i7 Build

RealistSpy

Hi,

Every once in a while I decide to build a pc gaming machine. I was wondring can you people help me debate on what parts to buy for my i7 build. This has to be quiet not noisy, price efficient and power.

I have a budget of €1500 which will be used next year for the new pc.

uberpixie

RealistSpy wrote: »

Hi,

Every once in a while I decide to build a pc gaming machine. I was wondring can you people help me debate on what parts to buy for my i7 build. This has to be quiet not noisy, price efficient and power.

I have a budget of €1500 which will be used next year for the new pc.

My question to you is why i7?

What do you intend to use the pc for?

If it is for web browsing, PC games etc.. stick with core2duo or quadcore in Socket 775. (there is little to no performance difference between a good dualcore and a i7 CPU in games...)

Hardcore multimedia content creation is the only area you will see a serious benefit to going i7 for now. I7 is amazing under properly multithreaded mulimedia applications.

It is €575 for the cheapest i7 CPU + motherboard on komplett for example. With another €120 for 4gig of very cheap 1066MHZ DDR3. (total €695)

You can get 4gig of DDR2 pc6400, a 3.0ghz dualcore core2duo, €180 motherboard and a radeon 4870 for €650.....

If you are gaming, your money will stretch much further with socket 775 for equal performance in todays games.


"What is more interesting to me than our quadcore performance is how well the dual core E8500 stacked up against both the quadcore processors. We can clearly see where FarCry 2 was dual core CPU limited until we hit the 1600x1200 mark with AA turned on. From 1600x1200 with 2xAA up in FarCry 2 I think it is safe to say the game is GPU limited in our GeForce GTX 280 configuration. There is room to argue about 1920x1400 0xAA still being CPU limited, but not much. From our results here we can say that the Core i7 at 3.2GHz is not as good a performer as the Core 2 at 3.2GHz in FarCry 2 and once you cross the 1600x1200 0xAA mark, you are going to have a hard time discerning the 965EE from the QX9770 and even the E8500 with this graphics card configuration."

http://hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTU4MCwyLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==
(have a pick through their articles on the i7, worth a read)

PogMoThoin

He's right, no advantage of going for i7 for just gaming. The i7 boards also will need tri-channel ddr3 ram, sold in 3 stick kits like the dual channel paired packs.

Solitaire

^ They're sooo right! :cool:

I love how ppl keep assuming the Bloomfield platform is for PCs... its actually an enterprise/server platform that will complement or replace the Xeon for high-end servers and functions like render farms, protein folding etc. Yeah, its being marketed as the next big thing for ultra-rich enthusiasts but its virtually irrelevant to us ordinary humans - Intel have already stated they intend on focusing on strengthening their business segment for the time being.

If you want to blow €1500 on a new gaming rig, then go with LGA775 and some half-decent graphics card(s). If you want good app/multimedia performance as well then go for a quad, if just games then grab a cheapie dual-core and use the savings to improve everything else. If you OC then bear in mind the need for a really good PSU and mobo, especially if you get aggressive with graphics card(s) to boot.

RealistSpy

Ah I wont lie you guys do have points so give me an idea of a good setup? something way better than my last setup:

Asus P5N32-E SLI, nF-680i SLI
8 Gib ram 800mhz
8800 gts sli
blu ray
intel e8400

PaddyTheNth

RealistSpy wrote: »

Ah I wont lie you guys do have points so give me an idea of a good setup? something way better than my last setup:

Asus P5N32-E SLI, nF-680i SLI
8 Gib ram 800mhz
8800 gts sli
blu ray
intel e8400

IMO you're not doing bad at the moment....an upgrade to a GTX 260/280 and you'd be good to go, depending on your HD maybe upgrade that to get a boost in loading times.

If you really want to spend the cash, get a QX9770 or an e8600, SLI a couple of these overclocked 280s, get a 750GB Samsung F1 for your Games installations, and a 50-inch HD TV to enjoy it all on

the_syco

And put it all in a Cooler Master. Have one, and (before my mobo died) it was ultra quite.

RealistSpy

PaddyTheNth wrote: »

IMO you're not doing bad at the moment....an upgrade to a GTX 260/280 and you'd be good to go, depending on your HD maybe upgrade that to get a boost in loading times.

If you really want to spend the cash, get a QX9770 or an e8600, SLI a couple of these overclocked 280s, get a 750GB Samsung F1 for your Games installations, and a 50-inch HD TV to enjoy it all on

Is 50inch not a little too big? I sold that rig ages ago it was too noisy. Plus it was starting to slow down. At the moment the only thing I have are the 2 hd consoles, a 37inch full hd and sony ht 1300 5.1 speakers true hd.

