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E8400-->i7 960 upgrade?

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polonyc2

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I'm feeling the upgrade bug but and was wondering if this upgrade makes any sense...I use my system primarily for gaming and currently have an E8400 with a GTX 260...would upgrading to an i7 960 make sense or would upgrading to an HD 5870 be better?

I'm thinking i7 960 (along with a new mobo and DDR3) only in terms of semi future proofing my system along with being able to add more memory and the ability to use either SLI and Crossfire...with my current mobo (Maximus Formula) I'm limited to Crossfire alone...plus the i7 960 has a default clock speed of 3.2 GHZ which is higher then my stock E8400 (3.0 GHZ)...so the clock speeds have finally caught up and surpassed it which should benefit gaming

so in reality by upgrading to an i7 960 I'm gaining several more component upgrades whereas upgrading my video card alone only affects 1 part...any opinions/recommendations?
 
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I wouldn't waste money on the 960.. get a 920 instead, bump the speed up, and save a few hundred while getting the same or better performance.
 
The E8400 is still a very capable processor. You are much better served buying the 5870 or 5850 instead... modern games are mostly GPU-bound so upgrading your CPU won't do much good.
 
I guess I'm just looking for an excuse to upgrade my CPU/mobo etc...the video card does make the most sense but I'm thinking that a stock 3.2 GHZ i7 960 might last me a very long time

especially since upcoming CPU generations will be focusing on more cores vs higher clock speeds...the i7 960 might be one of the highest clocked CPU's we see from Intel in a long time...and higher clocks is currently more important for gaming then more cores
 
It's your call. I'm waiting to upgrade my E8400 until we see some 32nm parts from Intel.

The 5850/5870 is relatively future-proof as Nvidia isn't expected to launch a worthy competitor until Q1 '10 at the earliest. It just seems like the more timely upgrade.
 
polonyc2 said:
The video card does make the most sense but I'm thinking that a stock 3.2 GHZ i7 960 might last me a very long time.
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polonyc2 said:
I'm thinking i7 860 (along with a new mobo and DDR3) only in terms of semi future proofing my system along with being able to add more memory and the ability to use either SLI and Crossfire.
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Are you talking about an i7 960 or an i7 860?
 
These are sounding like the words of a poster whose mind is made up already. The [H] is a bad place to have your desires affirmed. Just go ahead and do what you want. :)
 
TheQuestian said:
Are you talking about an i7 960 or an i7 860?
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i7 960 was released yesterday :D (corrected the typo in my first post)

quiet launch from Intel...the OEM i7 960 is available on Newegg for $590...seems pretty close to i7 975 EE speeds with half the price tag
 
Yeah, I did see that. They are just very different values, in my book. So, I take it from your excitement that you are not an overclocker?
 
polonyc2 said:
Are you saying that the i7 960 will not overclock well?
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Oh no, not at all. Just given that you have been running your previous processor at stock (3.0 GHz), it would seem that you are paying for clock speed, instead of overclocking manually.
 
TheQuestian said:
Oh no, not at all. Just given that you have been running your previous processor at stock (3.0 GHz), it would seem that you are paying for clock speed, instead of overclocking manually.
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I'm not a huge overclocker...I value stability over anything else...so yes having higher default clock speeds is definitely appealing to me...but I'm thinking that the i7 960 should be a decent overclocker as well...plus the i7 960 Turbo Mode by itself might offer a nice boost as well

but my main point is that I think that going i7 now will really stretch the life of the system...this build should be able to outlast Gulftown and maybe even Sandy Bridge and beyond...as it seems that more cores are what Intel is focusing on with future CPU generations...games will not be able to keep up at the same pace so a 4 core CPU might last for years
 
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polonyc2 said:
I'm not a huge overclocker...I value stability over anything else...so yes having higher default clock speeds is definitely appealing to me...but I'm thinking that the i7 960 should be a decent overclocker as well...plus the i7 960 Turbo Mode by itself might offer a nice boost as well

but my main point is that I think that going i7 now will really stretch the life of the system...this build might be able to outlast Gulftown and maybe even Sandy Bridge
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Heh, well I wouldn't do it, personally. An overclocked 920 is too great a value to pass up, for me. And the whole Gulftown conversation is another thread completely.

But you have your fun! :D
 
I've got my 8400 at 3.7ghz rock stable on air. Its a pretty good overclocker, you should give it a go. You'd be better off just getting the video card now and upgrading cpu/mobo/mem later. My setup isn't too far from yours. I just replaced my 260 with a 5870 and I'm glad I did. i7 can wait a little bit.
 
TheQuestian said:
Heh, well I wouldn't do it, personally. An overclocked 920 is too great a value to pass up, for me....
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the difference is around $300 from a 920 to 960...I guess the question for me becomes is the 960 worth the extra $300 in terms of value and performance

inotocracy said:
I just replaced my 260 with a 5870 and I'm glad I did. i7 can wait a little bit.
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which manufacturer did you get?...Sapphire?...so the performance over a GTX 260 is that noticable in games?
 
Yeah, I got the Saphire, and yes a noticible improvement. Biggest jump was Crysis. Before I could barely run 1600x1200 with low settings (medium I think), but now I can put everything on Enthusiest and run at my monitor's native resolution of 1920x1200.
 
inotocracy said:
Yeah, I got the Saphire, and yes a noticible improvement. Biggest jump was Crysis. Before I could barely run 1600x1200 with low settings (medium I think), but now I can put everything on Enthusiest and run at my monitor's native resolution of 1920x1200.
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impressive...I just looked at Newegg and it's out of stock but they say that the ETA of new shipments is today 10/20/2009...guess I'll have to keep a close eye on that page today

do you notice the fan being loud on that card?
 
