I5 or i7? (desktop upgrade for gaming)

[MARSOC_Operator]

i7 is not just about the cpu. It's also about a 4.8gt/s connection with the chipset vs only 2.5gt/s for i5. It's about triple channel memory bandwith which really shows the power of DDR3. Dual channel on i5 doesn't. It's about at least 36 pcie lanes and even more with the nf200 chip so you can always install a true dual x16 gpu setup. With i5 only the better 1156 mobo's have dual x16 and these even cost more than a standard 1366 mobo like the asus p6t.

LOL! :lol:

Dude, triple channel is absolutely WORTHLESS for gaming, worthless! Show me just ONE benchmark demostrating that triple channel have ANY advantage over dual-channel, show me just one.

And you can use dual X16 GPU on any standard 1156 mobo, what you can't is true tri-SLI or dual CrossfrireX, but you can't with most 1366 mobos, either.

 

[ares1214]

thats not ENTIRELY true. in concept, that is correct, and in practice, it CAN be correct, but due to blockage, airflow patterns, and cooling needs, going from the intake fan on the bottom to the rear exhaust fan USUALLY works best. However, in cases like the CM 692 advanced, you can have just about whatever air flow path you want, and with whatever fans you want.

 

[ares1214]

everybody listen. heres how it works. if he wants an upgrade path, get am3 955. if he wants single gpu performance with no upgrade path, get i5, and if he wants dual gpus, 6 gigs of ram, or lives near a micro center, get the i7.

 

[MARSOC_Operator]

once again, wrong. full towers are not for newbies and teenage gamers, fulltowers are for people who have the money, and want the space and cooling. mature games :lol: :lol: :lol: kinda sounds like an oxymoron to me. no, "mature gamers" buy what case fits their uses and budget. Lian Li makes great cases, but only a fanboy of them would say EVERYTHING else is bad and "mature gamers" use them.

Dude, I paid 350 on my case. Money isn't the reason I don't have un ugly full tower in my room. And I have all the cooling and space I need. I have 2 SSDs and 3 HDDs, crossfired GPUs and full-sized coolers/fans inside my discrete mid-tower case and I still have spare space left... why would I need more? There is no reason to use a full tower unless it's a business server.

And yes, mature games prefer classic mid-towers. You probably have a ton of cheesy neon tubes, acrilyc panels and Bones and Skulls painted on your teenage bad-ass rig! lol

 

[ares1214]

touchy touchy im just making a point you are speaking in absolute. have you take a survey saying ALL "mature gamers" (still get a laugh at that one :lol: ) NEED to have 350$ lian li cases to be in your imaginary club of "mature gamers"? You see, mature PEOPLE buy the case that fits their budget. Im not gonna spend 350$ on a case, but thats just me. Next is their needs. Some people want big cases for lots of air flow and lots of room, so people like small cases for compactness and space issues. Their wants come next, some people hate LED bling, some people hate plain bland cases with nothing on them. I sit in the middle, i dislike the look of a lot of Lian Li cases that follow the corsair 700D case style. Its just too cut and dry for me, but i also hate crazy LED cases, maybe 1 LED fan, thats it. What you like is what you like, but do NOT make it sound like people are "immature" gamers just for not buying a mid-tower Lian Li case. that is absolutely absurd.

 

[real world]

I'm partial, since I have an i5-750, but for gaming, you really can't beat it's performace to value.

 

[Nils]

Dude, I paid 350 on my case. Money isn't the reason I don't have un ugly full tower in my room. And I have all the cooling and space I need. I have 2 SSDs and 3 HDDs, crossfired GPUs and full-sized coolers/fans inside my discrete mid-tower case and I still have spare space left... why would I need more? There is no reason to use a full tower unless it's a business server.

And yes, mature games prefer classic mid-towers. You probably have a ton of cheesy neon tubes, acrilyc panels and Bones and Skulls painted on your teenage bad-ass rig! lol

Man if you spend 350 bucks on a midtower chassis, I would have expected from a "mature" gamer to have at least GTX 480's in SLi.

 

[MARSOC_Operator]

Man if you spend 350 bucks on a midtower chassis, I would have expected from a mature gamer to have at least GTX 480's in SLi.

I have 5870's in crossfire. I'd never have a nuclear power plant in my PC. I wouldn't touch a 480 with gloves...

 

[ares1214]

and lol, i dont know what your doin for 350$, id get one of these!:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225&cm_re=HAF_X-_-11-119-225-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139002&Tpk=corsair%20700d

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163161&cm_re=ft02-_-11-163-161-_-Product

 

[ares1214]

I have 5870's in crossfire. I'd never have a nuclear power plant in my PC. I wouldn't touch a 480 with gloves...

well theres a logical comment, first one ive hear you say! however, which a build like that, i am half expecting water cooled quad 470s.

