Core i7

[Guest]

Hey all,

I am currently in the process of determining what to use for my first build for gaming primarily. However, I seem to be stuck on the CPU - it seems that there is a move towards the 1366 socket. However, I have also noticed that many games do not take advantage of even the 775 Quad Cores. What I'm most concerned with is upgrading in the future. If I spend the cash and get the 775 motherboard and CPU, etc, will I be buying a new motherboard in a few months?

Basically, should I shell out the extra cash for a 1366 cpu, motherboard, and triple channel memory now? I'm not too cost-conscious - I mean I want to keep it under $1.5k. Or will 755 be fine until the 1366s prices come down? -

Thanks.

 

[emp]

Core i7 doesn't see much if any gains over Core 2 in the gaming department, on other apps it's a different story, but if you're like me (Gaming is the top priority, with very little else going on), then stick to Core 2 for the time being.

Honestly, I do believe that quads are the way to go, Left 4 Dead seems to take advantage of them really well and apparently from what I've been reading GTA IV also does. (But regardless of that, it will still run like a dog according to reports).

 

[sciggy]

If you are the type of person that likes to tinker with new stuff and get the latest and greatest, then you want to go with i7. Pretty soon they will no longer be making the 775 socket CPU and it will transition to the 1366. So if you want upgradability later on, then you want the i7 setup. Gaming you wont see much performance increase, but as games progress towards multiple cores you will see more improvement.

 

[mi1ez]

(But regardless of that, it will still run like a dog according to reports).

Always found that saying quite amusing. Most dogs can run quite fast. Much faster than me!

 

[trinix]

They can run fast indeed.

But to the topic, it depends on what you want. I'd go for a c2q or c2d. The q6600 is still a beast and newer ones are good too. The i7 will give you an upgrade path, the only question is, will you need that, as the q6600 is still not replaced by many gamers as it's one of the best produced.

I don't see a need for gaming i7 system in the next 2 or 3 years really. The gaming market is too afraid to alienate a few of their potential customers and prefer to wait the tech out. If AMD's new deneb scores good, we might see advancements faster, but if they fail again, it might make game devs wait a while longer.

imho the i7 for gaming is just a bragging chip. I have the new i7 they say. I'm still running fine on my 6750 and well I don't play crysis or other superhot new games, but it depends on what game you want to play really.