I7 gaming rig

[Vos17]

I have posted a quad core build on here, and i keep seeing people telling me to go to i7.
This is what i have so far

Power Supply: 750 watt corsair
Motherboard: EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 LGA 1366 Intel X58
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz
Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
Video card: SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5

This all comes out to 1,086 US dollars.
My quad core build was 900 US dollars.

Is it worth the extra 200$?
Think if i went with i7, i would have a better computer, that would last longer in terms of gaming.
I would like to at least to christmas of 2010 without buying anything new for it.

All opinions and suggestions are welcome. =D

 

[liquidrider_4]

You do want to go w/ i7. I just built my new PC on an i7 base. Same mobo, same processor, 6GB 1600 OCZ memory (you want to go in triples ie. 3x 1GB or 3x 2GB etc. otherwise you won't take advantage of triple channel), EVGA 260 GTX 216 Superclocked, and 750 Watt PC Power & Cooling, antec 900 case

all came out to 1250 (great deal on some stuff during christmas and black friday)

It is most definitely worth the extra 200. The gaming is superior to the old quads and you are future-proofing your computer with the new socket and technology involved in the i7. The only thing you MIGHT upgrade before christmas is yur videocard. but that is only because they come out w/ like 2 new cards ever 3 months...

 

[Vos17]

so getting 6gbs is what i should do? i wanna stay at 4 at first
Also, how is your 260? it was the other card i was looking at.

Do you play fall out 3 or call of duty world at war? if you do it would be great to tell me your computers performance on it =]

 

[Lurker87]

Either go for 3gb or 6gb to take advantage of the tri channel RAM. If you go 3gb, then you'll have to get rid of the RAM altogether to upgrade to 6gb, so going 6gb now and being done with it would be the way to go.

Of course, if you are trying to just save on the cash, then 3gb shouldn't be that bad, since it is a gaming rig.

 

[Vos17]

is tri channel really that much better?
based on the computer i posted, think it would be a great pc for at least a year or 2?

 

[Zenthar]

Based on recent benchmarks, 3-channel changes about nothing since the added latency voids most of the bandwidth gained. Just make sure you get modules that can run at 1.65V, more than that and you could fry your i7 ...

 

[Vos17]

wow, anything more than that can fry it? yikes o.o
That is an expensive part to accidentally destroy.
Think you could suggest a good heat sink for it?

 

[Vos17]

I am going with 6gbs of g.skill ram (3x2gb). I have windows vista 64bit, would that be really good?

 

[Zenthar]

With Vista 64bits, more RAM is always good . With that 920 (4 core / 8 virtual ones) you will be able to run plenty of things simultaneously and the RAM will help. Moreover, we don't know what Windows 7 will be like memory-wise .

 

[Vos17]

8 virtual cores on the i7? wow, don't think im dumb or anything but what does that mean in specs, performance, everything. I am really interested in that right now

Also, i am using my 64bit Vista disc for my new computer cuz i want to buy Windows 7 when it comes out =]

 

[leo2kp]

Awesome performance and amazing overclockability. As long as you have an i7 920 and 6GB RAM, you have the beginnings of a formitable rig.

 

[Vos17]

with a radeon hd4870 1gb. think it would be really good?
I think i have decided on that card for the dx10.1

 

[leo2kp]

Depends what you play and at what resolutions. If you're going for high res, you'll be better off Crossfiring two slightly lower cards.

 

[Vos17]

1920 x 1080 is what i want. So, what do u think would be good

 

[Zenthar]

For that resolution maybe crossfired 4850 or 4870 would be better (or their X2 versions).

 

[Vos17]

how come in the benchmarks, the 4870x2 has lower minimum frames but the highest max frames? does it really dip that much during game play?

 

[liquidrider_4]

It can yes. Some games have a large variation of demand on the GPU.

 

[xthekidx]

If you are just going to run the CPU at stock specs, the stock heatsink will be fine. If you think you will overclock (and seriously, who doesn't buy the 920 with overclocking in mind) Get the TRUE for a heatsink...or wait for Zalman's Thor's Hammer late feb. It looks awesome.

 

[Akebono 98]

If you are just going to run the CPU at stock specs, the stock heatsink will be fine. If you think you will overclock (and seriously, who doesn't buy the 920 with overclocking in mind) Get the TRUE for a heatsink...or wait for Zalman's Thor's Hammer late feb. It looks awesome.

Btw, it's the Xigmatek Thor's Hammer and the Zalman CNPS 9900.

 

[xthekidx]

thats what i meant