[Burpo]

Is this your bios?

 

[ioni]

yep

 

[MongGrel]

Then your settings are wrong. The Xeon is a much more capable cpu than the i7-920, especially when overclocked. They overclock very easily if you have a decent board & know how to set it up.

Has a bit of a learning curve, they do not overclock the same way.

The HTPC I stuck my X5650 in is @ 3.8, and I consider that light as it was higher when it was in the main rig.

I hate you, go away!

It's a good idea and thank you for sharing but I need to slow down on the spending front. Not only is my honeymoon coming up but if I'm going to keep investing $70 and $80 here and there, I might as well rebuild my current system's core (CPU/Mobo/RAM) and re-purpose my soon to be 6 core setup to server duty (which would be excessive overkill). $70 to upgrade to a hexacore setup and extend the life of my system was money well spent but beyond that I don't see any other viable upgrades until something groundbreaking comes out.

Burpo is a bargain maniac, I've bought a few things that way he's recommended with no complaints, but they have always been good if you don't go overboard

Most people know how to judge/use restraint on things depending on what they have all ready.

 

[jimbob200521]

Has a bit of a learning curve, they do not overclock the same way.

The HTPC I stuck my X5650 in is @ 3.8, and I consider that light as it was higher when it was in the main rig.

Agreed, there is more to them. I am going to have to refresh my memory when I get my Xeon as I have had my i7 OC'd since I got it and it's been rock solid for quite a while so I may have forgotten what exactly to change!

 

[Wall Street]

This thread inspired me to buy an i7-860 to upgrade from an i5-750. To be honest, the 750 can still hold its own. The 860 was $70 shipped on which is an impulse buy.

 

[jimbob200521]

This thread inspired me to buy an i7-860 to upgrade from an i5-750. To be honest, the 750 can still hold its own. The 860 was $70 shipped on which is an impulse buy.

Should have said something, my i7 920 will probably be for sale soon.