 

[Nils]

and lol, i dont know what your doin for 350$, id get one of these!:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225&cm_re=HAF_X-_-11-119-225-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139002&Tpk=corsair%20700d

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163161&cm_re=ft02-_-11-163-161-_-Product

Yeah that Corsair chassis really looks good to me. Really something for a mature gamer :lol: :lol:

 

[ares1214]

yeah, but ONLY Lian Li cases are made for "mature gamers". I have acyrllic panels and skulls, and im a teenager, JUST because i dont have a 350$ Lian Li midtower. that actually goes down as one of the stupidest things ive heard. lets see, ill take $150-200 off that case price, and put it into the rest of my build, which actually does the performing, and ill get s PERFECTLY adequate case for my needs. and if you honestly believe the 692 advanced case is crap, you must judge a case of its price, thats what it looks like you did for the Lian Li! :lol:

 

[Nils]

yeah, but ONLY Lian Li cases are made for "mature gamers". I have acyrllic panels and skulls, and im a teenager, JUST because i dont have a 350$ Lian Li midtower. that actually goes down as one of the stupidest things ive heard. lets see, ill take $150-200 off that case price, and put it into the rest of my build, which actually does the performing, and ill get s PERFECTLY adequate case for my needs. and if you honestly believe the 692 advanced case is crap, you must judge a case of its price, thats what it looks like you did for the Lian Li! :lol:

Oh no I have a coolermaster so i'm a teenager too!!!

Luckily I don't have led lights in my case. Oh no!!! It does have a HDD and power led. And a mature gamer cannot have any leds, only infrared leds so he can se whether his pc is on or not with his mature gamer thermal optics. Then suddenly the inside of mature gamer lian li midtower looks red, although he hasn't added any super cool ati cards :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[electrizer]

Geez, I can see that quite a discussion has developed while I was away

Thanks for all the comments. I'll browse through eBay and internet generally in search for prices on i7 and i5. Problem is I don't have much info about what you guys are talking about here so I can't contribute.

I was thinking about sticking by the i5 due to lower price and my requirements. I don't do a lot of multitasking, don't do graphics, so I think that an i5 750 would be more than enough for me.

Cheers!

 

[Nils]

I apologize for quite messing up your thread. Discussion is over now, so if you have any questions left please post them here and I will be happy help you with them.

Nils

 

[ares1214]

also, if you dont understand the difference between the i7 and i5, heres pretty much it:

i7:
■ faster QPI, although nothing can take advantage of it
■On socket 1366, which will allow you to upgrade to cpus like the 970x, 980x, 990x and so on.
■it has more pci lanes, and therefore can run GPU's on lanes with faster speed. it can do easily 2 lanes at x16, which is the fastest there is, where as 1156 can usually only do dual x8 (although the difference is only 5%)
■triple channle memory, so you get 6 or 12 gigs instead of 4 or 8.
■more expensive motherboards
■it has hyper threading, which makes the OS read 2 threads for every 1 core, making it a virtual 8 "core". this isnt as useful as it seems, not much software uses it, and 1 thread doesnt equal 1 core, as they share resources.

i5
■slower QPI, doesnt matter
■doesnt really have an upgrade path
■it has less pci lanes, and therefore the max it can usually do is dual x8.
■dual channel memory, so 4 or 8 gigs.
■less expensive motherboards
■On scoket 1156
■doesnt have hyper threading, so its just an average quad core.

for games, hyper threading is useless, and if you arent doing dual cards, i5 is the way to go.

 

[electrizer]

There you go Nice and clear I should be happy enough without a dual graphic card. Maybe I will overclock it instead. I'm not a benchmark freak, what matters is to be able to play comfortably. I'm not a DTP guy, don't to graphics, don't produce music and although I'm not on a very tight budget I don't want to pay for something I won't use to the fullest.

BTW by the time I want to upgrade anything there will be new cpu's, new mobo's so I think that buying i7 just for the sake of its upgrade capabilities in not enough of a reason.

ares, what was that thing with dual channel memory? 4 or 8 gigs? What's the deal with that?

And Nils don't worry about that. That discussion was very informative to as I think I will need a new case and PSU as well so it's all good !

Thank you very much for you invaluable help guys!!!

 

[ares1214]

yes, new cpu's will be out, however basically everything that is out now is all that will be on 1366, i think 990x is coming soon though. and dual channel, so you either have 2 or 4 RAM DIMMS, triple channel is 3 or 6 RAM DIMMS. most RAM modules are 2 gigs, so its more or less either 4 or 8 gigs, although you can have 2-16 gigs technically.

 

[notty22]

yeah, but ONLY Lian Li cases are made for "mature gamers". I have acyrllic panels and skulls, and im a teenager, JUST because i dont have a 350$ Lian Li midtower. that actually goes down as one of the stupidest things ive heard. lets see, ill take $150-200 off that case price, and put it into the rest of my build, which actually does the performing, and ill get s PERFECTLY adequate case for my needs. and if you honestly believe the 692 advanced case is crap, you must judge a case of its price, thats what it looks like you did for the Lian Li! :lol:

LOL , I agreeS with ya !

 

[ares1214]

No, 350$ on a case i can understand if you dont know what to do with your money, its the thought that ALL "mature gamers" NEED to have a mid tower Lian Li, and just because i have a full tower, makes me a "teenager with skulls and acryllic on his case", thats what needs a therapist.

 

[neo88_88]

wow this thread is informative

 

[mdd1963]

...especially once it's reopened one year later!