I5 or i7? (desktop upgrade for gaming)

[electrizer]

Hello all!

My name is Przemek, I'm new here.

I wanted to upgrade my desktop. Recently I've come back to gaming (woohoo!! ) and what I have is way behind today's standard. I was looking at an Asus P6T SE + an Intel i7, or a differen mobo and an Intel i5. Both quad-core, both 2.66. What is the factual difference between the two? If I take i5 will that have a lot of negative impact on the quality?

Also what else would you recommend that I get new? My videocard is Asus Radeon HD 4850 1 GB (bought like 2 mths ago). I reckon a new PSU would be in place too. But I need something QUIET!!!!!!!!!! I hate that mixture of humming and buzzing. Apart from cpu, psu, mobo and ram is there anything else I should remember about? What kind of colling system maybe?

Thanks in advance everybody!!!!
Przemek

 

[electrizer]

Wow... thanks for a warm welcome

 

[Nils]

Well first of all, there are two types of i7 cpu's, some running on the 1366 socket and others on the 1156 socket. This restricts the choice of motherboard.

For a gaming rig that's future proof for a some years to come I would opt for the i7 on socket 1366. The mobo you mentioned supports those cpu's. These boards also support triple channel ram which 1156 one's don't.

The card you have is a good one to start with, but if it would lack performance you can always buy a second one and setup a crossfire system.

About the ultra quiet system. A gaming rig produces a lot of heat. To cool everything quietly you will need a big enough case, at least a large mid tower with many options to install extra fans.

Are you considering overclocking?

Hope this a good basic explanation. Please post further questions.

 

[electrizer]

Not sure about overclocking, maybe I'll play with it a little.

From what I've read buying i7 is a better option in the long term.

Thanks!

 

[Nils]

Indeed better for long term.

No further questions?

 

[Nils]

Why paying a 1000$ for a future cpu upgrade?

 

[MARSOC_Operator]

http://www.google.com/search?aq=f&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=difference+between+core+i5+and+core+i7%3F

You need to fill out the new build form instead of asking 15 random questons in 1 paragraph.

Any decent video card or case/cpu cooling is going to drown out any noise from a psu, so that's not relevent. There is no such thing as a quiet gaming pc unless your playing mah jong.

What??? Have you ever heard about silent parts? My PC is as noisy as an empty library. I use Noctua fans, a silent PSU from Antec and Sapphire Vapor-X 5870's, there is absolutely no noise coming from my gaming PC even on full load..

 

[Nils]

What??? Have you ever heard about silent parts? My PC is as noisy as an empty library. I use Noctua fans, a silent PSU from Antec and Sapphire Vapor-X 5870's, there is absolutely no noise coming from my gaming PC even on full load..

What chassis, cpu cooler are you using? Might be helpful for electrizer to choose the same components.

 

[ares1214]

well there is noise, you just dont detect it :lol: and heres what id do. if you want a quick an easy/cheap fix, get the i5. if you plan on upgrading in the future, get an am3 setup. am3 is cheaper, and slower, but unless you are doing some serious computing, you wont notice it. the good thing about am3 is the upgrade path to bulldozer and what not. although if you just plan on getting the parts, putting them together, using it for 4 years, then getting a new one, i5 is the better bet. and welcome to Tom's

 

[MARSOC_Operator]

Not sure about overclocking, maybe I'll play with it a little.

From what I've read buying i7 is a better option in the long term.

Thanks!

Is there such thing as long term when it comes to technology? You know there isn't. When the that time comes, you will need to upgrade everything, because there will be a new CPU socket, a new memory type and new interfaces for hardware parts, storage.... Think about what you need NOW. If gaming is what you want, the i5 is a much better option.

 

[MARSOC_Operator]

What chassis, cpu cooler are you using? Might be helpful for electrizer to choose the same components.

It doenst matter what case. I replace everything with Noctua fans, all my cases sound the same. Because I use the same 3x120 fans on all of them...

 

[ares1214]

o, and as far as quiet cases, id recommend the Cooler Master 690 II Advanced. It is an amazing case, but the beauty of it is that YOU make it quiet. At stock, its nothing special. But it has 10 spots for fans, so you can buy the quietest fans you can find, put them in there wherever you want, and you wont hear a thing. (if you do it right)

 

[Nils]

Is there such thing as long term when it comes to technology? You know there isn't. When the that time comes, you will need to upgrade everything, because there will be a new CPU socket, a new memory type and new interfaces for hardware parts, storage.... Think about what you need NOW. If gaming is what you want, the i5 is a much better option.

It's not because there is a new cpu that you will need it to play the games from that time. With core i7 you can play games from now and some years to come, especially if you oc it. When it comes to gaming, the vga is what you need to upgrade on a regular basis, not the cpu.

 

[MARSOC_Operator]

It's not because there is a new cpu that you will need it to play the games from that time. With core i7 you can play games from now and some years to come, especially if you oc it. When it comes to gaming, the vga is what you need to upgrade on a regular basis, not the cpu.

Exactly. that's why there is no pointing in recommending the i7 over the i5. the i5 is stellar in gaming and in a lot of benchmarks it even beats the i7.

Perhaps you are impressed with the i7 because you believe that 7 is better than 5. It's just numbers, in actual gaming performance, clock for clock the i5 is equal or better than i7.

But you do need to upgrade your CPU on a regulars basis, IF you would like to use a high-end video solution. CPU bottlecks GPU, that's why you need a good one. I use 2x5870s, without upgradinhg my CPU I'd have expensive paperweights inside my case...

