i7 920 to Ivy Bridge : A worthwhile upgrade?

smilertoo · 26 Apr 2012 at 09:56

I got my i920 in one of the OC overclock packs, does 4ghz on air no problem.
My only issue now is that to upgrade means either a £450 move to 6core for a now dead platform...or changing the mobo as well. I don't think an upgrade is money well spent unless i get at least a 50% performance jump.

Skynet5 · 26 Apr 2012 at 10:15

Rossi~ said:
I'm doing it.

Swapping out

Motherboard: Asus P6T Deluxe
CPU: i7 920 (C0)
RAM: OCZ Gold (9Gb)
SSD: OCZ Vertex 2e

Replacing with

Motherboard: Asus Z77 Sabertooth
CPU: IB 3770K
RAM: Samsung Green (16Gb)
SSD: Intel 520 Series 180GB

Just waiting for the release and i'll be placing the order with Overclockers UK

Main reasons for upgrade:
Too hot
Unable to sleep PC due to P6T and Vertex 2e
Can afford to right now
Had the 920 + P6T since release, has lasted be a looong time now (over 3 years) and i'm ready to upgrade.

Z77 has a very short shelf life now though doesn't it? Like that's it. IB-E and Haswell wont work on it I don't think.

Actually played from 64 player Caspian Border last night...my processor does struggle with that...but I mainly play 32 and every now and then 48 player...so no biggy.

I'm just really reluctant to buy a processor on a short lifespan and especially one with iGPU. I don't want a motherboard with video connectors on the back...looks so ancient!

Skynet5 · 26 Apr 2012 at 10:16

smilertoo said:
I got my i920 in one of the OC overclock packs, does 4ghz on air no problem.
My only issue now is that to upgrade means either a £450 move to 6core for a now dead platform...or changing the mobo as well. I don't think an upgrade is money well spent unless i get at least a 50% performance jump.

Agreed. For me to buy what I want on the x79 platform I'm looking at £750 as I would need new RAM and new cooler too.

Just doesnt seem worth it...but it would allow me to open the taps on my 680 sli.

prescott28 · 26 Apr 2012 at 10:45

lnoton said:
Z77 has a very short shelf life now though doesn't it? Like that's it. IB-E and Haswell wont work on it I don't think.

Don't we tend to end up buying a new motherboard and processor together these days? Certainly if one were to buy a Sandy or an Ivy I wouldn't have thought moving to Haswell next year would be worth it. (I haven't decided yet whether to take the plunge and upgrade my Q6600 now or to wait until Haswell but whatever I do I would expect to go past several new processors before another upgrade.

Skynet5 · 26 Apr 2012 at 11:05

prescott28 said:
Don't we tend to end up buying a new motherboard and processor together these days? Certainly if one were to buy a Sandy or an Ivy I wouldn't have thought moving to Haswell next year would be worth it. (I haven't decided yet whether to take the plunge and upgrade my Q6600 now or to wait until Haswell but whatever I do I would expect to go past several new processors before another upgrade.

Yeah, you probably have a point. My mobo/cpu combo has lasted a long time...and its unlikely I would upgrade the CPU to an 950 or 980.

I do wonder what BF3 gains I would get with a z77 and ivy bridge setup. It seems 2011 socket is quite exotic and z77 is still aimed at gamers that want the best performance still.

Maybe I should go z77? Would I be able to reuse my 1600 corsair memory? Still would need a new cooler...I think I accidentally through out the box for my H50 which would have the screws and stuff.

wazza300 · 26 Apr 2012 at 11:29

you wouldnt see much gains,they are pretty much the same gaming wise,x58-z68/z77

i have both and can tell you theres hardly any difference

Vir · 26 Apr 2012 at 11:42

Why not sell your C0 and get a 920 D0 or some other cool thingy, maybe even a 970 6core

second hand maybe?
my i7 920 D0 @ 4Ghz does the job pretty well, GPU's 100% use

prescott28 · 26 Apr 2012 at 11:45

I'm after the Z77 board and probably Ivy as my processor old and I need more SATA and USB ports. the 6Gb sata port would certainly help my SSD but I don't know what real world improvement in the machine I will get. if nothing else it will be up to date and more responsive.

Skynet5 · 26 Apr 2012 at 11:51

Vir said:
Why not sell your C0 and get a 920 D0 or some other cool thingy, maybe even a 970 6core second hand maybe?
my i7 920 D0 @ 4Ghz does the job pretty well, GPU's 100% use

Might be an idea...my mobo does support the 970 6 core with a bios update.

Skynet5 · 26 Apr 2012 at 11:57

Vir said:
Why not sell your C0 and get a 920 D0 or some other cool thingy, maybe even a 970 6core second hand maybe?
my i7 920 D0 @ 4Ghz does the job pretty well, GPU's 100% use

I never see 100% in BF3. I have to turn HT off otherwise I get the odd every 10seconds stutter. But with HT on I run at 45% and with HT off it seems to run at 80%.

