Intel i5 or i7..."which one should i buy"

dwighet · 28-10-2010 10:21PM #1

I was doing a bit of a search today and came across these vids on youtube...They cracked me up but also found them most informative..
Just thought i`d share them with ye...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y90uKmREUlo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueBH7Q-BLTM&NR=1

Solitaire · 28-10-2010 11:00PM

Do you need a pocket supercomputer?
Do you use CPU-intensive programs that can utilize HyperThreading?
Do you have money to burn?

If your answer to all three is YES!! then the i7 is for you. On the other hand if you want a very powerful mid-range gaming rig stick with the i5 quads and save both money and electricity (even the LGA1156 i7 quads use more juice than an i5 quad despite having the same 95W TDP, primarily due to HyperThreading). If you need to use CPU-heavy apps lots and you know they don't like HT then go for either a i5 quad (slightly more gaming-oriented) or an AM3 X6 Phenom2 hexacore (slightly more applications-oriented).

dwighet · 28-10-2010 11:44PM

Solitaire wrote: »

Do you need a pocket supercomputer?
Do you use CPU-intensive programs that can utilize HyperThreading?
Do you have money to burn?

If your answer to all three is YES!! then the i7 is for you. On the other hand if you want a very powerful mid-range gaming rig stick with the i5 quads and save both money and electricity (even the LGA1156 i7 quads use more juice than an i5 quad despite having the same 95W TDP, primarily due to HyperThreading). If you need to use CPU-heavy apps lots and you know they don't like HT then go for either a i5 quad (slightly more gaming-oriented) or an AM3 X6 Phenom2 hexacore (slightly more applications-oriented).

My answer is:
No
NO
NO..;)

What Im After is something that will play any game I throw at it..
Over clockable....
Quiet..ie: notura NH D14 cpu cooler...after market gpu cooler(coolmaster maybe)
silverstone sst-fto2b case..
I dont mind paying good money for a quality product so the budget is flexable..

Any suggestions on a good quality set up would be appreciated
Rgds
Dwight

lmimmfn · 29-10-2010 12:33AM

wouldnt buy anything, Sandy Bridge is out in January

VenomIreland · 29-10-2010 10:56AM

lmimmfn wrote: »

wouldnt buy anything, Sandy Bridge is out in January

He wants to Overclock though, heard that for that you need to buy a special version of the processor that costs more.

indough · 29-10-2010 01:57PM

youd spend your whole life waiting for the next big thing in computers

Icyseanfitz · 29-10-2010 02:21PM

id just go for an i7 930 or 950 with a gigabyte ud3r motherboard will last you for a long time

dwighet · 29-10-2010 04:41PM

indough wrote: »

youd spend your whole life waiting for the next big thing in computers

I just spend my whole life waiting for a life:eek:

dwighet · 29-10-2010 04:45PM

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

id just go for an i7 930 or 950 with a gigabyte ud3r motherboard will last you for a long time

Your dead right...thats what it will be then...
Better to have too much then not enough me thinks;)

SickBoy · 29-10-2010 05:14PM

dwighet wrote: »

Your dead right...thats what it will be then...
Better to have too much then not enough me thinks;)

If you're in the "not enough" area there's always overclocking

Solitaire · 29-10-2010 05:28PM

While the only cure for "too much" is knocking off banks :pac:

BigEejit · 29-10-2010 06:01PM

dwighet wrote: »

Your dead right...thats what it will be then...
Better to have too much then not enough me thinks;)

Obligatory "better to be looking at it than looking for it"

dwighet · 29-10-2010 06:04PM

Solitaire wrote: »

While the only cure for "too much" is knocking off banks :pac:

You wont get much out of them these days....
Its more like there knocking us off these days:)

Curry Addict · 29-10-2010 08:06PM

i look at things a little different. in the longterm we all want to have a powerfull modern computer. this means selling on your old to make a new build every 2-3 years, as its also the cheapest way to keep up with technology. i usually sell my old for around 450 and buy my new build for around 600 so the cost is approx 50e a year. i generally build the best bang for the buck and keep in mind resale value in 2 -3 years time. i find its a good mindset and we have 3 heavy pc users here so we all keep up with technology relatively cheaply.

the untitled user · 29-10-2010 08:10PM

The i7's are much better in theory... the reality is the vast majority of apps won't take advantage of hyperthreading properly so you'd be wasting your moolah.

Solitaire · 29-10-2010 08:43PM

Also, if you forget to turn HyperThreading off at the right time apps can lose performance... including games allergic to HT shedding FPS like a stone :eek::o

indough · 29-10-2010 08:49PM

i just picked up a b-grade p6x58d-e and i7-930 bundle for 350 on dabs

the untitled user · 29-10-2010 08:56PM

Solitaire wrote: »

Also, if you forget to turn HyperThreading off at the right time apps can lose performance... including games allergic to HT shedding FPS like a stone :eek::o

tbh it's very rare that it's noticeable. A small penalty all right but you're only talking a few percent in those that do. I've never had any problems leaving it on.

indough · 29-10-2010 09:01PM

arma 2 used to crucify me for it but most other things were okay

Intel i5 or i7..."which one should i buy"

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