Help deciding CPU

[StormlessWolf]

Hello All !

I am new to the forum, and its been awhile since I've upgraded my computer. I am stilling running an old P4 3.0ghz which is holding its own incredibly well, however, its time for a upgrade. I've been loosely following the release of intels new chips:the clarksdales, nehalems, and the 1156 socket (i5's). I really am confused in sense as to which path to go, as I am in a bind in two ways: I don't wanna spend anything more than $1,200 at the most and need something that's gonna be welcome to upgrades down the road. I mainly use the computer for moderate gaming, web surfing and school and occasional photo editing.

Also, for kickers..anyone have experience with those ATI Eyefinity cards, in terms of software and performance vs. stand alones? Ive seen some wicked setups and was just curious.

upfront, I thank you all for your input.

Cameron

 

[EXT64]

Well, for that budget, i think the i5 would be an excellent choice. However, in terms of future upgradability, I am not sure (it is hard to predict the future of computers). I know the 1366 line will be around for a while, but that is more costly.

As for Eyefinity, I have a capable card but not the monitors. From what I have heard, compatibility is still an issue in some games (the tech is still new) and in crossfire, however most who have it love it, so i suppose that is a good sign.

 

[StormlessWolf]

Well, for that budget, i think the i5 would be an excellent choice. However, in terms of future upgradability, I am not sure (it is hard to predict the future of computers). I know the 1366 line will be around for a while, but that is more costly.

As for Eyefinity, I have a capable card but not the monitors. From what I have heard, compatibility is still an issue in some games (the tech is still new) and in crossfire, however most who have it love it, so i suppose that is a good sign.

Thanks EXT64. I share the same consensus on the fact that we can't predict the future with computers. It seems that, from doing some more digging on Toms Hardware, that the difference between i5's and 1366 i7's is the absence of hyper-threading and the on die PCI-Express lanes limiting the performance of a SLI or Crossfire setup. After pricing out an i7 system compared to an i5, it was around $120 difference...so I think I will just save a bit more and go for the 1366 socket.
I am also borderline on switching from ATI over to Nvidia...I just have been a ATI supporter for so many years it's sorta hard to stop. I just saw the article for the 5850 and its a damn beast..I couldnt believe the results! In your opinion, EXT64 and others, is the 5850 really worth the moolah? I play most my games medium to high, but I keep the resolution adequate-no higher than 1920x????. Thanks so much!

Cameron

 

[mfarrukh]

From a $320 price point view, 5850 isn't worth the money
Nut
5770 CrossFire for the same price perform on-par with $4005870
This makes more sense


LGA 1366, you only wanna buy it if you are going to buy 6-cores CPU(Which I know you wony)

I' say A i5-750 paired with GigaByte P55-UD4P and Corsair 4GB will be AWESOME.
And you'll have plenty left for the Graphics cards


What do you say?

 

[StormlessWolf]

From a $320 price point view, 5850 isn't worth the money
Nut
5770 CrossFire for the same price perform on-par with $4005870
This makes more sense


LGA 1366, you only wanna buy it if you are going to buy 6-cores CPU(Which I know you wony)

I' say A i5-750 paired with GigaByte P55-UD4P and Corsair 4GB will be AWESOME.
And you'll have plenty left for the Graphics cards


What do you say?

hmm..well the thing is down the road, i don't wanna have change out motherboards and I am not sure the longevity of the i5 line. I've been seeing a few people utilizing the Gigabyte P55-UD4P...I heard bad things about Gigabyte in the past and have always been using ASUS. I am open for feedback though as anything can change.

 

[mfarrukh]

The GigaByte P55-UD4P had won the best in the class motherboard award by toms hardware. So dont hesitate

 

[StormlessWolf]

The GigaByte P55-UD4P had won the best in the class motherboard award by toms hardware. So dont hesitate

hmm..I will have to read on that. I will keep it in mind man, appreciate the input. Only problem is its unavailable on newegg.com right now lol. I am not bias toward one manufacturer than another, I just an soo comfortable with ASUS motherboards but, sometimes change is good..especially with its price point...

 

[EXT64]

I used to be an Asus person, then for no real reason I went Gigabyte and never looked back. Both are solid manufacturers, so just compare the features/price of each board and decide from there.

There is also an A version of the Gigabyte board, which adds USB/SATA 3, but otherwise is fairly similar (some other improvements).

As for the 5850, I went from a 4850 to it and was really impressed. I don't like the extra complexity Crossfire adds, so I normally stick to single cards (though these days it isn't as big of a deal). I got my 5850 for $300 a while ago and it had a free game (Dirt 2, which I actually enjoyed) so I thought for that price it was reasonable. If it has changed since then I don't know if it still is a good deal.

 

[Raidur]

Asus ftw!