Vir · 26 Apr 2012 at 12:05

lnoton said:
I never see 100% in BF3. I have to turn HT off otherwise I get the odd every 10seconds stutter. But with HT on I run at 45% and with HT off it seems to run at 80%.

You have GTX 680 SLI though, so maybe that's the difference I got GTX480's

I see OP has a single GTX 680 so he should be fine with 4Ghz? Only maybe not with SLI later on. That is indeed something to keep in mind...

I run 4Ghz HT-ON btw. Adaptive vsync got rid of the stutter for me in BF3.

Skynet5 · 26 Apr 2012 at 12:22

Vir said:
You have GTX 680 SLI though, so maybe that's the difference I got GTX480's I see OP has a single GTX 680 so he should be fine with 4Ghz? Only maybe not with SLI later on. That is indeed something to keep in mind...

I run 4Ghz HT-ON btw. Adaptive vsync got rid of the stutter for me in BF3.

Is that the same stutter that was visible with HT on? I might look at that then. Although I'm not sure HT actually makes much difference.

Phyre · 26 Apr 2012 at 13:10

lnoton said:
Z77 has a very short shelf life now though doesn't it? Like that's it. IB-E and Haswell wont work on it I don't think.

Actually played from 64 player Caspian Border last night...my processor does struggle with that...but I mainly play 32 and every now and then 48 player...so no biggy.

I'm just really reluctant to buy a processor on a short lifespan and especially one with iGPU. I don't want a motherboard with video connectors on the back...looks so ancient!

Everything has a short lifespan, if you're always after the cutting edge hardware. The 920s have lasted 2-3 years - I think that's a damn good life.

Yaayuh! · 26 Apr 2012 at 13:12

lnoton said:
Z77 has a very short shelf life now though doesn't it? Like that's it. IB-E and Haswell wont work on it I don't think.

Don't know about Haswell yet but as far as IvyBridge-E is concerned that'll be the enthusiast/extreme market (currently LGA2011) right?

By all means i have a choice, LGA2011 or LGA1155. LGA2011 doesn't seem to have much going for it unless you spend a bucket load on a hexcore.

Vir · 26 Apr 2012 at 13:16

Rossi~ said:
Don't know about Haswell yet but as far as IvyBridge-E is concerned that'll be the enthusiast/extreme market (currently LGA2011) right?

By all means i have a choice, LGA2011 or LGA1155. LGA2011 doesn't seem to have much going for it unless you spend a bucket load on a hexcore.

I know right

for me personally it's pretty hard choice, LGA2011 much more expensive BUT it's actually what you want in your head and it will last you longer, probably
LGA1155 will be lots cheaper but then you'll want to upgrade faster and it's not WHAT YOU REALLY want. And in the long run 2 of those upgrades in a 3 years will set you back more then 1 high end in 3 years.

prescott28 · 26 Apr 2012 at 13:47

I'm not so sure, Vir, looking at the price of the components. Additionally, going for 2011 means putting a lot more money up front. I suppose it all depends on whether one has a use for the awesome power of the 2011 processors and how often one wants to upgrade.

Personally, I have had my Q6600 for 5 years and I hope that a new processor I buy will do similar sterling service. At that rate, one does better with the cheaper components which, to be fair, probably do everything we are likely to throw at them.

Yaayuh! · 26 Apr 2012 at 14:00

prescott28 said:
I'm not so sure, Vir, looking at the price of the components. Additionally, going for 2011 means putting a lot more money up front.

Not really, £100ish tops.
3820 is cheaper than the 2600K by £20
Comparing X79 vs Z77 Asus Sabertooth boards is £260 vs £180 = £80
4x4Gb Samsung Green in either setups
Making it in total £60 more expensive to go to 2011 than 1155. Will have to see what the price of IB is.

prescott28 · 26 Apr 2012 at 14:13

mmm, see your point if you are looking at the top end boards. I had been looking nearer the other end - at the cheaper boards. Are there any real advantages in the Sabertooth over the cheaper Asus boards?

Yaayuh! · 26 Apr 2012 at 14:39

prescott28 said:
mmm, see your point if you are looking at the top end boards. I had been looking nearer the other end - at the cheaper boards. Are there any real advantages in the Sabertooth over the cheaper Asus boards?

Other than looks? Probably only build quality. I never skimp on the motherboard as I've learn from buying the cheaper brands and models in the past, which have either failed or not been given BIOS updates as frequent.

grimm · 27 Apr 2012 at 11:08

I'v got a 920 running a very small overclock. Haven't needed to touch it and haven't had any problems running anything yet, so I won't bother for the time being.