The ideas and plan of attack ever changes lol.
Nip : i have the opportunity to grab a q9650 when i sort out my systems with the mates build … the main question for me would be … is the quad really worth getting … or my 8400 skipping along at 4ghz would be ample for the forseeable future.
Just trying to maximise the $$ as this build will be needing to last me a while lol.
A quad core is nice and all but whether it is going to make a huge difference to you game wise, I wouldn’t be so sure.
Seems that DA and Shattered Horizon both make good use out of the quads, as does gaming benchmarks like 3dmark 06 and vantage. No doubt it will be better in the long run, for future proofing if nothing else. You just have to ask yourself how long do you expect to go on the 775 socket before you upgrade to a 1156 or 1366. If that is still a couple or few years down the track, then I would grab the Q9650 (if the price is right), otherwise hold on to what you already have.
You know your system better than anyone else does, have a look at some benchmarks and see whether you notice any considerable gain in other games. If the gain is considerable for the amount of money then I would grab it. I was an early adopter of quad core processors (Q6600) and I have never wanted to go back to a dual even though the quads were of no real use back then. I would expect with in the next couple of years for games to really start making use out of 4 core CPUs as they seem common now.
yeah im gonna do a ton of reading as to how they o/c etc and performance gains etc …
If i was to get one … it would hold me in good stead for a considerable time with the 4870s slotted in …thats another thing … i reckon ill def need more juice if i had a quad humming away lol.
But my idea is to grab one of em … and then not have to worry bout i5/7/9 until prolly 2011 sometime.
And if i sort it out right … the q9650 upgrade might only be the cost of a psu.
wonder if anyone needs a corsair 620w psu ? ive got 2 lol
I’m sure you’ll find somebody that will want a corsair 620, hell I would grab one of them for the HTPC but I’ll pass. I can’t spend money on any unnecessary items until I have my next vehicle.
and thus the dilemma continues … as i have been reading up on the i7 D0 revision 920’s … WOW.
The i7 boards Nip … they are going to be compatible with the gulftown ?
so now the choice … spend a bit more and get i7 … or save a bit and stick with i5 idea lol.
I should have just not bothered and kept me amd 3000+ … less headaches imo ( bar the blurred chunky screen headaches)
Yeah az, the current X58 boards will be compatible, GB has already started releasing bioses for this reason. There are even a handful of guys at the XS forums that already have engineering samples of the i9s.
The i7 920 is easily the best OCing chip money can buy atm. I would already have one in my machine if I was still working full time, but as the i9s are only around the corner, I may as well wait, may even use this CPU for a couple more years.
The C0 revision i7s (like mine) OC a bit better than the 1156 socket CPUs due to being able to lock the PCIE frequency which is not something that can be done on a P55 board as the 16 lanes are provided via the CPU and not the NB (P55s don’t have a NB/SB), it means they generally need more voltage clock for clock than a C0. Obviously the newer revision will be better, but a D0 920 is the best thing anyone could possibly buy atm if you can justify the extra cost.
Edit: just saw a few screenies that showed a lockable PCIE frequency on the P55 boards, seems that you can lock it which wasn’t the case when the early reviews came out.
Hey nip just curious as to what overclocks the i7 920 are getting as i have seen the p55’s (i5 i7860) easily reaching 4.25 etc… I think the best overclocking chip performance/cost would have to be the i5 750…Just my 2 cents…
4.0GHz+ on about 1.1 Vcore, nothing can come close to that. If you really want to push them, most get to about 4.5 easily. The real sweet spot is the 4.0GHz mark though, some people get them there under 1.1V which is crazy low.
The 750 is easily the best bang for buck right now, but due to the voltage needed to make a 920 with HT on get to the same clock speeds, I’d be going a 920 every single time, with no doubt.
Yeah, that will be a real help to you, otherwise you would need to feed an absolute truck load of uncore voltage into the CPU whilst OCing as you wouldn’t be able to keep the PCI-E freq locked. I always thought that sounded like a backwards step when I read it before.
That’s one example I could find, my cpu wouldn’t have a hope in hell getting to that clock speed with HT on and with only 1.2 volts. I would need more like 1.4 and even then I would be pushing my like imo. Obviously there are golden chips and lemons, but on average a D0 920 clock for clock with any other HT enabled CPU will get to the same speed with considerably less voltage.
It’s not really a reason to run out and buy a new chip if you have decent cooling, though it is a nice bit of progression in voltage requirements.
yeah seen alot of +4ghz on the 1.2-1.25volt range …
will be looking at mobos tonight in serious detail … as the giga mid range mobos have been said to wall at 215 fsb (not that im fussed mind you) but just want to maximise the mobo if i choose that path.
The CF/sli angle is minimal… just a bonus … as the tests have shown the x8 lanes on p55 boards only loses 5-10% …
Yeah az, even the top of the line boards hit a wall as you get over 200. I think I’ve seen most get to 210MHz without a fuss but I would have to check. It’s still plenty for a 24/7 clock though. I only need 174Mhz for 4GHz, but I have a 940.
The only boards that really go any higher are the EVGA classifieds but you would need to be a full time bencher to get the benefit and use out of it. The thing is that for a 24/7 clock, your CPU and cooling will limit you far before the motherboard will with these chips.
Have a look at the P6T boards also, they are quite good, as are some of the normal EVGA boards. Since Gigabyte fixed some immature bios issues, their boards have been rock solid and remain my personal favourite. The UD5 is possibly the most popular X58 board about, the P6T deluxe is up there also.