i7 930 vs 1090T, which to pick?

Archer

Archer

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Might be heading over to the states on business next week and am going to build a second machine for the home. The difficult part is this: it will be used 90% of the time for programs like photoshop, 3D rendering/modelling. So the i7 930 and 1090T are goods choices. But I can get either one (total system) for the same price. So which one should I go for?
Main differences 930 vs 1090
4 real + 4 virtual threads vs 6 real threads
6gb RAM vs 4GB RAM
Low end X58 mobo vs mid to high end AM3 mobo
GPU, HDD etc will obviously be the same

And to make it more confusing perhaps I should go the AMD route, get a high end mobo with a 790FX/890FX NB so that I can xfire with 2 x16 slots (next years upgrade) and then slot my current mobo into the new PC.
 
If you the guru can't decide, htf can we decide? :)
I would go for the 1090 considering that Intel will be replacing their entire desktop offering with i6 or something like that. So you will feel like you are using old tech.

AMD FTW
 
I had the same decision to make.

After reading a bunch of reviews, the i7 came out on top. The 1090 isn't that far behind though, so technically, go for the i7, but if you're a AMD fan, going for the 1090 won't effect you much ^^
 
In every test besides Photoshop the 1090T (and sometimes the 1055T even) will beat or equal a i7 930. But in Photoshop CS4 even a i5 750 beats both hex core CPUs by about 10% (and the old i7 920 by a few %). Very tough choice. Seems like its all even. Perhaps I should look at the 1055T more closely which makes the AMD build a good $100 cheaper then the Intel? Even more if I dont get a mid-high end board, the initial comparison was done assuming I'd spend $150 on the AMD mobo, I dont NEED to go xfire as my upgrade, might just buy a HD6850 :p Should be out by then...

edit: seems like in CS5 the additional cores help a bit (depending on the task). 1055T is looking better and better
 
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Does Photoshop support 6 cores? If so then it makes sense to go AMD. If not then clock-for-clock you'll get more performance from the Intel counterpart (due to the larger L3 Cache), albeit with an 'entry level' X58 motherboard.
Don't really know what boost you can expect from 6GB (triple channel) over 4GB dual channel) but the additional 2GB of RAM will certainly help your chopping.
 
The one and only test I've seen with the 1055T and CS5 shows it to be faster than the i5 750. In CS4 the 1055T lagged behind. So I would assume it uses more cores. But the test did not have a i7 930 so I have no idea if it makes up for being $100 more expensive with its performance.
 
Am i wrong in thinking that for heavy PS stuff you would want to use a quattro or whatever they call it rather?
 
Uhhh, kind of. While a quadrro card would help, a simple GTS250 will accelerate some tasks just as well. And each build will have the same GPU anyway so its a non issue.
 
i doubt you will see much difference between the builds. Unless you time each task.
When you say low and high end motherboards. What are the difference in features? Eg difference in power phases, sli certified, wifi, sounds, usb3 and sata3?
Are the extra features going to be used? No point buying 8.1 over 5.1 sound if you only use headphones :)

I would most probably go i7 due to the large increase in memory bandwidth over AMD which does increase fps and speed up tasks.

But it would be "smarter" to go AMD if you plan on using your mobo (think i understood u correctly?)
 
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Ok so i am going to sorta hijack this thread :D

I am going to greece end of august, will i be able to pick up some hot deals? Sorry just some of you seem like you travel :D.
 
Are you planning on using a SSD? If not, with the saving of a 1055T (including the fairer priced AMD motherboard) over the 930 you could get a good 64GB Force series SSD. I'm sure this would speed things up a lot and give the AMD the upper hand.
 
Landmark Computers said:
Are you planning on using a SSD? If not, with the saving of a 1055T (including the fairer priced AMD motherboard) over the 930 you could get a good 64GB Force series SSD. I'm sure this would speed things up a lot and give the AMD the upper hand.
Click to expand...

O snap, ssd's are dirt cheaper in the states. Get a 128gb for like 2k or something crazy :D.
 
