Buy a core i7 860 now or wait for core i9 gulftown?

[burnt1ce85]

I'm thinking of buying a computer and my budget is around $1500 but not set in stone. Should I buy the core i7 860 or wait for the core i9 gulftown and buy it when it comes out? I hear the core i7 is going to be a very expensive processor so maybe it's not worth the wait?

 

[Shadow703793]

You CAN'T use a Core i9 on an LGA1156 platform. Core i9 is ONLY for LGA1366. And yes, at intro the i9 will be about $1000 since it won't have much(any?) competition from AMD for a while.

 

[Shadow703793]

My recommendation: If you need the power of the i9 for some reason (ie running Maya, 3DS,etc) then you can go with an X58 board and i7 920 for now.

If this is just a gaming build, you can stick with LGA1156 or AM3.

 

[tecmo34]

^+1...

Or you can wait for the release of i7 930 early next year (Jan/Feb... I believe). It will be at the same price as the current i7 920 with faster clock speeds, which will make the i7 930 (LGA 1366) the better low cost alternative over the i7 860 (LGA 1156) for the performance king... IMO!!

 

[shadowryche]

I honestly wouldn't be shocked to see Intel introduce the Core i9 at $1499, then maybe the weaker of the i9's a month or so later at around $1,000.

 

[amnotanoobie]

I honestly wouldn't be shocked to see Intel introduce the Core i9 at $1499, then maybe the weaker of the i9's a month or so later at around $1,000.

At least the i7 920 could be cheaper by then....

 

[exm]

^+1...

Or you can wait for the release of i7 930 early next year (Jan/Feb... I believe). It will be at the same price as the current i7 920 with faster clock speeds, which will make the i7 930 (LGA 1366) the better low cost alternative over the i7 860 (LGA 1156) for the performance king... IMO!!

Wouldn't you assume the i7 860 will drop in price by then? Also, Intel will be releasing lower CPUs like the i3 and dual core HT i5s...

 

[amnotanoobie]

Wouldn't you assume the i7 860 will drop in price by then? Also, Intel will be releasing lower CPUs like the i3 and dual core HT i5s...

It could, but why should it? The 860 is the highest thing available for 1156, so if you already got the board you're pretty much stuck with choice of the 860. Also most 1156 boards are still cheaper than the 1366, so even if the 860 and the lowest i9 are equal in price the total system cost for an 860 would still be lower.

 

[4trees]

$1000 for an i9 will be out of budget for most of us. The 930 seems the next best purchase for myself, that way I have another processor to upgrade to in mid-late 2011 when the i9 prices come down (hopefully). That begs the question, will the i9 price drop to ~$200 after 12-18 months of being on the shelf? If it stays at $500 or above a lot of us will be left without a significant upgrade on the same socket.

 

[4trees]

Optimistic or presumptive... Either way if you are right, we all will be cracking up wanting it. I Personally dont assume to know what intel's pricing structure will be, my knowledge is limited to what I read when I have time. Logic would imply that an anticipated new cpu with a new architecture, additional cores, and 4mb additional cache would fetch a hefty price tag. However pricing strategies for a product (or service) get unpredictable when the competition is seeking business in creative ways.

 

[cjl]

They don't have to release i9 to be competitive in price with the x6 if the x6 can only keep up with an i7.

That's the real question - if an i7-950 and the x6 are the same speed (which is entirely possible), then i9 will be in a class of its own, and priced as such.

 

[warmon6]

for me i guess $1k for the core i9.

I just follow history of all the EE cpus and they have been $1k. Although as Cjl has pointed out, the core i9 could be in a class of there own if the x6 can only compete with the i7's. If that the case then the i9 would have a market all to its self.

 

[jj463rd]

I think the price for i9 will be exactly $999.

 

[werxen]

lol $1,000 for an entry level cpu.... HAHAHA.

 

[amnotanoobie]

lol $1,000 for an entry level cpu.... HAHAHA.

When or where was it ever indicated that the i9 would even have an entry level model?

 

[hell_storm2004]

i9 will be the exit level processors of Intel not entry level.
Frankly i9 is bit too much for home use. No need for so many cores when very games have utilized four cores to the max yet! It will be a long time since6 cores make an impact in the market!

 

[cjl]

lol $1,000 for an entry level cpu.... HAHAHA.

i9?

Entry level?


I suppose an Atom is top of the line then...

 

[warmon6]

lol $1,000 for an entry level cpu.... HAHAHA.

core i9, entry level? [:jaydeejohn:4]

the core i9 is going to start off as an EE (extreme edition) cpu. That is very far from an entry cpu.

 

[Scotteq]

For the OP - For what purpose are you building this rig for? If it's "Gaming and Home Usage", please be aware that the extra (real and virtual) cores in an i9 are going to buy you little/no performance increase for general computing. If you were doing things like heavy encoding, rendering, and other massively paralell operations, then an i9 may be justified. Also, as pointed out above your choices dictate different chipsets.

lol $1,000 for an entry level cpu.... HAHAHA.

i9 =/= "Entry Level" Request a little more restraint before opening one's mouth.

 

[gclambert]

It is difficult for me to see the I9s being ridiculously expensive. If all the I9s, including the much lower clock models carry a heavy price tag, then the company will not make any money on them. They have to put a reasonable tag on the the lower end models for them to eventually make their way into the mainstream. No doubt that the extreme models will be priced at about $1000, or more, but everything under that has to be prices reasonably in order to make money. That's just my 2 cents.