• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Which of these setups would you choose (860 vs. 920)?

a123456 said:
So what if CPUs are more expensive in a year? It's not like you're going to purchase a 975 in a year because that's the only SKU left since a 920 will be just as good for most people. You would have already made the purchase using today's prices. If your CPU goes bad, Intel has a 3 year warranty.

Recommendations will always change over time but if the purchase is being made today or this month, then today's prices are what's relevant.
Click to expand...
The future doesn't matter? It does matter to some people, I'm pointing out a topic to think about, if you don't care, that's fine. The OP might care and they might not have thought about it.
 
From my perspective, by the time you get around to upgrading the 920 to something else, I'd probably be looking at another board also. I mean you don't see 45nm quad core CPU's in very many old 975X chipset boards even though some of them would still handle them.
 
hungryJonJon said:
The future doesn't matter? It does matter to some people, I'm pointing out a topic to think about, if you don't care, that's fine. The OP might care and they might not have thought about it.
Click to expand...

You specifically mentioned the 950 in your earlier post and that the 920 would be phased out.

If the purchase decision is between a 920 v. 860, the price of the 950 is completely irrelevant. Drop-in upgrades like Gulftown are a completely different matter but the OP has already mentioned that he's not looking for a drop-in to either 1156 or 1366.

The fact that the 920 will get phased out and that the 950 would the lowest quad-core 1366 processor later on doesn't affect a 920 v. 860 purchase decision at all.
 
a123456 said:
You specifically mentioned the 950 in your earlier post and that the 920 would be phased out.

If the purchase decision is between a 920 v. 860, the price of the 950 is completely irrelevant. Drop-in upgrades like Gulftown are a completely different matter but the OP has already mentioned that he's not looking for a drop-in to either 1156 or 1366.

The fact that the 920 will get phased out and that the 950 would the lowest quad-core 1366 processor later on doesn't affect a 920 v. 860 purchase decision at all.
Click to expand...
I said "what if" the 1366 platform becomes a $400-500 CPU platform? Once the 920 is phased out, we don't know what the cheapest chip will be. What if the 950 IS what Intel is trying to achieve as the entry price to X58 now that 1156 is available?

I didn't see the OPs post about keeping it until S1155 until you mentioned it. That's pretty far off, you never know.
 
hungryJonJon said:
I said "what if" the 1366 platform becomes a $400-500 CPU platform? Once the 920 is phased out, we don't know what the cheapest chip will be. What if the 950 IS what Intel is trying to achieve as the entry price to X58 now that 1156 is available?

I didn't see the OPs post about keeping it until S1155 until you mentioned it. That's pretty far off, you never know.
Click to expand...

I think you're missing my point about pricing over time.

Hypothetical situation (very rough numbers):

1. You buy a 920 for 300, mobo for 200 *today.* In a year, they phase out the 920 and the 950 is the cheapest 1366 CPU with a cost of 500. But you're still running your 920 + X58 mobo so the fact that your CPU got eliminated doesn't really affect your CPU that you already own.

If you buy the 920, 99.99% of the time, you're not going to drop-in a 950, 960, 965, or 975 in a year. You might go i9 but that still doesn't have anything to do with the 950 being the cheapest i7 9xx or that the 920 will be gone.

2. You buy an 860 for 300, mobo for 150 today. In a year, they phase out the 920. This doesn't matter to you at all either.

Now, let's say in a year you're buying a new computer and the 920 is gone. Then, you'll probably choose 860 since the X58 + 920 isn't an option anymore. If a store is hosting a "limited-time" sale for parts like they are with the 920, the fact that the sale may go away later on doesn't mean they're coming to your house and going to charge you more after the sale has ended.
 
I completely understand what you're saying but you aren't getting my point. 920 pricing now has nothing to do with pricing in the future. It's the idea that some people MIGHT care that the cheapest X58 upgrade might be a $400-500 CPUs. We don't know if it will happen but it is an idea to keep in mind. 1156 CPUs will almost always be cheaper because that is exactly what the platform is for (relative to X58. is i3 going to be 1156?). Performance in the future might not be as good but you also won't have to shell out $400.

People in other threads keep saying "Just get X58, you'll have upgrade options," which doesn't make sense to *me* if the upgrades may be $400-500 CPUs on the low end.

