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CPU i7 860 LGA1156 or i7 960 LGA1336?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by H2O, 7 Sep 2009.

  1. H2O

    H2O Burnt Acrylic - Mmmmmm

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    I've been planning a system update for some time now. Here are my current specs.

    Intel E8400, DFI LP X48 LT, HD4870 512Mb, 8Gb OCZ DDR2

    I was originally planning to go for i9, but seeing how expensive it is I decided to go for the Enthusiast chips instead.

    However, I am torn between the 1366 socket and the 1156 socket. I am worried that after i9, the 1366 socket will die. But I am also worried that the next gen of enthusiast chips will only go to the 1366.

    The only game I regularly use is Flight Simulator X, so cores really don't affect performance, but the speed does. That's why I was going to go for a 960 and overclock it to 4.4GHz+. However, with the new P55 boards 55% off tomorrow, it's making my decision very difficult.

    What do you think?
     
    Last edited: 9 Sep 2009
  2. wyx087

    wyx087 Homeworld 3 is happening!!

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    if CPU speed matters, it means it's single threaded. i think LGA1156 + i5 750 and clock the nuts out of it. i have achieved 3Ghz 24/7 on stock cooling and 3.4Ghz stable. went for 3.8Ghz for a while before Intel TM throttling kicked in. all on stock cooling.

    HT adds heat to the CPU, so most extreme overclockers turn it off.

    i think the only advantage LGA1336 have over LGA1156 is tri-channel. it's something that will be unnotceable in single threaded programs. for multi-threaded, i7's HT kicks in but we have no idea on how much tri-channel will help because those with i7 860/870 (LGA1156 chips) didn't post any benchmarks. (looking at you xtrafresh)
     
  3. H2O

    H2O Burnt Acrylic - Mmmmmm

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    Ok, thanks for the advice. I'll wait for some benchmarks. Although I might pick up a P55 and 750 for my second computer. If I do, I'll post some benchmarks.
     
  4. wyx087

    wyx087 Homeworld 3 is happening!!

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    i have posted benchmarks of i5 750, search for my thread in hardware section
     
  5. Abhorsen

    Abhorsen Minimodder

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    Agreed, the price of the boards tomorrow has thrown a spanner in the works for me.
     
  6. trig

    trig god's little mistake

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    dont guess that price drop was good for those in the states???

    i'd go 920 if you live in the states and can get the chip here.
     
  7. Slizza

    Slizza beautiful to demons

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    Clock for clock and max overclocked the 1336 cpu's are a decent amount faster than any of the new ones from what i've seen.
    That coupled with the prices then the 920 is still the best choice to make.
    I don't think i'm being bias just because i have one.
     
  8. smc8788

    smc8788 Multimodder

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    I wouldn't say it's necessarily the "best" choice, because if it's purely gaming performance you're after (which, lets face it, is probably the vast majority of people here), then you need look no further than the i5 750, as it can easily keep up with the 920 and even surpass from most of the reviews I've seen, and it does this at a lower price point than the 1366 platform so is definitely the better buy for someone looking for gaming performance and value for money.
     
  9. Xtrafresh

    Xtrafresh It never hurts to help

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    I'm having real trouble finding anyone with a 920 rig to compare apples to apples. However i can say that the CPU happily goes to 4GHz on the stock cooler, and i managed to post a 10.3 seconds SuperPi 1M run. This is with all the HT/C1E/Speedstep/throttling stuff on, so i'm quite sure i could go under 10 seconds :)

    On stock, it beats the 920 on stock, but not by a noticable margin. I think the high clockspeed and the agressive speedstep tech is more then making up for the smaller bandwidth.

    For now, as a powerhouse processor, i can wholeheartedly reccommend the 860. So much so, that i have actually noticed my system being slower and less snappy on a QX9770, Gigabyte P45 DQ6, and 8GB of ram. I sold that setup already, THAT is how much i like the new one... and i haven't even got the Gene... yet :naughty:
     
  10. bagman

    bagman Minimodder

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    i perosanlly would keep your chip for a bit longer as the chip you have challenges the i7 chips when it comes to gaming, i just don't think it would be worth the money atm. it would be better if you upgraded your graphics card to a 275 or wait for the GT300 or the ATI 5000 seris to come out
     
    trig likes this.
  11. trig

    trig god's little mistake

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    nice call...wait for prices to come down a little maybe...
     
  12. H2O

    H2O Burnt Acrylic - Mmmmmm

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    Can't tell, but is that D0?
     
  13. trig

    trig god's little mistake

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    i called the one here in Dallas, and they do have the D0 stepping, nice eh?
     
  14. H2O

    H2O Burnt Acrylic - Mmmmmm

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    Sweet, thanks! Too bad it is in-store pickup only, though. :( A road trip may be in order...
     
  15. trig

    trig god's little mistake

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    for that price? definitely...
     
  16. Slizza

    Slizza beautiful to demons

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    GTFO my 920 noob!

    Just kidding, i guess if you only want games to run then even a 775 or AMD system would do the bizz.
     
  17. trig

    trig god's little mistake

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    p4 ee for the win...
     

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