I7 or I7?

[Labze]

Hey all

So i am almost set on my setup, but i am a bit torn on which platform/CPU to chose.

My choices currently fall on either a I7-870 or I7-950, but i'm wondering how much extra performence, if any i can gain over the almost 100$ premium for the 950.

I am going to run a SLI based setup, rest of the setup looks like that

4 Gigs of 1333 RAM
SLI Compitable motherboard
2x GTX 460
700 Watts PSU
Samsung Spinpoint F3

The system is primarily going to be used for gaming and also music creation.

 

[toyota]

if this is mostly for gaming then go for the i5 760 and 1156 platform. if you need i7 then go for the 950 and 1366 platform. its slightly better suited for multi gpu with its full 16x for both pci-e slots. of course if you go 1366 then you need 6gb(3x2gb) for triple channel memory. btw I hope you get a high quality 750 watt psu and not some cheap pos.

 

[Ben90]

*edited because my first answer had the wrong attitude*

There really needs to be a sticky on the whole p55 vs x58 and AM3 vs AM2+ platforms along with comparisons of different modern processors.

Anyways a good comparison can be found here: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/107?vs=100

There are other subtle platform differences, but for all intended purposes they are basically the same. The only other big thing that may be of concern is SLI performance with the p55 platform. The lanes will be capped to x8/x8 vs x16/x16 on x58. If you run at 1920 or below I would consider the difference basically none, but if you game at 2560 then you will lose out about 2% performance with p55.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/08/16/sli_cfx_pcie_bandwidth_perf_x16x16_vs_x16x8/1

 

[Sickamore]

Figuring out a good boy is a rough decision. X58 is high performance but high money.

 

[betasub]

*edited because my first answer had the wrong attitude*

There really needs to be a sticky on the whole p55 vs x58 and AM3 vs AM2+ platforms along with comparisons of different modern processors.

Missed your first answer, but understand where you are coming from. There are so many threads that have covered these topics, you'd think a little reading down the forum would provide an answer. But even sticky status doesn't stop the same ol'questions, 'cos ppl want a personalised answer now, without having to read around.

 

[taltamir]

but i'm wondering how much extra performence, if any i can gain over the almost 100$ premium for the 950.

Excellently phrased question... you are not asking us if "is it worth the money" (something only you can decide), you are asking "how much faster is the 100$ more expensive one"... something we can answer.

Anyways a good comparison can be found here: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/107?vs=100

And here is the answer. please note that for some of these "lower is better", while others "higher is better", each one specifies which is which. in some tests a faster CPU means a lower number (because the number measures how many seconds it takes to complete a task, rather then how many tasks it can do per second)

If it looks like 100$ buys a tangible yet very very small improvement, that is because it is the case.

if this is mostly for gaming then go for the i5 760 and 1156 platform. if you need i7 then go for the 950 and 1366 platform. its slightly better suited for multi gpu with its full 16x for both pci-e slots. of course if you go 1366 then you need 6gb(3x2gb) for triple channel memory. btw I hope you get a high quality 750 watt psu and not some cheap pos.

A fair suggestion that volunteers more possibilities.
How do they stack against each other? well, anandtech bench only has the i5 750 (very close, but slightly slower), and it compares like so:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/107?vs=109

 

[Bartman39]

Only thing to point out is how long will the 1156 platform be current or upgrade worthy...? Cant qoute anything but from what I`ve read the 1366 will be the way to go for future upgrades...? Can anyone elaborate on it...? Might help with deciding...?

 

[toyota]

there will be no need to upgrade the cpu on either platform. with overclocking it will be years before the i7/i5 quads become too slow. by the time that occurs either platform will be just as obsolete as the other anyway.

 

[Voo]

Only thing to point out is how long will the 1156 platform be current or upgrade worthy...? Cant qoute anything but from what I`ve read the 1366 will be the way to go for future upgrades...? Can anyone elaborate on it...? Might help with deciding...?

Both are dead ends by now (i.e. no new releases for both plattforms), though the next mainstream chipset from Intel will come out a bit earlier..

 

[taltamir]

Only thing to point out is how long will the 1156 platform be current or upgrade worthy...? Cant qoute anything but from what I`ve read the 1366 will be the way to go for future upgrades...? Can anyone elaborate on it...? Might help with deciding...?

every single intel socket on the market at the moment is a dead end, which will be rendered obsolete in a few months with the release of sandy bridge (which uses socket 1155). Which in turn will only last a year, to be rendered obsolete by socket 2111 a year later.
Intel knows it has the advantage in CPU at the moment, so they are forgoing socket compatibility.

 

[Face2Face]

Wait if you can. The 1366 and 1156 are dead. Even when Sandy is released the prices of the current gen I7 should drop -- and I am sure plenty will wash up on Craigslist if you don't mind used stuff.

 

[OCGuy]

No need to wait, really. Intel does not really drop prices as much as you would think once the next gen comes out. They let them sit at a relatively high price until the channel empties.

the 950--->SB is not really worth the wait for gaming if you want a system right now.

 

[taltamir]

No need to wait, really. Intel does not really drop prices as much as you would think once the next gen comes out. They let them sit at a relatively high price until the channel empties.

yea, intel loves nothing more then selling obsolete tech for same price. when the i7 came out, a same clocked core2quad was 10$ less until running out of stock. (they know there are people who have older ram or mobo for which its a worthwhile deal). Intel simply isn't one to cut prices...

that being said, I would wait a little bit just to snag SB.

 

[Boyo]

I wouldn't wait for the SB, especially when you can get the 950 for $300.00. Use a 1366 build now.

 

[Kenmitch]

Wait if you can. The 1366 and 1156 are dead. Even when Sandy is released the prices of the current gen I7 should drop -- and I am sure plenty will wash up on Craigslist if you don't mind used stuff.

The important thing to remember is historicaly speaking the chip that max's out the socket never seems to drop in price....Sometimes the price goes up instead as the supply decreases and the demand goes up.

OP...Best thing to do is way the pros and cons of both platforms then do the $'s vs performance angle and pick what fits your needs best. Neither platform is future proof but both are very far from being obsolete at the same time and have many years of use left in them. When you think about it software is years behind the cpu and most likely it'll stay that way for some time to come.

 

[OCGuy]

yea, intel loves nothing more then selling obsolete tech for same price. when the i7 came out, a same clocked core2quad was 10$ less until running out of stock. (they know there are people who have older ram or mobo for which its a worthwhile deal). Intel simply isn't one to cut prices...

Intel likes to make money, and price accordingly. Which is why they may annouce their biggest quarter ever during the worst recession anyone who is currently < 70 has been through.