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Going from a i7 920 to a???, for encoding and gaming?

NutterzUK said:
By the sounds of it you may be in the same position as me. I always keep my PC up to date with the latest components for gaming, and because I use it every day for my work day in day out (Computer Science PhD Student). I love my PC :). I my 920 D0 stepping CPU in I believe around 2008/2009/ Since then it's had 3 new graphics cards, a new SSD, two new hard drives, a new motherboard, a new case, yet again another new case, new memory, a new CPU cooler, but the CPU has remained the same. I keep coming back to OcUK thinking surely it's about time that can be upgraded. Every time,... no,.. it's not really worth it! These CPUs seem to have lasted a life time and seem like they were fantastic value for money.
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Yep, still on an i7 920 clocked at 3.8Ghz. I keep thinking surely it's time to upgrade - pretty much all the rest of my kit I got at the same time has been. Probably the best value chip I've had!
 
Been there, done that and got the t-shirt

Depending on what actual process the video encoding uses you may be surprised by the results. Most use X264.exe. Even the latest 64bit variant which supports all the goodness from the latest CPUs doesn't offer much real world improvement as you would usually think

To put it bluntly, I saw no real difference between an i7 930, i7 2700K, i5 2500K and my new mobile i7 Ivy in my laptop :eek:

....and the 2700K was water cooled to 4.8GHz

I know it's nice to upgrade and have the latest hardware, but most leave their encoding over night and you will see no difference no matter what you buy (obviously within reason).
 
if your mainly playing games then keep what you have its still good, if you do a lot of encoding and have the cash i highly recommend a 3930, i do quite a bit of hd encoding ( bluray ),

with my old i7 930@ 3.8, single pass mkv encode @1080p used to take around 2 hours, on my 3930 @ 4.2 i can do the same encode in around 30mins, and this is tried and tested with both pcs at the same time ( before i sold the 930 ).

i can also do xvid to dvd in under 4 mins, used to take about 18 mins on my i7 930.
 
Wow - that's a hell of a difference -I am VERY surprised it is so much. Is this also using the same storage hardware, and not a function (partly) of an Sata3/6Gbs SSD and/or newer GPU?
 
The 970 is the lowest and cheapest hex core you can get on the x58 platform maybe worth a shout.

But apart from that the 3930k is the only sensible option.
 
Mr. May said:
The 970 is the lowest and cheapest hex core you can get on the x58 platform maybe worth a shout.
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Yes was thinking that my self, depending how Haswell pans out, the Boss and my son are going to New York-USA on holiday might pick one up cheap lol l hope.:D
 
I'm no expert. but I'd say you're best waiting a while until Haswell or, if it ever comes out, Ivybridge-E. If you really want to upgrade now get a 3930K.
 
I would say look for a cheap 970,80 or 90 if you don't wanna bother upgrading mobo. I am sure you know it will make jack difference for gaming but overclocked especially it's still quite impressive for multitasking.

I keep on wanting to upgrade but performance wise can't see the point just yet.
 
yeah for encoding get an intel 6 core, any 4 core upgrade deffo not worth it, even for gaming. so get a 970 if you dont want to upgrade your mobo, that would increase number crunching performance, or a 3930k if you want to upgrade your mobo, otherwise wait until haswell or maybe beyond.

as i use my system for gaming im waiting for the new consoles before i even consider an upgrade.
 
Without doubt, the most cost effective upgrade would be a 980X or a 990x.
As you can tell from my sig, still running a 990x here and see absolutely no advantage in changing to any other platform at the moment. The X58 has been one of the most enduring platforms to come from Intel in a long time and when clocked to it's max, can still see off the new offerings.
 
BodgeITandRun said:
I would say look for a cheap 970,80 or 90 if you don't wanna bother upgrading mobo. I am sure you know it will make jack difference for gaming but overclocked especially it's still quite impressive for multitasking.

I keep on wanting to upgrade but performance wise can't see the point just yet.
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You've not tried to buy a hex core 9 series processor have you? I found one for sale on the bay, but I've not seen any going "cheap" - only cheaper than the current gen of hex core hardware.
 
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