I7 build for ~$2,500

[kemilyon]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This month

BUDGET RANGE: $2,500 +/-

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming (primarily Aion), movies/surfing, 3 years or so proof

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: only need pc and monitor, want to upgrade from 22" 1680x1050 to 1 or 2 24" 1920x1200 or 1920x1080

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg

PARTS PREFERENCES: See initial thoughts below

OVERCLOCKING: Doubtful, though I had good experiences with P5B deluxe paired with E6600 (most recent build)

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes, either now or later

MONITOR RESOLUTION: See "Parts not Required"

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I prefer the case to be large enough to allow good cable management and not be cramped, and as quiet as possible

Here are my initial picks:

Case: Antec 1200 or HAF 932
MOBO: ??
CPU: i7 920
RAM: ??
SSD: 60GB to run OS and Aion (OCZ Vertex?)
HDD: Spinpoint F3 "or" no SSD and Spin F3x2 in raid 0
GPU: 5870x2 or 5970?
PS: Corsair 850HW?
Monitor: ??
Optical/Blu-Ray: Will decide on my own at time of build

 

[Guest]

graphics are ok. nothin special. play some lfd2 if you wanna see some nice gfx.... THAT game is beautiful. Aion's not too hard on the system eiter... i'm usually running around 25% of my proc potential. it's a a little ram heavy.... but thats ok. if your building a comp with vista or 7, anything lass than 3 gb is just a waste of a computer system. ram is cheap, so you shouldn't be.

 

[darksupreme]

lfd2 is also just okay compared to other games out there lol and im talking about an mmo making really good looking graphics that can utilize most systems is alot tougher than just making a snazzy looking fps

 

[Guest]

meh. this is about a decent build for a comp. not a competition between which games are harder to produce. that being said, just cause the mmo is harder to make, doesn't mean it's gonna look better, or work the all parts of the computer more.

all in all decent system, i would reccomend it. besides games, using maya and switching between flash and photoshop is a dream. and it will keep up for a few years aleast.

 

[a4mula]

The i5-750 and i7-860 are radically different designs than the i7-920 processor. Intel has integrated the functions of the Northbridge chip, including PCIe support directly into the i750 and i860 processors. This allows these processors to perform better than the i920 by eliminating bandwidth bottlenecks within the system. Just take a look at how clean (No Northbridge) the P55 motherboards look compared to the X58 motherboards. Intel has hit a home run with the i750 / i860 architecture.
The i920 is old technology. It doesn't matter if the i920 system has X16 X16 bandwidth or uses triple channel memory, the P55 platform (i750 and i860) has better performance in nearly all applications as shown in the following articles:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3641&p=7
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i5-gaming,2403-4.html

The i750 and i860 CPU architecture is the future of computing. Eliminating the Northbridge and incorporating it into the CPU was genius because it decreased the bottlenecks in the system and decreased the cost compared to the old i920 / X58 system.

I expect the new i9 processors from Intel to incorporate many of these same radical design improvements, and when these systems hit the streets in a few months, the performance gains will be substantial. The new i9 processors and new i9 motherboards will be the king of the hill. However, just because the i9 processors use the 1366 socket, I would not assume that you can use them with the old X58 motherboards.

If you can wait a few months for the i9 processors to come out, and you have a fat wallet, these systems will be amazing. However, these systems were designed for commercial users, not home users, and will be expensive. In the meantime, rejoice in knowing that technology advances continue to lead to better performance at a reduced cost. This is good for the consumer.

How about we compare apples to apples.

p55 vs x58 using current gen GPU's

It's quite simple, if you're going with a multi-gpu solution (and don't feel like getting strapped to a nf200.. sli only), or you plan to upgrade to Gulftown the X58 is the ONLY choice. Asus has already released their compatibility list, so your argument there is moot.

There is no question as to which socket out performs which. The only question is if the extra money spent on an x58 is worth the performance you gain. If you run a single gpu, don't overclock, and will buy another mobo when the gulftown hits the streets then by all means buy the p55.

 

[Guest]

when it come to gaming you won't see much of an improvment.... even a quad core is over kill, as most games don't run on more than one or two threads. the multi-threade gaming revolution hasn't hit and might take a while with budget gamers spawning up everywhere, drooling over the xbox. so forcasting you want a 6 core 12 threaded processor is gonna be a waste for a few more years anyways. when it comes to the socket 1366 and 1156 (might ave ot hem wron, but you know what i mean) the 1156 really isn't tht much of a step down. the i7's that fit that socket are actually more overclockable, and the intel Turbo-boost is actually better on the smaller builds like the 860 i7.

only real difference you would see with 6 cores, even 4 cores with a gaming machine would be when your running multiple heavy weight apps, or using programs that do run on more than 2 or so threads. just because the processor is uber doesn't mean your system is gonna be fast. if anything the processor should almost be one of the last things your should be picky about.