I7 920 vs e8500 vs Phenom 2 940/945/955

[themyrmidon]

I'm looking to sell my current steup and start anew. I'll probably keep thisbetween 1 1/2 to 2 years, so "futureproofing" isn't a big issue. I mostly play games, plan to watch blu-ray movies and maybe do some light CAD work. Price is a*small* issue. Whatever I get, I plan to heavily OC it.

Is an i7 920 setup worth the price? From what I've lookedat I'll have to make a few comprimises in other areas if I go this way.

Is it worth it to go with an AM3 P2 (945/955) or should I stick with the AM2+ (940)?

Is the E8500 still the best option for gaming?

Currently I'm leaning on the E8500, seeing how I doubt I'll be taking advantage of quad-cores, it would allow me to spend more on other components, and my current E8300 has served me well, but I'm asking because I'm not sure so don't think I have my heart set yet.

Thanks!

 

[cjl]

If you already have an E8300, there'd be no point to selling it and buying an E8500. The difference is just too small. If you are absolutely set on a new system, I'd go either Phenom II or i7, and I'd lean towards i7 if the budget allows.

 

[themyrmidon]

Obviously E8300->E8500 is a very small jump, but everything else would be a fairly big leap.

 

[smithereen]

I'd keep the e8300. If you are big on a whole new system... idunno. We'd need to know your budget.

 

[someguy7]

Your current system is perfect. You do not need and shouldnt upgrade it at all. Maybe to a better gpu if you need it for the games. Just overclock your current cpu if you havent done so already. Light cad word your fine with that you got. Blu-ray is not a problem either.

If you where to upgrade a cpu I wouldnt go with any of your suggestions. The AMD's are good but not good enough to dump your current board+cpu to get one IMHO. I would toss a q9series quad in there and overclock it if need be if anything.

I just cant see a reason to build a completely new system.

 

[BadTrip]

^+1

 

[smithereen]

OC your e8300. That's a free upgrade. Let's see the rest of your rig.

 

[montyuk]

depending on your full current system, there could be other things you could change which could give a higher return on the investment.

are you already overclocking the 8300?

edit - just a quick indication of its potential - http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=190564

 

[jay2tall]

Q's:

1) What is your current system (all specs)

2) What games do you play? resolution?

3) price range for a new system?

4) if you have a general idea a starting list is always good to play around with. The i7 is the King Daddy. It OC's like a screaming wild banshee. The i5 will be coming out and is the mainstream Intel CPU. The AMD PII is nice, but have the performance of the older Core2 Quads.

If you have an e8300 OC the crap out of it if you did not already. If you play games, a graphics card upgrade, usually, always has the best price/performance increase. Also something to think about... If you are on XP, ugrade to Vista. IT runs games better and DX10 is awesome.

I just recently upgraded my system to an i7 and before that has an e6850. Going from XP to Vista was GREAT. It gave me a little higher framerates when running DX10 games. And it was just smoooooth.

 

[themyrmidon]

Alright, forget I ever said what I currently have. I can get a good sum for my current rig, that's why I'm looking at a clean build. (got it at 4.25 Ghz, btw)

jay 2 tall,

1: Like I said, forget it, it's a really good setup, but I've found a buyer that will pay enough to build a better one.

2: Crysis, UT3, SoaSE, E:TW, AoE3, mostly RTS and FPS, some RPG and TBS. Res is 1920x1200 and I do like my eye candy.

3: $1,200, but I'm keeping a hard drive that I currently have so that saves ~$100.

4: I have a component list for an i7, C2D, and AM3 build, but not an AM2+ build. I've found that for the the only one I would have to either comprimise or break budget on is the i7 build, if I go C2D or AMD I can get everything I want right away.

I've also done a build for a Core 2 Quad, but it came out so similar to the i7 build that it isn't worth it.

Bottom line is that it comes down to in-game performance after OC. How can I expect them to stack up in the games I play?

 

[smithereen]

AMD build gives better price vs performance, if you set it up right.

i7 is king of the hill, but if you have to compromise far in graphics, it will get outperformed.

 

[themyrmidon]

Graphics isn't the comprimise, any way I go I'm dropping a GTS250 for the time being and will upgrade when the DX11 cards come out this fall. Comprimise wouldbe in case, cooling, buying an open box mobo, and slightly comprimising on RAM.

 

[smithereen]

Post your builds, please.

 

[jay2tall]

here I am going to copy what I put in another thread asking for a $1300 build... i will just cut out the HD

$280 - i7 920: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
$240 - ASUS P6T mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131359
$90 - 6GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 8-8-8-21 RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247
$290 - (2) XFX GTS 250 1GB Video Cards in SLI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150356
$120 - 750W Corsair PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
$120 - Thermaltake Elements Case: http://www.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingItem.aspx?ItemList=N82E16811133077
$70 - CoolerMaster V8 CPU Cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055
$24 - ASUS DVD Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135196

TOTAL: $1234

And yes (2) GTS 250's in SLI would just WHOOP ARRRS!