PaddyTheNth

RealistSpy wrote: »

Is 50inch not a little too big? I sold that rig ages ago it was too noisy. Plus it was starting to slow down. At the moment the only thing I have are the 2 hd consoles, a 37inch full hd and sony ht 1300 5.1 speakers true hd.

Yeah I wasn't being totally serious about the 50inch.

Games are starting to take advantage of >1-core processors, but I'd still go with a high-clock Core 2 Duo rather than a Core 2 Quad/i7 if it was just for gaming.

I'm not too familiar with nvidia-based rigs, but based on my research when I was speccing my own build a few months back I'd go roughly with this if I had your budget:

Antec P182 ~€130
XFX S775 nForce 750i ATX Audio Lan SLI ~ €150
e8500 ~€190
Samsung F1 750 GB ~€80
Xigmatek s1283 ~€30
Corsair 650W ~€90
2 * GTX 280 ~€820

Total: €1490

Most of that is priced off Dabs, so if you shopped around it would come out cheaper I'm sure...you'd want to check the length of the 280's in SLI mode to make sure they'd fit in the case.

That'd keep you playing the top games for a few years IMO.

In fact if it was me I'd probably only get one graphics card, get a second 750/1000GB F1 and an aftermarket cooler for the graphics card (accelero if its compatible) and save the rest of my cash.

RealistSpy

is the gtx280 worth it, putting this in mind that I would be using a 1200 x 900 monitor. or 1050max. gtx 280 or 2x 9800 gtx or should i go 1 HD 4870 putting in mind price and what you get.

For the CPU I have E8500 in mind aswell as Q9550+ if i can get 1 less than €300!

Anti

yup 1 4870 will be more then enough. Get a X2 if you want to keep it for a while.

PaddyTheNth

RealistSpy wrote: »

is the gtx280 worth it, putting this in mind that I would be using a 1200 x 900 monitor. or 1050max. gtx 280 or 2x 9800 gtx or should i go 1 HD 4870 putting in mind price and what you get.

For the CPU I have E8500 in mind aswell as Q9550+ if i can get 1 less than €300!

Sorry I thought you were gonna be using that 37inch HD...yea I wouldn't bother with the 280 then - 260 or 4870 if you are open to moving away from Nvidia.

Cuddlesworth

the_syco wrote: »

And put it all in a Cooler Master. Have one, and (before my mobo died) it was ultra quite.

Speaking from experience, the Antec 182 is a much quieter. TBH the Cosmos is built with a high end watercooling set up in mind.

RealistSpy

I might actaully go liquid cooling at the end, I just want to make sure I will need it you know. I hate wasting money last time i built a pc plenty of dutch was wasted. This is what I have in mind atm hopefully Q1 next year it would all be cheaper.

Core2 duo E8600 @3.33 €245
nForce 790i Sli €286
ocz mVidia SLi DDR3 1800MHz 2x1GB €130
Gainward Geforce 9800GTX+ 512MB Sli €344 // I dont know yet if I go ATI I change board
Corsair PSU 750w €113

other options are
i7 Quad Proccessor @2.66 €295
Core2 Quad Q9550 @2.83 €319

GA-EX-UD5 X58 DDR3 €309 // if I go for i7

Club 3D HD4870 512MB €243
EVGA Geforce GTX 260 896MB €301

RealistSpy

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5 - Socket LGA 1366 - Chipset X58 + ICH10R - ATX
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/1831201/art/gigabyte/ga-ex58-ud5-socket-lga-13.html#

G-SKILL Tri-Channel 3 x 1 GB DDR3-1600 PC3-12800 CL9 PC Memory
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/1987698/art/g-skill/tri-channel-3-x-1-gb-ddr3.html

INTEL Core i7-920 - 2.66 GHz - 2 MB L2 Cache, 8 MB L3 - LGA 1366 Socket (boxed version) + Artic Silver 5 Thermo Paste- 3.5 g Syringe
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/1929686/art/intel/core-i7-920-2-66-ghz-art.html


SAMSUNG SpinPoint F1 Desktop Class HD103UJ - hard drive - 1 TB - SATA-300
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/666541/art/samsung/spinpoint-f1-desktop-clas.html

How is this set?

Sqaull20

Your system is class as it is Realist.E8400, 8gigs of ram , dual 8800gts, 680i is still high end imo.

