Worth it to upgrade to i7?

merlin704

merlin704

The Great Procrastinator
Joined
Oct 4, 2001
Messages
12,841
Considering the system in my sig, would it be beneficial for me to make the move to an i7 setup or stick with what I have for a little longer?
 
No, unless you do a lot of a video encoding and/or rendering based applications.
The X58 + DDR3 platform is too expensive and the premium does not worth it for most peoples.
 
Merlin the system in your sig is totally bad ass...no reason what so ever to ditch those parts for i7 right now.

You will feel like a douche if you spend all that money for i7, load up your favorite game and realize it is no faster or smoother than before.

I say hold out for the X68 chipset in 2009, and the new cpu's that will come with that.
 
Well, he's already got some amazing DDR3, not sure about the voltages required for those though, with the Core i7's it has been said to not exceed 1.65v if at all possible because of the onboard memory controller. People have been doing it though without any trouble, so iunno what that'd mean for you.

For you it'd be a new CPU and Mobo, so the new DFI X58 is out and it looks like you'd get that one, and then if you decided to take the cheaper route for CPU this time with a 300$ i7 920, you'd be at a 600$ upgrade, all you'd see as the difference is teamed nics, option for SLI now instead of just XFire, and extra logical cores in task manager/device manager.

Of course you wouldn't need the insane northbridge cooling anymore...

They're probably right, it isn't worth it for most people and maybe not even for you, but from what I can see you like to play with the bleeding edge, so is it worth at least 600 for you to get those things now, or can you wait to see how things play out a bit?
 
I guess my question should have been, would I see a noticeable difference if I did upgrade? The money isn't an issue but if I am only going to see a 1% (hypothetical number) increase in performance, then no need for me to waste money.

You guys know, computers are an addiction. When we see something new, we just have to have it.:p
 
I'm sure we all understand those statements :p

It'd certainly make much better use of your RAM because of triple-channel.

I honestly couldn't quantify the upgrade, I'm going for a Q6600 @ 3.2 (8x400) to an i7 setup shortly here, and it's basically a 'because I can' upgrade, and this way I get to buy an A05B and use it for the 'old' setup which I've been wanting to do forever because I love that case.
 
Optional87 said:
I'm sure we all understand those statements :p

It'd certainly make much better use of your RAM because of triple-channel.

I honestly couldn't quantify the upgrade, I'm going for a Q6600 @ 3.2 (8x400) to an i7 setup shortly here, and it's basically a 'because I can' upgrade, and this way I get to buy an A05B and use it for the 'old' setup which I've been wanting to do forever because I love that case.
Click to expand...

That's true about the memory but if the increase in performance is minimal, then I can wait for awhile longer.

I guess to subside the itch a little, I will just go buy some Blu-ray movies. You know since I have bought a blu-ray player, I am addicted to buying movies for it. I try to watch a DVD now and wow...huge difference. But with 600+ DVDs, no way I feel like replacing them all.

Wow I just took this thread down a side rabbit trail.LOL
 
merlin704 said:
I guess my question should have been, would I see a noticeable difference if I did upgrade? The money isn't an issue but if I am only going to see a 1% (hypothetical number) increase in performance, then no need for me to waste money.

You guys know, computers are an addiction. When we see something new, we just have to have it.:p
Click to expand...

You'd probably see a 20% increase with a 940 or 965 overclocked, but only in benchmark applications. For any real world applications or games you'll see 0% increase.
 
merlin704 said:
That's true about the memory but if the increase in performance is minimal, then I can wait for awhile longer.

I guess to subside the itch a little, I will just go buy some Blu-ray movies. You know since I have bought a blu-ray player, I am addicted to buying movies for it. I try to watch a DVD now and wow...huge difference. But with 600+ DVDs, no way I feel like replacing them all.

Wow I just took this thread down a side rabbit trail.LOL
Click to expand...

I was also bitten by the upgrade bug. I was close to pulling the trigger on the Core i7 920, P6T, 6 Gig PC1600 setup...but I squashed that bug by buying a Macbook and a 32Gig Ipod Touch instead. Yeah, I know. I went the more expensive route.:D

Now, I'm just going to wait patiently for the 32nm revision sometime next year before taking the plunge.
 
astyler said:
You'd probably see a 20% increase with a 940 or 965 overclocked, but only in benchmark applications. For any real world applications or games you'll see 0% increase.
Click to expand...

