Trying to decide i7 920 or i7 860

[chippy08]

HI guys need some help deciding between these i7 920 or i7 860 before saturday when i can go and collect parts.
I already have the Msi p55-gd65 sitting here but i could sell that if needed so what you think guys any comments welcome.


Thanks for comments so far guys really glad your making them and maybe i should give a bit more info to make it a bit more clear for what i use it for which is encoding and multi tasking and not for games at all this my help now i have given more info sorry should have done that in the first place.

 

[chippy08]

Thanks for comments so far guys really glad your making them and maybe i should give a bit more info to make it a bit more clear for what i use it for which is encoding and multi tasking and not for games at all this my help now i have given more info sorry should have done that in the first place.

 

[chippy08]

If you already have a P55 board, I would go the 860 route...with both CPUs (860 & 920) at the same clocks there really is little or no performance differance...

I bought the 860 over the 920 simply because it has a 95w TDP compared to 130W TDP of the 920...

As Wayne remarks, it is a hard call...

What did you have before the i7 860 and what do you think of the performance of your new setup ?

 

[chippy08]

I had a Q9550 @4.0GHz (so not really much of an upgrade for me), sold it some weeks ago as I fancied a CPU with HT (as at times I do a lot of video work/encoding), so I was either going for the 920 or 860, so went 860, which I have clocked @ 4.1GHz, would like to get 4.2GHz out of it...

Does it multi task very well ?

 

[chippy08]

Hehe, a quad core chip with eight threads running at over 4GHz would multitask pretty well I would imagine!

[edit] however this is a mOOt point because both 920/860 do this

Shows how much i know thats one reason i need advise on making the right choice.

 

[chippy08]

chippy08, forgive me if this is a silly question but do you know how to overclock? have you overclocked before?

I only know some i can certainly follow instructions on how to if someone said alter this that and the other.
To be honest never read the quide at all.

 

[chippy08]

Ok cheap i7 860
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i7 860 2.80Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £226.99
(£197.38) £226.99
(£197.38)
Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £86.99
(£75.64) £86.99
(£75.64)
OcUK Value 2GB (1x2GB) DDR3 10666C9 1333MHz Memory Module (AD31333002GMU) £26.99
(£23.47) £53.98
(£46.94)
Sub Total : £319.96
Shipping cost based on delivery with:
FREE SHIPPING (DPD Next Day)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : FREE
VAT is being charged at 15.00% VAT : £47.99
Total : £367.95

Mid Range i7 860
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i7 860 2.80Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £226.99
(£197.38) £226.99
(£197.38)
Asus P7P55D Evo Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £155.99
(£135.64) £155.99
(£135.64)
Corsair Dominator XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600C9D Twin3X (TW3X4G1600C9D) £72.99
(£63.47) £72.99
(£63.47)
Sub Total : £396.49
Shipping cost based on delivery with:
FREE SHIPPING (DPD Next Day)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : FREE
VAT is being charged at 15.00% VAT : £59.47
Total : £455.96

Mid range i7920
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - OEM £199.99
(£173.90) £199.99
(£173.90)
Asus P6T Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £169.99
(£147.82) £169.99
(£147.82)
Corsair Dominator 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel (TR3X6G1600C8D) £119.99
(£104.34) £119.99
(£104.34)
Sub Total : £426.06
Shipping cost based on delivery with:
FREE SHIPPING (DPD Next Day)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : FREE
VAT is being charged at 15.00% VAT : £63.91
Total : £489.97



the Mid range i7920 is easily worth the few extra notes over the mid range i7860, so only the basic 860 setup makes financial sense.

Thanks m8 but i do have a MSI GD65 board sitting here that i got at discount price. so Does that still make you think i7 920 is the better way to go ?

 

[chippy08]

No if you got that at 55% off I'd get a 750 in a flash.

I dont really want the i5 im not sure if it will multi task as well as the i7s.

 

[chippy08]

Don't want to interupt, but I don't know what to go for either 920 or 750? I want it to be futureproofed for at least 3 years. I'll use it for hardcore gaming , rendering and intensive cpu programs. Any advice would be much appreciated.

The more the better as far as im concerned.

