New system: Core i7 vs. Core2Q - price nearly equal

[Felixmagician]

Im planning to build a new PC, for gaming, graphics/photo editing and general purposes. Not planning to overclock.

The following systems cost almost the same amount (core i7 being just a bit more expensive). Which should I get and why?

Build 1:
Core i7 920 (2.66 GHz, 8MB L3)
X58 Mainboard
6GB DDR3
Cost ~ 725eur

Build 2:
Core2Quad Q9450 (2.66 GHz, 12MB L2)
High-end Mainboard
8GB DDR2
Cost ~ 675eur

 

[Felixmagician]

Edit:
I realize this is a rather stupid question if the price is almost equal.
Instead of Core2Quad, compare it to E8500

So Build 2 would be:
E8500 (3.16 GHz, 6MB L2)
High end Mainboard
8GB DDR2
Cost ~ 550 eur

 

[rawsteel]

if you can afford it, get the nehalem

 

[Guest]

don't get a high end main board...

Try Asus p5q pro...

saves like 150 $ about 75 euros... so then its like 125 euros... which is a fair amount... cut back on the mainboard... and go for 4 GB... you'll see no performance difference... and you shave off a fair amount of cash

But if they are pretty close go core i7... but for you i'd say go c2q

 

[grieve]

Question.... why get a "high-end Mainboard" for a Q9450 you are not going to overclock?

Knock off $200 and get a normal board. Now you have a comparison

Build 1:
Core i7 920 (2.66 GHz, 8MB L3)
X58 Mainboard
6GB DDR3
Cost ~ 725eur

Build 2:
Core2Quad Q9450 (2.66 GHz, 12MB L2)
P45 Mainboard
8GB DDR2
Cost ~ 475eur


==================================
To be honest in your situation I would go with the Q9450 or Q9550. I wouldn’t bother with i7 unless I was getting the 940 which of course adds a lot of cash to the equation. Just one mans opinion.

 

[spathotan]

Agree with Grieve and Thogrom. Get a P45 board and a Q9450/Q9550 and go home happy. But Q9550 will be the goal, as Q9450 was discontinued awhile ago.

To save even more money you could consider goign to 4GB of RAM and an E8500.

 

[Felixmagician]

Are there any stats on how much Core i7 speeds up the system compared to E8500 or Q9550?
Price is not really an issue for me, Ive got about 2000 euros budgeted for this build, but of course I want to get the best the money can get.

So I would like to know, how much better is Core i7 920 with DDR3 vs. E8500. The price seems to be about 1.5x, but if the system also performs 1.5 times faster, I'll definitely pay for that.

Also some things I consider is the need for a new mainboard if I don't get the X58. If I buy it now, I can expect to use it maybe a couple of years? Whereas the E8500 and the mainboard I'll probably have to ditch after half a year or so when upgrading, probably around Windows7 launch time.

 

[spathotan]

Honestly, since you say money isnt an issue then just go for i7. In games the difference between E8xxx/Q9xxx vs i7 is negligable, but its a different story when it comes to encoding....compiling....database/server/rendering type apps and what not, this is where i7 really pulls away, multi-threaded apps as well (HT ftw). And since this system is suposted to be multi-purpose, then just go i7.

 

[chookman]

Agree with spathotan, the i7 has a great increase in multithreading , will much improve graphics and photo editing. And with that amount for a budget your cant go wrong

 

[grieve]

Are there any stats on how much Core i7 speeds up the system compared to E8500 or Q9550?
Price is not really an issue for me, Ive got about 2000 euros budgeted for this build, but of course I want to get the best the money can get.

That changes everything... You could make a killer i7 machine for 1000 euros, It is a no brainer.

 

[grieve]

Core i7 940
X58 Mainboard
6GB DDR3

 

[chookman]

Why a 940?

920 is soo much cheaper

 

[spathotan]

940 is pretty much a waste of money. Its either 920 or the Extreme if you have the cash. At least the Extreme has a larger QPI.

 

[grieve]

In my mind a 920 would be pretty much a Q9550 as it is clocked slower but should equal out in the end, maybe 5% faster?

Thats why i say 940 as it will exceed the Q9550 greatly.

I just think if you're going to go i7 then dive in, not limp in. I guess $400 more is worth it to me.

 

[chookman]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115201

Its almost twice the price on Newegg for a lousy 270mhz? Spend the extra on a better GPU combo.

 

[Pico_w]

Overclock the i7 920 and it pawns every Core 2 Quad out there. If you can afford it, go for Intel Core i7!

 

[spathotan]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115201

Its almost twice the price on Newegg for a lousy 270mhz? Spend the extra on a better GPU combo.

Thats my argument as well. Just get the 920, go into the BIOS, and raise the bclock by 11 to hit 144 and you are already at the i7 940, and it took 20 seconds and $250 less. Thats it, an amateur can do it, you dont even need to adjust the voltage until you hit 1ghz+ OC on most of these i7 chips. [H] didnt have to raise the voltage on the 920 until they hit 3.8ghz, thats pretty damn good.

 

[mit78]

ma man,wait to decrease the price,for i7,but q9450 its a good cpu,with x48 mobo and 8 giga of ddr2 its ok.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Just a quick question.... any idea of what GPU you plan to get? For gaming if you get say a 4870X2 or do SLI/CF the Core i7 will be the best bet. From what I have seen the Core i7 performs much better in gaming with more GPUs.

And for most editing/rendering type things the i7 really excells there.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Thats my argument as well. Just get the 920, go into the BIOS, and raise the bclock by 11 to hit 144 and you are already at the i7 940, and it took 20 seconds and $250 less. Thats it, an amateur can do it, you dont even need to adjust the voltage until you hit 1ghz+ OC on most of these i7 chips. [H] didnt have to raise the voltage on the 920 until they hit 3.8ghz, thats pretty damn good.

Stop. My mouth is watering. Thats nice. Compared to my 600Mhz OC no voltage increase for my Q6600 thats nice....

if only I was rich....