Intel Core i5 and i7

[TX-EcoDragon]

Intel's Core i7 870 & i5 750, Lynnfield: Harder, Better, Faster Stronger: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3634  


"X58 motherboards will only need a BIOS update to work with the 6-core 32nm Gulftown processor next year. P55 looks like it'll be limited to four cores and below."
So that's good news for the X58 owners out there. . .as is the SLI capability. . .but beyond that, these P55 systems look pretty reasonable for mainstream users.

The Core i7 860 has Turbo modes up to 3.46GHz without the user needing to do anything at all - it just shuts down unused cores and ramps up clock speeds. . .that's pretty cool for "normal PC users". These are selling now for 230 at microcenter, along with much cheaper motherboards than the X58.

Of course when I read the article at Anandtech I can't help but think that the ability to run a 6 core CPU and an SLI setup on an X58 sounds pretty awesome - if not a bit over the top when it comes to $$.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0317378

The P55 mobos are also pretty reasonably priced too:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=P7P55D&x=0&y=0

[TX-EcoDragon]

Yeah. . .well you could build a i5 system on a P55 mobo for approx the same money as a p45 Q9550 machine - that's not so bad. . .but it sure does ramp up quickly after that.

[TX-EcoDragon]

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3623

[TX-Rahman]

I'm just watching to see if I can score a deal at MicroCenter on an E8500 or something.  I found out my board doesn't support the quad 45nm chips, only the duals 45nm's.  Winning the Lotto would be nice..lol.

So are these new chips contenders?  I saw that they don't have the cache or something like the i7 920's or something...

[TX-EcoDragon]

Well Rah - I'm not sure there will be many deals on the 775 CPUs, I think retailers know that people who don't want to go to the new architecture will pay a premium to upgrade what they have. Remember how AGP video cards became really expensive after PCIe came out?  eBay might have some deals - and of course there is always the TX marketplace.

I was at Frys a couple days ago and the E8400 is selling for 174.99, the E8500 is 184.99 and yet at Microcenter the i5 750 is 159.99! (Of course the i7 920 is only 199 there - they are taking a loss on both chips it seems in exchange for getting people into the store).

If you want to get an E8400/E8500 just find a used one. A Q6600 or Q6700 will work in your mobo. . .or go whole hog and get a new mobo and DDR3 and go for the i5/i7.


The 1366/X58 platform is the one to get if you want to run SLI, it's the one to get if you want to have the option to upgrade to the 6 core i7 lineup coming (I bet that's gonna be $$$$), the boards are feature rich, and the overclocking is solid. . .but there is a price premium.

If you know you don't care about/can't afford SLI or  the 6 core CPUs and don't need the ultimate overclock potential, the memory bandwidth, or the hyperthreading encoding performance then the i5 750 and a P55 board is gonna be fine, and will be faster than any 775 series Dual or QuadCore CPU. That anandtech article explains the details pretty well.

[TX-Thunderbolt]

What socket mobo do you have Rah? Will it accept any quads?

[TX-Rahman]

I think only the 65nm Quads TB... Like Eco mentioned, Q6600, Q6700.  I'll probably just wait... Cash is tight...  Will wait till maybe tax time and upgrade..

[TX-Thunderbolt]

Well, I had a Q6600 given to me yesterday. 

The previous owner just upgraded to a Q9650 and said the Q6600 ran 3.6ghz with ease and probably had more in the tank.

Interested?

[TX-Rahman]

Sure...2 more cores plus running it at 3.6...  What ya want for it?

[TX-Thunderbolt]

Sure...2 more cores plus running it at 3.6...  What ya want for it?

Your address... and a thank you?

You may have to spring for a decent aftermarket cooling solution as I think it's coming with a stock HSF (it's coming in the mail from Alabama), but even the stock cooling solution should take to the 3 Ghz range.

[TX-Rahman]

wow are you sure??     I would definitely say THANKS!

Not to shoot myself in the foot also but based on the test in the coming days at my buddy's house in Dallas...Maybe that proc should be allocated to the server if we go that route..  ( I hate when I do that.... lol )

[TX-Thunderbolt]

Honestly, it doesn't matter to me. I thought you would be able to better use it and the coincidence of getting a 65nm quad seems perfect. Nonetheless, I'll leave it to you to decide.

Personally, I'd say stick it in your machine, put a good cooler on it and let's see what happens on the other front.

[TX-Rahman]

TB,
      I cannot thank you enough Sir.  While I have seen some pretty good pricing on E8400's etc, money is literally so tight that I've had to pass them all by.  That proc should bridge me until I can build a new machine probably next year sometime...  sending you a PM...

Thanks again!
Lindle
Rah

[TX-EcoDragon]

Bravo!!!!

But yes - you need a good cooler on those. . .the one you have should work OK, I doubt 3.6 will stay under 62C though 3.4 probably will.

[TX-Rahman]

Update on the Q6600: 

I received the Q6600 from TB tonight (Thanks man!)...  Running it at stock clocks right now without any issues.  I noticed that the temps are a bit higher than the E6600 but I expected that.

Something I didn't expect...  My system has been acting weird for over a month now....I now believe it was a failing/faulty memory module.  My machine wouldn't post right every time.  My mobo has a bios indicator on it...  Started getting a long beep and it wouldn't get past post tonight.  Of course I thought it was the proc, so I removed the fan, cleaned it up, put artic silver on again, secured the fan and still beeping.  Looked up the code "C1" that was being displayed on the mobo and all articles said that it was a memory error.  I pulled the sticks one by one until it posted...  Then put the bad one in by itself to confirm it dead or not.  Sure enough, have a bad stick..  Running on 1GB right now...Going to RMA it tomorrow..

Damn the luck..