Help with some indecision (i7 vs Q9550)

[andrewdodd13]

I'm going to buy a new setup soon, I'm just really indecisive at the moment. I would quite like an i7 for the "e-peen" as it's been put here.

But I already have a S775 motherboard (ASUS P5KPL-VM - which is short a protective faceplate at the back ) and I just saw that you can get a retail Q9550 for £180.

So really I'm looking at an i7 £500 setup vs Q9550 £220 (I'll get 4gb of 800/1066MHz RAM when I buy).

Is it worth getting the i7 for the future upgrade path, and slight performance benefits (and e-peen ) or should I just stick with my LGA775 mobo and get the Q9550?

Also, slightly aside, how does the Q9550 compare to the Phenom II AM2+ Black Edition (the 3.00GHz one)? Just for having a bigger e-peen than my friend.

 

[andrewdodd13]

If you want i7 for a future upgrade path you're not in luck, as the socket is being reserved for only the high end CPUs come september, at which point the 920 and 940 are being discontinued. However, the i7s represent a good deal in terms of value for money in the context of the new 'i5' CPUs that are coming to replace them, so might be a good time to go i7 since it should last a long time due to it's power.

Whether to go 775 or 1366 will be a question of need and budget. I think few people need to go i7, but if you can afford it you may as well should you be interested in futureproofing in terms of raw power.

My original plan had been to go S1366 i7 atm then Sexcore (I thought that was a joke at first, haha) in the future.

I've gone for the Q9550, saved me some money, which I'll probably buy a 4870X2 with. Cheers for the input.

(As an aside, I use this PC for everything. Gaming, SETI, downloading, video encoding, coding, Linux compilation, so it's kinda CPU intensive, but meh. )

 

[andrewdodd13]

Yeah, this i7 stuff is really starting to look a mess. I'm kinda glad I went for the Q9550, means I don't have to worry about this for a good year or so now.