Intel Core i5

[x2 3600 rules sazakky]

As you can see in my sig, thats my current system. Do you reckon its worth holding out for a P55/Core i5/DDR3 ram setup or should I just get AM3 now.

Also, price wise will Core i5 and P55 mobos be affordable.

 

[taltamir]

P55 can have core i3, i5, and i7! X58 is limited to i7.
While there are some slight variation between the two i7 models, they are largely equivalent with benefits to each type.
Is it worth waiting for? well, you would be able to get a P55 mobo for 120$ on release. And save a little bit on ram, and a good saving on CPU prices... is it worth it? maybe. I am waiting right now. my Q9400 is enough at the moment. the X58 + i7 package has been constantly going down in price anyways... so the longer you wait, the better deal you will get.

 

[eternalone]

I say wait till the i5 drops into the market that way AMD will be forced to drops its prices on Phenom 2 and you could get yourself a killer deal I reckon.

 

[imported_Scoop]

In my opinion the Core i5 is useless. Unless the Core i3 line is incapable of overclocking while Core i5 will. If Core i3 overclocks like a champ, you might as well jump over Core i5 straight to Core i7 if you think you need something better.

 

[Axon]

My understanding is that a high-performing i7 860 (2.8 ghz) will be available on the LGA 1156 (the socket commonly referred to as the "i5") for $289 at launch. This chip will be of the Lynnfield designation. Other users on this site have informed me that the i7 860 will be similar to the current i7 950.

See here for more information:

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=19359

Now, with that said, I've seen benches on Asian sites wherein the i5 2.66 matches the i7 920 @2.66. The i5 will not feature hyperthreading, however.

At this point, I would expect that the 1156 socket will become the mainstream socket while the 1366 socket becomes home for the "extreme" edition chips. But with the 1156, you will not have tri-channel memory, nor will you initially get a six-core chip when it is released.

Anyway, long story short, for most users I believe the 1156 will be the best way to go. I couldn't even tell you the difference between a tri-channel and dual-channel machine, nor do I think I could see much difference between an i7 920 @ 3.6 and a i7 860 @ 3.6, though I suppose one will inevitably beat the other. Since all I do is game it's a moot point for me.

 

[exar333]

Why not just get a i7 920 now ($199 at MC) and a ~$200MB. I doubt there will be a lot of sub $150 P55 boards at launch anyway, and why get the HT for free?

I just don't see why anyone is waiting for i5 when i7 is already here, tested, and relatively cheap.

 

[ajaidevsingh]

Totally agree with ExarKun333 and on top of this u can also upgrade to a hex i7 later... If u get a i5+P55 all u can upgrade to is a i5 with HT called a i7....

 

[Rezist]

I need to see some benches but I think Core I3 will be the best deal for performance when it gets here.

 

[x2 3600 rules sazakky]

Originally posted by: ExarKun333
Why not just get a i7 920 now ($199 at MC) and a ~$200MB. I doubt there will be a lot of sub $150 P55 boards at launch anyway, and why get the HT for free?

I just don't see why anyone is waiting for i5 when i7 is already here, tested, and relatively cheap.

does anyone know any good deals in australia for i7.

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: ExarKun333
Why not just get a i7 920 now ($199 at MC) and a ~$200MB. I doubt there will be a lot of sub $150 P55 boards at launch anyway, and why get the HT for free?

I just don't see why anyone is waiting for i5 when i7 is already here, tested, and relatively cheap.

isn't it 299$ for the CPU?

 

[phillyman36]

Originally posted by: taltamir

Originally posted by: ExarKun333
Why not just get a i7 920 now ($199 at MC) and a ~$200MB. I doubt there will be a lot of sub $150 P55 boards at launch anyway, and why get the HT for free?

I just don't see why anyone is waiting for i5 when i7 is already here, tested, and relatively cheap.

isn't it 299$ for the CPU?

Micro Center has been selling the I7 920 for $200 bucks for months.

 

[taltamir]

microcenter... you have to live near one, and there is sales tax unlike online shopping... but its still a pretty good deal. although, the P55 cpus will supposedly have higher clocked cpus for the same amount of money. but right now, waiting is not that big a deal anymore.

 

[x2 3600 rules sazakky]

So u guys reckon that core i5 will be cheaper and have similar performnce. What can core i5 vscore 87 prices be like

 

[Denithor]

AT: Intel announces i5/i3 branding
AT: Making Nehalem affordable

Intel plans to phase out the i7 920, leaving the i7 950 (~$500US) as the lowest i7 available on socket 1366. They are aiming squarely at the server & extreme performance desktop space with this change.

There will be both i7 and i5 chips available on socket 1156. Socket 1156 will be limited to a single x16 PCIe 2.0 lane (or this can be split into dual x8 lanes - the impact on multiGPU is not known yet) and will only offer dual-channel memory instead of the triple-channel available on socket 1366 (a serious advantage for servers - basically useless for typical desktop use).

With those limitations in mind, i7 on s1156 will be quad core chips with turbo mode and hyperthreading (8 virtual cores for improved work throughput efficiency). i5 will have a maximum of four cores - either quad core chips without hyperthreading or dual core with hyperthreading (four virtual cores) and will also have turbo mode. i3 will be i5 chips minus the turbo mode.

If you look at the second chart on the page in my second link you will see three unnamed chips. The first two will be i7 chips (quads with HT) and the third will be the top end i5 chip (quad without HT). They have a tentative price of $196 on that chip. So i5 will range from that price point on down, probably into the $140-150 range for the dual + HT model.