 

[Nils]

It doenst matter what case. I replace everything with Noctua fans, all my cases sound the same. Because I use the same 3x120 fans on all of them...

Case really does matter. I have all my hardware in a full tower. Inside the temps are the same as ambient even under load.
I just build a pc with some hardware I had laying around into a much smaller coolermaster sileo case. This hardware gets very hot (though not as hot as mine) in there so I had to add a 2000rpm fan at the exhaust to keep inside temp within tolerance.

 

[MARSOC_Operator]

o, and as far as quiet cases, id recommend the Cooler Master 690 II Advanced. It is an amazing case, but the beauty of it is that YOU make it quiet. At stock, its nothing special. But it has 10 spots for fans, so you can buy the quietest fans you can find, put them in there wherever you want, and you wont hear a thing. (if you do it right)

Lian-Li cases are much quieter than Cooler Master even without changing anything... Not to mention much higher quality.

 

[Nils]

Lian-Li lacks cooling as there are no standard fan mounts on top of the case.
They are the most beautiful cases out there though.

 

[MARSOC_Operator]

Case really does matter. I have all my hardware in a full tower. Inside the temps are the same as ambient even under load.
I just build a pc with some hardware I had laying around into a much smaller coolermaster sileo case. This hardware gets very hot (though not as hot as mine) in there so I had to add a 2000rpm fan at the exhaust to keep inside temp within tolerance.

Full towers are for newbies and teenage gamers. Mature gamers user high-quality all-aluminum mid-towers from Lian-Li. Try one and you will get rid of that cheap Cooler Master POS in a minute...

 

[ares1214]

no, not really. it doesnt beat it, you just wont see a large difference, since most games barely even use 4 cores, so the HT is irrelevant.

 

[MARSOC_Operator]

Lian-Li lacks cooling as there are no standard fan mounts on top of the case.
They are the most beautiful cases out there though.

Why do you need top mounted fans? Do you like to have a jet engine in your case? Standard quite fans is all I need to keep everything very cool. If I'd need anythnig more extreme than that, I'd opt for water cooling. Lian-Li are 100% compatible with water cooling, but I don't need that. I don't do extreme overclock crap only for bragging rights, my Noctua fans are enough for 4Ghz without noise.

 

[Nils]

Exactly. that's why there is no pointing in recommending the i7 over the i5. the i5 is stellar in gaming and in a lot of benchmarks it even beats the i7.

Perhaps you are impressed with the i7 because you believe that 7 is better than 5. It's just numbers, in actual gaming performance, clock for clock the i5 is equal or better than i7.

But you do need to upgrade your CPU on a regulars basis, IF you would like to use a high-end video solution. CPU bottlecks GPU, that's why you need a good one. I use 2x5870s, without upgradinhg my CPU I'd have expensive paperweights inside my case...

i7 is not just about the cpu. It's also about a 4.8gt/s connection with the chipset vs only 2.5gt/s for i5. It's about triple channel memory bandwith which really shows the power of DDR3. Dual channel on i5 doesn't. It's about at least 36 pcie lanes and even more with the nf200 chip so you can always install a true dual x16 gpu setup. With i5 only the better 1156 mobo's have dual x16 and these even cost more than a standard 1366 mobo like the asus p6t.

 

[ares1214]

Full towers are for newbies and teenage gamers. Mature gamers user high-quality all-aluminum mid-towers from Lian-Li. Try one and you will get rid of that cheap Cooler Master POS in a minute...

once again, wrong. full towers are not for newbies and teenage gamers, fulltowers are for people who have the money, and want the space and cooling. mature games :lol: :lol: :lol: kinda sounds like an oxymoron to me. no, "mature gamers" buy what case fits their uses and budget. Lian Li makes great cases, but only a fanboy of them would say EVERYTHING else is bad and "mature gamers" use them.

 

[ares1214]

i7 is not just about the cpu. It's also about a 4.8gt/s connection with the chipset vs only 2.5gt/s for i5. It's about triple channel memory bandwith which really shows the power of DDR3. Dual channel on i5 doesn't. It's about at least 36 pcie lanes and even more with the nf200 chip so you can always install a true dual x16 gpu setup. With i5 only the better 1156 mobo's have dual x16 and these even cost more than a standard 1366 mobo like the asus p6t.

sigh, you all need to get informed! ok, dual channel and triple channel memory make a negligible, if any difference. pretty much same thing with the chipset. The difference between a x16 lane and a x8 lane is about 5%, so going from dual x16 to dual x8 is not gonna lose ya much. if you even go dual card at all.

 

[Nils]

Why do you need top mounted fans? Do you like to have a jet engine in your case? Standard quite fans is all I need to keep everything very cool. If I'd need anythnig more extreme than that, I'd opt for water cooling. Lian-Li are 100% compatible with water cooling, but I don't need that. I don't do extreme overclock crap only for bragging rights, my Noctua fans are enough for 4Ghz without noise.

Hot air rises so you can get rid of it easier and more quietly by the top then by the back

 

[Nils]

once again, wrong. full towers are not for newbies and teenage gamers, fulltowers are for people who have the money, and want the space and cooling. mature games :lol: :lol: :lol: kinda sounds like an oxymoron to me. no, "mature gamers" buy what case fits their uses and budget. Lian Li makes great cases, but only a fanboy of them would say EVERYTHING else is bad and "mature gamers" use them.

You are damn damn right. Totally agree with you. +1