The old i5 vs i7 question - last upgrage for a while

deadfolk

deadfolk

deadfolk

Associate
Joined
28 Jan 2005
Posts
237
Location
Ireland
Hi All,

I have the opportunity to upgrade my system, with a budget of ~£500-550. Need a CPU, board, RAM and cooling.

It's mainly used for gaming, so the initial thought is i5, but it's unlikely I'll be able to upgrade again for the next couple of years at least, so I want to be as future-proof as possible. I might be able to swing a new CPU in the future, but not the whole shebang again.

I'd also really like a new case, so if I go the i5 route, I could probably manage a nice HAF 932 into the bargain.

Also, whichever route I go, I'll be attempting to overclock so I need to allow for decent cooling (thinking megahalems+2xapache for i7 or either H50 or Noctua for i5).

One the one hand, it seems silly to skimp on the fundamentals to get a case which I could get later, but then again will the i7 actually help in the long run anyway or am I just as well off future-wise with i5?

Any thoughts/suggestions?
 
It largely depends on if you intend to run single or dual gfx set ups, if the former go i5, latter i7, if you want a bit more info have a read of the thread in my sig
 
Thanks for your reply.

I've read your excellent guide a couple of times already, and gotten some ideas from it.

Initially, I'll be single gfx, but I don't want to rule out going xfire eventually. This is the first time I've heard anyone really using that as an argument for i7. Is that because of the dual x16 as opposed to dual x8 on the PCIe? I understood that this made very little real-world difference.

I think for me, the biggest factor is probably which socket will have better long-term support. Do you have any insight there?
 
Sorry - poor choice of words!:o

I meant support in terms of future chips being released for that socket. For example in 1-2 years' time, which socket am I more likely to be able to drop a new super-whizzy CPU into?
 
Both are new sockets, as such both will probably have faster/more efficient variants released at a later date, you'll hear a lot of poeple going on about i9 for socket 1366 but tbh its going to be of no practical use to 99% of users, certainly not for gamers
You're right that the x16 vs x8 is a small difference atm, however as gfx cards get more and more advanced and use more and more bandwidth this difference will become more noticable, of course by the time that happens you may well of upgraded your system again, who knows, lol
 
In my opinion you should go for i5. Since you will only be gaming you will notice the i7's advantages like hyperthreading over the i5 when playing games. The i5 even beats the i7 in games sometimes. Also, as you said you probably won't upgrade for a few years well i think that it's perfectly reasonable for the i5 to last you that long. Sure, i7 may get i9 but who really needs six cores? Also who is to say that Intel won't release lower end six cores for LGA 1156 down the line? In a few years time when you want to upgrade Intel will probabaly have a brand new socket out anyway so you'll probably still have to upgrade your whole platform regardless. If i was you i'd save money mate and go i5. Just my two cents.
 
I think I'm going to go i5.
Initially, I think the benefits for i7 will be few, if any, and the socket 1156 is still very new.

There will probably be better 1156 chips further down the line, and I imagine they'll be cheaper than the 1366 alternatives.

Thanks for all the advice gang!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom