Core i5 vs Core i7?

[ambam]

What are the main differences between the Core i5 and the Core i7? The only thing I know is that they use different socket types and different chipsets. Did I make the right decision by getting a Core i7 over a Core i5?

 

[ambam]

core i7 has hyperthreading which makes the cpu emulate 4 extra cores (8 cores).
a core i7 is aimed for ppl who do lots of work encoding/ audio editing and rendering.
a core i5 is the same chip without hyperthreading.

Doesn't the X58 motherboard have a better RAID controller than the P55?

Eventually PC games will use more than four threads, making the Core i7 a better investment than the Core i5. But by that time, most people will have processors with 8-12 physical cores.

 

[ambam]

you should be looking at second generation i-series f you are looking to build a new PC, such as the 2500K and the 2600K, thats what amd655 was talking about too. the P67/Z68 chipsets motherboards would be a good choice too but it all depends on your budget and if you are looking to build a new rig, or just upgrade your current one (or just enquiring )

[EDIT]: amd655, only saw your last post after i posted mine, but yeah.

The 8-core "ivy bridge" processors are just around the corner (Q4 2011) along with the X78 chipset with quad channel memory, PCIe 3.0 x16, and tons of other high-performance features. It will obliterate the nehalem and the SB.

Clock for clock, the SB is only about 15-20% faster than the nehalem, it isn't that much faster to be worth the upgrade costs. A new processor, motherboard, and memory would cost about $750. Also, the SB only has dual channel memory and PCIe 2.0 x8 bandwidth.

I'm guessing the Ivy Bridge will be about 45-50% faster than the nehalem, and 25-30% faster than the SB.

 

[ambam]

@ ambam you dont make any sense.
you asked us what is better x58 or p55.
yet we said p67/z68 is better.
then to top it off you go and say its only a bit better in performance.
please do correct me if i am wrong but you are basically saying we are wrong and i know full well that you know all this stuff we are saying.
who cares about ivy bridge it aint even out yet.

I asked what the differences were between the nehalem variants of the Core i7 and Core i5 (which someone answered) The SB are slightly faster than the nehalems, but I believe that you turned this thread into an argument about how I should have waited and gotten the 2nd generation of the Core "i" series instead of my humble nehalem. The main reason why I didn't get the SB is because the IB is right around the corner.

The enthusiast-level 8-core IB will probably be close to, or over $1,000.

 

[ambam]

Best answer selected by ambam.