Are the older Core i7s still winners

[graemevermeulen]

Hey all,

Just want some opinions on whether the older socket 1366 Core i7s are still legit in terms of performance.

Would you still buy one?

If you've got one when do you plan on upgrading?

Much appreciated...

 

[sosofm]

Now i don't buy an i7 1366. But if you allready have one it not worth to upgrade yet. Keep it.

 

[graemevermeulen]

Just wasn't keen on the 8x/8x PCIe limitations of 1155, yet a lot of people seem to have gone that route

 

[sosofm]

The diference between x8/x8 and x16/x16 is under 1%.

 

[viktorbkk]

1366 i7s are 0-15% slower clock for clock compare to Sandy Bridge, depending on the situation. For games, there isn't really a difference.
If you already own a 1366 platform, then don't upgrade at least until Haswell comes out. If you want to buy a new platform now, then you 're better off with LGA2011 I guess, since you need 16/16 PCIe. You are correct that 1155 isn't the right platform for multiple GPU setups.

 

[graemevermeulen]

I know the stock clocks are faster, but when overclocked how do they compare? For example - a Core i7 920 @ 4GHz compared to a Core i7 2600K @ 4GHz?

 

[zhihao50]

thats what viktorbkk means by clock for clock, sandy bridge is faster then i7 920 at the same clock rate

 

[KNO3]

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/x86-core-performance-comparison/benchmarks,128.html

15% looks like it's pushing it. Most applications seem to be much lower than that. Upgrading to anything below the 2011 is a waste of money and the sheer cost of 2011 for a slight upgrade is a waste of money anyway.

 

[Wisecracker]

Hey all,

Just want some opinions on whether the older socket 1366 Core i7s are still legit in terms of performance.

...

Yes.

You have a workstation-class rig and multitasking, multi-threading bandwidth monster. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

 

[graemevermeulen]

Thanks guys. It's just the thought that at the back of my mind, there's something better out there to upgrade to. Is it worth it? That's what I'm wrestling with in my mind. A good LGA2011 motherboard and CPU will set me back in excess of £400, then I'm going from a Core i7 to a Core i7, doesn't make much sense to me. Yes, PCIe 3.0 and native Sata3 and USB3 support, but as far as I'm concerned we haven't got any technology that can fully saturate a PCIe 2.0 or a Sata 6Gb/s.

Are enthusiasts trying to wear pants that are too big for their bodies here? There comes a point where the performance gains are fractional and it's literally just p****** money down the toilet.

 

[KNO3]

Exactly. I went through the exact same dilemma. I'm sitting at 4.2ghz on a 920 and no matter how hard I try, I just can't justify upgrading right now. I realized that I wanted to upgrade just for the sake of upgrading.

 

[graemevermeulen]

I think the Core i7 was way ahead of its time, it's still such a beast in terms of raw power. The second generation gave us an increase of 10-15% which is great but we won't even notice it. If I had a GPU bottleneck I'd definitely look at upgrading, but when I run games and see both GPUs working at 98% I know that there's no bottleneck.

When I see some guys putting TWO Core i7 Extremes on Classifed SR2s with Tri-SLI GTX 580s, I can't help but think "what a w*****. And maybe feel a little jealous too, and I can admit that.

With regards to gaming, I personally think 3 monitors is overkill. When we can buy screens that join seamlessly without the black edges where the one monitor ends and the other monitor starts, then I'll look at surround displays. I think surround and 3D gaming is still in its infancy.

Companies love to torture us by releasing newer and better parts right after we think we've just bagged a bargain. How many times have you either bought something because it dropped in price only to watch it drop some more after you've bought it? Or held off on buying because you wait for it to drop some more and 2 years has gone by and they still haven't released a new part?

#RantOver

 

[graemevermeulen]

I see what you're saying. Maybe I'll give it another go.

So you don't have that set up anymore? Was that a Core i5?

 

[KNO3]

I've got a buddy that says the same thing. The bezels seem like they would be completely obnoxious to me, but he swears up and down that when you're playing you don't even notice them. I guess I wouldn't mind trying it but I always end up finding other components I'd rather spend my money on.

 

[graemevermeulen]

I've got a buddy that says the same thing. The bezels seem like they would be completely obnoxious to me, but he swears up and down that when you're playing you don't even notice them. I guess I wouldn't mind trying it but I always end up finding other components I'd rather spend my money on.

Totally agree with that. Just bought myself a second GTX 580, trying hard to keep it a secret from my girlfriend or she'll kill me but hey, she shouldn't notice the extra card in my machine when she's playing the Sims

There's always something awesome coming out that I just must have...

 

[graemevermeulen]

I use a smaller set-up than most, I use 3 - 17" LCD's @ 3840 x 1024 resolution.
most use 3 - 1080p @ 5760 x 1080p and to me that's too big or, maybe I'm getting old..!

but I have the same full effect at a cheaper and smaller price /size.

I'd also go with smaller monitors because it's effectively 3x17 which is a 51" screen!

 

[graemevermeulen]

:lol:
I had to build my ol' lady her own unit...
i3-2120 / H67 / GTX550-Ti

now she leaves me alone a lil' bit more...



exactly...

Ha, when/IF we get married I'll build her her own rig. She loves to hog my machine especially when I've just bought a new game I'm dying to play.

Love her to bits though

 

[KNO3]

I built my fiance a computer. She left me and took the computer. Lesson learned.

 

[graemevermeulen]

I built my fiance a computer. She left me and took the computer. Lesson learned.

Well at least she took a fine piece of hardware with her.

And bad karma, too.