But his E-Peen would increase by a factor of over 9000.
 
couldn't have just edited that into your previous post? really?
 
With the rig in your sig i say no. You have a already powerful rig and their isn't a good reason to upgrade to i7. Unless you are doing tons of encoding and what not, otherwise for gaming and what not you are definitely fine.
 
Better to stick with your current system than switching to i7 since the platform is still new and would cost lots just for upgrade with minimal returns.
 
Again I agree with most people here, wait for the X68 chipset which will be improved version of the X58, and by that time newer and faster i7 cpus will be out. The even number X chipsets are the best
 
I don't think so, not yet.

However I went from an AMD 4800x2 / HD4870 system to an i7 920 / HD4870 system Friday and the change was awesome.

I went from an average of 80fps in iRacing to between 250 and 310fps, everything else being equal.

I was seriously CPU bound.

The i7 920 is a sweet part for the price ($269 on sale).
 
TechLarry said:
I don't think so, not yet.

However I went from an AMD 4800x2 / HD4870 system to an i7 920 / HD4870 system Friday and the change was awesome.

I went from an average of 80fps in iRacing to between 250 and 310fps, everything else being equal.

I was seriously CPU bound.

The i7 920 is a sweet part for the price ($269 on sale).
Click to expand...

But that's a big change, his rig will see very little difference.
 
TechLarry said:
I don't think so, not yet.

However I went from an AMD 4800x2 / HD4870 system to an i7 920 / HD4870 system Friday and the change was awesome.

I went from an average of 80fps in iRacing to between 250 and 310fps, everything else being equal.

I was seriously CPU bound.

The i7 920 is a sweet part for the price ($269 on sale).
Click to expand...

Where did you get it for 269?
 
oh... nevermind then, never want to buy from them ever again...
 
Optional87 said:
oh... nevermind then, never want to buy from them ever again...
Click to expand...

Because they don't honor the rebates right? And I'm not being sarcastic. Most people I know don't buy from them for that very reason.
 
astyler said:
You'd probably see a 20% increase with a 940 or 965 overclocked, but only in benchmark applications. For any real world applications or games you'll see 0% increase.
Click to expand...
Made a comparison in FC2 reallife game and to make it fair i did it on only 4,2 as that is what my old 9650 was capable of. Same OC and drivers on the 280:s.

965XE@4,2:

Settings: Demo(Ranch Small), 1920x1200 (60Hz), D3D10, Fixed Time Step(No), Disable Artificial Intelligence(No), Full Screen, Anti-Aliasing(8x), VSync(No), Overall Quality(Ultra High), Vegetation(Very High), Shading(Ultra High), Terrain(Ultra High), Geometry(Ultra High), Post FX(High), Texture(Ultra High), Shadow(Ultra High), Ambient(High), Hdr(Yes), Bloom(Yes), Fire(Very High), Physics(Very High), RealTrees(Very High)
Loop 1
Total Frames: 4414, Total Time: 51,01s
Average Framerate: 86,54
Max. Framerate: 117,51 (Frame:267, 2,53s)
Min. Framerate: 52,66 (Frame:0, 0,02s)

Loop 2
Total Frames: 4459, Total Time: 51,00s
Average Framerate: 87,43
Max. Framerate: 117,18 (Frame:279, 2,51s)
Min. Framerate: 69,97 (Frame:3636, 41,72s)

Loop 3
Total Frames: 4446, Total Time: 51,00s
Average Framerate: 87,17
Max. Framerate: 117,45 (Frame:281, 2,53s)
Min. Framerate: 72,05 (Frame:3655, 42,10s)

Average Results
Average Framerate: 87,05
Max. Framerate: 116,88
Min. Framerate: 70,89


Same thing on QX9650@4,2

Loop 1
Total Frames: 3244, Total Time: 51,02s
Average Framerate: 63,59
Max. Framerate: 85,36 (Frame:199, 2,84s)
Min. Framerate: 32,43 (Frame:2551, 41,01s)

Loop 2
Total Frames: 3264, Total Time: 51,01s
Average Framerate: 63,99
Max. Framerate: 85,05 (Frame:236, 3,23s)
Min. Framerate: 50,67 (Frame:2191, 34,19s)

Loop 3
Total Frames: 3268, Total Time: 51,01s
Average Framerate: 64,07
Max. Framerate: 86,03 (Frame:228, 3,11s)
Min. Framerate: 49,53 (Frame:2216, 34,64s)

Average Results
Average Framerate: 63,88
Max. Framerate: 84,93
Min. Framerate: 49,86
I guess you are right, no difference here then.
 
