Upgrading to Core i7, need advice

[vfouquereau]

Hi there,

I wish to upgrade my rig :

Core 2 Duo 2.13,
4 gigs,

I aim for :

Core I7 860,
8 gigs 1333mhz,

I recently bought an HD camcorder (Panasonic HDC-HS250 for anyone interested) and I think it's time to update the old C2D. Adobe Premiere is a pain to run.

Here's what I do with my computer :

1- Gaming at 1680*1050
Games go from WoW to most recent ones : Batman AA, Borderlands, Fallout 3, etc. Steam sales just kill my wallet. I don't really push the AA or AF, I'm not an image quality freak. I just need my FPS to maintain an acceptable level.

2- Interwebs
Surfing 10-15 tabs at once, Facebook games included. Filling my podcast library, etc.

3- Adobe Premier Elements
That will take a good chunk of my time later in the year because my wife is pregnant (first one)! So I need to prep up my PRE skills(tm). So excited, I'm gonna take that HS250 freaking everywhere.

Here's my problem : the motherboard.

I know I want a Core I7 860. It's the smallest "big boy", the most affordable Core I7 with all the pebbles that will make it last for a couple of years.

I'm not a huge motherboard bonanza guy. I need a board that will run my computer. I need 2-3 USB port. I run a plain old stereo setup : 2.0 and no sub. I will not overclock this computer. I will not install watercooling. I probably won't run Crossfire or SLI because by the time I want to buy another identical video card, they're all BO.

You know what? I'm that guy you all know. The guy that keeps tab of the general computing trend, that can put a general order of "what's faster than what", the one your uncle might go see to know what computer he should go for at Best Buy. But that's it.

I need a reliable board from whatever company you like best. I have no preference.

I looked at P7P55D ( http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=RBA8CzWoopUlYRFZ ) but it seems a little ... barebone. I still want the best bang for the buck for a system that won't be overclocked OR that will be overclocked automatically.

I don't really have a maximum budget. Whatever offers the best bang for the buck is acceptable.

Thanks a lot for helping!

 

[Dasda]

Hi there,

I wish to upgrade my rig :

Core 2 Duo 2.13,
4 gigs,

I aim for :

Core I7 860,
8 gigs 1333mhz,

I recently bought an HD camcorder (Panasonic HDC-HS250 for anyone interested) and I think it's time to update the old C2D. Adobe Premiere is a pain to run.

Here's what I do with my computer :

1- Gaming at 1680*1050
Games go from WoW to most recent ones : Batman AA, Borderlands, Fallout 3, etc. Steam sales just kill my wallet. I don't really push the AA or AF, I'm not an image quality freak. I just need my FPS to maintain an acceptable level.

2- Interwebs
Surfing 10-15 tabs at once, Facebook games included. Filling my podcast library, etc.

3- Adobe Premier Elements
That will take a good chunk of my time later in the year because my wife is pregnant (first one)! So I need to prep up my PRE skills(tm). So excited, I'm gonna take that HS250 freaking everywhere.

Here's my problem : the motherboard.

I know I want a Core I7 860. It's the smallest "big boy", the most affordable Core I7 with all the pebbles that will make it last for a couple of years.

I'm not a huge motherboard bonanza guy. I need a board that will run my computer. I need 2-3 USB port. I run a plain old stereo setup : 2.0 and no sub. I will not overclock this computer. I will not install watercooling. I probably won't run Crossfire or SLI because by the time I want to buy another identical video card, they're all BO.

You know what? I'm that guy you all know. The guy that keeps tab of the general computing trend, that can put a general order of "what's faster than what", the one your uncle might go see to know what computer he should go for at Best Buy. But that's it.

I need a reliable board from whatever company you like best. I have no preference.

I looked at P7P55D ( http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=RBA8CzWoopUlYRFZ ) but it seems a little ... barebone. I still want the best bang for the buck for a system that won't be overclocked OR that will be overclocked automatically.

I don't really have a maximum budget. Whatever offers the best bang for the buck is acceptable.

Thanks a lot for helping!

Hey if you are going with a i7 then you might wanna wait for i7-930 which comes out in march. It will replace 920 and they are similar prices. Its info I got from JD in a another thread.

 

[vfouquereau]

I don't really have the luxury to wait a couple of months. The longuer I wait, the sooner the baby is here and we all know that means the death of whatever budget you had for whatever that is not directly for the baby.

 

[kranky]

I have an Asus P7P55D EVO with an i7-860 (6 weeks old now) and no problems. I'm no experienced builder but I read the manual thoroughly before I started assembly and it booted up first time with no issues.

What do you want from a motherboard that wasn't on the P7P55D?

 

[vfouquereau]

Well, I saw a table with all the "flavors" side by side and saw that the vanilla P7P55D has less of pretty much everything. Less power phase [edit: it's only true for the LE flavor, my mistake], less connectivity, etc. I just wonder if my usage justify the need for more than what the base model offer.

I'm looking for all the feature I could use but I don't know of. I mean I didn't know that the Core I7 "overclocked" itself automatically. Maybe I could miss some interesting feature on a motherboard because I don't know of it.

I'm not bothered by spending a couple more bucks on a board that offers a feature I could use but don't know of. 🙂

 

[vfouquereau]

Pretty much every review I see completely skips the 860 and 870 and only compare the I5 750 to the I7 920.

Why are everyone ignoring the I7 8x0 ? Are they worth it in the end?

Should I just go for the I5 750 if I plan on getting a 1156 socket and if I really want the I7 experience just grab a 920 ?