Not loud at all. My computer is right next to my feet, and with my GTX260 I could always hear the fan blowing. I replaced my power supply at the same time I bought the 5870 and I can't hear either of them at all. Its dead silent in comparison. If you're in the bay are go over to Frys or Central Computer-- both have some in stock at $399 or lower.
 
polonyc2 said:
are you saying that the i7 960 will not overclock well?...or that I can just buy an i7 920 and overclock it to i7 960 speeds?
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This. You can easily overclock the i7 920 to past i7 960 speeds. The typical overclock for an i7 920 ranges from 3.5GHz - 4.0GHz, depending on the chip and batch. I wouldn't spend $300 more for a chip that runs 600MHz faster at stock.
 
On the i7 920 overclocking note...

I just recently (last night) overclocked my i7 920 to 4ghz with HT, 1.25v, its around 55c on load. With more room to overclock :p

i7 960 qpi is really the only advantage.

I'd go for the i7 920 and a better video card.
 
polonyc2 said:
For those interested, here are some benchmark numbers for the i7 960 vs. a heavily overclocked i5 750 (4.13 GHz) and an i7 920.

http://www.techspot.com/review/193-intel-core-i5-750/page5.html
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For what it's worth, those benchmarks should meet with most expectations around here, I think. Unfortunately, they are not very useful, because (a) that is an extremely high overclock for an i5, and (b) the 920 and 960 are running at stock. Generally speaking, these settings are not typical of real world circumstances, I wouldn't think.
 
The i5 750 at stock speeds is also included along with a stock Q9650 and a stock Phenom II 965.
 
polonyc2 said:
I'm thinking that a stock 3.2 GHZ i7 960 might last me a very long time
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It probably would, but right now, it's not going to do you a whole lot of good.

Put off upgrading until you've got something more to gain from it, and it'll last you even longer, and/or save you some cash.
 
FoxhoundOp said:
The i5 750 at stock speeds is also included along with a stock Q9650 and a stock Phenom II 965.
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Yes, you are right. My point, though, was that the numbers were not really indicative of real life. By running the 920 at stock vs. the 960 at stock, it gives the appearance that there is a significant difference between the two. In practice, though, 90% of users who would purchase an i7 920 would overclock it to at least 960 speeds. Probably faster.
 
TheQuestian said:
Yes, you are right. My point, though, was that the numbers were not really indicative of real life. By running the 920 at stock vs. the 960 at stock, it gives the appearance that there is a significant difference between the two. In practice, though, 90% of users who would purchase an i7 920 would overclock it to at least 960 speeds. Probably faster.
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but you're assuming that only people with an i7 920 will overclock their CPU's while i7 960 users will not...the performance numbers at stock should be valid because as they are overclocked to the same speeds their performance should scale accordingly...
 
TheQuestian said:
For what it's worth, those benchmarks should meet with most expectations around here, I think. Unfortunately, they are not very useful, because (a) that is an extremely high overclock for an i5, and (b) the 920 and 960 are running at stock. Generally speaking, these settings are not typical of real world circumstances, I wouldn't think.
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Exactly. They didn't include an overclocked i7 920, which pretty much makes the benchmark useless as you're now only comparing the i7 920 and i5 750 at stock speeds.
 
polonyc2 said:
But you're assuming that only people with an i7 920 will overclock their CPU's while i7 960 users will not.
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I made no such assumption. At some point, both processors will hit their ceiling. Do you really think the ceiling on the 960 is $300 higher?
 
in the end I made the rationale move...I decided not to upgrade my CPU and instead upgraded my video card from the GTX 260 to an HD 5870...Newegg had them in stock for a few hours last night and I jumped on it

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102856

the E8400 is still an excellent CPU for gaming and there really is no need to upgrade...like other people have stated, until there is an actual need for 4 cores there is no point in buying one...plus by waiting prices will come down and new products will be released

I guess I'll wait to see what Gulftown has to offer...
 
Buy the i7 920 and snag a used GTX 285 off the FS/FT forum.

This will enable you to game at higher resolutions with much higher frame rates and less stutters.

I have an e8400 and a GTX 260, as well. This week, I'm upgrading to a i7 920 and I've recently purchased two used GTX 285's from these forums.

Take the money you were going to invest in the 960 and buy low latency DDR3-2000 and a better video card... or two.
 
IRSmurf said:
Buy the i7 920 and snag a used GTX 285 off the FS/FT forum.

This will enable you to game at higher resolutions with much higher frame rates and less stutters.

I have an e8400 and a GTX 260, as well. This week, I'm upgrading to a i7 920 and I've recently purchased two used GTX 285's from these forums.

Take the money you were going to invest in the 960 and buy low latency DDR3-2000 and a better video card... or two.
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the GTX 285 is pretty much obsolete with the introduction of the ATI 5870/5850...unless you can get the GTX 285 for a very low price there really is no point...why not just bump up to the 5870 and get better performance + DX11
 
TheQuestian said:
LOL. I thought you had seen the light until this. 6 cores!? Congrats on the new hardware, though. I hope it gives you the performance you were looking for. :)
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:D better to have a little extra horsepower under the hood...6 cores= CPU I can grow old with :p

the extra $$ spent will more then make up for itself when considering the potential lifespan of the CPU
 
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