New system

[crysis24]

hi guys this is my pc spec at the moment:

msi p7n sli platinum @ 1333mhz
intel core 2 duo E8400 3.0ghz @ 1333mhz
4gig ddr2 800mhz geil black dragon gaming memory
evga gtx260
x fi titanium fatality pro pci-e
zalman 9700nt cpu cooler
250gig sata2
160gig sata2
320gig sata2
antec 900
tt 750w tough power psu
lg 22" w lcd
logitech g51 speakers
logitech mx5500

this is the spec that i want to get:

msi eclipse sli
intel i7 920do
6gig ddr3 tripple channel patriot memory 1600mhz
evga gtx260 x2 sli
x fi titanium fatality pro pci-e
zalman 9700nt cpu cooler
250gig sata2
160gig sata2
320gig sata2
antec 900
tt 1000w tough power psu
samsung 24" w lcd
logitech g51 speakers
logitech mx5500

im a huge gamer so would the cpu, mobo, ram and gpu give me better results overall in my games?
im running vista ultimate as well.

any help would be greatly appreciated as i would like to get the parts a.s.a.p.

 

[aford10]

In most games, the higher end dual cores, such as the e8400, will perform similar to the i7 920. You wouldn't see much improvement from the cpu, yet. As games improve, they will start to utilize more than the 2 cores.

For $290, you could get a better quality board than the msi. Asus p6t v2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365

 

[Oakley707]

Why not overclock your CPU? You could get 3.6 Ghz pretty easy and it would most likely give you the best increase in frames. The i7 is kind of a lateral move in gaming. Obviously the SLI would help....

 

[aford10]

^ exactly. You already have the cpu cooler, may as well use it.

 

[Oakley707]

^+1

 

[xthekidx]

Yeah no point in doing the CPU upgrade unless you are a huge fan of FSX. The E8400 is one of the best gaming CPU's out there. You can get to 3.6 easy, quite possibly over 4ghz if you MB can handle it, I don't know how that MSI board will OC though. DDR3 ram would make little to no difference in gaming. Just add another GPU to your current rig and oc a little bit and you should be good for a couple more years.

 

[crysis24]

xthekidx you have a i7 920 , do you use ur machine for gaming? im basically upgrading as im giving my old mobo,cpu & ram to my dad as he has a old pentium d machine and he is struggling to play the latest games on his machine!!!!!

 

[aford10]

The i7 is no slouch in games. It just won't perform much better than your e8400 with current games.

 

[xthekidx]

xthekidx you have a i7 920 , do you use ur machine for gaming? im basically upgrading as im giving my old mobo,cpu & ram to my dad as he has a old pentium d machine and he is struggling to play the latest games on his machine!!!!!

I do use my PC for gaming, but that wasn't the reason I got an i7. My fiance is an AV nerd and does video editing on it, so it gets used to its full potential. Otherwise I probably would have gone with a Q9550 or E8500 (PII wasn't around when I built my current PC, its also a great option for gamers).

If you are alright with spending the extra money on a new core of your system and have a place for the old parts to go (very noble of you to donate your parts to your pa) then by all means build an i7. Just don't expect a huge jump in performance vs your current setup. The increase in performance will come from getting the second video card, not the CPU or Ram upgrade.

 

[crysis24]

thanks xthekidx , at least i kno that id get the performance using sli which was my main concern, at least the cpu and ram will be there for future as game devolpers may eventually support multicore cpu's.

 

[crysis24]

also do you think that the zalman cnps9700nt with converter kit will be a suitable cpu cooler for the i7 920 even if i decide to overclock?

 

[xthekidx]

Yeah should be alright, as long as you don't want to get to 3.6+ghz. If you do then I would get a better cooler. My CPU get to about 70C with my V8, which is a better cooler than the CNPS 9700. The i7 can go to a higher temp, but I don't want to push my chip, and I don't have A/C so summer will raise my temps.

 

[Outlander_04]

why not oc the e8400

add the second gtx 260 since you have an sli board
and buy the 24 inch monitor

If that doesnt do it for you then start thinking of updating cpu/ram/mb etc

 

[crysis24]

Yeah should be alright, as long as you don't want to get to 3.6+ghz. If you do then I would get a better cooler. My CPU get to about 70C with my V8, which is a better cooler than the CNPS 9700. The i7 can go to a higher temp, but I don't want to push my chip, and I don't have A/C so summer will raise my temps.

if i wanted to hit 3.6ghz on the i7 what cpu cooler do u recommend going for to keep it nice and cool, i have a antec 900 case btw.

 

[xthekidx]

Xigmatek S1283V Dark Knight

 

[Outlander_04]

did you see nVidia recommending gamers DONT buy i7 last week?

They dont think its good value since it doesnt give you higher frame rates the way a better gfx card would

 

[xthekidx]

did you see nVidia recommending gamers DONT buy i7 last week?

They dont think its good value since it doesnt give you higher frame rates the way a better gfx card would

Yeah they want you to buy your more expensive hardware from them rather than intel

The CPU matters much less than the GPU for gaming performance, but if you want to give your old CPU/MB/Ram to your father and are OK shelling out the cash for the i7, then go for it. You will see some improvement over the E8400, but not a lot. Newer games will see much more improvement than older games. Older games would likely run faster on the E8400, since they are more dependant on core speed, and cannot use more than one core.

 

[micky_lund]

so for OCing the i7 920 to 3.8ghz, the Xigmatek S1283V Dark Knight is the best? or should i go 'slightly' more expensive?



P.S. dont annoy me for making a new thread, i have like 8 and they never get answered

 

[Helloworld_98]

you can get better but not much better for a cooler.

Go on frostytech and choose one of the ones in the top 10.

 

[aford10]

so for OCing the i7 920 to 3.8ghz, the Xigmatek S1283V Dark Knight is the best? or should i go 'slightly' more expensive?



P.S. dont annoy me for making a new thread, i have like 8 and they never get answered

It's probably the best price/performance cooler.

 

[Helloworld_98]

^ except the titan fenrir, if you can find one, £30 and it's the 2nd best cooler.

 

[xthekidx]

^ except the titan fenrir, if you can find one, £30 and it's the 2nd best cooler.

Yes unfortunately they are not available on this side of the pond

 

[micky_lund]

u think its hard in the US? im in aus, and it all costs about 1.4usd to aud, then an extra 0.1usd for post, ends up being around 1.25 TIMES the normal us price, then converting to aud