Advice on upgrading a i7 920 to a i7 975

jamesjohns · 20 Feb 2010 at 13:45

I am running a i7 920 2.6 but would like to upgrade it to a i7 975 3.33 for better 3D gaming.

As this is my fist attempt at modding my computer I would like to know if I can simply remove the old cpu and put in the new one, or do I need to reinstal the operating system (vista 64bit). And is there anything else I need to do.

Any help would be gratfully received. Many thanks.

OpenToSuggestions · 20 Feb 2010 at 13:47

The 975 is the same technology as the 920, therefore the maximum overclocks will be the same.

This basically means that a 920 will overclock as much as the 975, making the 975 useless, other than for intel to claim that they have the best stock cpu on the market.

Changing chip within the same socket is normally pointless, unless you are upgrading for more cores or a smaller nm process or something.

Leezy · 20 Feb 2010 at 13:56

mglover070588 said:
The 975 is the same technology as the 920, therefore the maximum overclocks will be the same.

This basically means that a 920 will overclock as much as the 975, making the 975 useless, other than for intel to claim that they have the best stock cpu on the market.

Changing chip within the same socket is normally pointless, unless you are upgrading for more cores or a smaller nm process or something.

+1

Moving from a 920 to a 975 is only an upgrade if you don't know how to overclock. All CPU's in the same series are all the same Chip, manufactured the same, the only difference is that they band different names on.
As said above if you want an 'Upgrade' your looking for more cores or a smaller die etc.

sjcf1 · 20 Feb 2010 at 13:57

jamesjohns said:
I am running a i7 920 2.6 but would like to upgrade it to a i7 975 3.33 for better 3D gaming.

As this is my fist attempt at modding my computer I would like to know if I can simply remove the old cpu and put in the new one, or do I need to reinstal the operating system (vista 64bit). And is there anything else I need to do.

Any help would be gratfully received. Many thanks.

Why don't you over clock the 920? To 4ghz?

Then if that performance isn't enough, wait till the 6 core chip arrives, providing the games you run are multi threaded.

Marine-RX179 · 20 Feb 2010 at 14:03

Yes. Definitely overclock the 920 to 4GHz instead of getting 975.

Intel released like around 15 new CPU over the i3, i5, i7 perform, but only 3 are actually "bang for bucks" and worth considering and they are i3 530, i5 750, and i7 920.

OpenToSuggestions · 20 Feb 2010 at 18:05

Marine-RX179 said:
only 3 are actually "bang for bucks" and worth considering and they are i3 530, i5 750, and i7 920.

Very true.
I would think that 90% of forum users who buy intel would be looking at these 3 cpus.

JonJ678 · 20 Feb 2010 at 18:07

Got to be a troll

OpenToSuggestions · 20 Feb 2010 at 18:09

JonJ678 said:
Got to be a troll

Who is trolling? :confused:

JonJ678 · 20 Feb 2010 at 18:18

The OP. I can't believe that anyone signs up to a forum called overclockers but doesn't think to ask google what overclocking might be, then wonder if he can do it, and be immediately informed by about 1,710,000 pages from google that it's really not very hard to make his 920 run much quicker than 2.6ghz.

However someone coming onto an overclocking website and suggesting buying a 975 to get 3.33ghz instead of overclocking his 920 is likely to be trolling. No?

Well Splattered · 20 Feb 2010 at 18:19

jamesjohns said:
I am running a i7 920 2.6 but would like to upgrade it to a i7 975 3.33 for better 3D gaming.

As this is my fist attempt at modding my computer I would like to know if I can simply remove the old cpu and put in the new one, or do I need to reinstal the operating system (vista 64bit). And is there anything else I need to do.

Any help would be gratfully received. Many thanks.

Yes, its as easy as swapping them.

No, you will not have to reinstall your current OS.

For better 3d gaming you are better off upgrading your graphics card first, then your cpu.

OpenToSuggestions · 20 Feb 2010 at 18:20

JonJ678 said:
The OP. I can't believe that anyone signs up to a forum called overclockers but doesn't think to ask google what overclocking might be, then wonder if he can do it, and be immediately informed by about 1,710,000 pages from google that it's really not very hard to make his 920 run much quicker than 2.6ghz.

Ahhh I get what you mean.
I just assumed that he is new to overclocking due to a new account and few posts, however someone who doesn't know much about pc's is hugely unlikely to have an i7.

VortX · 20 Feb 2010 at 18:22

Not to mention the fact it will make 0 difference to gaming, which is why the OP want's to upgrade...

EDIT: agree with the above post, I don't think he is trolling, merely doesn't understand the concept of overclocking, nor does he understand that the upgrade in CPU won't really make a difference to gaming.

cainer · 20 Feb 2010 at 19:08

stick with the 920 m8, you wont much difference especially if u OC it

D1ngd0ng · 20 Feb 2010 at 21:47

Moving from a 920 to a 975 is only an upgrade if you don't know how to overclock. All CPU's in the same series are all the same Chip, manufactured the same, the only difference is that they band different names on.

Or you want an unlocked Multiplier to play with (obv doubtful that the op wants it for this reason)

sjcf1 · 20 Feb 2010 at 22:11

If he wants a higher multi, surely the 940 or a 950 would be the better and cheaper option?

xBLiNG · 20 Feb 2010 at 23:27

Possible troll, but only due to the price tag of the 975, almost £800 is a lot for most people, you would assume when spending this much you would look into things abit. Regardless, as everone else has said, either overclock the current CPU (look around for guides on whaat this is and how to do it) or post the rest of your system and we can try to look for some other components to give you a better gaming experience (e.g. graphics card)

reflux · 20 Feb 2010 at 23:30

DO NOT BUY THE 975 AS AN UPGRADE FROM THE 920. End of. You will see only a tiny frame rate increase, maybe 2-5fps at most, and will be a lot poorer as a result. Games perform much better with a better graphics card.

LEUVEN · 21 Feb 2010 at 01:56

JonJ678 said:
Got to be a troll

+1

i3systemOC · 21 Feb 2010 at 08:04

For the most part everything everyone said here is correct I just wanted to add a few things. The 975 is a waste of money for you, however, the 975 has an unlocked multiplier so you can tweak your over clocks much better since you’re not limited to only increases in bclock.

Also, there is a phenomenon called binning. When CPUs are made they all come out slightly different and some can reach higher frequencies easier than others. Intel/AMD tests each chip to see how much maximum frequency can be achieved and the best of the best are sold as 975s, the worst of the batch would be sold as a 920 or even destroyed if it doesn’t reach spec, this doesn’t make the 920 a bad chip at all, it just means you won’t get as high of a final stable frequency if you OC.

Ok last thing, if you do want to burn some cash, wait till fall of this year, that is when Intel will sell the same 6 core chips that are coming out next month at lower speeds. These are all the same chip in the same way your 920 is the same as the 975. Intel is going to put out the godly expensive chip now and wait 6 months before the cheaper ones come out so they can steal money from impatient people. 99% of users will not need this chip.

My advice to you is, read a bit on over clocking, move your chip up to 3.3-3.6ghz, or 4ghz if you feel like pushing it, maybe buy a new video card in the meantime, ATI 5850 or 5970. Anything above an i5 750 will not limit anything graphics wise, that is all bottlenecked the video card not matter how much you spend on a cpu it won’t increase frame rates at high resolutions.