DONE.... This will make anyone CRY ;-)

 

[themyrmidon]

here I am going to copy what I put in another thread asking for a $1300 build... i will just cut out the HD

$280 - i7 920: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
$240 - ASUS P6T mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131359
$90 - 6GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 8-8-8-21 RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247
$290 - (2) XFX GTS 250 1GB Video Cards in SLI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150356
$120 - 750W Corsair PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
$120 - Thermaltake Elements Case: http://www.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingItem.aspx?ItemList=N82E16811133077
$70 - CoolerMaster V8 CPU Cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055
$24 - ASUS DVD Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135196

TOTAL: $1234

And yes (2) GTS 250's in SLI would just WHOOP ARRRS!

DONE.... This will make anyone CRY ;-)

My build was something like this:

i7 920 $280
MSI X58 Pro (OB) $150
6Gb OCZ Gold 2000mhz $120
EVGA GTS250 1Gb $150
Mushkin 550300 (800W modular) $150
Coolermaster Storm Sniper $150
Coolermaster V10 $125 (ewiz)
LG Blu-ray $110

Total $1235

E8500 $175 (ewiz)
EVGA 790i FTW PWN $200 (ewiz)
4 Gb Patriot Viper DDR3 2000mhz $150
EVGA GTS 250 1Gb $150
Mushkin 550300 $150
Coolermaster Storm Sniper $150
Coolermaster V10 $125 (ewiz)
LG Blu-ray $110

Total $1210

(all prices newegg unless otherwise stated)

Its hard to say what a AMD build would look like as the high end AM3 CPU's don't have an announced pricepoint and there is only 1 980a board right now. Would an AM3 CPU work in a 780i?

 

[jay2tall]

I would save your money on the v10 and get the v8. The v10 has a fan hanging off of it that cools the ram, but it is MASSIVE. And really won't cool any better than the V10. if you spend $125 on an air cooler you may as well get a small cpu water cooler. At least that's my honest opinion.

I stay away from the Open Box's.... Plus the MSI Pro only supports Crossfire, not both. Stick with at least a board that has all the goodies like one that supports both. If you plan to keep this rig a while, give yourself the flexibility in that regard.

....I still like my build better maybe sub out one GTS250 for your Blue Ray player. Or better yet, pick up a 4870 instead.

 

[Silverion77]

What are your temps like with the V10?

heres a review

 

[themyrmidon]

Did I say Pro, I meant Platinum (OB Pro is $130).

Water cooling is not an option as I move around quite often. The V10 is next best thing. In case you couldn't tell, I really want to OC the he11 out of whatever I get.

Graphics really doesn't matter since a GTS250 is still an upgrade over my 9600GT and I'll be replacing it in 6 months anyway.

 

[Silverion77]

Yea it is...

I personally dont like the review...the numbers seem off. I mean at times the V8 goes up like 8C on load while the V10 goes up 12+. And in general the numbers seem inconsistent

 

[smithereen]

I'd either go with Thirmidon's i7 build now, or wait for the Phenom II 955 to come out.

 

[jay2tall]

Did I say Pro, I meant Platinum (OB Pro is $130).

Water cooling is not an option as I move around quite often. The V10 is next best thing. In case you couldn't tell, I really want to OC the he11 out of whatever I get.

Graphics really doesn't matter since a GTS250 is still an upgrade over my 9600GT and I'll be replacing it in 6 months anyway.

You can always get a self contained unit. My buddy did this with his system before and he took it to alot of LANs and never had an issue.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8505/ex-wat-142/CoolIT_Systems_Domino_Advanced_Liquid_Cooling_System_-_Socket_LGA_1366_775_AM2_DM-1000.html?tl=g30c83

 

[themyrmidon]

Definitely worth a closer look at. This is, I really don't want any problems that come with water-cooling but thanks, never saw that water cooler before.

 

[jay2tall]

My buddy has a VERY ellaborate setup now. With 2 pumps and is cooling EVERYTHING with water. tubes everywhere and is maintenance.

However. he did has a similar self contained unit from swiftech. The H2O-120 I think it was. The block had a pump built in and the radiator had it own reservoir. No maintenance at all. You just open up the top once in a blue moon to make sure the liquid was full. It did a REALLY good job.

 

[inmytaxi]

far better off going with stock cooling, not oc'ing and putting the cash into a 275. better yet, drop down to the $93 (minus 20 rebate) 1600 OCZ 3x2GB that oc's to 1800 and move up to a 285.

 

[jay2tall]

I'd still invest in a good CPU cooler. But not a crazy v10. $50-$60 is usually what I spend. the V8 is a good deal, it includes the fan.

The 285 is WAY expensive. I'd go for the 275 or a 4890.