Core i7 Showdown

[Archenix]

Between these 2 rigs, which would be the better 2. I plan on purchasing the processor from microcenter, both the i7 930 and i7 860 are $199 there. So subtract that from the original rigs and you have the real price. Would the ram amount make a huge difference? Triple Channel vs Dual Channel? Thanks in advance.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=12637945 - $1383/i7 930

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=18356708- $1289/ i7 860


Sorry about the links

 

[ulysses35]

i7 930 usues LGA1366 socket which is due to receive 6 core CPU's this year

 

[Archenix]

But won't that cost roughly $1000? That exceeds my budget by quite a bit.

 

[coldsleep]

It would be a little easier to answer the question if you provided some more info about the intended usage, etc. See the How to Ask for New Build Advice thread.

For example: 4 GB of RAM is about all you need for gaming, but if you plan on doing music editing or running a ton of VMs, you might want more. The graphics card is ok, but if you have 3 screens and you want to game on them, you might be better off going with a less expensive processor and getting a better graphics card.

The i7-930 build is probably going to be seen as a little more future proof, but initially, there won't really be too much difference in the two.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Links don't work.

Yes, the 1st hexacore is out at a cost of $1k .... don't expect them to cost that in 2011.

As for RAM, 3 sticks (1366) will be about 50% more than the cost of 2 sticks (1156).

 

[cory1234]

If you live near a microcenter you can get the i7 930 for much cheaper than newegg.
Go with the 1366 build. It is more future proof because eventually there will be 32nm quads and six core processors that don't cost $1000 and will drop right into exisiting x58 mbs. It will probably retain a higher resale value over time also.

 

[Archenix]

The links are fixed. Thanks for all the replies guys. I dont really plan on updating my comp a year after a get it. I leave to college in 2 years. And i plan on using the setup 70% of the time for gaming, 30% of the time will be used for watching movies, listening to music, and surfing the web. I rarely use photoshop. And most applications and games dont even use 4 cores yet, wont 6 cores be a standard in like 4 years?

 

[cory1234]

Most games coming out use 4 cores..IE Starcraft 2, Crysis 2, etc. If you decide to upgrade in 2-3 years it's always nice to have the option of getting a better processor. With the 1156 build you won't have that option.