2 systems, tough choice

[damianjeffries]

2 systems, £100 difference.. but which one should I choose?

Hi-Power Black 1000W Modular 13.5cm Fan PSU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz (FSB 1333MHz) Socket 775 L2 12MB Cache
ASUS P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Socket 775 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard
LG 22X DVD+/-RW
Antec Nine Hundred 900 - Gaming Case with 200mm blue led Top Fan, 2x 120mm blue led front fans and 1x120mm rear fan
2x OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800Mhz/PC2-6400 GOLD XTC Memory Kit CL5(5-5-5-18) 8GB TOTAL RAM!!!
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit
VELOCIRAPTOR 300GB 16MB - SATA 3GB/S 10000RPM 3.5IN

or

Hard Drive: VELOCIRAPTOR 300GB 16MB - SATA 3GB/S 10000RPM 3.5IN
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz Socket 1366 8MB Cache
RAM: OCZ 3GB (3x1GB) DDR3 1333Mhz Memory CL7(7-7-7-20)- This is the cheapest high quality brand RAM
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P iX58 Socket 1366 7.1 channel audio ATX Motherboard- Supports triple SLI (or double, of course) and Triple CrossFireX (the other board only supported crossfire), -£35 if you don't want SLI ready
Power Supply: Arctic Power 700W PSU - With PCI-E, 4x SATA, 20+4, ATX12V, 8pin +12V Connectors- Great value, but NOT SLI Ready, for an extra £40 you can get a 950W one with 4xPCI-E connectors
Optical: LG GH22NS40 22X SATA DVD±RW/DL/RAM Black Bare Drive- cheap, good quality
OS: Vista Home Premium 64 bit
Case: Piano Black with 120mm blue led front fan and lcd display
Fans: 2 extra rear 80mm fans to cool it!

(the i7 one is £100 more expensive)

im in a dilemma.. which one?? I use it primarily for gaming by the way.. but want an element of futureproof!!

 

[Akebono 98]

Without a doubt, the i7 rig, but with some modifications. Your valid comparison would be to a Core 2 Duo for gaming.

 

[damianjeffries]

I find though that the core duo.. isn't very futureproof considering many more games are turning to multithreading!

 

[ericjohnson1981]

You should definitely go for the i7 especially when what you need is futureproof since i7 is the latest type of processor anyway and it looks really sweet as well. Best of luck

 

[aevm]

I find though that the core duo.. isn't very future proof considering many more games are turning to multithreading!

Only FSX and GTA4 actually support quads well right now.

Avoid the first rig because P5N-D is garbage.

The second one would be nice, but you're spending a fortune on things that impact your gaming experience little, when in fact you should focus on getting the best graphics cards you can. What kind of graphics card(s) are you getting?

 

[damianjeffries]

GTA4 is the top game on my list! My current PC just dosen't cut it any more! GTA4 being the first game that dosen't play on it.. since I got it 2 years ago... byebye Athlon 62 x2 4200 ! And if I want the PC to last.. 2-3 years without showing signs of becoming Obsolete.. I will have to invest in a quad.. not a dual..

 

[aevm]

All right, definitely a quad then.

You have three pretty good choices IMO. OK, there are plenty of choices, but these 3 make most sense these days IMO. Which one is best for you depends on your budget and whether you want two video cards (or even three) and whether you prefer AMD or nVidia cards.

1. Phenom II 940/790FX/DDR2-800 - slowest (but still decent), cheapest
2. Q9550/P45 or X48 or 780i/DDR2-800 - faster, more expensive
3. i7 920/x58/DDR3-1333 - fastest, most expensive

If you want a setup with more than one video card and it has to be nVidia, you need the x58 or 780 solutions. Careful, not all x58 boards support SLI.

If you want a setup with multiple ATI cards any of those will do except 780i.

For a single video card any will do, but x48 and 780i are overkill and a waste of cash.

 

[damianjeffries]

i7 it is then.. yeah I made sure the motherboard was SLI compatible.. can get a 9800 GTX.. then when more sophisticated programs/games come out.. add another 9800 and SLI it... I suppose...

 

[aevm]

Sounds good. You need a PSU with about 750W and four PCI-E connectors for 9800GTX+ SLI with two cards.

A third 9800GTX+ is probably overkill, unless you play at some huge resolution. If you care about that, you'd need a Corsair 1000HX or similar (1000W and 6 PCI-E connectors).

 

[Akebono 98]

Superb platform advice in a nutshell from aevm above--that in itself probably deserves a sticky.

Realistically, if you're going to scale nVidia cards on the i7 platform and be "futureproof", then you should probably start with at least a 55 nm GTX 260 Core 216. A 9800 GTX would be under-matched, IMO.