I7 860 vs i5 750 in the long run?

[mariotheotaku]

I'm in the process of building my first gaming/entertainment rig and I have chosen most of my components but I'm still indecisive about the CPU, I can't decide between the i7 860 and the i5 750, I plan to stick to the PC components I choose for a couple of years, most of my gaming is playing WOW, maybe play some Sims 3 or FPS later on and the rest I plan on watching Blu-Rays, DVDs and lastly use Photoshop and 3d animation programs. I also plan to use 2 monitors on this system (not sure if that matters). The thing that I find most difficult about choosing is HT, is it important right now for gaming and multitasking? Will I be ok for a few years(2-4) with the i5 or is the i7 a better choice in the long run since I don't want to have to find out a year from now that the i5 was a bad for the programs or games I'm using. The thing I like about the i5 is the price mostly since I'm on a budget around $1,500.

Thank you

 

[apache_lives]

I love hyperthreading, if it was me id chace it, and no it wont show up on benchmarks (most of the time) but general usage is where it shows up - only owners of any HT chip could tell you etc.

 

[amnotanoobie]

Well, the better threaded apps become, the better it could utilize HT. Most games today utilize around 4 cores or usually only two, thus it doesn't show gains of having HT.

Try it on rendering or transcoding apps that support greater than 4 cores, and the 860 would shine.

 

[Maziar]

Here is a good review which compares them:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3641&p=1

 

[cjl]

I love hyperthreading, if it was me id chace it, and no it wont show up on benchmarks (most of the time) but general usage is where it shows up - only owners of any HT chip could tell you etc.

That's not as true with an i7 actually. It made a big difference with the P4 in general feel, since the extra thread really helped responsiveness when you started with just one. If you're starting with a quad core though, there isn't a huge difference in feel between HT on and off.

There is a significant difference in several high-load applications though.

 

[cyberkuberiah]

i have a 750 , running on stock now , and dont have professional video editing needs or something like that to make much of a difference . coming from older dual cores , the 750 at stock is pretty decent , i will oc it when necessary to 3.6-4.0 when i really feel the need to do so , in games and all its not necessarry at all , now , to buy an aftermarket fan and stuff .

 

[fshaharyar]

go with i860 instead of i750 better effeciency as well 8 thread advantage over i5

 

[AlienIsGOD]

+1 to the 860. It will be future proof and with an o/c later on will last for a good while.

 

[Maziar]

Why more future proof ? both are socket 1156 so both will be used on a P55 motherboard and therefor if any newer CPUs come out,you can upgrade from both

 

[notty22]

Intel plans on including hyperthreading on a lot of its new low cost 32nm processors according to this new partial intel roadmap floating around today.
Dual cores with hyperthreading the I3. The roadmap lists threads not physical cores, so its a little bit of a mystery.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/29/intels-desktop-roadmap-leaked-with-faster-i5-and-i7-introduct/
plus 1 for hyperthreading, if you can squeeze it in budget.

 

[jerreece]

With $1,500 budget, I can't see how you'd have difficulty building an entire machine around the i7-860.

That being said, i recently went from a Q6600 to the i5-750. Part of me wonders if I should have splurged for the i7-860, however it came down to a budget decision on my part.

Having said that, I'm running my i5-750 at stock 2.66Ghz since I have yet to receive my 1156 bracket for my CPU cooler. I'm stuck with the Intel stock cooler (which sucks) until UPS shows up tonight.

Comparing my i5-750 @ 2.66Ghz to my Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz I haven't seen any real difference in games (GTIV, Far Cry 2, Flashpoint Dragon Rising, Dragon Age: Origins).

 

[cyberkuberiah]

With $1,500 budget, I can't see how you'd have difficulty building an entire machine around the i7-860.

That being said, i recently went from a Q6600 to the i5-750. Part of me wonders if I should have splurged for the i7-860, however it came down to a budget decision on my part.

Having said that, I'm running my i5-750 at stock 2.66Ghz since I have yet to receive my 1156 bracket for my CPU cooler. I'm stuck with the Intel stock cooler (which sucks) until UPS shows up tonight.

Comparing my i5-750 @ 2.66Ghz to my Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz I haven't seen any real difference in games (GTIV, Far Cry 2, Flashpoint Dragon Rising, Dragon Age: Origins).

860's 40% more price does not give 40% more performance in ANY game . which cooler are u getting ? i too am running it on stock , please post your oc results sometime later and which ram ur using ? i have a ud2 .

 

[EXT64]

Yeah, that is the problem I saw too. The 860 is a great chip no doubt, but I couldn't justify the extra cost. And over all the reviews I saw, first many apps didn't show any benefit from hyperthreading, and even in those that did I didn't see an increase that was worth $90 or so. Of course, if you are constantly using apps that would benefit from Hyperthreading, then that $90 might be a bargain.

As for cooling, I wouldn't pay more that $30 or so, as that is the price of a CM Hyper 212 Plus, which has the 1156 bracket and is a pretty good core contact cooler (only downside I have heard is the fan supplied is mediocre).

 

[cyberkuberiah]

Yeah, that is the problem I saw too. The 860 is a great chip no doubt, but I couldn't justify the extra cost. And over all the reviews I saw, first many apps didn't show any benefit from hyperthreading, and even in those that did I didn't see an increase that was worth $90 or so. Of course, if you are constantly using apps that would benefit from Hyperthreading, then that $90 might be a bargain.

As for cooling, I wouldn't pay more that $30 or so, as that is the price of a CM Hyper 212 Plus, which has the 1156 bracket and is a pretty good core contact cooler (only downside I have heard is the fan supplied is mediocre).

considering the rest of nehalem chips , the i5 750 has some good price/performance with almost the same practikal overclockability as the 860 for day to day use .

i am running mine on stock for now , is ok for almost everything , as i dont work with videos or photos professionally .

i see u're running ud4p , imo best p55 mobo for sli/cf but i only have 1360x768 on a 32'' lcd tv , so got a ud2 and saved another 60 dollars for running a single card setup .

 

[EXT64]

Yeah, I went for the UD4P just to keep the option open and because Newegg had it for a good price and good combos. I probably won't go CF anytime soon (next card probably a single 5850 or 5870).