No need to waste money on minimal performance gains from Q9450, new mobo etc.Its all about the graphics

I would sell your 8800gts's and get 2 x 55nm GTX 260x2 ( GTX 295 ) which are due out in a few weeks.It will set you back €700, but it will give you the performance a fancy new Q9550 wont.

http://www.geeks3d.com/?p=2449

RealistSpy

That spec was my old pc which i dont have anymore. I am building a new one now so it might aswell be the lastest.

Sqaull20

You might as well go i7 then.Its only the mobo that is expensive.

Really no point paying €300 for old tech like quad's, your going to be spending big anyway, so you might as well get something few have.

Good value too when you think about it.

RealistSpy

Ok I am after talking with my bro works for a big computer company, his advise stick with quad because only database company really needs i7.

So I might go for Q9450 i saw a preowned one on adverts+x48 mobo.
Good Idea?

leninbenjamin

RealistSpy wrote: »

Ok I am after talking with my bro works for a big computer company, his advise stick with quad because only database company really needs i7.

well, to be a bit pedantic, that's not necessarily fair or true on the i7s. the problem with most home systems is that they are bottlenecked by the GPU. for graphics apps, the i7s do offer some substantial gains, primarily in relation to multiple GPU setups. unfortunately most GPUs, even in SLI or crossfire weren't designed with the bandwidth of the i7 in mind so they still cause a bottleneck while the i7 remains idle.

personally, even with the above in mind i'd still go for a 920 ahead of a Q9450, but that's primarily because i like my systems to last for a hellofa long time. but the Q9450 would be more than enough for now, even that is probably overkill. there's very few apps or games that will make full use of it.

Sqaull20

RealistSpy wrote: »

Ok I am after talking with my bro works for a big computer company, his advise stick with quad because only database company really needs i7.

So I might go for Q9450 i saw a preowned one on adverts+x48 mobo.
Good Idea?

I think you have made a huge mistake.€250 on a Quad and €180 on a now equally dated x48 is throwing money away imo.Not being smart, but you had a good system and you have spent a small fortune on minimal improvements.Intel are going to push Core i7 hard from next year on and you could be in the same situtuation as the guys who went fast single core instead of slower dual.

Blazer

The Op is gaming at 1200x900 or something close to this.
Frankly it's pointless upgrading your system if you're gaming at this resolution as you're gaining nothing. The high end cards are really for enabling AA+AF and at your resolution you won't be gaining fps.
It's only at 1920x1200 that you see the high end cards take off.
Even the 8800GT sli you have is wasted.
Upgrade your cpu maybe..but your board is not 45nm compatible so you'd need to upgrade this for the q9 series intel cpu.
You could upgrade your monitor to 24" lcd..1920x1200 and get a single 4870 or 4870X2/GTX260/280.
But the 4870 is grand at 1920x1200 no problems.

RealistSpy

people i have mentioned already that I have no pc the last spec with the e8400 was a previous one which i dont have. Nehalem is new what happens when westmare comes out next year ending with a different socket? It wont be socket 1366.

The reason why I am now going for the q9450 now is that i got a deal for 475 cpu+x48mob+zelman cooler+2gb ddr3 1600mhz ram.

leninbenjamin

RealistSpy wrote: »

Nehalem is new what happens when westmare comes out next year ending with a different socket? It wont be socket 1366.

I'm seeing so much guessing going on about Westmere i haven't a notion of what to believe, so i don't think i'd base any purchase decision on the back of it. From what i've read though, Westmere won't be seen in desktop chips til the second half of 2010 at the earliest, that seems to be the most consistent bit.

RealistSpy wrote: »

The reason why I am now going for the q9450 now is that i got a deal for 475 cpu+x48mob+zelman cooler+2gb ddr3 1600mhz ram.

sounds a pretty good deal.

Sqaull20

RealistSpy wrote: »

people i have mentioned already that I have no pc the last spec with the e8400 was a previous one which i dont have. Nehalem is new what happens when westmare comes out next year ending with a different socket? It wont be socket 1366.

The reason why I am now going for the q9450 now is that i got a deal for 475 cpu+x48mob+zelman cooler+2gb ddr3 1600mhz ram.

Its not a bad deal, but you are still spending alot.

