bakes the i7920 is clocked at 2.6ghz by default the i7980 is 3.3ghz by default he said he wasnt overclocking so yes the i7980 is faster in games at default speeds which was what he asked. and yes i know games dont scale past 4ghz as well. diffrence is you dont need a prime 920 to hit 4ghz on the i7980 as it will do 4ghz easy mode. 2 of my m8s 920s dont break 3.6ghz, the 930 they replaced did 3.5ghz its just about luck of the chips with motherboard combos. the assumption that every 920 and 930 will do 4ghz by default is a funny misconception but its not a correct one 920 i had did 4.1ghz (sister now owns this pc clocked at 2.8ghz for her ) 930 i got did 3.8ghz (mam got this pc now clocked at 3ghz for her ) i980 i have does 4.7ghz if i wanted it to ( its clocked at 4.2ghz for stability and not needing more speed )
Cheers, i have made my mind up, this is the CPU i will go for! As for installing the CPU, i really want to do it myself but am a bit worried and think i will also overkill with my checking - but thats ok as i think i might have OCD anyway as i am constantly checking stuff, the 3 test check is weird, but i always do this!! I have been looking through issue 79 (April 2010) of Cutsom PC mag regarding the bespoke graphics workstation. They specified a Xeon W3520 on a Asus P6T WS Professional motherboard, but strongly hinted in upgrading it later to the 6 core CPU's. So, what do you think of this motherboard with the 980x, or is there a better WS board about - i was thinking of using ECC RAM (following the magazine)?
I read something last night that has worried me a bit! sorry to ask so many questions, but; Is it true that the LGA1366 will be discontinued as from next year ready for new sockets? I am not an expert on this (as this will be my first build), but could i be wasting a serious amount of cash if it basically kills off any future upgrades for me? Or is it not really a problem, as by building a system like this it will hopefully last me for years and i wont need many upgrades (memory, graphics etc). So the redundant socket is not really relevant?
They are killing off LGA1366, correct. However, the setup you buy now will probably last you two years or more before it feels dated. This will probably last you long enough that it doesn't really matter, though, because the extra cost of a motherboard isn't that high in comparison to the processor you're about to buy You could wait for Sandy Bridge, but imo, if you're waiting for everything, you might as well just wait forever.
Thank you for clearing that up. I am not planning on really playing games and the version of Cinema 4D i have is more than adequate - so no software upgrades there for a bit either. You are right this set up will be great for some time for me! i am not sure i undersatnd fully. You mentioned about the extra cost of the motherboard in comaparison with the CPU - i thought that the i980x after next year will not be able to be put into a newer motherboard? Also, i am still tying to decide on the motherboard - from my last post which do you recommend or better please? is it ok to ask this many questions? thank you
If you were going to upgrade your processor, you'd need to upgrade the motherboard for the new socket. As it is, it's not such a big deal for you because the value of the processor is such that a motherboard upgrade pales in comparison. On the other hand, for someone spending £170 on their processor and £130 on their motherboard, it's a much bigger deal, because the motherboard is near 50% of the value of the rig. For you, the motherboard is about 18% of the value of the CPU/motherboard package, so it's much less of a big deal if you had to upgrade it, were you ever to upgrade your CPU.
Make a list of must haves. ie USB 3 sata 6gig, the lay out of the PCI and PCI x16 slots etc what cards do you want to fit and will they fit together and other features you would like. Then have a good look around as to what best fits. As for the socket being discontinued i wouldn't worry the processor has more than enough longevity in it. But for what you want, does the P6T workstation fit the bill, will you use the SAS and the PCI-X slots???
