What processor/chipset for gaming and overclocking, new build?

[The Sauce]

Following the forums and articles for the past few months it would look like i5/1156 would be the clear choice. I won't say money is no object, I like a bargain overclocker, but I have some cash to spend on this build and would not balk at a, say, $200-$250 CPU. Now I see reports of i3's overclocking like mad. Is i5 still my best bet, or should I be looking at i3's? Will there be 32nm chips without integrated graphics anytime soon? Can you get an i3, shut off the graphics, and use a PCIe card with it? Would that make sense to do?

Unless there are any compelling arguments to the contrary I was thinking I would get an i5/750 or 760 and an EVGA P55. Thanks for any opinions.

 

[Hey Zeus]

Following the forums and articles for the past few months it would look like i5/1156 would be the clear choice. I won't say money is no object, I like a bargain overclocker, but I have some cash to spend on this build and would not balk at a, say, $200-$250 CPU. Now I see reports of i3's overclocking like mad. Is i5 still my best bet, or should I be looking at i3's? Will there be 32nm chips without integrated graphics anytime soon? Can you get an i3, shut off the graphics, and use a PCIe card with it? Would that make sense to do?

Unless there are any compelling arguments to the contrary I was thinking I would get an i5/750 or 760 and an EVGA P55. Thanks for any opinions.

For gaming the 750 is the way to go even tho i have had zero issues gaming with my I3. Yes you can turn off the IGP in the bios

 

[Markfw]

Yes, why pay for an IGP and disable it ? Go for the 750

(Hey Zeuz, ignore this, I know you just "wanted" yours)

 

[Hey Zeus]

Yes, why pay for an IGP and disable it ? Go for the 750

(Hey Zeuz, ignore this, I know you just "wanted" yours)

It's all good mark. Kinda wish i could try out the IGP tho. Would ROCK at 4.8Ghz

 

[Plimogz]

Pardon my ignorance Hey Zeus, but is the reason that you can't try out the IGP that its frequency and that of the CPU are linked? and with the IGP being fabbed on 45nm it'll never be able to run at the same speeds which you can hit with the 32nm CPU?

Or is it for some other reason which I'm missing completely?

 

[cbn]

Following the forums and articles for the past few months it would look like i5/1156 would be the clear choice. I won't say money is no object, I like a bargain overclocker, but I have some cash to spend on this build and would not balk at a, say, $200-$250 CPU. Now I see reports of i3's overclocking like mad. Is i5 still my best bet, or should I be looking at i3's? Will there be 32nm chips without integrated graphics anytime soon? Can you get an i3, shut off the graphics, and use a PCIe card with it? Would that make sense to do?

Unless there are any compelling arguments to the contrary I was thinking I would get an i5/750 or 760 and an EVGA P55. Thanks for any opinions.

I would also entertain the thought of a LGA 1366 system.

In two months the Xeon 32nm quad cores (with 12mb cache) will be released. It might be that some of the lower bins go for ~ $250

Not only that, but LGA 1366 has 36 PCI-E lanes. This allows for a USB3/SATA 3 Add-in card later on while preserving full Crossfire potential.

 

[cbn]

i3 is also good choice.

I am pretty sure it is able to handle any game made today. (We have yet to see evidence to the contrary AFAIK)

 

[The Sauce]

I would also entertain the thought of a LGA 1366 system.

In two months the Xeon 32nm quad cores (with 12mb cache) will be released. It might be that some of the lower bins go for ~ $250

Not only that, but LGA 1366 has 36 PCI-E lanes. This allows for a USB3/SATA 3 Add-in card later on while preserving full Crossfire potential.

So those new 32nm chips will only run on a 1366? Then is there any reason not to go 1366 right now, other than cost?

 

[cbn]

So those new 32nm chips will only run on a 1366? Then is there any reason not to go 1366 right now, other than cost?

Yes the new 32nm quad/hex cores will only be available on LGA 1366. It is the better platform.

Furthermore it appears IPC is much better for gaming than Core i5 750 according to the Anno 1404 comparison in this thread--->http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2041543 (nevermind the title)

 

[Hey Zeus]

Pardon my ignorance Hey Zeus, but is the reason that you can't try out the IGP that its frequency and that of the CPU are linked? and with the IGP being fabbed on 45nm it'll never be able to run at the same speeds which you can hit with the 32nm CPU?

Or is it for some other reason which I'm missing completely?

No. The IGP will run at 4.8Ghz easily. You just need an H55 or 57 board to use the IGP. On the P55 you have to use a discreet video card ala one you put in the PCIEX slot

 

[mav451]

Grid and FC2 aren't really showing that much of a boost at all. Compare the 2.67 Gulftown (HT off) to the 750:

Grid:
100/112
95/110

FC2:
56/70
53/66.7

4-5% gains - not bad, but I don't think it's worth the additional platform cost unless you were already going x58 to begin with.

As for the Anno bench, there is something weird going on considering that the 920 at 2.66 is doing that much better. I would initially say triple channel of X58, but the 860 is doing just fine, so that rules out the P55 chipset. And with HT on/off not having an effect on the i9, I'm wondering what the heck is going on.

 

[mozartrules]

In two months the Xeon 32nm quad cores (with 12mb cache) will be released. It might be that some of the lower bins go for ~ $250

Not very likely. For $250 all you can get at present is an E5504, 2.0GHz with 4Mb cache that is really meant for 2 CPU systems that aren't CPU bound. A W3520 (~i7 920) at 2.66GHz and 8Mb cache is $310. The Clarkdale prices doesn't indicate that Intel will price these lower than the 45nm generation.