Gigabyte has some very well priced USB3 / SATA 3 boards though. (and is still a great brand)

+1 i5 750

That'll leave you room to upgrade, but you won't need to for a good while. Lots of OC headroom there too so you'll be able to squeeze out a good amount of power when the i5 @ stock isn't enough for ya anymore.

 

[EXT64]

Quick note: if you want USB3/SATA3 on a 1156 board, go with Asus. They have a better way of getting around the P55's limitation than Gigabyte does (IMO). Gigabyte takes half of your Graphics bandwidth, while Asus joins the P55's lanes together (which results in slightly lower USB/SATA 3 performance, but no loss of Graphics BW).

 

[StormlessWolf]

I used to be an Asus person, then for no real reason I went Gigabyte and never looked back. Both are solid manufacturers, so just compare the features/price of each board and decide from there.

There is also an A version of the Gigabyte board, which adds USB/SATA 3, but otherwise is fairly similar (some other improvements).

As for the 5850, I went from a 4850 to it and was really impressed. I don't like the extra complexity Crossfire adds, so I normally stick to single cards (though these days it isn't as big of a deal). I got my 5850 for $300 a while ago and it had a free game (Dirt 2, which I actually enjoyed) so I thought for that price it was reasonable. If it has changed since then I don't know if it still is a good deal.

Cool! thanks for the FYI man. I am on the fence with the videocard selection-gonna keep my eye on the list to see what pops up. 5850's are around 320-330 right now, a bit more than Id like to spend. However..from Tom's Hardware's article it does deliver: beating SLI'd 275's and on par with a 295GTX...insane. As they say, "You get what ya pay for!"

Asus ftw!

Gigabyte has some very well priced USB3 / SATA 3 boards though. (and is still a great brand)

+1 i5 750

That'll leave you room to upgrade, but you won't need to for a good while. Lots of OC headroom there too so you'll be able to squeeze out a good amount of power when the i5 @ stock isn't enough for ya anymore.

True...I heard from reviews that it OC's very nicely..if ya got an aftermarket cooler (which I will be using) lol. I am running a P4 3.0 still from 4 years back ..so I think Id live with an i5 for a few years haha!

Quick note: if you want USB3/SATA3 on a 1156 board, go with Asus. They have a better way of getting around the P55's limitation than Gigabyte does (IMO). Gigabyte takes half of your Graphics bandwidth, while Asus joins the P55's lanes together (which results in slightly lower USB/SATA 3 performance, but no loss of Graphics BW).

Nice...is SATA3 just coming out? or is it the new standard?

Thank you all for your input! your making this decision much easier!

 

[EXT64]

Just coming out. I believe these are the first boards to have it, and I don't know of anything that uses it yet.

 

[StormlessWolf]

Just coming out. I believe these are the first boards to have it, and I don't know of anything that uses it yet.

cool, I am not gonna worry about it right now but I am sure in the next few months it will be all over the place lol. Is it basically the next multiple of SATA 2, meaning its 6gb/s vs. 3? Thanks for all your help, its much appreciated .

Cameron

 

[StormlessWolf]

Also, I am a bit confused on how the memory setup works with the i5's vs. the nehalem cores. I am under the impression that the P55 allows the motherboard to utilize 2 DIMM slots to get the full range of DDR3 (as I know the 1366's use triple-channel)? In other words, is running DDR3 through 2x2 DIMMS vs 3x2 DIMM have any correlation to its performance?

Thanks again!
Cameron

 

[verndewd]

with that cash id do an i7

triple channels have more bandwidth, not sure about latentcy.those i5's are pretty cool but i7 is faster. youll be using your old dvd, case ,psu, mouse ,kb, os?

what is reuseable in your current rig? give us all the components

 

[hansen_chicken]

i have an i5 on imac, its pretty fast with the turbo boost

 

[verndewd]

I see they bench very well. nice chips.

 

[StormlessWolf]

with that cash id do an i7

triple channels have more bandwidth, not sure about latentcy.those i5's are pretty cool but i7 is faster. youll be using your old dvd, case ,psu, mouse ,kb, os?

what is reuseable in your current rig? give us all the components

I am going to completely rebuild this puppy from scratch-giving this current rig to my sister. I was just going to upgrade the core, but I am at the point where its just easier to start over and I want my own rig lol. Current rig is a P4 running DDR2 800 ram with a X1800XT videocard on XP 32-bit, so nothing really to salvage.

After pricing out an i7 machine for the hell of it..I flew past my budget before I got to the videocard and OS. After witnessing this, I threw the budget out the window and am going to keep an eye on things...especially with the new Nvidia 300 series.

My mind is a revolving door when it comes to anything technical-jeeps, computers, etc. What's your guys input..again. I believe an i7 920 and a great motherboard is the way to a long, prospering future. I dont want to be thinking a rebuild in a year.

Thanks for bearing with me! You are all an awesome help!

