Specific cpu need, might be mistaken

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Dorkenstein

Dorkenstein

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2004
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I am looking to upgrade in the spring time. I was looking at the i5 or i7 line, primarily my computer is for gaming. I have an OC'ed cpu right now that I don't need to replace, but I am passing it on to a family member who needs one. My question is, which cpu should I get that costs $300 or below for gaming? I need one that's fast enough that I don't really need to overclock it. My reasoning being, I had trouble with Mass Effect while OC'ed and also, when I play Dragon Age on an OC'ed quad, the cpu usage is ridiculous. I am a tiny bit paranoid that I'll ruin my cpu, though I have no evidence to prove that I will.

So cliffs:

I want to buy an i5 or i7 (probably i7)
Are they okay to use without overclocking, or do they really scream when overclocked?

Sorry for the confusing jumble. Once I figure out whether or not to overclock and whether my fear of ruining a cpu is unfounded, I'll need to pick one out. Thanks!
 
cusideabelincoln

cusideabelincoln

Diamond Member
Aug 3, 2008
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The i5s and i7s are fast without overclocking. They get even faster when overclocked. For those two games you shouldn't need to overclock to get good performance.
 
Dorkenstein

Dorkenstein

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Jul 23, 2004
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Yeah, that's what I figured. I overclocked for more demanding games, but I didn't want to undo and redo my overclock whenever I switched games. What does the i5 not have that the i7 does have? Is it just hyper-threading? I might go for an i7-860, but I'm not sure what the 11-- whatever socket doesn't have that the 1366 has. Thanks for your reply.
 
VirtualLarry

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
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As long as you have decent cooling, I don't think overclocking will do much harm, as long as your voltages stay reasonable.

On the other hand, some people feel that the CPU gets too warm with the stock cooler, even without overclocking. So I think that you should strongly consider getting an aftermarket heatsink, whether or not you are overclocking.
 
Dorkenstein

Dorkenstein

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Jul 23, 2004
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Hmm, I dig it. I'd need to scrounge up a new motherboard and memory. How much faster in games (overclocked) would the X3440 be than a regular Quad core intel? Thanks again!
 
Hey Zeus

Hey Zeus

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Dec 31, 2009
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Dorkenstein said:
Hmm, I dig it. I'd need to scrounge up a new motherboard and memory. How much faster in games (overclocked) would the X3440 be than a regular Quad core intel? Thanks again!
Click to expand...

X3440 is pretty much going to be a tad slower then the 860 and a tad faster then the 750. The Xeon is liked because it has HT and doesn't cost almost 300 dollars
 
Dorkenstein

Dorkenstein

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Jul 23, 2004
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Hmm, I wonder if I should hold off then. I'm googling around and not seeing many people using the X3440 for games, but I might be looking in the wrong places. If it's no faster than a Q9550 I'll probably wait. Thanks.
 
Dorkenstein

Dorkenstein

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Jul 23, 2004
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Woah, it just hit me that at the 'egg the X3440 costs almost as much as an i7 920. A difference of about 50 bucks, but is the extra 50 worth it? Based on the benchmark link you showed me, I'd only be gaining a handful of FPS at best (and the comparison was with an i7 860, was that intentional?). Hopefully others have some input. Thanks again.
 
Hey Zeus

Hey Zeus

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Dec 31, 2009
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Dorkenstein said:
Woah, it just hit me that at the 'egg the X3440 costs almost as much as an i7 920. A difference of about 50 bucks, but is the extra 50 worth it? Based on the benchmark link you showed me, I'd only be gaining a handful of FPS at best (and the comparison was with an i7 860, was that intentional?). Hopefully others have some input. Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I used the 860 because the X3440 can easily be overclocked like the rest of the lynnfield line. Clock for clock they're faster then the C2Q's.

On the 920.. It's awesome but totally overkill for most. The 1366 is great if you plan on running a pair of 5970's in Xfire or 295's in Quad SLI
 
S

slim

Member
Oct 17, 1999
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If you mainly want to game, I think the 750 is plenty fast. You'll be better served saving a couple bucks on the cpu and buying the best gpu you want.

As far as your prior question goes, the i7 has 3 memory channels (2 for i5), i7 motherboards will have a full 32 pciexpress lanes for dual gpu setups (16 lanes for i5), and the i5 does not have hyperthreading as you mentioned.

As you can see from my sig, I'm quite happy with my i5, and if you live near a microcenter, the 750 is only $149.
 
B

betasub

Platinum Member
Mar 22, 2006
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slim, the difference in memory channels is socket related (1156 has dual, 1366 has triple), and not between i5 and i7. Intel has confused matters by having i7 860 on 1156, and i7 9xx on 1366.

Check the AT article on i5 for the difference feature sets across Intel's CPU range.
 
Dorkenstein

Dorkenstein

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Jul 23, 2004
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How high can an X3440 overclock, reasonably? I don't mean maximum, but a safe, decent overclock. Thanks.
 
Dorkenstein

Dorkenstein

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Jul 23, 2004
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One more thing, I know it was already said that the X3440 would be an improvement over a Q9550 for games, but what would the story be if they were both overclocked to the same speed, say 3.6ghz? Thanks again.
 
MrK6

MrK6

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Aug 9, 2004
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Dorkenstein said:
One more thing, I know it was already said that the X3440 would be an improvement over a Q9550 for games, but what would the story be if they were both overclocked to the same speed, say 3.6ghz? Thanks again.
Click to expand...
It depends on the game. Some games eat L2 cache for breakfast, some prefer memory bandwidth, etc. Check out any review comparing the different architectures:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3641&p=7
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3634&p=16
 
Hey Zeus

Hey Zeus

Banned
Dec 31, 2009
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Dorkenstein said:
One more thing, I know it was already said that the X3440 would be an improvement over a Q9550 for games, but what would the story be if they were both overclocked to the same speed, say 3.6ghz? Thanks again.
Click to expand...

X3440 should be able to hit 4Ghz quite easily. Don't know how hard you'd have to push the Q9550 for it
 
Dorkenstein

Dorkenstein

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2004
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Getting closer to the time when I need to make a final choice for the mini-upgrade. Can a server chip like the X3440 be put in a regular socket 1156 board? And does anyone have good experience overclocking this chip? Thank you.
 
N

nyker96

Diamond Member
Apr 19, 2005
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Intel is coming with 32nm in March, so if you can wait until then and hopefully the pricing is within your budget then that would be the newest and hottest upgrade. but note it's on 1366 socket, 1156 32nm will come much later.
 
Arkaign

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
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Hrm. If your primary desire is gaming, I'd grab a $150ish PhII BE, and toss the savings at your video card.

A PhII X4 BE @ 3ghz+ w/5870 for example will dogpile an i7 @ 4ghz w/4890 in gaming.
 
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