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Intel sockets: i5, i7, i9

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Would someone mind explaining to me which sockets each of these will be using? Will they all fit in the same socket or are they all going to have different sockets?

Is i7 the mainstream processor family, with i5 as the budget range or is i5 mainstream and i7 a server product which has simply been adopted early by enthusiasts?
 
i5 will have its own socket and its the mainstream processors that are replacing c2d and c2q.

socket 1366 will be the high end i7 and i9.
 
Thanks, that information is really useful. If I have understood this correctly, the current Bloomfield X58 i7 chips are s1366 (same as i9) but the Lynnfield P55 i7's due out later, and the i5's are all s1156. Also the current i7's use tri-channel DDR3 wheras the newer i7's and i5's will use dual channel.

Am I missing something obvious here, as it looks to me like the newer s1156 will be the mainstream socket and therefore the better one to aim for? If that's the case then surely the current i7 owners will be 'stuck' on the non-mainstream socket?
 
s1366 (current I7's/soon I9's) will in future be aimed at highend enthusiast, in otherwords if your on this then this is the best intel kit. But any future cpu upgrades won't be cheap as they are now probably.

s1156 (I3/I5/ next gen I7) will be aimed purely at the mainstream market, from budget right up to high end budgets.
 
gah, I was trying to persuade myself to go i7. But I'm reluctant to if it ties me into a more expensive long term path. And i5/new i7 ties me into the 'lower' end CPU's.

I'm looking to upgrade from a C2Q but think I will either wait it out a while longer and see what happens in Intel Land, or just move to AMD for a stop-gap upgrade.
 
s1156 will still have some very sweet cpu's on it, it just won't have the monster I9's and the like, but then again just imagine the cost of getting them.

I know id rather build a complete system that rocks, then paying that kind of money on just a cpu.
 
The i7 920 is currently planned to be around until Q2 2010. By that point, there'll probably be an i9 CPU (or at least an i7 with a higher multiplier than the 920) in a similar sort of price range so I don't think you need to worry about being stuck if you choose an LGA1366 platform.
 
I'm sure the new i9s won't be as cheap as the current 920. But I'm guessing the lower end i9 could start around £300-400 (similar range to the 940). Just a complete guess on my part however. Also, if you buy an i7 now, it should last you around 2-3 years at least. I think going on the LAG1366 platform will be better in the long term, if you want to be at the cutting edge in tech.

One question I have here, as I don't yet own an i7 setup (will soon however =D), is tri-channel RAM a lot better than dual channel?

That's one of the main differences after all between LGA1156 and LGA1136.
 
s1366 (current I7's/soon I9's) will in future be aimed at highend enthusiast, in otherwords if your on this then this is the best intel kit. But any future cpu upgrades won't be cheap as they are now probably.

s1156 (I3/I5/ next gen I7) will be aimed purely at the mainstream market, from budget right up to high end budgets.

Looks to me like the early leaked lynnfield benchies don't show enough difference to warrant Intel's justification for splitting the market into the two chipsets.

Are we looking at another s940/939 situation? What's the real future of s1366? Will Intel price future s1366 chips out of realistic consideration?

I hope I'm wrong, but it doesn't really add up :confused:
 
I would assume Intel would do something with i9 like they have with i9.

Maybe slightly more for the lower model, kind of like i7 940, 965 and 975 maybe?

I suppose only time will tell. We can never know for certain. Especially with Intel.
 
Looks to me like the early leaked lynnfield benchies don't show enough difference to warrant Intel's justification for splitting the market into the two chipsets.

Are we looking at another s940/939 situation? What's the real future of s1366? Will Intel price future s1366 chips out of realistic consideration?

I hope I'm wrong, but it doesn't really add up :confused:

Exactly. I think I'll avoid i5/i7 until I can see which direction they are going.
 
It looks like I7 8** will be mainstream I7 9** will be enthusiast..

The only major difference between the 2 I7's is dual or triple channel ram, so ofcourse overall triple channel will be better, how long have we all been using dual channel, its not like its a massive hinderence in performance.

Thats why im personally waiting till summer next year to see what the markets like before i make my next major overall.

I don't think it will be like s939/940 as 940 was aimed at the server market, its more apt to say its more like what amd did with s747/939.
 
Exactly. I think I'll avoid i5/i7 until I can see which direction they are going.

The motherboard manufacturers seem to be putting a big effort into the p55 platform - there appear to be some serious enthusiast boards arriving on that chipset. I think they expect this to be a big market.

When I buy a new motherboard & cpu, I generally expect to be able to drop in at least one more affordable cpu upgrade maybe a year, or year and a half down the road. It gives a rig a lot of lifetime. Intel are making it hard to know which platform will be the best bet for that kind of outlook.
 
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From the early prices released about the forthcoming P55 boards, im not sure what socket is in danger, 1366 or 1156. The prices seem to be, for the high end P55 boards in the £150+ area, well you can get a X58 board for that. I know the CPUs are going to be cheaper, but the i7 800 series are not that cheap, so there is no point buying an 800 series CPU on P55 at least until the 920 goes away. Infact the core i7 850 is the same price as the 920 according to reports, so really its memory and motherboard that will decide whether people go 1366 or 1156.
 
Totally agree with that tweaker, it all depends what they do with the 920, if that stays then 1366 is the way to go, if they stop the 920 then its abit easier to choose in my eyes.

Thats why im holding off for some time, that and well i don't need the power of I7 yet lol.
 
It looks like I7 8** will be mainstream I7 9** will be enthusiast..

According to leaked previews, there doesn't appear to be much, if any difference in performance or even overclockability.

The only major difference between the 2 I7's is dual or triple channel ram, so ofcourse overall triple channel will be better, how long have we all been using dual channel, its not like its a massive hinderence in performance.

Triple channel is better, but it's overkill in most cases. It's like having a 30 lane motorway. A bit pointless.

I don't think it will be like s939/940 as 940 was aimed at the server market, its more apt to say its more like what amd did with s747/939.

939 added new features over 754. Intel seem to be doing the reverse.
 
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