 

[chippy08]

I have a budget of £580.

 

[chippy08]

Deduct £285 (860 + 4GB quality Ram) = £295 remaining

Which ram is good for the msi board ?

 

[chippy08]

I think most people on here are still saying go for the 920 and some people say why they think that and some dont say why has anyone on this forum actually running the i7 860 ?

Whats the mods opioin on this ?

 

[chippy08]

Well if i go the 860 way i can buy this for my money
Intel Core i7 860 2.80Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £226.99
(£197.38) £226.99
(£197.38)
Geil Ultra Series 4GB (2x2GB) PC3-17000 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (GU34GB2133C9DC) £84.99
(£73.90) £84.99
(£73.90)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4670 Ultimate "Passive" 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail £62.09
(£53.99) £62.09
(£53.99)
Akasa AK-FN057 Apache Super Silent 120mm Fan - 4 Pin PWM £10.98
(£9.55) £21.96
(£19.10)
Sub Total : £344.37
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £53.08
Total : £406.95

plus money left over for a good cooler and still have £100 change.

I7 920 build

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail £211.99
(£184.34) £211.99
(£184.34)
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £135.99
(£118.25) £135.99
(£118.25)
Patriot Viper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600MHz) Low Latency Tri-Channel (PVT36G1600LLK) + 3D Mark Vantage Benchmarking Software £89.99
(£78.25) £89.99
(£78.25)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4670 Ultimate "Passive" 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail £62.09
(£53.99) £62.09
(£53.99)
Corsair H50 High-Performance CPU Watercooler (Socket LGA775/1366) £59.98
(£52.16) £59.98
(£52.16)
Sub Total : £486.99
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £74.55
Total : £571.54

Well thats what i can afford any of the 2 setups

 

[chippy08]

Do a search...


860 clocks are out there.The difference between the same clocked 860 and 920 is nothing.

Easyrider Did you decide in the end which way to go ?

 

[chippy08]

NOt yet

I'm hovering over the 750 then change my mind for the 860

Waiting for the geil to come in stock.

So your not thinking about 920 at all ?

 

[chippy08]

I know Big Wayne thinks i should go The 860 way im very tempted as i ge more parts for my money and like you i have the cheap board as well that saved me some cash.

 

[chippy08]

hehe you forgot the mb on the 860 setup its a hard choice with so much to choose now,and i habe swopped and changed nealry every other day,but having seen then reviews and bench test and what i need for my needs ie gaming i have decided to go 860 which is going on water the 860 is a good chip and will do anything you need unless you into extreme over clocking and want bragging rights,which does not intrest me at all.

I already have the discounted msi gd65 board which was cheap as chips.

 

[chippy08]

If you didn't get a bargain GD65 mobo then there is no point going i7 860.

You can pick up X58 mobos for the same price as P55 and a cheaper 920.

The fact that I have got a cheap GD65 makes the choice between 750 and 860 more complicated.

Im in same boat really i got the cheap board which i know i can sell if i want for the same price or more if i wanted to. I know i can get a cheaper x58 for say £150 or i can leave the graphics card which i can wait for and get the x58 ud5 and the other thing is stock issuses as some of the stuff is not in stock on both orders. I wish it was this hard when deciding to get married i wouldnt have the heavy ball and chain around my ankle.

 

[chippy08]

For me its an easy choice.

You have to get the i7 860. Its makes sense. You already have the mobo , now you need the CPU.
In the real world you are not going to notice any difference between the 920 and 860. If anything the 860 is quicker at stock. They both have HT which will help on your encoding etc. Your not really missing out on the other as you have everything you could need in the 860.

Thats how i see it anyway.

Best of luck chippy m8 ,

McT

Thanks for your views and everyone else for there views as well i think i decided now but even when i go tomorrow i still cant build it as some bits are out of stock.

thanks everyone

 

[chippy08]

well i decided to go i7 860 the reason was i already have the msi board and i can buy the extra things i want like video card upgrade and some silent fans plus the H50 when it arrives and still have about £100 left over from my budget.
But i just checked stock and stuff i wanted is out of stock like video card and memory so if i wake up in morning and feel i really cant wait then it might all change to i7 920.