PRSF

Hey guys

As some may know im building a new computer for myself, already have the PSU (toughpower 850w) and have almost decided with the P5Q Deluxe and an E8500, however with the release of the new Core i7 im hesitant (even though its fairly expensive right now)

My three debates, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad or Core i7.

I'v been reading non stop literally for the past week, I know dual cores at this time are faster in many regards because of the software, however iv been seing some new games (ex. GTA4) will aparently take advantage of quad cores and since the i7 series is only quad cores I can only see the software supporting quad cores more and more very quickly.

I'v worked the price difference between a P45 setup and a Core i7 to be somewhere around $400 just for the mobo and processor, plus another $100-200 for the RAM depending if I go tripple channel right away or dual.

I had planned to get a dual core right now and upgrade to a quad core in maybe a year or so but it just kinda makes me feel uneasy dumping all this money into a soon to be thing of the past.

I'd rather wait 6months or so for the i7 to have bugs worked out and the price to come down etc however I won't have my current computer in another few months and need to build another one unless I want to be compuless for months after.

You can only decide so much from reading without asking so here I am asking you guys (which have been great) to help me out a little and make a final decision I can be happy with.

I'm not the kinda guy that likes to upgrade every 6months or even every few years for that matter but with this new line of motherboards/processors coming out im not sure if i'll feel the need to get rid of the system I was planning on building sooner than later

I had basically decided to stay with a DDR2 motherboard for the cost and performance etc however atleast if I was to get a P45 DDR3 I could use that memory and just swap the board and cpu for an i7.

I want to be able to play some new games for a while, GTA 4, Starcraft 2 and others, basically a decent gaming rig, web usage etc (though I know web usage doesn't take much lol, as here I am with an Athlon 1900+ going strong), plan to buy the new Sapphire 4870 100259-1GL.

Thanks for the help in advance, this place is great

Take care

wrench97

I don't see games fully using a quad for at least 4 years,
Some tricks in the mean time yes using 70% on 1 core and 10%,5%,5% is smoke and mirrors not programing to use the full potential of the cpu, not all data can be simultaneously processed a lot of it requires string 1 to precessed before string 2, so your talking about a total rewrite of existing code base not going to happen in this economy.
then you have to factor in the size of your target market if you optimized for quads only your looking at what less then 10% of the gaming market???? That's like programing a game that will only run on a HD4870x2.

I think your looking at next fall to see prices and performance equal the ratio we have now from what I've seen the gain on the first i7 core on a $450 MB with $300 ram just beat a E8500 on a $190 P45 board.

I would build now and probably be able to change the mb, ram, cpu in a year to a year and a half doing both builds for less then a i7 build now if you sell the 1st one.

PRSF

Thanks for the quick reply man, yea i'll probably stick with my original decision. I suppose by the time quad cores are really being used it will be cheap enough and worth it just to go straight to a core i7 instead of upgrading to a 775 quad
also no real reason to go DDR3 just for the fact I could use it in the core i7 setup as that will be cheaper then, so thats fairly straight forward

not sure if i'll just replace the board, cpu etc and sell those or sell the entire unit and build another but ill decide that when the time is right

thanks for the kick back on the right track i needed

peace

wrench97

The DDR3 that will fit in the current p45/x48 is not the same voltage spec as the socket 1366 i7 x58 board so that would not be of any use to you anyway.

PRSF

excellent, did not know that, knew the core i7 can't handle high voltage RAM (greatly reduces life span of cpu etc) but thats cool, thanks

one other question, should I be looking at an aftermarket cpu cooler or stick with the stock intel one, as iv said I dont have any real plan to OC, maybe 400 x 8.5 but that would be max

I know personally the intel 775s are a PITA to install, stupid turn clip design IMO, thats one reason I was wondering, does the stock cooler do a good job in your opinion?

linderman

wrench said it all ....... BRAVO didnt leave one stone unturned

besides the reviews coming out right now about I7 are calling the I7 "disappointing" or not nearly what everybody was hoping for ........ certainly not any improvement over P45's and such

linderman

everybody in the hardware world was hoping for a CPU that would woudl have just as big a revolution as the Core 2D did to its previous rivals ............... well that aint gonna happen!!

grimx133

Interesting comparison at [H] where they benchmark a new Core i7 965EE, a QX9770, and an E8500 using FarCry2. Page two has a chart where the two 4 cored cpu's blow away the E8500 at low resolutions of 640x480 and up. From 1600x1200 to the max it holds it's own. A 200 buck C2D and it competes with a 1500 dollar C2Q and a thousand buck Core i7. That isn't very hard math at all. http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/articl...50aHVzaWFzdA==

linderman

I didnt think so either ............. then throw in a $300.00 to $400.00 motherboard


along with some tri- sticks of over priced DDR3 ram ........... the result is you will have a wallet that wants to violently PUKE

Tumbleweed36

How do they say that????....Oh, I got it "fools rush in where Angels fear to tread."

PRSF

thanks for the replies guys, deffinately gonna wait on this one lol

any ideas about the cpu cooler, think the intel one will be fine?

linderman

if you dont want to overclock the stock cooler is OK ......... I hate those plastic cheesey push pins .................... but oh well

I far prefer the Zalman 9700 ....... I have about 6 of those stock coolers laying around ....... I dont bother with them ,,,,,,,, dont like all the pressure you have to put on a motherboard to get them engaged