Again, my original post that was objected to was before I had seen that the OP had said they weren't going to upgrade until a new socket/LGA was out.
 
hungryJonJon said:
I completely understand what you're saying but you aren't getting my point. 920 pricing now has nothing to do with pricing in the future. It's the idea that some people MIGHT care that the cheapest X58 upgrade might be a $400-500 CPUs. We don't know if it will happen but it is an idea to keep in mind. 1156 CPUs will almost always be cheaper because that is exactly what the platform is for (relative to X58. is i3 going to be 1156?). Performance in the future might not be as good but you also won't have to shell out $400.

People in other threads keep saying "Just get X58, you'll have upgrade options," which doesn't make sense to *me* if the upgrades may be $400-500 CPUs on the low end.

Again, my original post that was objected to was before I had seen that the OP had said they weren't going to upgrade until a new socket/LGA was out.
Click to expand...

It sounds to me as though you're trying to justify your own i7 860 purchase while speculating on "what ifs" for the future. You don't know that the next 32nm Gulftown processors will begin at $400-500 and I am most certain that they will not. The 1156 and 1366 platforms have several differences that set them apart and while the 1156 is more of a 'mainstream' platform, the 1366 is more of a performance/enthusiast platform. That being said, it is quite clear that the 1366 platform has advantages over the 1156 platform (including the possibility of future upgrades). Thus, if the price difference is only $20, the i7 920 is clearly the more logical choice.
 
PC_User said:
It sounds to me as though you're trying to justify your own i7 860 purchase while speculating on "what ifs" for the future. You don't know that the next 32nm Gulftown processors will begin at $400-500 and I am most certain that they will not. The 1156 and 1366 platforms have several differences that set them apart and while the 1156 is more of a 'mainstream' platform, the 1366 is more of a performance/enthusiast platform. That being said, it is quite clear that the 1366 platform has advantages over the 1156 platform (including the possibility of future upgrades). Thus, if the price difference is only $20, the i7 920 is clearly the more logical choice.
Click to expand...
We are all speculating. You have no idea what the prices will be and nor do I. It is 100% reasonable to think about the future and speculate that 1366 will have expnesive CPUs and 1156 has much cheaper ones. It could also be that 1366 has reasonably priced CPUs in the future. It *IS* a factor someone should think about if they are debating which platform to buy. Maybe they don't plan on upgrading until a newer socket is out but you can never be sure.

And if the OP went with 4GB of RAM on the 860 instead of 8GB (is 8GB necc right now?) it would be $75 less for 860.
 
hungryJonJon said:
We are all speculating. You have no idea what the prices will be and nor do I. It is 100% reasonable to think about the future and speculate that 1366 will have expnesive CPUs and 1156 has much cheaper ones. It could also be that 1366 has reasonably priced CPUs in the future. It *IS* a factor someone should think about if they are debating which platform to buy. Maybe they don't plan on upgrading until a newer socket is out but you can never be sure.
Click to expand...

The main difference/advantage is that the 1366 platform will support the new 32nm Gulftown CPUs while the 1156 platform will not. That in and of itself is a very critical factor.
 
PC_User said:
The main difference/advantage is that the 1366 platform will support the new 32nm Gulftown CPUs while the 1156 platform will not. That in and of itself is a very critical factor.
Click to expand...
Do we know that for certain? Has Intel published this? How about 6 months after Gulftown (or whatever 6-core CPU codename that comes after)?
And of course, the price?
But I would agree, if you are wanting to upgrade to 6-core, X58 is a no-brainer for now.
(And this wouldn't be a factor for OP as he said he will most likely upgrade to new LGA/socket in 2011)
 
hungryJonJon said:
Do we know that for certain? Has Intel published this?
Click to expand...
Yes. It has been confirmed many times that there will be no 6-core LGA1156 CPUs and that all X58 motherboards will have drop-in support for Gulftown.
hungryJonJon said:
How about 6 months after Gulftown (or whatever 6-core CPU codename that comes after)?
Click to expand...
After Gulftown/Clarkdale/Arrandale, the next series of chips will be Sandy Bridge. Support for those CPUs is unknown.
 
PC_User said:
The main difference/advantage is that the 1366 platform will support the new 32nm Gulftown CPUs while the 1156 platform will not. That in and of itself is a very critical factor.
Click to expand...

Why is that such a critical factor? Most people don't even max out the processors we have now and most people don't perform drop-in upgrades. By the time the current i7s start to get too slow, it will be time for a new motherboard anyway.
 