Youre running crossfire, so the i7 will give you a nice boost in games.

What resolution do you run?
 
merlin704 said:
Because they don't honor the rebates right? And I'm not being sarcastic. Most people I know don't buy from them for that very reason.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I got boned by them in the past for that, and doesn't make me want to go back, they might as well have just never shipped the item, that'd have probably been less nerve-wracking.
 
merlin704 said:
I guess my question should have been, would I see a noticeable difference if I did upgrade?
Click to expand...

Not where it counts...which is gaming. If you think about it games are gpu limited right now.
You don't need more than a 3.2 clock before the gpu becomes the bottleneck. No need
to rush to an i7. i7 is worthy of skipping actually especially if your running CF right now.
There won't be a performance increase in games. The only thing that will increase frame
rates is a better gpu...and right now, you have the best. You could see what I mean from
[H]'s graph, the core 2 at higher quality settings / resolutions even beat out the i7.

1225698242I6VvskAKIu_2_1.gif
 
DWade said:
Not where it counts...which is gaming. If you think about it games are gpu limited right now.
You don't need more than a 3.2 clock before the gpu becomes the bottleneck. No need
to rush to an i7. i7 is worthy of skipping actually especially if your running CF right now.
There won't be a performance increase in games. The only thing that will increase frame
rates is a better gpu...and right now, you have the best. You could see what I mean from
[H]'s graph, the core 2 at higher quality settings / resolutions even beat out the i7.

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/images/articles/1225698242I6VvskAKIu_2_1.gif
Click to expand...

Hey thanks for the graph. I wonder how I missed it. So yeah, basically no reason to upgrade ATM. Thanks again. Just goes to show, that even new members can teach us ol' timers something new.:D
 
merlin704 said:
Hey thanks for the graph. I wonder how I missed it. So yeah, basically no reason to upgrade ATM. Thanks again. Just goes to show, that even new members can teach us ol' timers something new.:D
Click to expand...

Dude for high res gaming ? A CPU upgrade is the worst money spent, might as well burn your cash to keep you warm, will give you more benefit in the cold winter.

Seriously you game at my res which is the 30" crowd of 2560x1600 :cool: I have read millions of game and hardware reviews, and gaming at 2560x1600 is 95% VideoCard, and maybe 5% cpu. I have seen $100 Intel cpu's benched against the $1,000+ eXtreme's, and at high res it is maybe 5% difference at the very most. It is all GPU not CPU that matter in high res gaming.

And it is not like your current rig is old school or out dated, you have a freaking top of the line super computer, going to i7 compared to your current system, might actually be a downgrade for gaming :eek:
 
DWade said:
Not where it counts...which is gaming. If you think about it games are gpu limited right now.
You don't need more than a 3.2 clock before the gpu becomes the bottleneck. No need
to rush to an i7. i7 is worthy of skipping actually especially if your running CF right now.
There won't be a performance increase in games. The only thing that will increase frame
rates is a better gpu...and right now, you have the best. You could see what I mean from
[H]'s graph, the core 2 at higher quality settings / resolutions even beat out the i7.
Click to expand...
I would not trust that after what i have come to my self, that the i7 do beat the crap out of a yorkie at same speed even in games and not by that little either.
And since the OP has multiGPU the i7 is the (only) right way to go as that is the only way to unleach the GPU to its fullest extent. The graph is only valid for singleGPU or powerless multiGPU setups.
A Wolfie/Yorkie IS downgrade from an i7 even at gaming in multiGPU setups as only an i7 can deliver the raw CPUpower the GPU sucks out of the system even when you are GPU limited.
 
merlin704 said:
Considering the system in my sig, would it be beneficial for me to make the move to an i7 setup or stick with what I have for a little longer?
Click to expand...

