The Corei7 is an amazing processor

[Chaotic42]

I picked up a Core i7 920 not too long ago and I have been *very* happy with it. A friend and I were talking about Supreme Commander being a CPU hog. I told him my system could run an 81km x 81km map (the largest size) with eight computer players. It did.

So then I started trying to bring the computer down. The results? Still running like a champ. Check out the screenshot (it's huge):

Pic

You can't go wrong with the i7. :thumbsup:

 

[illvm]

25 man raids in WoW will still bring your computer to its knees. =D

 

[Leyawiin]

I'm pretty torn about my next build. I have the cash now for CPU, Mobo, RAM and HD (its all going in the old full tower with a GTX 260 (216) I already have). Just really torn between the i7 920 and an X2 955. I've built four PCs since '03 and all have used AMD processors. Seems weird to go with Intel, and I do hear enough about the X4 955 being as good or better in gaming (which is all I do) that it keeps me going back and forth. Probably should start my own thread asking for pros and cons.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: illvm
25 man raids in WoW will still bring your computer to its knees. =D

8 virtual threads says you wont be limited on your CPU side.

 

[cbn]

Originally posted by: Leyawiin
I'm pretty torn about my next build. I have the cash now for CPU, Mobo, RAM and HD (its all going in the old full tower with a GTX 260 (216) I already have). Just really torn between the i7 920 and an X2 955. I've built four PCs since '03 and all have used AMD processors. Seems weird to go with Intel, and I do hear enough about the X4 955 being as good or better in gaming (which is all I do) that it keeps me going back and forth. Probably should start my own thread asking for pros and cons.

I like the idea of the AMD mobo because you can get one that runs dual x16 PCI-E 2.0 Crossfire for $120. The intel equivalent is at least $200.

 

[Cheesetogo]

Originally posted by: illvm
25 man raids in WoW will still bring your computer to its knees. =D

It doesn't on mine . (920 i7 + GTX 280)

 

[lopri]

Umm.. you're running Bryce in the background. Supcom is not a well threaded game. (well, no game is except maybe Ice Storm Fighters) i7 is without a doubt a marvelous engineering but I have to say your screenshot is a bit deceiving.

And to that end, I think setting affinities will give a better gaming experience even with native quads like i7 or PII. (Forget C2Q) Give Supcom cores 0-3 and run Bryce cores 4-7, and compare that to leaving it just to Windows scheduler.. I bet the former will be a better experience.

 

[chaudx]

Originally posted by: aigomorla

Originally posted by: illvm
25 man raids in WoW will still bring your computer to its knees. =D

8 virtual threads says you wont be limited on your CPU side.

Too bad most of WoWs work is done in a single thread.

 

[Griswold]

Originally posted by: lopri
And to that end, I think setting affinities will give a better gaming experience even with native quads like i7 or PII. (Forget C2Q) Give Supcom cores 0-3 and run Bryce cores 4-7, and compare that to leaving it just to Windows scheduler.. I bet the former will be a better experience.

So, all of a sudden native does matter?

 

[ShawnD1]

Originally posted by: chaudx

Originally posted by: aigomorla

Originally posted by: illvm
25 man raids in WoW will still bring your computer to its knees. =D

8 virtual threads says you wont be limited on your CPU side.

Too bad most of WoWs work is done in a single thread.

I think they got around to fixing this. Last time I played WoW was around January or so and it was able to run my dual core at about 80%. A few years ago it would be pinned to 50% and lag like a bitch unless draw distance was greatly reduced.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: lopri
Umm.. you're running Bryce in the background. Supcom is not a well threaded game. (well, no game is except maybe Ice Storm Fighters) i7 is without a doubt a marvelous engineering but I have to say your screenshot is a bit deceiving.

And to that end, I think setting affinities will give a better gaming experience even with native quads like i7 or PII. (Forget C2Q) Give Supcom cores 0-3 and run Bryce cores 4-7, and compare that to leaving it just to Windows scheduler.. I bet the former will be a better experience.

It shouldn't matter if Bryce is in the foreground or not if it's rendering to disk, should it? I also believe SupCom will use up to four processors: One for AI, one for sound, one for physics, and one for everything else. I could be wrong, but that was the impression I was under.

 

[thekimbobjones]

You can't go wrong with the i7. :thumbsup:[/quote]

Agreed. I have been using iMacs for the last 5 years the last being a 2.4ghz.
I sold it and built a 920 a few days ago and may I say the difference is massive.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: chaudx

Originally posted by: aigomorla

Originally posted by: illvm
25 man raids in WoW will still bring your computer to its knees. =D

8 virtual threads says you wont be limited on your CPU side.

Too bad most of WoWs work is done in a single thread.

LOL..

well then My i7 still says bring it on.

http://i125.photobucket.com/al...marks/Benchmark2-1.jpg

;P

Yes those are my 24/7 settings.

 

[richierich1212]

Originally posted by: thekimbobjones

You can't go wrong with the i7. :thumbsup:

Agreed. I have been using iMacs for the last 5 years the last being a 2.4ghz.
I sold it and built a 920 a few days ago and may I say the difference is massive.[/quote]

Unless you want to pay an arm and a leg for upgraded components with macs I'd say yes the difference is massive.

 

[lopri]

Originally posted by: Griswold
So, all of a sudden native does matter?

I guess I misspoke. Been reading mostly about servers and VMs for the past few days.. (Nehalem kicks Conroe's butt there)

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
It shouldn't matter if Bryce is in the foreground or not if it's rendering to disk, should it? I also believe SupCom will use up to four processors: One for AI, one for sound, one for physics, and one for everything else. I could be wrong, but that was the impression I was under.

I think you're the one that can enlighten rest of us since you're running Bryce and Supcom.. Does Supcom play smooth enough while a project is running in Bryce? It was impossible for me to tell from your screenshot because there is no FPS counter or anything like that and evenly distributed workloads seen in Task Manager left impression that the CPU was working hard on a Bryce project.

@Aigo: Seeing this, I have a feeling that E8400 @4.4GHz could just well be faster than 965X @4.4GHz in WoW.

I hope no one takes any comment I made as an 'insult' to the Intel's latest and the greatest. I have seen numbers myself. But does i7 bring significant improvement over dual-cores in gaming? My answer would be a resounding no.

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: Cheesetogo

Originally posted by: illvm
25 man raids in WoW will still bring your computer to its knees. =D

It doesn't on mine . (920 i7 + GTX 280)

It's limited Engine side. If you get a CPU monitor you'll see none of your CPUs are anywhere close to maxing out. Even my dual 3.4Ghz e2180 was only running 40% at the lowest framerate parts-- and GPU was cool too. I could reduce the resolution to 800x600 and it still went at 25fps in Dalaran. The engine is simply showing its age.