LGA775.

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So, first post on the forums - but i've got the components bug and i'm having a bit of a dilemma.

I've been building systems for everyone else for years, and i've only just got around to getting my own house in order lately. Bought a good case and sorted the airflow out properly with a mind to be upgrading under the hood pretty soon. Thing is, I don't know if I can really swing the cost of a socket 1366 system.

My rig is old - and I mean old! P4 Irwindale @ 3GHz on a very old and crusty ASUS P5S800-VM. (I'm still using AGP for **** sake!) I need to upgrade and I will be upgrading. Bottom line.

It was my plan to leapfrog components by upgrading the M/B to a socket 775 that could take the P4, then eventually getting the Q9650. Now, because my M/B is so old, I need to upgrade the RAM and the GFX as well which leaves me in a tight situation financially.

I can get a decent system for under £300 using the 775 socket, but i'd be buying a dying breed, right?

Socket 1366 is (obviously) the way I want to go but I really don't know if the missus would forgive me for spending that kind of money.

Is it even worth bothering with a 775 build at all? I'd say no, but the price is really pushing me into considering it.
 
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To be honest, buying a new mobo just to put a P4 in (and for later quad core) is a waste. The performance of any current core 2 Duo or AMD athlon x2 runs rings round a 3GHz P4.

My main question is what do you plan to use the machine for? If its for modern games then a larger chunk of the £300 will have to be diverted to graphics. If its mainly CPU intensive programs (video editing, photoshop, CAD etc) then more money on the CPU would be a plan. With this question answered, I'd be happy to spec you a machine for your usage and budget.
 
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Nothing wrong with 775 mate. It might not be topping benchmarks but my rig in sig chews through anything i throw at it. Wont be upgrading myself until something significantly better than i7 comes along.

If i were you i'd just go for 775 considering how cheaply you can put a good one together for now. You can always take gfx with you in future as well.
 
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Nothing wrong with 775 mate. It might not be topping benchmarks but my rig in sig chews through anything i throw at it. Wont be upgrading myself until something significantly better than i7 comes along.

If i were you i'd just go for 775 considering how cheaply you can put a good one together for now. You can always take gfx with you in future as well.

And this is my dilemma. I can put an i7 system together for ~£500.

Is it worth the extra couple hundred notes? And i'll be set to upgrade GFX with PCIe, CPU (with the socket in tow), and RAM from then on in. It's just such a big jump from my current rig.

To be honest, I'm either gonna be shelling out a load of cash now, or later.
 
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This is a few quid over, but it it will make an awesome gaming machine and machine for general use. Plus it uses DDR3 and AM3 so it has good future upgrade prospects.

320c.png
 
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How are you going to build an i7 rig for £500? Second hand stuff or re using things from your old machine? Personally i'd buy the cheaper core2 and get better quality components than opting for budget 1366 stuff.

Either way i think that the marginal extra power of i7 over core2 is meaningless now. Whether that extra power will become of use between now and whenever a new line of rocessors comes along is anyones guess.
 
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I would go for 775 myself. Don't feel my current system is any quicker than the 775 quad core it replaced, though benchmarks disagree a bit

Using the current processor for a while will spread the cost, as long as you're aware that the performance improvement moving to the new system will be related to games/ram and the processor will bottleneck it somewhat.

I'd be inclined to save for a few months then buy, rather than try to buy components over time. Simply because the processor matters most, and you'd upgrade it last.

2p :)
 
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This is a few quid over, but it it will make an awesome gaming machine and machine for general use. Plus it uses DDR3 and AM3 so it has good future upgrade prospects.

320c.png

Yeh I'd go for this to be honest. The AMD Tricore is a good value cpu which apparently overclocks quite well (Not as well possibly as Core 2, but still quite well).

Either that or go for a cheap Dual Core Socket 775 with an E5300 cpu. That'll run rings around your P4 and still leave some budget for a decent graphics card. An Intel Core 2 Quad will generally perform a little better than an AMD Phenom II cpu as well, despite the rather odd opinion that Socket 775 is dead. It's not. Don't expect any more high end systems on socket 775, but it's still got plenty of life left in it for those on a budget.
 
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Socket 1366 is (obviously) the way I want to go...

Why is that? Have you looked at Socket 1156? Unless you really need the triple-channel RAM etc., a system built around the Core i5-750 should do great things (and they can be built relatively cheaply). For example:

CPU: i7-750 = £160 (either retail, or OEM with an aftermarket cooler)
Mobo: GA-P55M-UD2 = £87
4 GiB dual-channel DDR3 = ~£70
Gfx: Take your pick, ~£100?

That's about £417 for your core components. Anyway, just throwing in my alternative. :)
 
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i7 rig for £500:

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - OEM + Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Game £201.99

Kingston HyperX 6GB (3x2GB) Intel XMP DDR3 PC3-14900C9 Tri-Channel (KHX14900D3T1K3/6GX) £110.39

Foxconn FlamingBlade GTI Motherboard (froogle) £63 inc p&p

GFX £100

Total £475

Doesn't include p&p at overclockers or a cooler so you're looking at just over £500
 
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i7 rig for £500:

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - OEM + Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Game £201.99

Kingston HyperX 6GB (3x2GB) Intel XMP DDR3 PC3-14900C9 Tri-Channel (KHX14900D3T1K3/6GX) £110.39

Foxconn FlamingBlade GTI Motherboard (froogle) £63 inc p&p

GFX £100

Total £475

Doesn't include p&p at overclockers or a cooler so you're looking at just over £500

Thats hardly a "rig". You'd have to be mental to put those nice new components in a busted old case and run them on an old power supply. Also going to need coolers ect.
 
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Well, nobody else mentioned CPU cooler, case or PSU, I was trying to be comparable to the other suggestions. I also did mention the cooler.

PSU is a very good point though, hooFlung, what you got?
 
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