Q6660, P45, 4gb ddr2, decent cooler from adverts/dabs would set you back 260 or so.The difference between that build and the one you have just bought would be be 3fps, you would gain that from turning off your firewall and virus scanner

Solitaire

The actual next-gen CPUs are based on the i7 core, but are not LGA1366. Intel has not released any mainstream i7 chips, and won't for probably another 5 months if its still holding to its tick-tock schedule. Nehalem is a server chip, and its long-term fate is subject to endless conjecture as LGA1366 is a stop-gap measure - Intel haven't yet finished finessing the new memory interconnect yet (its supposed to go thru DMI, not the MCH). Think of Bloomfield as this year's Skulltrail - designed for twin high-end Xeons and 24/7 enterprise use but capable of taking a couple of QX9775 as part of an obscene ultra-high-end performance PC that is anything but mainstream. Now substitute "SkullTrail" for Bloomfield, "LGA771" for LGA1366, "twin Xeons" for i7-920/940 and "twin QX9775" for i7-965. See any analogies forming here? Gamers trying to use cheap LGA771 Xeons for Skulltrail to bring down the price were considered barking mad, and gamers trying to use i7-920 on boards that cost more than a mid-high-end CPU are barking IMHO too :P

RealistSpy wrote:

Nehalem is new what happens when westmare comes out next year ending with a different socket? It wont be socket 1366.

leninbenjamin wrote:

I'm seeing so much guessing going on about Westmere i haven't a notion of what to believe, so i don't think i'd base any purchase decision on the back of it. From what i've read though, Westmere won't be seen in desktop chips til the second half of 2010 at the earliest, that seems to be the most consistent bit.

Okay, you're all mixing stuff up. The new mainstream platform is probably only 5 months off in its 45nm incarnation. This will use the Ibex Peak "not-a-northbridge" and DMI bus in place of the MCH for communications, running DDR3 in dual-channel rather than triple-channel and helping cut the CPU package pin count and possibly removing some bits of the QuickPath that sounded like it was gearing up for inter-CPU communications (in other words it sounds like only LGA1366 is gearing up for multi-CPU boards - no big surprise given its the server/enterprise platform) Obviously the mainstream platform is completely incompatible with the server-based LGA1366 (Bloomfield) which has always been the norm for Intel.

These LGA1160 desktop chips are codenamed Havendale (dual-core) and Lynnfield (quad) and the rPGA989 portable chips are rumored to be Auburndale (dual-core) and Clarksfield (quads for laptops!). All of the above will have twice as many logical cores as physical cores thanks to HyperThreading. I don't know if Intel will license SLi for these, and will probably keep it down to 2-way SLi/CF for these mainstream offerings, forcing ultra-performance gamers to blow obscene amounts on the server platform :rolleyes:

To (over)simplify, Westmere is a blanket term covering all the upcoming 32nm CPUs based on a Corei7 die-shrink. LGA1366 Westies (server chips) are probably 11 months away, and mainstream Westies are 17 months off (if Intel keeps to its own schedule). It is also believed that 6-core LGA1160 and 6- and 8-core LGA1366 will become the new high-end following the die shrink (although it is possible Intel will try to sneak in a "field prototype" 6-core chip before the die shrink, like what they did with the good ol' Q6600)

And so... back to RealistSpy: You sold that other PC huh? Start kicking yourself right about now :P Sorry... you should have waited until Lynnfeld hit the shops - simply because it might have been a much better price/performance option and/or have dragged Bloomfield prices down a bit. Maybe. Unless you can magic up a cheap gaming PC to tide yourself over you're gonna be stuck blowing a couple of grand on an early i7 build

RealistSpy

i am not building i7 atm. i needed somthing cheap to keep me waiting for the next batch of boards.

Solitaire

Just didn't know if you were resigned to the wait, or indeed having to spend yet more on trying to fill the gap until Ibex goes retail... :rolleyes: If reilly was right about your intended resolutions and you don't need a quad for the odd multi-threaded app session, you'd probably be best off cutting your losses and going for a cheapie €500 HWVS E5200/HD4830 jobbie (and the price goes down fast if you can recycle bits from other machines into it), skilfully OCing it and saving your pennies for LGA1160, then flog the "stopgap" PC at the end for a quick cash injection after you finish your "real" new PC.

Probably in May

kaimera

Unless you can magic up a cheap gaming PC to tide yourself over you're gonna be stuck blowing a couple of grand on an early i7 build

harsh where was this when I built a 920 machine a few weeks ago?!!

1570 incl delivery it cost me.

920
x58 msi mobo
4gigs ddr3 - add more at a later date
4870
500gig hdd
g15/mx518 combo
22" screen

Donald-Duck

Why would you spend ~2000 euro on a pc to play games, that a pc for 1000 euro would have the same performance on with the resolutions your using?

There is asbolutely no reason in the world to get DDR3 ram unelss you're getting an i7, which is also relatively pointless to get at the moment

RealistSpy

I got all my parts now under €800!!!