Please help - CPU/MOBO Chipset Dillema

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Keeper

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OK So i want to upgrade to an i7 soon. (mobo & cpu)

PS: The 2 CPU's are similarly priced, and so are the mobo's

Setup A:
*Core I-7 930 (2.8 Ghz, LGA 1366)
* ASUS P6T SE (X58)
- 6 x SATA
- 6 x DIMM Slots, Tripple Channel, 1600MHz DDR3 (24GB Max)
- 3x PCI Express 2.0 x16(CrossFire)

Setup B:
* Core i7 860 (2.8 Ghz, LGA 1156)
*ASUS Maximus III Formula (P55)
- 10 x SATA
- 4 x DIMM Slots, Dual Channel, 1066/1333/1600MHz DDR3 (16GB Max)
- 2x PCI Express 2.0 x16 (Support single @ 16x or duall at 8x/8x mode)


I like the fact that Setup A has Tripple channel memory, and a "newer" 900 series Core i7.
Setup B might only have dual channel and an 800 series i7 - but it's a maximus Mobo and it also has 10 SATAs!

so what's the future? LGA1366 or LGA1156 ?
X58 mobo, or a P55 Maximus III?
Will tripple channel be much better than dual channel ?
is the i7 930 better than the i7 860 ?

I'm just stuck between these two setups and have now idea which one to choose! :(
 
I'd go for the 930, unless you need more than 6 SATA connectors? Also, with LGA1366 you can do proper SLI/xfire with 2 x16 PCIe slots. Triple channel RAM makes little difference to games, but will help for other intensive tasks like video encoding. The 930 will also shine in this area.
 
keeper - what are the prices on those two setups, and where are you sourcing the items from?
 
ASUS Maximus III Formula - R2300 @ crowntech.co.za
ASUS P6T SE (X58) - R2347 @ pcint

i7 930 @ pcint - R2500
i7 860 @ pcint - *doesnt have it*

i7 930 @ prophecy - R3000
i7 860 @ prophecy - R3000
 
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I'd go with the 1156 setup. Dual x16 crossfire/sli only really makes a difference if your running quad sli/xfire with dual gpu cards. Looking at the core 2 quad extreme prices, I doubt you'd upgrade to the expensive hexacore later on with 1366. If the price does come down, i doubt it will worthwhile getting it with Sandy Bridge around the corner

Neither 1366 or 1156 is "future proof" because Sandy bridge will make use of a new socket/s.

The 1156 setup will give you similar performance as the 1366 setup except in heavy memory intensive apps that will make use of tri channel memory (very few out there). Other than that they should perform the same (the 1156 setup might be a little faster due to a better board...i think)

I'd rather go high end P55 than low end X58. Atleast with the P55 setup you could hit 4GHz, with the X58 setup, that board isn't great so you might struggle to hit 4GHz
 
Silverlight said:
I'd go with the 1156 setup. Dual x16 crossfire/sli only really makes a difference if your running quad sli/xfire with dual gpu cards.
Click to expand...

A 5870 takes a 5% hit on a x8 PCIe lane. Next gen cards could easily be faster and so take a greater hit. Thats why if you plan on going SLI/xfire with top end cards it makes sense to go with 2 full x16 PCIe slots.
 
Silverlight said:
I'd go with the 1156 setup. Dual x16 crossfire/sli only really makes a difference if your running quad sli/xfire with dual gpu cards. Looking at the core 2 quad extreme prices, I doubt you'd upgrade to the expensive hexacore later on with 1366. If the price does come down, i doubt it will worthwhile getting it with Sandy Bridge around the corner

Neither 1366 or 1156 is "future proof" because Sandy bridge will make use of a new socket/s.

The 1156 setup will give you similar performance as the 1366 setup except in heavy memory intensive apps that will make use of tri channel memory (very few out there). Other than that they should perform the same (the 1156 setup might be a little faster due to a better board...i think)

I'd rather go high end P55 than low end X58. Atleast with the P55 setup you could hit 4GHz, with the X58 setup, that board isn't great so you might struggle to hit 4GHz
Click to expand...

ah - THANK YOU - very informative post and as I now understand the differences better I can make an informed decision.

I was thinking about setup B with the maximus mobo too (1156, P55) - very nice board. I won't notice the difference in speed between the i7 860 and i7 930 anyway.



now just to get the i7 860 for around R2500.... Damn you PCInt for only selling 1 single i7 chip model !!! :cry:
 
Archer said:
A 5870 takes a 5% hit on a x8 PCIe lane. Next gen cards could easily be faster and so take a greater hit. Thats why if you plan on going SLI/xfire with top end cards it makes sense to go with 2 full x16 PCIe slots.
Click to expand...

I've got a dual gpu card so if I quadfire it may become a problem - but i won't (don't see the need).
xfire/SLi is overated imo.
 
Regarding your question, what is this system going to be used for? Personally I'd go for the 930 system since it should perform better, but you need to take into account the fact that you need 3 RAM sticks for that setup for optimum effciency, as opposed to only 2 for an LGA 1155 build.

Keeper said:
I like the fact that Setup A has Tripple channel memory, and a "newer" 900 series Core i7.
Click to expand...

The 800 series is in fact newer, but the 900 series has more horsepower (9 > 8).

Keeper said:
so what's the future? LGA1366 or LGA1156 ?
Click to expand...

Neither - Sandy Bridge (32nm) is arriving next year and will replace those sockets with LGA 2011 and LGA 1155 respectively. LGA 2011 will add suport for quad-channel DDR3 while not much is known about LGA 1155 as yet.
 
5% loss in performance is hardly anything.

I did a quick test now and running my 5850 in an x8 slot only brought my Vantage score down by roughly 150 points. In games what will that be? Around 1-5 fps?

Again, I'd go with the 860 + an awesome mobo instead of a 930 with a shyte board.
 
Silverlight said:
5% loss in performance is hardly anything.

I did a quick test now and running my 5850 in an x8 slot only brought my Vantage score down by roughly 150 points. In games what will that be? Around 1-5 fps?

Again, I'd go with the 860 + an awesome mobo instead of a 930 with a shyte board.
Click to expand...

Dude, You Rock !

is there a better board than the maximus III Formula for around R2500 ?

And where is the cheapest place to buy an i7 860 ?
 
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