Trying to decide... i7 or 775?

[sgthawkes]

1. PC will be used for gaming, video editing, watching movies, surfing internet, general house stuff like budget.

2. Price range is about $900 max.

3. Everything will be purchased in the US.

4. I prefer the following brands, Intel, Asus, Western Digital, Coolermaster cases.

5. I will be using the following parts for the new system: keyboard, mouse, widescreen monitor, SATA II HD's, LG Blu-ray optical, BenQ DVD burner, Corsair HX1000W PSU, and a Thermalright TRUEBlack 120 CPU cooler. If I stick with 775, I have an E8500 CPU.

6. I've been researching for a few days amongst various sites and was ready to buy a 775 system, when I decided I should investigate core i7 further.

7. System will be run at default speeds.

8. I prefer to run at 1680x1050 minimum.

9. I will be building this as soon as I can get the parts.



As I mentioned I was ready to get a 775 system using an Asus Rampage Extreme board with the E8500 I have with 4GB of corsair ram and 2 ATI HD4870 video cards. I decided to investigate core i7 further before I bought anything because I will have this system for at least 3-4 years before I can upgrade to a new platform. I would think with the 775 I can still upgrade the CPU and ram down the road if necessary. I guess the big question is, how soon will 775 be a really dead socket. I'm still running on a 478 socket since 2003, but am no longer interested in upgrading anything in that system.

Thanks in advance. I appreciate any advice and opinions.

 

[alyarb]

socket 775 is a lame duck at the end of its life. it has no future. right now you either have to choose between 1366 or AM3, but I think waiting a couple more weeks until 1156 is even better. Still, you have enough parts already that migrating them to an i7 build will easily come in under your $900 max and provide the highest performance available.

An i7 $920 is going to be $280, and I recommend the $209 EVGA 121-BL-E756-TR (make sure you register within 30 days and get the lifetime warranty) as a quality, feature rich and cost effective motherboard. If you must have an ASUS board then I recommend P6T SE, but the warranty is only 3 years. A simple 3 DIMM, 6 GB kit from crucial for $106 will completely fulfill your memory requirements and also provide lifetime warranty. The triple-channel memory of X58 provides more bandwidth than any other platform, far more than any of the activities you list require, and buying so called overclocking memory to run at higher clocks will not increase system performance. It's better to just find the lowest-latency stuff you can and be done with it. a recent article here on anandtech illustrates this.

So that's $595 for the CPU, board, and memory. You'll also need a $10 adapter to mount your TRUE on a socket-1366 system. They're available at places like xoxide or crazypc but I doubt newegg. I wouldn't spend more than $150 on a video card if you're playing at 1680x1050, but a 4870 1GB or GTX 260 will more than have you covered there. Did you want to add any more storage devices? What kind of cases do you like? All cases pretty much either loud and hideous or understated and tasteful with or without front doors. There really is no in between there.

 

[sgthawkes]

I'm not stuck on an Asus board, but I have been looking at is the P6T (not SE version, but next up). I was reading about the EVGA boards, but heard there are some issues on the boards around the socket and EVGA not covering them under warranty. I already have the adapter for the cooler, so I can save the $10 there.

As far as a case, I really like the Coolermaster Cosmos S. It's clean looking, has received good reviews, and has plenty of room for both airflow and larger components. Aside from that, I also like the HAF 922 and 932's from CM, but the 922 is a mid-tower and I want to be absolutely sure about it's roominess on the inside. I do not want a tight case where airflow is an issue. I also saw today the CM Storm Sniper and Scout cases as well.


Do you think that the i7 is looking at EOL since the 1156 is where Intel seems to be focusing?

 

[M0RPH]

I personally think that the I7-860 (for p55/1156) looks more appealing than the I7-920. The I7-860 is a faster chip, uses less power, and will sell for around the same price.

Apparently, though, there is some advantage to 1366 if you are running SLI/Xfire. I'm not sure exactly what it is since I've never had any interest in SLI/Xfire.

 

[alyarb]

1366 is not EOL, it is still intel's flagship platform and will continue to be so for at least 18 more months. 1156 is the new mainstream platform and is being introduced alongside the rest of intel's lineup for the near future. it provides 1366-level performance at reduced cost, and if you'd like to wait for the socket 1156 parts you'd probably save a little money, but not much. i would get the 1366 system personally because it's eligible for six-core upgrades next year.

 

[sgthawkes]

OK. I went to MicroCenter yesterday and they have the i7 920's in stock for $199.99 and they are S-SPEC SLBEJ (Stepping 5, Revision D0). I also picked up the CoolerMaster HAF932 which was on special for $119.99.

I think I've decided onthe Asus P6T mobo. Since I was able to save on those two items above, I think I may opt for the Deluxe V2 version. I'm not sure yet, but that's the way I'm leaning at least. I'm going to read up on the forums and see who's been having good and bad times with some x58 boards and go from there.

 

[Blain]

If you go with the 920, make sure you have good cooling, as you'll want to OC it for video editing.
It's stock speed is only 2.66GHz which is a tad slow for video editing, even factoring in the better architecture when compared to the 775 quads.