Tom's Hardware > Forum > CPU & Components > CPUs > I7 920 vs i7 860 Gaming/OC which one is best?

I7 920 vs i7 860 Gaming/OC which one is best?

Forum CPU & Components : CPUs - I7 920 vs i7 860 Gaming/OC which one is best?

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Zer0Cool   09-10-2009 at 09:08:12 PM

Hello everyone,

Just yesterday I thought I was ready to get my my i7 with X58 mobo, today im not sure anymore... My goal was to go for 4.0Ghz+ OC and from what I seen i7 920 does a good job. does anyone know how much better will the 860 OC to?

I know that 920 will cost me a bit more, but if it can out perform the 860 I don't mind. I know that both chips are using new sockets, does anyone know if one socket is more "future proof then the other" What socket will the new i8/i9 use? This question is really important to me as I would like to have the ability to upgrade my CPU with ought having to spend money on a new mobo again...

I would like to place my order by the end of the week. Alll your help is truly appreciated.

Thank you

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testosterone   09-10-2009 at 10:42:59 PM

From what I understand the new i9 will be LGA1366, so a future-proof purchase in my opinion is the 920.
Also the 860 is more expensive than the 920, not the other way around, although not by much.

So far I hear the OC'ing on both chips are roughly the same. Saw somewhere that the 860 was pushed to 4.5GHz on air while the 920 was at 4.0GHz on air. Don't know how accurate those benchmarks are, but I'll still go with the 920. just my opinion though.

Regards

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masterasia   09-10-2009 at 10:53:20 PM

Also the P55 boards will only do 8X/8X in SLI due to bandwidth limitation and the GPU controller built in the CPU. Most X58 boards will do 16X/16X. If you plan to do SLI with a dedicated PhysX then X58 is the way to go. From what I've seen the, 1156 CPUs overclock much better due to the new Turbo technology which is different than the current 1366 Turbo. Just like in Turbo cars, if your car was built with Turbo, it can always handle more turbo than it was tuned for.

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ComputerNovice   09-12-2009 at 07:09:44 AM

In my opinion according to everything I read the Intel core i7 860 lynnfield CPU beats the Intel core i7 920 on most benchmarks. But even though the 860 lynnfield beats the i7 920 on most benchmarks it does cost about 20 dollars more, although that doesn't really matter because motherboards for the Intel core i7 860 are MUCH cheaper than the 1366 socket Motherboards are.

Answering this question is somewhat hard though because in my opinion neither of them are actually better than the other. Because both of them have their upsides. For instance as I stated the motherboards for the 860 lynnfield CPU are cheaper, but on the flip slide they have less potential than the 1366 socket type motherboards. So it really all comes down to what you want. Because from everything I've read Intel is planning on using the 1366 socket type for its new upcoming higher end processors, so if you get the 860 you won't be able to really upgrade as much. You also won't be able to use as much RAM etc.

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RIOTinYOURcity   09-12-2009 at 08:55:14 PM

If money isn't an issue and you want sheer performance capabilities go with a i7 920. i7 920 will allow you to 2+ SLI/CFX without a bottleneck and the triple memory is a plus for serious applications.

Also the yet to be released i9 is confirmed to use the 1366 socket which is used by the i7 920.

If you want to save some cash and aren't too concerned about 2+ GPUs at lower resolutions the new 1156 is right for you. The i7 860 is a faster chip but 1156 motherboards are annoyingly handicapped.

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ComputerNovice   09-12-2009 at 10:55:16 PM

RIOTinYOURcity wrote :

If money isn't an issue and you want sheer performance capabilities go with a i7 920. i7 920 will allow you to 2+ SLI/CFX without a bottleneck and the triple memory is a plus for serious applications.

Also the yet to be released i9 is confirmed to use the 1366 socket which is used by the i7 920.

If you want to save some cash and aren't too concerned about 2+ GPUs at lower resolutions the new 1156 is right for you. The i7 860 is a faster chip but 1156 motherboards are annoyingly handicapped.


Well said

Reply to ComputerNovice
rjbrunker   10-28-2009 at 06:58:51 PM

Does anybody know exactly when the i9 are comin out and how much they'll cost?

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ComputerNovice   11-03-2009 at 04:48:10 AM

rjbrunker wrote :

Does anybody know exactly when the i9 are comin out and how much they'll cost?


I think in Q3 or Q4 of 2010 possibly (Not very sure though)

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