Based upon your sig system, it truly does not. I just built a new I7 rig and I love it but I upgraded from a QX 6700 and 2x8800 GTX's. I was about to upgrade my VC's in order to accommodate 25x16 resolution. In your case even I would struggle. I build a new system every 1.5-2 years just because I like to build a new rig.
On the other hand if you sell now you may get a nice price. Just my 2 cents.
 
Hi,
First time poster, long time lurker here.

So yeah, I guess I'm nowhere near top of the line with my Qx6850/ GTX 260 (core 216) but did wonder if I should sell this cpu while I can still get maybe $250 for it and going to the newer 45nm core 2 cpu's ... My guess is this would make even less sense than upgrading to an i7 for the OP. What do you guys think (no intention to hijack the thread, in fact I'll make a new thread if that works better).
 
Diyguy said:
Hi,
First time poster, long time lurker here.

So yeah, I guess I'm nowhere near top of the line with my Qx6850/ GTX 260 (core 216) but did wonder if I should sell this cpu while I can still get maybe $250 for it and going to the newer 45nm core 2 cpu's ... My guess is this would make even less sense than upgrading to an i7 for the OP. What do you guys think (no intention to hijack the thread, in fact I'll make a new thread if that works better).
Click to expand...

Hey I'm not greedy. Ask your questions here.:D
 
merlin704 said:
Considering the system in my sig, would it be beneficial for me to make the move to an i7 setup or stick with what I have for a little longer?
Click to expand...

I'll let you decide ! But here is an article you may want to read first. They are using a C2D for comparison, but it cpu bottlenecks at all resolutions with the premium v.cards.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i7-multigpu-sli-crossfire-game-performance-review/1

"There we go, so the general consensus here is that with the faster GPU setups starting at say 2x GeForce GTX 260 in SLI or two Radeon 4870 in Crossfire you'll start running into CPU bottlenecks with a fairly modern PC."

For me, I skipped a generation of hardware when I sold my Opteron 175, and went to a laptop for a year. So when starting from scratch, it was only $200 more for i7, and that's compared to an E8500, and similar quailty components. But you have a killer rig already, so read the article and see what you think. Or wait for [H]'s upcoming multi-gpu article, it may paint a different picture altogether.....
 
merlin704 said:
Hey I'm not greedy. Ask your questions here.:D
Click to expand...

awesome!

Based on what i've seen, I doubt you should worry about upgrading any time soon. :)

My question is, would it be worth it to upgrade from the older 65nm Qx6850 to a newer quad core CPU?
 
Diyguy said:
awesome!

Based on what i've seen, I doubt you should worry about upgrading any time soon. :)

My question is, would it be worth it to upgrade from the older 65nm Qx6850 to a newer quad core CPU?
Click to expand...

I say no. Stick with what you have and if you haven't already, overclock to get more performance out of it.

I only asked my question because I wasn't really sure what performance the i7 would offer over what I have now. If it was more performance, I would get one but since it's not, no need for me to spend money.:)
 
merlin704 said:
I say no. Stick with what you have and if you haven't already, overclock to get more performance out of it.

I only asked my question because I wasn't really sure what performance the i7 would offer over what I have now. If it was more performance, I would get one but since it's not, no need for me to spend money.:)
Click to expand...
Page 19 is the most important but also the most ignored page in the guru3d review:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i7-multigpu-sli-crossfire-game-performance-review/19
 
It's all context.

For me, coming from the P4/7800GS, moving to the i7/280 setup was a no-brainer (yeah the Yorkfield wasn't compelling, unfortunately).

The question coming from someone with a Kentfield or Yorkfield with a 260 or above, the answer seems pretty obvious -- if you've got the money to blow.. go for it (depending on where you want to see headroom/improvements).

Your hardware origination and how often you upgrade seems to be highly relevant to this discussion, which makes it not so black/white.

My .02.
 
Merlin, Just thought I would let you know that I took your advice.

Went ahead and ordered a Xigmatek HDT-S1283 for the QX, i'm able to reach 3.66 ghz with stability using the stock HSF :) by moving the multiplier up to 11 but am going up to 70 C in prime 95 (Reminds me of my old prescott 3.0ghz cpu at 3.6ghz lol) which is uncomfortably high for my liking.

So in the mean time i'll be running at stock speeds. The sunbeam core contact freezer seems to be the best, but sadly it doesn't work with my gigabyte UD3p :( The xigmatek will do.

alright, happy holidays all!
 
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