Hi all,
Initially I starting spec'ing an i7 920 based machine but then after reading around I've seen that real world gaming performance the i5 750 seems quite close. I'm presuming this is because:
a) The games on the market aren't current making efficient use of the triple channel DDR3 or the Quad core hyperthreading technologies.
b) The Turboboost on the i5 750 is more efficiently utilised
c) All of the above
d) I'm reading the wrong stuff and have got it all wrong
Now, although the most likely answer to this is D, I have been putting together an i5 and i7 build and they seem very close cost wise. I'm wondering whether the parts I have selected for the i7 aren't comparable to the parts for the i5, especially RAM and MB. As a side to gaming I'd like to run multiple VMs occasionally, hence the necessity for 6-8GB RAM. Also note, I'll probably run Win 7 Ultimate 64.
Non processor specific parts:
ATI Radeon 5870 - £330
Prolimatech Megahalems Black Anodised Mega Shadow 6xHeatpipe Tower CPU Cooler for 1156 & 775/1366 - £47
Antec 300 Three Hundred Case - £45
Antec EarthWatts 750W Modular PSU - 80plus Certified 9x SATA 4x PCI-E - £80
300GB Velociraptor - £180
Total: £682
i7 Specific:
i7 920 d0 - £220
I7 ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 iX58 Socket 1366 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard £200
Corsair 6GB (3x2GB) 1600MHz Triple Channel i7 XMS Memory Kit CL7 1.65V - £150
Total: £570
i5 Specific:
i5 750 2.66GHz Socket LGA1156 £150
Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz XMS3 Memory Kit CL7(7-8-7-20) 1.65V Unbuffered Non-ECC - £115 x2 So £230
Asus P7P55d-E Pro - £150
Total: £530
Additional cooling: Case comes with 120mm rear fan and 140mm top fan
So, In summary:
£40 difference, so this is negligable
Both apparently overclockable to 4GHz
i5 has 2GB extra RAM
i5 build has support for SATA 6G and USB 3
i5 has better turboboost
i7 has hyperthreaded cores
i7 has triple channel memory
i7 build has better support for SLI or crossfire
It seems both have benefits but in different departments, the two builds both have pros and cons. I can't help but think I have missed something from the i7 build. I shall try and be concise with my questions to make it easier for everybody:
1) Is there something I have missed on the i7 build?
2) Apart from future resistance (SLI/crossfire and newer architecture), does the i7 have current real world benefits to the i5?
3) Are the Triple Channel i7 XMS and Dual Channel XMS3 Memory comparable (apart from the additional 64bit channel thing that is... not sure about XMS and XMS3 thing)
4) Is there a gaming bottleneck in these builds apart from the graphics card? With most games I have played L4D2, TF2, Dawn of War2, Bioshock, Mirror's Edge, Call of Duty 4,Red faction: Guerrilla it seems to be my underspec'd graphics card that seems to limit game play and not my AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ OC'd to 2.61 or any other components.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Many Thanks,
Chooibah
Initially I starting spec'ing an i7 920 based machine but then after reading around I've seen that real world gaming performance the i5 750 seems quite close. I'm presuming this is because:
a) The games on the market aren't current making efficient use of the triple channel DDR3 or the Quad core hyperthreading technologies.
b) The Turboboost on the i5 750 is more efficiently utilised
c) All of the above
d) I'm reading the wrong stuff and have got it all wrong
Now, although the most likely answer to this is D, I have been putting together an i5 and i7 build and they seem very close cost wise. I'm wondering whether the parts I have selected for the i7 aren't comparable to the parts for the i5, especially RAM and MB. As a side to gaming I'd like to run multiple VMs occasionally, hence the necessity for 6-8GB RAM. Also note, I'll probably run Win 7 Ultimate 64.
Non processor specific parts:
ATI Radeon 5870 - £330
Prolimatech Megahalems Black Anodised Mega Shadow 6xHeatpipe Tower CPU Cooler for 1156 & 775/1366 - £47
Antec 300 Three Hundred Case - £45
Antec EarthWatts 750W Modular PSU - 80plus Certified 9x SATA 4x PCI-E - £80
300GB Velociraptor - £180
Total: £682
i7 Specific:
i7 920 d0 - £220
I7 ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 iX58 Socket 1366 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard £200
Corsair 6GB (3x2GB) 1600MHz Triple Channel i7 XMS Memory Kit CL7 1.65V - £150
Total: £570
i5 Specific:
i5 750 2.66GHz Socket LGA1156 £150
Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz XMS3 Memory Kit CL7(7-8-7-20) 1.65V Unbuffered Non-ECC - £115 x2 So £230
Asus P7P55d-E Pro - £150
Total: £530
Additional cooling: Case comes with 120mm rear fan and 140mm top fan
So, In summary:
£40 difference, so this is negligable
Both apparently overclockable to 4GHz
i5 has 2GB extra RAM
i5 build has support for SATA 6G and USB 3
i5 has better turboboost
i7 has hyperthreaded cores
i7 has triple channel memory
i7 build has better support for SLI or crossfire
It seems both have benefits but in different departments, the two builds both have pros and cons. I can't help but think I have missed something from the i7 build. I shall try and be concise with my questions to make it easier for everybody:
1) Is there something I have missed on the i7 build?
2) Apart from future resistance (SLI/crossfire and newer architecture), does the i7 have current real world benefits to the i5?
3) Are the Triple Channel i7 XMS and Dual Channel XMS3 Memory comparable (apart from the additional 64bit channel thing that is... not sure about XMS and XMS3 thing)
4) Is there a gaming bottleneck in these builds apart from the graphics card? With most games I have played L4D2, TF2, Dawn of War2, Bioshock, Mirror's Edge, Call of Duty 4,Red faction: Guerrilla it seems to be my underspec'd graphics card that seems to limit game play and not my AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ OC'd to 2.61 or any other components.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Many Thanks,
Chooibah