 

[imported_Scoop]

Originally posted by: Denithor
AT: Intel announces i5/i3 branding
AT: Making Nehalem affordable

Intel plans to phase out the i7 920, leaving the i7 950 (~$500US) as the lowest i7 available on socket 1366. They are aiming squarely at the server & extreme performance desktop space with this change.

There will be both i7 and i5 chips available on socket 1156. Socket 1156 will be limited to a single x16 PCIe 2.0 lane (or this can be split into dual x8 lanes - the impact on multiGPU is not known yet) and will only offer dual-channel memory instead of the triple-channel available on socket 1366 (a serious advantage for servers - basically useless for typical desktop use).

With those limitations in mind, i7 on s1156 will be quad core chips with turbo mode and hyperthreading (8 virtual cores for improved work throughput efficiency). i5 will have a maximum of four cores - either quad core chips without hyperthreading or dual core with hyperthreading (four virtual cores) and will also have turbo mode. i3 will be i5 chips minus the turbo mode.

If you look at the second chart on the page in my second link you will see three unnamed chips. The first two will be i7 chips (quads with HT) and the third will be the top end i5 chip (quad without HT). They have a tentative price of $196 on that chip. So i5 will range from that price point on down, probably into the $140-150 range for the dual + HT model.

According to this http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/.../html/kaigai1.jpg.html roadmap the 'high end' Core i5 is a dual core with HT @ 3.46Ghz and hitting a pricepoint of around $300. Unless you meant the Lynnfield Core i5.

I really can't figure why anyone would be excited about Core i5. Especially the Lynnfield variant. Though it'll be interesting to see how the i5-750 matches with the Clarkdale variant running at 3.33Ghz at basically the same rumoured price. And especially taking overclocking into consideration when comparing the two.

 

[taltamir]

well, people are hoping for price reductions... but while it will certainly cost less to PRODUCE, it seems like intel might just stop manufacturing the "cheap" s1366 i7, and leave only 500+$ s1366 chips, and make the s1156 chips the same price but cheaper to make. Resulting in an overall de facto price hike.

 

[ilkhan]

pricing for P/i3/i5/i7 chips (in 1k of course) http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/2179/capturexzq.png

 

[taltamir]

look at the difference there...
for 300$ (284 @ 100 units) you get:
S1366 i7: 2.66ghz with 2.93ghz turbo and 130 watt TDP
S1156 i7: 2.80ghz with 3.46ghz turbo and 95 watt TDP, much lower GPU latency due to integrating the PCIe lanes into the CPU.

The S1156 will also save you about 50$ on the mobo, and about the same on ram... you get to pay 100$ less, much more performance, ESPECIALLY for games. where you get one or two cores at 3.46ghz instead of at 2.93ghz
Both processors are 4 core 8 thread, etc

 

[ilkhan]

or you buy a 920 from microcenter, today, for $200. :shrug:
And why do you hate the 9xx so much? Ive never seen someone so anti-performance so much.

 

[taltamir]

I stated the FACTS, which make it CLEAR AND OBVIOUS that the s1156 i7 is a much better deal. I did not make a judgement call, and yet you attack me by claiming I am anti performance? Since when is getting less for the same amount of money a better deal? Since when is stating facts that prove something is a better deal being "anti performance"

the 200$ microcenter deal is really a red harring. 1. there is tax. 2. there are less than 20 of them country wide... only TWO in texas... oh look a store with cheap i920... if only you happened to LIVE near one. sorry, no shipping, you gotta drive to the store and pick one up... sorry, ill pass on driving half a state over for a slight discount.
Even with all that... there is no reason why they wouldn't sell the s1156 i7 for the same price because it costs them THE SAME to buy it from intel!

 

[rgallant]

-do we know if a GTX 380 or [x2 sli] + a GTX 285[physx]or [next gen] will max out the pic-e 8x8 +4 a year or two from now when the cards are going to be cheaper ? or is it a dead end platform for gaming , even mid to high now ? how many people will buy pci-e x8 boards today for a mid to high gaming machine.
-I could see if these were 32nm , but their not , just cheaper\crippled i7's for OEM's [that I can see] so they can sell lot's of boxes. which I can't say anything bad for them doing so , they need to sell lots of affordable chips to pay for the plants.
-just a noobs .02

 

[taltamir]

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2319722&enterthread=y

check here rgallant

if you mean the i5... than it is 100$ for faster clocks and no HT... HT actually DECREASES performance in SOME workloads.

 

[monovillage]

microcenter is in store pick up only! Many of us don't have access to a frigging microcenter without a 6-8 hour drive.

 

[Jovec]

Originally posted by: taltamir
[HT actually DECREASES performance in SOME workloads.

Of course it does. Some people seem to forget (or not understand) how it actually works.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: Jovec

Originally posted by: taltamir
[HT actually DECREASES performance in SOME workloads.

Of course it does. Some people seem to forget (or not understand) how it actually works.

Yep, just as using more than 1 thread on a multi-core chip that has a shared cache level (like the L2$ on wolfdale, or the L3$ on PhII) can cause performance degradation as the cache/thread ratio declines as you load up the cores for some workloads.

(and is also true of cpu's which don't have shared on-die cache between cores/threads but do have a shared memory controller and ram bandwidth contention issues)

Anytime there are resources shared there is opportunity for something to become temporarily resource starved...this is not a peculiarity of hyperthreading, it is true of any multicore multithread computing environment.

What I do find peculiar (and I think you've noticed this too) is how some folks just get fixated on the anti-HT thing, its almost pathological in the same way some folks just get strangely fixated on being anti-Raid0. To me its the old adage "standing too close to a tree and can't see they are standing in the middle of forest" blinders-on type mentality.