Archer said:
Might be heading over to the states on business next week and am going to build a second machine for the home. The difficult part is this: it will be used 90% of the time for programs like photoshop, 3D rendering/modelling. So the i7 930 and 1090T are goods choices. But I can get either one (total system) for the same price. So which one should I go for?
Main differences 930 vs 1090
4 real + 4 virtual threads vs 6 real threads
6gb RAM vs 4GB RAM
Low end X58 mobo vs mid to high end AM3 mobo
GPU, HDD etc will obviously be the same

And to make it more confusing perhaps I should go the AMD route, get a high end mobo with a 790FX/890FX NB so that I can xfire with 2 x16 slots (next years upgrade) and then slot my current mobo into the new PC.
Click to expand...

Buy the new 12 core Mac Pro. At $4999 it's a steal. You should be able to make it back - I think Business Class TransAtlantic baggage allowance is 60kg.
 
I dunno.. I think the 1090T performs quite badly actually:
Review of the new i7 970 has a few nice comparisons between the processors. Just look at the graphs.. I mean It is only slight but even my i5 beats 1090T most of the time! (with exception of x264 and like 4 others which are highly threaded)
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3833/intels-core-i7-970-reviewed-slightly-more-affordable-6core/2

Not to mention in games it performs quite disappointingly..

So look at relevant benchmarks, if you plan on doing alot of x264 encoding or lots of file zipping or data recovery then 1090T is a winner other wise i5, i7 dominates...


Looking into the future curtsy of Anandtech you can see Intels road map: http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/cpu/intel/gulftown/roadmap.jpg where Sandy bridge is due Q1 2011 which is close.. but still to far for you :)
So there will still be processors that trickle down from the extreme and performance areas to the mainstream in terms of price, later on, providing an upgrade path if you go x58..
 
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Just awaiting Rouxenator to come in here with "Go for the A's only.. AMD all the way!!" lol :)
 
nakedpeanut said:
I dunno.. I think the 1090T performs quite badly actually:
Review of the new i7 970 has a few nice comparisons between the processors. Just look at the graphs.. I mean It is only slight but even my i5 beats 1090T most of the time! (with exception of x264 and like 4 others which are highly threaded)
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3833/intels-core-i7-970-reviewed-slightly-more-affordable-6core/2

Not to mention in games it performs quite disappointingly..

So look at relevant benchmarks, if you plan on doing alot of x264 encoding or lots of file zipping or data recovery then 1090T is a winner other wise i5, i7 dominates...
Click to expand...
Exactly. The Intel is the fastest.
 
killadoob said:
O snap, ssd's are dirt cheaper in the states. Get a 128gb for like 2k or something crazy :D.
Click to expand...

Was waiting for someone to say that. Will only be able to afford it if I go for the 1055T though. Have to save for a holiday in September as well as paying the taxman :(

PeterCH said:
Buy the new 12 core Mac Pro. At $4999 it's a steal. You should be able to make it back - I think Business Class TransAtlantic baggage allowance is 60kg.
Click to expand...

Yes, because I have $5k lying around :whistle: And I hate Macs

nakedpeanut said:
I dunno.. I think the 1090T performs quite badly actually:
Review of the new i7 970 has a few nice comparisons between the processors. Just look at the graphs.. I mean It is only slight but even my i5 beats 1090T most of the time! (with exception of x264 and like 4 others which are highly threaded)
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3833/intels-core-i7-970-reviewed-slightly-more-affordable-6core/2

Not to mention in games it performs quite disappointingly..

So look at relevant benchmarks, if you plan on doing alot of x264 encoding or lots of file zipping or data recovery then 1090T is a winner other wise i5, i7 dominates...

Looking into the future curtsy of Anandtech you can see Intels road map: http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/cpu/intel/gulftown/roadmap.jpg where Sandy bridge is due Q1 2011 which is close.. but still to far for you :)
So there will still be processors that trickle down from the extreme and performance areas to the mainstream in terms of price, later on, providing an upgrade path if you go x58..
Click to expand...

First off 90% work, 10% games. So gaming performance really is not an issue. As for those 4 tests, sysmark means nothing to me and they used CS4 while I'll be using CS5 which is slightly more multi core optimised (but have only seen one review, sigh). So the two out of three tests it loses dont matter to me anyway. But while rendering it motors! But is still really close to the i7 920...

Think I'll do some more looking today at how much of an OC is possible on the 1055T and if I can fit a SSD into the budget. Otherwise I'll likely get the i7 930. Having the newer SSE instruction set makes too much of a difference in work related tasks, I really hope AMD includes this in their next generation of CPUs.

PS - killadoob, with Greece having zero economy at the moment I have no clue what electronics prices will be like unfortunately.
 
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