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i7 CPU 930@2.80GHz (Gaming?)

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  • Gaming
  • Intel i7
  • Games
  • CPUs
Last response: in CPUs
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April 2, 2013 6:21:29 AM

I built a gaming PC a few years ago and it hasn't been used in a very long time.
I use my Mac for everything which is why it has just been sitting there forever,
i have decided to get it up and running to play games on MAX/ULTRA everything.

I will be playing on my 55" TV at 1920x1080p
and i will be getting a graphics card to handle games on ultra at this resolution.

The next thing that may need upgrading is my CPU
Intel Core i7 CPU 930@2.80GHz

will this CPU need upgrading to play games at max @ 1080p?

I am new to PC gaming so any comments will be much appreciated.

- Callum

More about : cpu 930 80ghz gaming

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April 2, 2013 6:26:08 AM

That i7 of yours is still good CPU. No need to upgrade. Not to say you'll need to change your board to get stronger CPU and that would not be worth considering what would you be able to get.

You'll run games, no doubt with that :) 
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April 2, 2013 6:48:46 AM

Geta cpu cooler and OC that cpu - I've been running mine at 3.89GHz for over 4 years.
-Bruce
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April 2, 2013 6:35:06 PM

Your current CPU its for LGA 1366, Upgrading it MIGHT Require a new Motherboard

I recomend you to keep that processor until it stops working or you happen to have money which you dont mind spending.

What if i have money which i dont mind spending?
- Then a i5 3570k or i7 3770k would be more then enough, the i5 3570k is cheaper and moner then enough for most gamers. Do consider your LGA, Make sure you buy the right processor for the right LGA.

What is my LGA?
- Your LGA should be 1366, the i5 3570k and i7 3770k use the LGA 115X (1155 or 1156) mostly, therefore it is recomended that you change your motherboard if you want on of these two Intel Processor.
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April 3, 2013 5:19:53 AM

Thanks for you help.
But will my current processor handle games fine?

In the future, if my processor dies or can handle the games I will have to get a new mobo like you said. If I were to get a new mobo will the thunderbolt ones be able to use the processor needed? I have 2x Thunderbolt displays that I use with my mac and I would like to use it with my Windows PC
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April 3, 2013 5:41:05 AM

Overclock that cpu after you get a decent cooler - paired with a good video card(or 2) that platform still works well for gaming.
-Bruce
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April 3, 2013 6:39:52 AM

I have the same CPU as you and I am an active gamer, playing games such as Guild Wars 2, Skyrim, The New Sim City, and Diablo 3.

I do not see any performance issue with my CPU. I am very happy with it. My performance issues come from my GPU. I am running a Radeon 5870. I can get frame rates of 30-40 fps but at medium settings running at a resolution of 1920x1080.

I think you will be fine with your CPU. I would recommend upgrading your GPU (depending on what you currently have and what settings you want to run). This would allow minimal investment and probably last about 1-2 more years.
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April 3, 2013 7:17:24 AM

dish_moose said:
Overclock that cpu after you get a decent cooler - paired with a good video card(or 2) that platform still works well for gaming.
-Bruce


^This. I know people with overclocked 920's that still don't feel a need to upgrade and are saying they are going to wait for the successor to Haswell. Upgrading their aging 5870's was a much better investment for games.
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April 3, 2013 7:19:38 AM

Get a decent GPU. Your CPU is still good at the moment, and you might as well wait for Haswell at least to upgrade that and the mobo.

A GTX 680 or 7950 would treat you well at 1080p.

For a general performance boost you could get a SSD for windows and some games for fast loading times and boot up.
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April 3, 2013 8:59:03 AM

Currently running GW2 at FHD in best quality mode (everything on) on an i7-920 at stock 2.67 GHz passively cooled. Graphics are 2x Nvidia 460 in SLI with factory clock rates. Single rotating 1 TB HDD. Memory is 24 GB DDR3 1066. All of it is running on a good quality 750 W modular PSU with an optical and few extra mechanical hard drives. OS is Win 7-64.

Frame rates vary between 15 fps and 65 fps with mostly 45-60 fps. I tend to prefer sync on vertical to prevent tearing of the very nice picture.

The system is getting long in the tooth and I have started looking into the trades between just stuffing in a new graphics card, transferring the OS and applications to a RAID SDD setup, or just building a new system entirely. I put together the i7-920 system very soon after the processor family was introduced and have upgraded it little bits at a time over the years. It still is not a bad system. The only real bottlenecks are graphics, HDD, and the internet connection.
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April 3, 2013 9:11:12 AM

I would get a SSD for loading time boost - I wouldnt even bother raiding (assuming you mean RAID 0) they are so much faster even without stripping.

A good CPU cooler would be good to OC your CPU to get more performance.

But best thing would be to get a new GPU - SLI 460 are still pretty good, so you will need to get quite a powerful single GPU to be noticeably faster. GTX 670 upwards.
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April 3, 2013 10:39:01 AM

Anchoku said:
Currently running GW2 at FHD in best quality mode (everything on) on an i7-920 at stock 2.67 GHz passively cooled. Graphics are 2x Nvidia 460 in SLI with factory clock rates. Single rotating 1 TB HDD. Memory is 24 GB DDR3 1066. All of it is running on a good quality 750 W modular PSU with an optical and few extra mechanical hard drives. OS is Win 7-64.

Frame rates vary between 15 fps and 65 fps with mostly 45-60 fps. I tend to prefer sync on vertical to prevent tearing of the very nice picture.

The system is getting long in the tooth and I have started looking into the trades between just stuffing in a new graphics card, transferring the OS and applications to a RAID SDD setup, or just building a new system entirely. I put together the i7-920 system very soon after the processor family was introduced and have upgraded it little bits at a time over the years. It still is not a bad system. The only real bottlenecks are graphics, HDD, and the internet connection.


I would just upgrade the graphics and maybe get a overclock capable cooler and bump the clocks up a bit.
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April 3, 2013 11:30:35 AM

Dual 460 ain't bad;-) Get the cpu clock up and see if FPS increase - that would mean cpu bottleneck.
-Bruce
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April 3, 2013 1:53:05 PM

I am new to overclocking.
Could someone guide me through the best overclock for my CPU?
What temps should I look at? And whats GHz should I push to.

What's the best and safest way to overclock?
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