Two rigs, buying one tomorrow, need help choosing!

[kronik2k]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Tomorrow

BUDGET RANGE: <£800

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, music production, downloading games etc 😛.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: www.overclockers.co.uk or ebay.co.uk

PARTS PREFERENCES: Best available

OVERCLOCKING: Yes, but not hardcore. SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes

MONITOR RESOLUTION: none yet


This i7 920 build

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail + World In Conflict PC Game
£212.98
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-280-IN

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard
£143.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-159-GI

Gainward GeForce GTX 260 Golden Sample "Core 216 55nm" 896MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) (Includes Terminator Salvation PC Game)
£133.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-104-GW

OCZ Gold 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 2000MHz PC3-16000C10 Low-Voltage Triple Channel (OCZ3G2000LV6GK)
£97.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-153-OC

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad-Crossfire PCI-E 750W Power Supply
£83.98
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-004-PP

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD6401AALS)
£53.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-244-WD

Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black (No PSU)
£44.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-101-AN

Samsung SH-S223Q/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM
£20.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-101-SA

TOTAL: £792.90

OR

This Phenom II AM3 955 BE

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail
£181.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-244-AM

Asus M4A79T Deluxe AMD 790FX (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard
£136.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-327-AS

XFX ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
£139.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-124-XF

OCZ Platinum AMD Edition 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual Channel (OCZ3P1600LVAM4GK)
£54.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-165-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1387

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad-Crossfire PCI-E 750W Power Supply
£83.98
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-004-PP

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD6401AALS)
£53.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-244-WD

Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black (No PSU)
£44.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-101-AN

Samsung SH-S223Q/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM
£20.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-101-SA

TOTAL: £717.90

Will the £70 I save be worth going towards a new 22" monitor or should I go with the i7 ?

For some reason I'm drawn towards these Phenom II AM3 955 BE's... ( last build was amd )

Going to be using Win7.

Probably going Xfire or SLI shortly after build.

I7 build is only £80 more expensive and by the benchmarks owns the Phenom II by like %30.

But the Phenom II has higher stock clock speed as I wont be overclocking the shiznit out of either. Just multipliers.

Need more feedback from you people.

Going to be ordering parts tomorrow 😀 !

 

[smithereen]

Well... you can't overclock a Core i7 920 with multipliers. I'm not sure which I'd pick, how much do you care about that eighty quid? You could probably get a system even cheaper by downgrading to AM2+.

 

[kronik2k]

Yeah true but im drawn to have a high spec tower for once in my life lol!

Don't really care about the £80 even though this £800 tower is gonna burn a big fat stinking hole in my pocket =\

IF you could have for free which would you pick ?

I notice u have the 720, whats it like on games ? You played Crysis with it ?

 

[tecmo34]

I would give the AM3 build a slight edge in gaming due to the better GPU. I give the edge to the i7 build for the "music production". Either build will be good for gaming. I lean more toward the i7 build for a couple of reasons:
1. Better CPU for encoding, music editing...etc
2. Crossfire & SLI on one board (only on X58 boards)
3. When clocked at the same speeds, the i7 is the better processor
4. I'm an Intel fan 😀

If you go with either build, look to switch out the Antec300 for the Cooler Master RC-690. It is worth the little extra money for the case over the 300.... IMO

 

[kronik2k]

Woot its tecmo

I'll have a look at teh cooler master now...

Out of stock lol 🙁

Is the RC690 a cooler case ? Temparature wise lolx.

 

[TheMan1214]

I'd the core i7 920 but there would only be a slight difference between the two as far as gaming performance goes. Mostly because of the GPU which you can always upgrade later. I'm also an intel fan too though.

 

[tecmo34]

The CM RC690 will be a cooler case, plus it is a little bigger and has better cable management than the Antec300.

If you want to get the cost down on the i7 build, drop your memory down to DDR3 1600 MHz. You don't need DDR3 2000 MHz memory.

 

[cjl]

I'd lean towards the i7, and save yourself some cash by going with DDR3-1600. Also, since the GPUs in both cases are about the same price, go with the 4890 for the i7 build. It's a faster card than the GTX 260.

 

[smithereen]

If I could have it for free, then the i7 in a heartbeat. Don't get me wrong, the 720 is a fantastic CPU, and it's served me very well, but the i7 is definately better. However, you are overspending on the AM3 system's RAM and motherboard.

AM3 Gigabyte 790X - 110 pounds.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-168-GI

If you want to level the playing field, you could through a 4850X2 or a 4870X2 into the AMD system - then you'd have a choice to make - Gaming performance or encoding performance? That's up to you.

 

[jitpublisher]

Yeah, as listed and priced, the AMD system is slightly overpriced.
But both are fine builds, I would be quite happy to have either one of them.
Between the 2, (and I am kind of an AMD fan) I would pick the i7 system.
My reasoning is that I do kinda prefer nVidia GPU's, and if I was in the mood to run mulitple cards, I would go SLI. Since I also believe that motherboards with nVidia chipsets are junk, that only leaves the i7 that will support SLI.
Either way, one advantage the i7 has it can do SLI or Crossfire either one, that is kind of a nice option to have.

 

[kronik2k]

Hmmmm got my cash ready now...

Thanks for help people, think ima try get the i7 build down cheaper !

If i get the i7 I'll go with 4890

Bah but the 955 is 3.2ghz stock the i7 is 2.66ghz stock, and im not really looking to overclock to the max ( e.g no extra cooling for a while ) its a hard decision lol.

For some reason AMD just sucks me in, even though the owner of AMD is an arsehole. ( think hes the guy on Apprentice the tv programme lol )

 

[Helloworld_98]

^ if you calculate the intructions per second though, at stock the i7 920 is only slightly behind for each thread against the amd 955, and that's with HT on.

 

[kronik2k]

Only got enough moneys for the 955, i prefer it too, even though i7 owns it ima get the 955.

Ordering now lol.

Super computer on the way woot

Thanks for help all !

Lets hope I dont blow it up by screwing a screw in the wrong hole on the Mobo r o f l.

 

[smithereen]

You're probably subconsciously thinking "Higher clock = better always", lol. Good luck.