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What CPU that is NOT i7?

T

TruthSeeker

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 11, 2000
Messages
490
I am finally switching to Intel after owning AMD cpu's ever since my first overclocking rig that had a thunderbird in it.

I really wanted to buy an i7 setup, but it just costs too much for ME.

Recommend me a cpu, motherboard and ram that is almost as fast, but cheaper.

Thanks!
 
Wait until the third quarter 2009 and get Lynnfield (formerly known as i5).

I know you said you switched to Intel, but... you could get a dual core chopped down Phenom II (Callisto) and with an AM3/AM2+ board and then get whatever AMD has after a year or two.
 
Need more info - quad, dual core? Budget? Need SLI? What are you going to run on it? Games? What res?
 
The best reasonably-priced LGA775 chip would be a Q9550, which can be found in the low-$200 range these days. Other good CPU options are the Q9400 (if you can find one) and the Q8400, although they are not as good as the Q9550. Motherboard-wise, The ASUS P5Q Pro, P5Q Pro Turbo, Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R, and GA-EP45-UD3P would be my recommendations for reasonably-priced high-quality motherboards. RAM-wise, anything from a decent brand will do fine as long as you aren't going to be doing any crazy overclocking.
 
I WILL be overclocking so I need a CPU that can overclock reasonably well.

I WILL be needing a mobo that can do SLI since I just bought a BFG GTX280 OC and would buy another in the future.

I play some games (Crysis, Left 4 Dead, etc...), but I also want to have the processing power to copy/process the DV tapes, (from my Canon XL1 used for family movies), to digital in a reasonable amount of time.

So far all I have right now is the following:

OCZ Vortex SSD 60GB Drive
Two Seagate 1.5TB hardrives mirrored
BFG GTX 280 OC
SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-650HT 650W PSU
Enermax 430W PSU

I need CPU, CPU Cooler/Fan, RAM and MOBO.

I run BOTH of the PSU in my case (Stacker HTC-1) here is a review
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=890&page=2
 
TruthSeeker said:
I WILL be overclocking so I need a CPU that can overclock reasonably well.
Click to expand...
The Q9550 is a good choice then. The Q9650 is a little better due to the higher multiplier, but it's also a lot more expensive so I wouldn't say it's really worth it. A recent (E0) Q9550 is good for at least 4GHz anyway with a decent board and memory.
TruthSeeker said:
I WILL be needing a mobo that can do SLI since I just bought a BFG GTX280 OC and would buy another in the future.
Click to expand...
The eVGA 750i SLI FTW board is really the only decent SLI-supporting LGA775 board on the market. Avoid any 780i boards, because the chipset sucks hard.
 
like he said, he is running 2 psu's in his case, a 430w and a 650w. prob the 650 for vid, the 430 for everything else.
 
Zero82z said:
The Q9550 is a good choice then. The Q9650 is a little better due to the higher multiplier, but it's also a lot more expensive so I wouldn't say it's really worth it. A recent (E0) Q9550 is good for at least 4GHz anyway with a decent board and memory.

The eVGA 750i SLI FTW board is really the only decent SLI-supporting LGA775 board on the market. Avoid any 780i boards, because the chipset sucks hard.
Click to expand...

The only other board you may want to consider is the EVGA nForce 790i Ultra SLI, DDR3 will be more expensive. You do get an additional 16x slots, two add'l pcie 1x slots, 9 sata ports( five more), two add'l usb 2.0 and another Gb LAN, probably a better overclocker.

To me it was worth the price bump. Just pick the ram off the Nv recommended list on the evga site.


3500MHz Q9450 here on the 790i Ultra.
 
I definitely agree that the 780i isn't the best board to go for nforce based board, I've had my headaches with mine and another one. trust me trying to get this thing to post is like a little game almost. I've built a couple 750i rigs for friends, it was a much nicer experience. I've learned, it was just nvidia polishing a turd(680i) with their 780i, it's still a turd.
 
For the price of a 7x0i mobo and Q9550, i7 is the same price or cheaper.

You can get a 920 for $230 easy, and a good mobo for $175. Ram for $60ish.

If you want to keep it cheaper, then Q9400 for $160, forget SLI especially if you dont game THAT much, and becuase Nvidia boards dont overclock as well. Get a Gigabyte EP45-UD3P or UD3R (same but UD3P has xfire).

With a Core Contact Freezer you could hit 4ghz.
 
I really do not see the point in going with a core 2 quad chip and sli motherboard at this point in time. its a very small jump in price to move up to a current i7 solution given the premium prices on socket 775 motherboards.

if you want to get a socket 775 chip and a cheap motherboard, then fine. however getting if you really *need* sli, get a i7.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
Avoid any of the core 2 chips....If you wanna upgrade and not get an i7, then look over to AMD...The performance is very comparable to the non-i7 Intel CPU's and you have an upgrade path for the future. I'd suggest a Phenom II 940...they are cheap and overclock easy, because of the unlocked multiplier. I have a Phenom II 720 @ 3.6 Ghz, and for having one less core, I was surprised that for the most part it was competitive to my Q6600 @ 3.6 Ghz. If you must get an Intel chip, I LOVE my Q6600, it may be built on the older 65nm process, and based on the older Kentsfield core, but I love the low stock FSB and decent multiplyer. The Yorkfield intel chips all have 1333mhz FSB and are more of a PITA to OC. Anyway, good luck.
 
Rauelius said:
Avoid any of the core 2 chips....If you wanna upgrade and not get an i7, then look over to AMD...The performance is very comparable to the non-i7 Intel CPU's and you have an upgrade path for the future. I'd suggest a Phenom II 940...they are cheap and overclock easy, because of the unlocked multiplier. I have a Phenom II 720 @ 3.6 Ghz, and for having one less core, I was surprised that for the most part it was competitive to my Q6600 @ 3.6 Ghz. If you must get an Intel chip, I LOVE my Q6600, it may be built on the older 65nm process, and based on the older Kentsfield core, but I love the low stock FSB and decent multiplyer. The Yorkfield intel chips all have 1333mhz FSB and are more of a PITA to OC. Anyway, good luck.
Click to expand...

1st, The AMD Phenom 2s are ok, but slower then Yorkfields, and dont OC as well.

2nd, Q6600 is a waste of money now a days. Q9400 is better in every way, and can be had for $160 new.

3rd, Yorkfields are 10x easier to OC then Q6600s. They run much cooler, and can reach a much higher FSB.
 
Well if you want a quad and don't want an i7, I'm sure you can figure out what options you have left and pick one out according to budget.
 
Shops CPU's by MULTIPLIER. Higher is better as it will make it easier to overclock (and you can always lower the stock mult but not raise, unless extreme ed). I have a Q6700 with x10, which is pretty nice, but I wouldn't suggest right now as its a bit dated. Check out the Q9550.
 
I'd avoid any nvidia boards with the vertex. I've seen more problems than I can count with onboard/nvidia sata + vertex in the ocz forums.
 
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