Upgrade 1366 CPU or new platform

[notsane]

Hi All,

I have a lot of raw photos from my 5DII (50,000). When I told Lightroom 4 to render standard size previews at 2048 high quality it took 2 whole days... Maybe it is time for an upgrade? I notice LR4 seems to use all of the cores and memory usage is up. CPU Performance is spiking like a heart monitor on all cores, so it seems I may be RAM limited or hard drive transfer is too slow (esata). I know I can OC my 920, but I am not really willing to sacrifice stability on long renders (I ran my other 920 at 3.6 for a year and it was fine, I know..anyway, I doubt that it would have shaved much time off my render).

Is it better nowadays to buy a Xeon W3680 Westermere and upgrade the RAM to 24GB or just build something on the new platform (I have not been paying attention to the platform change for the last year). I will keep everything for now and just upgrade the CPU, RAM and possibly the motherboard (if a new platform is needed). New GPU is lower priority and will come later. I could always just shut up and use what I have


Thanks in advace!

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? Etc
Lightroom 4.1 , Gaming (Battlefield 3, Diablo 3 etc)

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Not specified

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Seattle, WA

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Not sure, thinking of upgrading CPU and RAM

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Asus P6T Deluxe, Core i7 920 (thinking of replacing with Xeon W3680 Westmere), Coolermaster V8 CPU cooler, 6GB Corsair RAM 1600 CL8 (thinking of replacing with 24GB kit from G Skill), Intel 520 cherryville 120GB (boot) (just bought), various 7200rpm drives for storage 500gb, 640gb, 1tb etc) Zalman 1000 watt power supply, Antec p180 case, XFX ATI 5870, Samsung SATA DVD, USB3.0 PCIe Card

6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Samsung 305T 2560x1600

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within a month

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Not Sure if I should buy a motherboard/CPU/RAM or just CPU/RAM.. or nothing. Would like USB3.0, SLI etc.


10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I have Windows 7 x64

One note is that I will be buying everything at newegg

 

[Dangman]

Which Windows 7 do you have? Home Premium? Pro?

 

[notsane]

Windows 7 Ultimate Full Retail - Thanks!

 

[notsane]

Oh, how can I confirm that processor would work in my motherboard (ASUS p6T Deluxe)? I see a few people that are dropping them in replacing their 920s on newegg comments, but I don't trust those comments.

 

[E4g1e]

Oh, how can I confirm that processor would work in my motherboard (ASUS p6T Deluxe)? I see a few people that are dropping them in replacing their 920s on newegg comments, but I don't trust those comments.

Guess what? There is no guarantee that the W3680 will even work at all on that P6T Deluxe motherboard. Asus does not officially support LGA 1366 Xeons on that particular mobo or on any other Asus desktop X58 mobo. Only those Asus X58 mobos classified as "Workstation" (such as the P6T6 WS Revolution) officially support that CPU with a BIOS update.

 

[Dangman]

Windows 7 Ultimate Full Retail - Thanks!

Ok, is that 3 x 8GB G.Skill 24GB RAM set or a 6 x 4GB G.Skill 24GB RAM set? If the latter, ditch it and go for a 3 x 8GB setup at the least. That way you'll have the option to expand to a full 48GB of RAM later on and really take advantage of the X58's six DIMMs feature.

Even if you don't go through with the CPU upgrade, do the RAM upgrade at least, especially now that RAM prices have started to go up. Right now there's a shell-shocker deal for a 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM for a decent price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231606

Get two of the above and you'll be set. No, you really don't have to go for a tri-channel setup.

Oh, how can I confirm that processor would work in my motherboard (ASUS p6T Deluxe)? I see a few people that are dropping them in replacing their 920s on newegg comments, but I don't trust those comments.

What E4g1e said. You basically have to trust those comments and just gamble.

 

[Skripka]

Ok, is that 3 x 8GB G.Skill 24GB RAM set or a 6 x 4GB G.Skill 24GB RAM set? If the latter, ditch it and go for a 3 x 8GB setup at the least. That way you'll have the option to expand to a full 48GB of RAM later on and really take advantage of the X58's six DIMMs feature.

Even if you don't go through with the CPU upgrade, do the RAM upgrade at least, especially now that RAM prices have started to go up. Right now there's a shell-shocker deal for a 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM for a decent price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231606

Get two of the above and you'll be set. No, you really don't have to go for a tri-channel setup.