 

[Hey Zeus]

All that cache mmmmm

 

[cbn]

Not very likely. For $250 all you can get at present is an E5504, 2.0GHz with 4Mb cache that is really meant for 2 CPU systems that aren't CPU bound. A W3520 (~i7 920) at 2.66GHz and 8Mb cache is $310. The Clarkdale prices doesn't indicate that Intel will price these lower than the 45nm generation.

I have no idea how Intel will price the 32nm Xeons, but there is one SKU that might end up on the affordable side.

L5609 is a 40 watt 1.86 Ghz 32nm quad core/12mb L3 cache with hyperthreading disabled.

 

[The Sauce]

Ok so then if I am going 1366, which proc and mobo would you recommend. I haven't looked into this at all. Would I need different memory? Do i7's overclock well, i.e. is there a budget model that can be overclocked?

 

[cbn]

Ok so then if I am going 1366, which proc and mobo would you recommend. I haven't looked into this at all. Would I need different memory? Do i7's overclock well, i.e. is there a budget model that can be overclocked?

X58 uses triple channel DDR3. That means you should use three sticks minimum.

As far as boards go I am not sure. I would get one with 36 PCI-E lanes if at all possible. This way you could use a SATA3/USB3 card as well as two midrange video cards (HD 6770, HD6830, HD7770 or whatever) if bandwidth ever runs short on a single PCI-E 2.0 slot.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Rig2 in sig is a good 1366 platform. Now is actually a bad time to buy. Prices have gone up at MicroCenter from 200$ to 230$ for the i7 920; DDR3 1333 minimum is 169$ I bought mine for 129$ Then there is the Asrock X58 Extreme for 169$ which is a great overclocking Mobo - probably good up until 3.8Ghz but it can do higher with a max reported Bclock of 219 from the Anandtech review but being that it only have an 8 Phase pwr management system 3.8Ghz would be safe for longevity.

http://www.asrock.com/MB/overview.asp?Model=X58 Extreme

 

[The Sauce]

Yah I know it's a bad time but the time is right for other reasons.

 

[Hey Zeus]

Praying for some 32nm quad's for 1156.. PRAYING!!!!

 

[VirtualLarry]

No. The IGP will run at 4.8Ghz easily. You just need an H55 or 57 board to use the IGP. On the P55 you have to use a discreet video card ala one you put in the PCIEX slot

I think that you're wrong. The parts with an IGP, have a CPU core clock turbo frequency of like 3Ghz, but only a 700Mhz IGP. I think that if Intel wanted the IGP clocked up alongside the core clock, that they would. But I feel that there is some technical reason why they aren't. So I don't think that you would be able to get your IGP to 4.8Ghz.

 

[Hey Zeus]

I think that you're wrong. The parts with an IGP, have a CPU core clock turbo frequency of like 3Ghz, but only a 700Mhz IGP. I think that if Intel wanted the IGP clocked up alongside the core clock, that they would. But I feel that there is some technical reason why they aren't. So I don't think that you would be able to get your IGP to 4.8Ghz.

I meant the IGP would function perfectly at that speed

 

[RussianSensation]

If you are on a budget and don't have a Microcenter near you to get a better price on the 920 or 860, I would say go for Core i5 750 for $200 + $135-$160 mobo in the likes Gigabyte P55A-UD3 or Asus P7P55D-E. EVGA is good too. I would not get an MSI board over these 3 though.

So you have $90 savings on the processor vs. 860/920 + $25-$50 savings on the mobo over X58 and another $20-30 savings on the ram:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ll+eco&x=0&y=0

ECO line only requires 1.35V. This is probably the best DDR3 ram out right now. In general G.Skill kits this round provide great bang for the buck with low voltage requirements. If you don't know how you can benefit from 6GBs of ram over 4GBs, then you clearly don't need 6GBs of ram just yet. Plus you can always pick up more Ram for 1156 later (it supports 16GBs, more than enough).

Even if you consider the lowest savings you can get that's $135 over an equivalent 920 setup. Take this $$ and put it into an Intel SSD or get yourself a faster videocard.

Also, the good EVGA P55 board is the EVGA P55 FTW SLI edition. Since there is not a single compelling NV card out right now for the $, you are paying $210 for SLI option you won't use (are you seriously going to SLI GTX 260/275 with Fermi?). Getting 2xGTX 260 is also a waste since you can instead get a single 5870.

That's why I recommend you go for the other 2 boards I posted (any of these boards will more than max out the 750 on air cooling, so why pay more than $150 for a P55 board?).

 

[Dorkenstein]

How much faster than a Q9550 is an i5-750 or i7-920 in gaming? Q9550 is what I have, even if it isn't truly worth it I could still do it and sell my old setup to someone I know who needs it.

Also, if now is a bad time to buy, when does it usually clear up to be a good time? Thanks.

 

[IDontKnowU]

How much faster than a Q9550 is an i5-750 or i7-920 in gaming? Q9550 is what I have, even if it isn't truly worth it I could still do it and sell my old setup to someone I know who needs it.

Also, if now is a bad time to buy, when does it usually clear up to be a good time? Thanks.

I also have the same setup, Q9950 on an Asus mobo. Was looking to upgrade to either i5 or i7 series, but did some research and a lot of people said its not a big noticeable difference. Did anyone upgrade their q9550 to one of the newer processors?

 

[mav451]

Assuming you have the Yorkfield at 3.8Ghz+, you really won't be seeing enough of a difference from an investment now. I would wait to jump to an X58/32nm Xeon or wait for the Bulldozer. But as far as upgrading right now, I wouldn't.