The 860's advantages over the 920 are that it draws less
watts, and had more sophisticated power savings.

It is made to sit there and have one low-powered core running
when there is no demand.

It should perform as good or better clock-for-clock
with the 920 in single video card use, and although the memory
on the 920 will benchmark faster, there would be no perceivable
real-world difference between the two clock for clock, although
the 920 will overclock a bit better.

It should run cooler than a 920. A 920 overclocked to 4.0+
can be hotter than heck! Don't know how much cooler an 860
would be clocked to 4GHz (or close to it) but it should be cooler.

Not having drop-in support for a 6 core CPU means diddly
to most people here. How often do most people keep the
same mobo over the years? Especially when SATA III and
USB 3.0 will be on the next ones. There will be other
advancements that people will want to have by then as well.
 
Drop the expensive RAM you will find it really doesnt matter just get some 1600 or 2000 even with high timings you wont notice a difference.
 
After reading this thread, I have a head ache.

I went with the i7 860 for less power consumption (95w vs 130w) and price of the motherboards. The x58 motherboards seem to me a bit more expensive for the models with the features I want. I do not prefer the plain jane motherboards that have enough features to "get by." Also, if it is not Asus or Gigabyte, I want nothing to do with it. EVGA makes nice motherboards, but are priced too high for my wallet.

I am quite happy with my purchase and could careless about upgrading to future CPUs because I plan on keeping this setup for a while now. When it comes time to upgrade, more then likely I will buy a new motherboard with it.
 
Atl530i said:
After reading this thread, I have a head ache.

I went with the i7 860 for less power consumption (95w vs 130w) and price of the motherboards. The x58 motherboards seem to me a bit more expensive for the models with the features I want. I do not prefer the plain jane motherboards that have enough features to "get by." Also, if it is not Asus or Gigabyte, I want nothing to do with it. EVGA makes nice motherboards, but are priced too high for my wallet.

I am quite happy with my purchase and could careless about upgrading to future CPUs because I plan on keeping this setup for a while now. When it comes time to upgrade, more then likely I will buy a new motherboard with it.
Click to expand...

Makes sense.
What CPU did you upgrade from?
Did you consider the ASUS Maximus III instead of the P7P55D Pro?
 
Last edited:
e39dinan said:
I like my 920
Click to expand...
I like my 860 :) Most people that aren't sure whether to got 860 or 920 really shouldn't worry about either. They will be very happy with either setup and will probably ask the same question about the newest chipset/CPUs in 2 years when they upgrade again.
 
hungryJonJon said:
I like my 860 :) Most people that aren't sure whether to got 860 or 920 really shouldn't worry about either. They will be very happy with either setup and will probably ask the same question about the newest chipset/CPUs in 2 years when they upgrade again.
Click to expand...

Pretty much.

I think I am leaning towards the 860. It's a bit cheaper (especially if I go with 4GB RAM), uses much less power, and I don't plan to worry about SLI/Crossfire with all of it's costs and microstutter issues.
 
hungryJonJon said:
I like my 860 :) Most people that aren't sure whether to got 860 or 920 really shouldn't worry about either. They will be very happy with either setup and will probably ask the same question about the newest chipset/CPUs in 2 years when they upgrade again.
Click to expand...

Wow.
I wish I could make myself wait 2 years! :)
 
PC_User said:
How high does it go?
Click to expand...

So far I have the BCLK Freq. up to 193. CPU-Z says 198.7 for Bus Speed. However when I try to run the Processor Arithmetic benchmark in SiSoft I get a bsod. The benchmark ran fine at 192. The idle core temps are 33/28/28/28 according to Real Temp. All I did to o/c was just set eveything in the bios to auto and turned off turbo and started increasing the bclk one notch at a time. I'm sure that there are people here who know why SiSoft might all of a sudden be having problems when I go from 192 to 193, but I have no idea.

CB
 
Curious142 said:
So far I have the BCLK Freq. up to 193. CPU-Z says 198.7 for Bus Speed. However when I try to run the Processor Arithmetic benchmark in SiSoft I get a bsod. The benchmark ran fine at 192. The idle core temps are 33/28/28/28 according to Real Temp. All I did to o/c was just set eveything in the bios to auto and turned off turbo and started increasing the bclk one notch at a time. I'm sure that there are people here who know why SiSoft might all of a sudden be having problems when I go from 192 to 193, but I have no idea.

