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Help a first time builder out....SB or i7-950....

N

nouse4aname68

n00b
Joined
May 31, 2010
Messages
24
Hey guys, like the title says, I'm working on my first build and I'm stuck on the CPU. I've bought all of the parts except for CPU, mobo, and GPU, in the anticipation that once SB hits I'll make my decision. What I didn't account for is that even with the reviews out, I don't know which is right for me. I play WoW and want to try CoD on my pc, and aside from the gaming, will be doing a lot of coding/programming on the side. Another question I have is whether or not the ram and cooler I bought will be compatible. I plan on getting either a 6950 or a 570 and possibly getting a second, less powerful GPU to hook up to my LCD tv to watch blu-rays on.

So will SB be better for me, or should I go with my original plan and get the P6x58d-e mobo and i7-950?


Parts I have:

Antec 1200
1tb WD Caviar Black
Corsair H50
Corsair XMS3 6gb (3x2gb)
LG Blu-ray burner
Lazer 750w modular PSU
 
If you're building a new system today, I don't know why you'd go for x58 over SB? If you have a nice X58 based system already then it might be a little more difficult to decide (which is the exact situation I find myself in). But if you're building from the ground up today, I'd say SB all the way.

X58 is a dead end platform and SB appears to be a great performer - and I'm guessing that the price for the CPU/mobo in either platform would be within $100 of each other (if not the same). If SB was the noticeably more expensive route that would be another scenario altogether but to get the (better performning) current gen platform for about the same price - well that's just a no-brainer decision from where I'm standing.

The system in my sig works flawlessly and I'm torn about moving to SB but what will likely happen is that I'll part out the mobo/CPU to try to offset as much of the move to SB as possible.
 
I'm torn about moving to SB but what will likely happen is that I'll part out the mobo/CPU to try to offset as much of the move to SB as possible.
Click to expand...

I may do that. I mean if I can upgrade to 2600K SB for $200 to $300 US after selling the i7 920 and motherboard then I would take it. If the cost was $550 then no.
 
Get SB. Socket 1366 is a dead end socket and so far it looks like the midrange SB chips perform similarly to the midrange 1366 chips.
 
So are the 1155 boards just as capable as 1366? I thought I read somewhere that they weren't as powerful as the 1366, or weren't as capable at xfire/sli. Maybe I read it wrong. Either way, SB does look promising for me. Are my cooler/ram compatible?
 
Not for some time. I plan on having the 1 more powerful card power my two gaming monitors and then having a second smaller card to power my blu-ray output to my tv. I would prefer to have the option to add a second card in sli or crossfire for my gaming down the road though.
 
i am is somewhat the same situation as you in terms of needing an upgrade, if not in terms of building computers.

The X58 boards offer some very marginal improvements unless you want to do 3-way SLI.

The lower power usage of SB and the ease of overclocking are the deciding factors for me in a new build.
 
I believe you will be fine then. There has been a little discussion on if it matters to have 2 PCIe-x8 2.0 cards versus 2 PCIe-x16 2.0 and I believe the consensus is it does not matter that much.
 
I'm going SB. Will never have more than 2 video cards, and likely only 1. I don't feel the need for triple channel memory (now that I've drank the Kool Aid about get 8GB.) I really thing one of the higher end SB cpus will cover me for quite a while.
 
drescherjm said:
I believe you will be fine then. There has been a little discussion on if it matters to have 2 PCIe-x8 2.0 cards versus 2 PCIe-x16 2.0 and I believe the consensus is it does not matter that much.
Click to expand...

[H] tested it and found no appreciable difference at x8, so no worries there. Unless you live by a Microcenter and can get a 950 for $200, I see no reason at all to go that direction. You can get a 2500K that will outperform the 950 for less money, and 1155 motherboards are comparably priced to X58 models, plus you'll save on RAM by going dual channel instead of triple. Really hard to make a case for a 1366 purchase now.
 
I already have a set of triple channel ram, Corsair 3x2gb. Would I need to get a fourth stick then? Or will I be only able to run 4gb?
 
I have an i7 950 (retail for $200 at Fry's recently ;)) and have no desire to go to LGA 1155, but LGA 1155 + a 2500k or 2600k is a better choice for a new purchase when SB is released. SB is faster, but I'm perfectly happy with my i7 950 performance.
 
nouse4aname68 said:
I already have a set of triple channel ram, Corsair 3x2gb. Would I need to get a fourth stick then? Or will I be only able to run 4gb?
Click to expand...

You can run three, but it would not be optimal. Either add a fourth stick, or just go with two.
 
Forceman said:
[H] tested it and found no appreciable difference at x8, so no worries there. Unless you live by a Microcenter and can get a 950 for $200, I see no reason at all to go that direction. You can get a 2500K that will outperform the 950 for less money, and 1155 motherboards are comparably priced to X58 models, plus you'll save on RAM by going dual channel instead of triple. Really hard to make a case for a 1366 purchase now.
Click to expand...
and if he did have a microcenter sandy bridge is going to be a killer deal anyway.
$180 on the 2500k
$280 on the 2600k
 
Doesn't a good X58 setup support 24G ram? What about SB? Does it support > 16G?
 
yenniedn said:
X58 is a dead end platform
Click to expand...

People stress this argument to much. I can't even remember the last time I upgraded a processor without also upgrading the board. I could not care less about the interface between board and CPU.


Robstar said:
Doesn't a good X58 setup support 24G ram? What about SB? Does it support > 16G?
Click to expand...

There is a site that seems to have a SB working with 32 GB. On the other hand there is not much that can make use of that.
 
I went with i5-750 since I got it on ebay for $145. It really does not matter if you go with SB or i5/i7 if you are a "typical PC user". If you do something specific, need hyper threading then go with SB. Otherwise, I would not bother. Both sockets will be obsolete within two years...
 
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