What E4g1e said. You basically have to trust those comments and just gamble.

Does LGA1366 support 8GB DIMMs? I thought most x58 desktop boards peaked at 6x4GB at least according to official; documentation...could be no one bothered testing 8GB DIMMs when they started coming out.

 

[Dangman]

Does LGA1366 support 8GB DIMMs? I thought most x58 desktop boards peaked at 6x4GB at least according to official; documentation...could be no one bothered testing 8GB DIMMs when they started coming out.

Ahh crap. You're right. I was thinking of newer platforms.

Officially that particular Asus mobo only supports 24GB of RAM max. Since I don't want the OP to gamble with the RAM as well, OP, ignore my 8GB of RAM comment and stick with your original RAM choice.

 

[Deleted member 88227]

So you are pulling those images off an external hdd, though esata? Try transferring them directly to the SSD (get a bigger one if there isn't enough room) as what's probably causing most of the "slow down" is loading the images off the slower HDD. Which HDD is it?

 

[Skripka]

Ahh crap. You're right. I was thinking of newer platforms.

Officially that particular Asus mobo only supports 24GB of RAM max. Since I don't want the OP to gamble with the RAM as well, OP, ignore my 8GB of RAM comment and stick with your original RAM choice.

I've read reports of people loading up with 8GB DIMMs online...chatting in [H] IRC, there are reports of SR-2s loaded with 96GB of RAM. So it can work, but it may depend on the board. It seems like board makers never bothered verifying DIMM size once 8GB came out. I was just wondering if you knew something I didn't.

 

[DesertCat]

Am I missing something where the Xeon would be preferred over an i7-980 (e.g. poster already has one)? In comparing prices online, I only see the i7-980 costing about $5 more (at $622) than the Xeon. Asus officially supports the i7-980 with the 2209 BIOS on the P6T-deluxe. Maybe there is some killer deal out there on the Xeon of which I'm unaware?

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-980-Processor-LGA-1366-BX80613I7980/dp/B0058FO22O

Edit: Note that Amazon's placeholder graphic is of a generic quad-core box, but the i7-980 is a hex core processor.

 

[notsane]

Guess what? There is no guarantee that the W3680 will even work at all on that P6T Deluxe motherboard. Asus does not officially support LGA 1366 Xeons on that particular mobo or on any other Asus desktop X58 mobo. Only those Asus X58 mobos classified as "Workstation" (such as the P6T6 WS Revolution) officially support that CPU with a BIOS update.

Oh man, thanks for that info. I think it was the WS revolution that they were using. I will have to look into this more for sure.

Does LGA1366 support 8GB DIMMs? I thought most x58 desktop boards peaked at 6x4GB at least according to official; documentation...could be no one bothered testing 8GB DIMMs when they started coming out.

Ahh crap. You're right. I was thinking of newer platforms.
Officially that particular Asus mobo only supports 24GB of RAM max. Since I don't want the OP to gamble with the RAM as well, OP, ignore my 8GB of RAM comment and stick with your original RAM choice.

Thanks guys, the 24GB 1600 G Skill kit seems like a sweet spot for me right now. It seems like it should be enough I do like the idea of putting 48GB in, just not sure if I could return it if it didn’t work.

So you are pulling those images off an external hdd, though esata? Try transferring them directly to the SSD (get a bigger one if there isn't enough room) as what's probably causing most of the "slow down" is loading the images off the slower HDD. Which HDD is it?

I have an SSD boot drive (right now a 60GB vertex, being upgraded to an intel 520 128GB). I go through so much data, that SSDs are not practical for this yet. I don’t often re-load my whole catalog and create previews. It is usually 300-1000 images at a time and hard drives work fine. I am using Samsung spinpoint 7200 1TB (thank you Danny for the [H] recc). They are fast enough for most of what I do, but thanks! I should create some kid of array to work from and backup to single drives. I work on the laptop a lot from an external USB2.0 drive and that is even fast enough for the most part. Thanks though.

I've read reports of people loading up with 8GB DIMMs online...chatting in [H] IRC, there are reports of SR-2s loaded with 96GB of RAM. So it can work, but it may depend on the board. It seems like board makers never bothered verifying DIMM size once 8GB came out. I was just wondering if you knew something I didn't.