CB
Click to expand...

What's the multiplier?
 
I'd go for the i7, The triple channel memory and because the upcoming i9's, for me it's no contest, i7 all the way!
 
I got my I7 860 setup yesterday. I just overclocked it to 3.8 without doing anything but raise the blck. I ran prime95 and intel burn test and its stable. This is one awesome cpu...
 
hungryJonJon said:
People keep saying that the 1366 is a better upgrade path but for all we know, future 1366 chips could be $400-500 as the low end. Is there any hint from Intel that this won't be the case? Isn't 1156 i5/i7 supposed to be the enthusiast and 1366 i7 to be ultra high end?
Click to expand...

but then you are paying $400 - $500 for an upgrade. much cheaper than the one you just did if you have upgraded from LGA 775 DDR2.
 
DeFex said:
but then you are paying $400 - $500 for an upgrade. much cheaper than the one you just did if you have upgraded from LGA 775 DDR2.
Click to expand...
But what if a 5% slower chip was on 1156 for $100 less? Or 10% slower for $200 less?
In the context of the scenario we were discussing before, I meant if you go 1156 860 versus 1366 920 (or vice versa), I think CPUs will be cheaper on 1156. And I also think most people asking which chipset to buy won't really notice any difference (Unless specific needs like 3 high-end GPUs or MUST have 6-core, and those people wouldn't ask for help) and should just buy whatever is cheapest.

I think most people asking 1156 or 1366 are people trying to get best bang for the buck. To me, the short term future (whatever length 1156 and 1366 platforms last), 1156 is better bang for the buck because I can most likely get a chip slightly slower than a 1366 chip but probably for much less.
 
hungryJonJon said:
But what if a 5% slower chip was on 1156 for $100 less? Or 10% slower for $200 less?
In the context of the scenario we were discussing before, I meant if you go 1156 860 versus 1366 920 (or vice versa), I think CPUs will be cheaper on 1156. And I also think most people asking which chipset to buy won't really notice any difference (Unless specific needs like 3 high-end GPUs or MUST have 6-core, and those people wouldn't ask for help) and should just buy whatever is cheapest.

I think most people asking 1156 or 1366 are people trying to get best bang for the buck. To me, the short term future (whatever length 1156 and 1366 platforms last), 1156 is better bang for the buck because I can most likely get a chip slightly slower than a 1366 chip but probably for much less.
Click to expand...

The problem is there isn't enough price variation to justify going with the 1156 setup IMO. Yes, I agree if there was a $100 difference or (even better) a $200 difference, 1156 would be much more attractive. I know I'd probably go with 1156 hands down. But when the difference is $20 as the OP states...it just doesn't seem to make sense to go 1156.
 
kirbyrj said:
The problem is there isn't enough price variation to justify going with the 1156 setup IMO. Yes, I agree if there was a $100 difference or (even better) a $200 difference, 1156 would be much more attractive. I know I'd probably go with 1156 hands down. But when the difference is $20 as the OP states...it just doesn't seem to make sense to go 1156.
Click to expand...
You missed the rest of the thread, if OP goes with 4GB of RAM instead of 8GB, the difference is $75 less to go 1156...
 
hungryJonJon said:
You missed the rest of the thread, if OP goes with 4GB of RAM instead of 8GB, the difference is $75 less to go 1156...
Click to expand...

That's still not enough IMO to go with 1156 unless it's a situation where you're on a hard budget. Yes, it's $75, but you're getting less memory. I'm talking about a situation where they are closer to being identical in terms of performance, and then you still save $100 due to a cheaper motherboard/CPU, etc.
 
kirbyrj said:
That's still not enough IMO to go with 1156 unless it's a situation where you're on a hard budget. Yes, it's $75, but you're getting less memory. I'm talking about a situation where they are closer to being identical in terms of performance, and then you still save $100 due to a cheaper motherboard/CPU, etc.
Click to expand...
How is saving $75 less worthwhile than saving $20 when performance IS very close?
 
hungryJonJon said:
You missed the rest of the thread, if OP goes with 4GB of RAM instead of 8GB, the difference is $75 less to go 1156...
Click to expand...

$75 is not enough of a savings to justify going with 1156 instead of 1366. And if going with the LGA1366 platform, the OP can get 6GB instead of 8GB for even less of a price difference.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top