Cameron

 

[verndewd]

hmm well that changes things a bit.
really if you want a great gfx card you might consider an AM3 amd to cut prices, but if youre stuck in intel the the i5 is where youd go, it is a monster chip and amd just doesnt compete right now and with the right mobo a later cpu upgrade would rock.

Id base the build on the mobo if i were you and price from there. get the latest socket so an upgrade path is clear. win 7 64 is pretty damn cool as you can beef the hell out of your ram and run mixed gfx cards.

as far as cases thats like the big question, you want a great psu but does it need to be in a spendy case. 22" monitor at least imo my 20 is not big enough.

and anymore a 1tb hdd is like primary at least for me it is doing phoroshop and all. I could do 4 1tb's and be happy.or 6 one for each os and then a backup for each and a spare backup making 7.

what are you doing mostly on this pc?

 

[StormlessWolf]

hmm well that changes things a bit.
really if you want a great gfx card you might consider an AM3 amd to cut prices, but if youre stuck in intel the the i5 is where youd go, it is a monster chip and amd just doesnt compete right now and with the right mobo a later cpu upgrade would rock.

Id base the build on the mobo if i were you and price from there. get the latest socket so an upgrade path is clear. win 7 64 is pretty damn cool as you can beef the hell out of your ram and run mixed gfx cards.

as far as cases thats like the big question, you want a great psu but does it need to be in a spendy case. 22" monitor at least imo my 20 is not big enough.

and anymore a 1tb hdd is like primary at least for me it is doing phoroshop and all. I could do 4 1tb's and be happy.or 6 one for each os and then a backup for each and a spare backup making 7.

what are you doing mostly on this pc?

mostly it will be used for gaming and everyday computing. storage wise it looks like a velociraptor and two 500gb drive in raid 0 or 1. going to definitely run dual 22" lcds as i have a 19" now and its small. i dont go for the best gfxcaed as the tiers change too fast so prolly a 275 gtx supeclocked ed at the most...what ya think? down the road i will run an sli setup so a great case and psu are nexessary in my mind. lookin at HAF 932 blue edition..any thoughts?

 

[verndewd]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213 spendy but very nice how about intels latest socket mobo ?

 

[StormlessWolf]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213 spendy but very nice how about intels latest socket mobo ?

Its one of the nicest cases I've come across in awhile...nothing better than a well ventilated case! Are speaking in terms of an actual Intel motherboard or in regards to what CPU line I've decided? I never took a look at Intels boards...something I should look at? Thinking it over and looking at the difference between the i5's and i7's, its pretty nominal when it comes down to future longevity. The i5's sure are a monster CPU, however, I feel the nehalem cores offer much better performance and the X58 motherboard lines offer better longevity in terms of sockets down the line.

I was looking at this motherboard (although it may be overkill): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614 . I normally don't get into overclocking my hardware, but I am looking to do so a little with my new build. Nothing serious, I wont go past 3ghz. Way I look at it, "you get what you pay for".

Thanks!
~Cameron

 

[blackhawk1928]

^i7 920 is good and all, but your usage won't really take advantage of the few advantages that 1366 does have...memory bandwidth, more memory, and higher PCI-slot bandwidth.
-If you're a gamer, save yourself money and take 1156. just because you get a 1366motherboard doesn't mean it will support future 1366 socket processors like the new hexacored i7's or i9's...whatever. The processor support really depends on the motherboard itself, you'll have to upgrade a new chances are. Also newer processors for the 1366 aren't going to be cheapies low ends like the i3's, they are going to be wallet raping monsters being wayy over 500 possible over the 1000 range. Are you willing to spend this money?

1156 was just released and is a very popular socket at a good price range and has plenty of power in it, it will be overkill for your needs anyway.

-Anyway decide what you want and i we'll put a build up for your to customize and tweak.

 

[verndewd]

sexy mobo ; thing about top end mobos is they look great and play nice. I want that mobo myself

 

[verndewd]

^i7 920 is good and all, but your usage won't really take advantage of the few advantages that 1366 does have...memory bandwidth, more memory, and higher PCI-slot bandwidth.
-If you're a gamer, save yourself money and take 1156. just because you get a 1366motherboard doesn't mean it will support future 1366 socket processors like the new hexacored i7's or i9's...whatever. The processor support really depends on the motherboard itself, you'll have to upgrade a new chances are. Also newer processors for the 1366 aren't going to be cheapies low ends like the i3's, they are going to be wallet raping monsters being wayy over 500 possible over the 1000 range. Are you willing to spend this money?

1156 was just released and is a very popular socket at a good price range and has plenty of power in it, it will be overkill for your needs anyway.

-Anyway decide what you want and i we'll put a build up for your to customize and tweak.

I dont think so, i think hes at around 800 with the case mobo and cpu and thats a roch solid place to start and evolve, save up for the uber beast and use the god given ebay to ditch the steps