Fork in the road

[mayabang 0]

Hey guys and gals,

 

I'm in the process of saving for an upgrade for my old C2 Q6600, seen here http://forums.atomicmpc.com.au/index.php?s...3&hl=h2omfg

 

My dilemma is more a confusion. I have read reviews about the i7 and i5 but I can't decide what is better for me, hence you guys! This is what I have so far:

 

- i7 has better support for multiple cards with its dual 16x lanes - is this a significant performance advantage over dual 8x lanes in the i5?

- i7 has hyperthreading for multithreaded aps - I plan to overclock to around 4.0GHz+, I have heard that i5 can burn out at this level though..

- i5 is significantly cheaper, although I was planning on buying high end motherboards (Asus Max Formula III or EVGA X58 Classified)

- i5 doesn't feel as geekful, and apparently hex core chips are going to be 1366?

 

I WANT:

 

- To get a good overclock.

- A second GTX285 on a seperate cooling loop on the other side of my case. Will have a nice symmetry.

- I know it sounds stupid, but I'm going for a RED theme on my PC, I know right...

- Ram will also have its own waterblocks eventually - more for aethetics and long livety.

 

MY OPTIONS (KEEPING WITH RED THEME)

- i7 920 with either a EVGA Classified mobo or Foxxconn Flaming Blade http://forums.atomicmpc.com.au/index.php?s...3&hl=h2omfg (Atomic gave it awesome reviews and it seems to do everthing I want)

- i5 750 with an ASUS Max Formula III (comes with a nice sound card aswell)

 

I am leaning towards the i7 but I am just not sure if this is 'old tech' compared to i5 or is it just different. The red theme limits my options but it's what I am going for. If so is it worth saving a little bit more for EVGA or sticking with Foxxconn? Or should I just forget about i7 and go with the new i5.

 

Thanks in advance for your help and wise opinions.

[nesquick 1]

I WANT:

 

- To get a good overclock.

Get an i7 920 then, you should have no trouble getting 4.4ghz on water 24/7

 

edit: check out the evga X58 SLI LE, will do everything the clasified can but without the price tag http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_p...oducts_id=12012

Edited February 7, 2010 by nesquick

[mayabang 0]

Cheers! I knew you were going to be the first to give advice nesquick hehe..

 

I was leaning towards the i7. That board looks very impressive aswell, the black and grey mixes well with the red theme nicely.

 

I'll eventually post pictures when it's done.

[nesquick 1]

I just saw what you asked about the i9 chips, yes they will be on 1366 only as they are more orientated towards servers and 1156 does not really accommodate server requirements to well.

[Jeruselem 798]

I think you'd be an i7 kinda person.

[SceptreCore 123]

i7's are a viable option with a water block

[Solid_Snake 0]

I was tossing up between the i5 and i7 myself, settled on the i7 cos it only ended up being another ~$250 or so

[mayabang 0]

Is there a significant performance difference between the Foxconn Flaming Blade and the EVGA X58 SLI LE? The Foxconn seems to have everything I want (ie 2 GPUs, enough sticks of memory, good overclocking and value) or is EVGA worth spending an extra $100 on?

 

The atomic reviews on both were good, the Foxconn got a QPI of 162 and the EVGA X58 SLI got 164

 

I must admit I am fairly smitten with the colours on the Flaming Blade! I have just never bought anything other than ASUS before when it comes to mobos.

 

Cheers

[Dasa 289]

if you want a split loop take a look at this res top

Typhoon III (Bay) Reservoir (2 in/2 out), G1/4", Clear $99.95

review http://www.skinneelabs.com/Pumps/D5/Typhoo...chill-TIII.html

then i would just add a second rad

 

cooling mb\ram is all about looks not performance but if you want to do that this res may be better

Typhoon III (Bay) Reservoir (4 in/4 out), G1/4", Clear $89.95

[nesquick 1]

Don't use the flamming blades integrated waterblock its made up of copper and steel apparently and will likely corrode inside the loop.

[tunksy 0]

if you've got all that wcing gear might as well go all the way with i7 and x58 and oc like mad! :P i'd go with the EVGA x58 SLI LE also, thoguh if you can look for a northbridge block for it herd thwey can get toasty when oc'ed.

[mudg3 0]

Get the SLI LE, Waste of money if you get the classified or the flaming blade.

 

 

 

I have one and I love it. No issues at all and it over clocks really well.

[mayabang 0]

I checked out that res Dasa, it is interesting but it probably won't fit in my case too well (Danger Den Torture Rack). I plan on having the RAM in the same loop as the CPU, probably won't bother with a mobo block. I am finding my current PC isn't able to run Bad Company 2 on High on 3 screens - which does annoy me quite a bit! I figure I need a second GPU. My P55 board only has XFire and as far as I am concerned its Nvidia forever!

 

What sort of clocks have you guys got on the i7 on air/water?

[nesquick 1]

The new GTX480/60 cards can apparently do 3 monitors like eyefinity, might be worth waiting and grabbing one of those instead of another gtx285

Edited February 9, 2010 by nesquick

[osama_bin_athlon 0]

mayabang, I was looking at the Flaming Blade too, I can't find anything bad about them on the net. it appears that a lot of ppl are getting the specs between the Blood Rage, the Blood Rage GTI version (or was that the Flaming Blade GTI....), and the actual Flaming Blade. the Flaming Blade has SLI, 2x network, excellent cooling (I'm pretty sure that there's no steel in their waterblocks), and to top it off, is as cheap as chips (under $250)

it's a definite on my 'to buy' short list

Edited March 4, 2010 by osama_bin_athlon

[SceptreCore 123]

Nice Bump!

[osama_bin_athlon 0]

Nice Bump!

 

(looks)

indeed.

;)

[raradawg 0]

You can always get this as a CPU

http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList/Produ...80/Default.aspx

Just kidding...

 

But I agree... don't grab another 285... Just wait for the newer GeForces to come out. Grab a GTX 480 or something.

[SceptreCore 123]

On 29/10/2019 at 7:05 PM, maxk said:

Its not bad to try Austin Computers. They should be able to recommend you great CPU for you.

Being it was 9 years ago... I think he's made his mind up by now.