HMMM, wish RAM was fully refundable.. I may try it anyway

Am I missing something where the Xeon would be preferred over an i7-980 (e.g. poster already has one)? In comparing prices online, I only see the i7-980 costing about $5 more (at $622) than the Xeon. Asus officially supports the i7-980 with the 2209 BIOS on the P6T-deluxe. Maybe there is some killer deal out there on the Xeon of which I'm unaware?
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-980-Processor-LGA-1366-BX80613I7980/dp/B0058FO22O
Edit: Note that Amazon's placeholder graphic is of a generic quad-core box, but the i7-980 is a hex core processor.

I like to buy at newegg as they give you no interest for a year on purchases like that so it keeps cash free with no penalty. I also like their service. They don’t have any non-xeon hexaxcores. I may have to do that to find a compatible processer

…….
So what should I do guys? Build something on the new platform (CPU/RAM/Motherboard only). What would that look like and how would it compare with what I have now? Have things really progressed much since the 920?

Thanks!
Mike

 

[Skripka]

Oh man, thanks for that info. I think it was the WS revolution that they were using. I will have to look into this more for sure.




Thanks guys, the 24GB 1600 G Skill kit seems like a sweet spot for me right now. It seems like it should be enough I do like the idea of putting 48GB in, just not sure if I could return it if it didn’t work.



I have an SSD boot drive (right now a 60GB vertex, being upgraded to an intel 520 128GB). I go through so much data, that SSDs are not practical for this yet. I don’t often re-load my whole catalog and create previews. It is usually 300-1000 images at a time and hard drives work fine. I am using Samsung spinpoint 7200 1TB (thank you Danny for the [H] recc). They are fast enough for most of what I do, but thanks! I should create some kid of array to work from and backup to single drives. I work on the laptop a lot from an external USB2.0 drive and that is even fast enough for the most part. Thanks though.



HMMM, wish RAM was fully refundable.. I may try it anyway



I like to buy at newegg as they give you no interest for a year on purchases like that so it keeps cash free with no penalty. I also like their service. They don’t have any non-xeon hexaxcores. I may have to do that to find a compatible processer

…….
So what should I do guys? Build something on the new platform (CPU/RAM/Motherboard only). What would that look like and how would it compare with what I have now? Have things really progressed much since the 920?

Thanks!
Mike

Being a production machine, is this computer overclocked and/or do you want to OC it? With the Nehalem memory controller, as you load up on RAM, at say 6x2 or 3x4 DIMMs and above, the memory controller requires ridiculous voltages to be stable with 1600mHz memory. The IMC considers anything over 1066 memory to be overclocked, so even getting 1866 to run with 3x2 DIMMs can take a fair bit of volts. Westmere/Gulftown had a better IMC as I recall that could take it better...and CPUs like 990x and 980X with their unlocked multiplier let you get around it ofc.

It is one of the nice things about Sandy and Ivy, apart from Z68/77 and x79 running much cooler as a system thanks to no more northbridge X58 chip. You can load up on as much RAM as you want and it doesn't effect voltages/heat/etc as much.

 

[Blue Fox]

Does LGA1366 support 8GB DIMMs? I thought most x58 desktop boards peaked at 6x4GB at least according to official; documentation...could be no one bothered testing 8GB DIMMs when they started coming out.

A number of people have run 8gb DIMMs in their X58 boards successfully to get 48gb even if it doesn't officially support that much. I remember seeing a DX58SO2 at Fry's advertising that amount a while back though.

 

[notsane]

Being a production machine, is this computer overclocked and/or do you want to OC it? With the Nehalem memory controller, as you load up on RAM, at say 6x2 or 3x4 DIMMs and above, the memory controller requires ridiculous voltages to be stable with 1600mHz memory. The IMC considers anything over 1066 memory to be overclocked, so even getting 1866 to run with 3x2 DIMMs can take a fair bit of volts. Westmere/Gulftown had a better IMC as I recall that could take it better...and CPUs like 990x and 980X with their unlocked multiplier let you get around it ofc.

It is one of the nice things about Sandy and Ivy, apart from Z68/77 and x79 running much cooler as a system thanks to no more northbridge X58 chip. You can load up on as much RAM as you want and it doesn't effect voltages/heat/etc as much.

I would probably not OC or if I did it would be mild. With 24GB ram and 6 dimms, I know that higher OCs get less stable and memory timing is more trouble. Thanks for the other info too. I don't need it to be perfect right now, just better. I may just upgrade the RAM for now.