Should I buy a Q9650 PC or i7 940?

[Guest]

Hi

What should I buy?

I want to get a new pc that has the best performance.

I am looking at a Dell Q9650 based pc or i7 940

There is not much difference in price.

What should I buy?

 

[AdenWolf]

i7 940

 

[snarfies1]

If money is no object, go for the i7.

 

[Guest]

i7 940.... but i wouldn't go for a dell... i'd build it yourself and save some moolah

 

[topper743]

Build it yourself rather than the Dell. All the parts you want none you don't need.

 

[hairycat101]

Starting from scratch like this, I would opt of the i7. If it were down to only the 9550 with stuff you already own or a new setup, I'd opt for the 9550. Like I said, though, starting with no components... i7 any day of the week.

 

[geofelt]

Go for the i7.

I would consider the i7 920 as a much better value.
The 940 chip costs $270 more.
With a trivial overclock, the $300 920 will run at 3.2 which is the speed of a $999 965.

Post the detail specs of the two units you are considering. I suspect that the details account for the equivalent price.
I am certain that the posters here will be able to suggest a build that will be a better value.

 

[Guest]

The 940 CPU alone is £498 GBP. I would then have to buy all the other components.

Dont know if I could build this for cheaper.

The Dell Studio XPS is about £1250

Spec

Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 940 (2.93GHz, 8MB cache, 4.8GT/sec)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 64Bit - English
1Yr XPS Premium Warranty Support - Priority Call In and Onsite Support
Microsoft® Works 9 - English
Display Not Included
8192MB (4x1024,2x2048) 1067MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
1.2 TB (2x 640 GB) Serial ATA (7200 Rpm) Dual HDD Config Raid 0 Stripe
512MB ATI® Radeon® 4850 Graphics card
16X DVD+/- RW Optical Drive (DVD & CD read and write)
Dell Multimedia USB Keyboard Black - UK
Dell Optical Scroll Premium Mouse
TV Tuner (analog/digital) with Remote Control
Accessories
Integrated HDA 7.1 Dolby Digital Audio
No Speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
19-in-1 Media Card Reader
Internal Enhanced Wireless 802.11n PCIe Card - Europe
Services & Software
No Security/Anti-Virus Protection - English
No Accidental Damage Support
Also Includes
English Documentation with UK/IRL Power Cord
D11SX06
XPS Desktop 430 Order - UK
1Yr XPS Premium Warranty Support - Priority Call In and Onsite Support
Resource DVD - (Diagnostics & Drivers)Compatibility Alert
Recalculating Price

 

[mi1ez]

8GB in triple channel? (I assume despite it saying dual)... Well I never!

 

[zenmaster]

There is nothing wrong with Buying a Dell.
That is a nice system.
Often its nice to not have to worry about building yourself, etc...

I would go i7.

 

[geofelt]

For what you get, that actually is a nice i7 price.

 

[Guest]

i doubt you can oc a dell system

 

[mtyermom]

i doubt you can oc a dell system

Beat me to it.

But, if the user does not overclock (either by lack of knowledge or choice) and cannot/will not build it himself, then pre-built will give him peace of mind.

I owned a few Dells waaaaaaaay back and was happy with them. Though, they are certainly a different company/product today than they were back then.

 

[Guest]

I think you might be able to OC on some XPS systems....

 

[Pico_w]

Is it using cheaper DDR3 rams to get 8gb DUAL channel instead of Tri Channel?

 

[cjl]

No, it's just using matched pairs instead of matched sets of 3. That isn't a problem, as dual channel gives nearly the bandwidth of triple. I'd say that dell is a decent deal, and wouldn't be a bad choice.

 

[Huttfuzz]

No problem Ocing a dell, as long as it's an XPS. I got my XPS 630i e8400 @ 3.6. I doubt you can OC a Dell Studio. But maybe with the i7. Who knows.

 

[Guest]

I just want a high performing pc to replace my old Dell P4 3.2ghz.

I,m not bothered about overclocking.

What is all this tri channel memory then? Does this Dell Studio XPS system utilize it?

 

[cjl]

It doesn't appear to, but it isn't a problem. As long as it's at least dual channel, it'll be fine.

Tri channel basically means that your ram is in matched sets of 3, and the processor can access all 3 sticks simultaneously for peak bandwidth capabilities. This results in far more bandwidth than is really needed though, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[spathotan]

There is no difference between dual and triple channel (at least not with existing boards), so dont buy into that. As cjl said, dont worry about that.

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1665/1/intel_core_i7_memory_analysis_can_dual_channel_cut_it/index.html

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/11390-intel-core-i7-nehalem-920-940-965-xe-processor-review-11.html

As you can see the difference is nothing to worry about, no sleep lost.

Anyways, at that price I say go for the Dell, as building your own system with those specs would probably be a similar price, if not more. Plus you dont have to deal with the hassle of building it, unless you like doing it.