i7 Build, Need Suggestions

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TekRok

2[H]4U
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Dec 9, 2005
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Ok so my system is aging, and i begin to notice it. Overall performance of my machine is not present anymore as it used to 2 years ago.

SO...

I thought to myself, there is no point in building a 775 Rig as its a dead chip just like AM2 and waiting for anything AMD puts out will take a while.

Video card is my main concern. I believe there were articles saying they are going to release some new cards after new years, and that should drive prices down significantly, is this the time to buy a card or wait until after christmas?

So this is what i had in mind. PLEASE suggest anything you can to me on the parts i choose.

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
ASUS P6T Deluxe - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131346
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231223
GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130398

Everything like power supply i have in my sig i will be leaving, more than enough power. I havent found any coolers on sale for the i7 so i will hold off and use the stock until something by zalman comes out.

Thoughts?
 
Socket 775 is still a viable platform, especially if you can't afford a Core i7 setup. Many people don't upgrade their processors, RAM, or motherboard for years at a time; and right now, the equivalent Core i7-based system is no more than 15% better than a good Core 2-based system.

Having said that, everything that you chose looks good. Instead of looking for Zalman CPU coolers, though, see if you could find either the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme or the Noctua NH-U12P with one of the LGA 1366 retention brackets
 
I understand what you are saying, and i honestly DO want to get a 775 system to replace what i have now but the price for a socket thats already been out for 2 years is kinda high, new technology like the i7 is only 300$ more give or take.

Reason i DO and DONT want to get a 775 is it seems like a waste of money down the road. i wanted the q9650 but then again the q6600 has almost the same performance onces OC'd.

what would you recommend i get to replace my current rig, CPU, GPU, MEM, MOBO. i want to go to 8GB ram and perhaps get DDR1000 over 800
 
Again, your choices for a Core i7-based system are sound. It's just that you're trashing the Core 2 platform as a viable alternative when you shouldn't be.

Two good boards for the Socket 775/Core 2 platform are the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P and the Asus P5Q Pro. They both have good overclocking options, support dual x8 CrossFire (and have PCI Express 2.0 support), and are relatively inexpensive (especially if you're able to take advantage of one of NewEgg's combo deals). (As a caveat, CrossFire and SLI are only "necessary" if you plan on gaming at high visual settings on a 1920x1200 or greater resolution. Beyond that resolution, you won't find a single video card that's capable of handling gaming very well.)

Most of today's games aren't optimized for quad core processors in particular... but they're also largely GPU driven. Therefore, in many cases, you wouldn't recognize a particular difference between a Core 2 and/or a Core i7 setup. (Note that I'm not saying that there isn't a difference, but, compared to your previous setup, either system would show a noticeable improvement.)

For gaming, in most cases, 4GB of RAM would be enough. (6GB is recommend in a Core i7 build so you could take advantage of the platform's tri-channel RAM configuration. In reality, however, 3GB would be fine for your needs.) The only time you would need more than 4GB of RAM would be for heavy resource-intensive program use (such as, Photoshop or Maya 3D), running multiple tasks at the same time (like, playing Fallout 3 while encoding a video in the background), or the use of multiple virtual machines. 32-bit versions of Windows also have a 4GB system memory limitation that reduces the amount of usable RAM you have from the amount of memory taken up by other system components (including, but isn't limited to, your video card).

Here is a sample Core 2-based setup (keep the video card, though... it's a good choice):

$437 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 & Gigabtye GA-EP45-UD3P combo
$42 - Xigmatek HDT-S1283 & Socket 775 bolt-thru kit
$45 - G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 1000 kit
=====
$524 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)
+ $248 - EVGA GTX 260 (216SP)
=====
$772 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

(Optional) $100 - Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM
 
I agree with tiraides. Core2 isn't dead yet, and is still a viable option. Intel still plans on releasing CPUs for around another year or so.

What will you be doing with this system? If you don't mind the price premium, then go for i7. If you want nearly the same performance for 35% less money, go with Core2. Whether the price premium is worth it or not is all on you, and depends on what you do with your system.
 
I agree with both tiraides and enginurd.
If you think you might want to game at very high resolutions on a 30 inch monitor or better in the future than the i7/LGA 1366 is for you, because of its sli capability with an Intel chipset.

But for gaming and everything else you want to do on a 24 inch monitor or smaller, the LGA 775 core 2/P45 platform is plenty. It should still be the platform that a majority of folks choose until the Intel LGA 1160 socket is released in Q3 of 2009.

But like tiraides and enginurd already said, your build is nice and won't let you down, but is it really the best option for you? When you could spend a lot less money and still have a nice PC that does everything you would like it to do for you.
 
Jumping on a LGA 775 socket platform is not soo bad considering where you are upgrading from. An E8400 CPU will dust your X2 6000+ by a considerable margin. Alot of people feel it's pointless to upgrade to a LGA 775 when they feel it's going to be obsolete. Not really, It depends where they are upgrading from. I feel it's a perfect time to go with an LGA socket 775 because it has matured and prices are very reasonable now compared to before. Instead of jumping on something that just comes out, you and I feel others should jump on a Core i7 when it becomes more mainstream and faster Core i7 come out, cheaper ram is out and more mobo options to choose from. Jumping on an entry level Core i7 cpu now, is like someone jumping on an Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 cpu and wish they had a faster Core 2 E8400 cpu. The main thing is that the upgrade will deliver an improvement over your existing build. However, if you really require the power of a Core i7 build to fully take advantage of the cpu power, then go for it. In your case, all you need to upgrade is your CPU, Mobo and Video card. Boom, improvement already.
 
thanks for all those replies, i am still reading.

I also read alot of stuff alot of thigns on Penoms IIs that are releasing this month, i might even stick with AMD afterall
 
Check to ensure that your board can support the new Phenom II processors. Though they use the AM2+ socket, that's no guarantee that they will work with all AM2/AM2+ boards.
 
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