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Trying to decide i7 920 or i7 860

860...if you really need hyperthreading (cos you have the board already)
that makes sense, also the option of faster out-the-box performance than any other sub £300 chip, also the option for very good overclocks (860 seems to be clocking higher than 750, still early days)

750...if you don't
Not sure I can add anything apart from saving ££££

920...if you want the extra RAM and possibility of an i9 upgrade in the future.
or for slightly better Crossfire/SLI performance!

I'm seeing the 750 Lynnfield as the perfect upgrade for people who are normally Dual-Core users, the Lynnfield 860 as the perfect choice for old-school Quad Core users and the 920 Bloomfield for people who don't know any better (joke!) and want the best possible SLI/Crossfire peformance on their new 60" LCD screen! :cool:
 
I have been considering this same question for some time now, easily the most difficult hardware decision i have had to make.

Basically I think it just boils down to this.

-do you have the budget to pay for an i7 920 plus high quality mobo, yes or no.
If you can afford it then do it, because it is simply the top performer full stop. You will sleep well knowing you have the best.
-if not then opt for 1156 or am3.

Another good point already mentioned is that if you are not inclined to overclock your cpu then 1156 may be a better option as, the turbo performance of Lynnfield is a lot more aggressive.

Here are two very thorough reviews

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...core-i5-750-core-i7-870-processor-review.html

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3634&p=1
 
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Yep...I added the 750 in to the mix, because unless he's going to _really_ need the extra HP of the 860 or is just feeling extravagant then it's best to save a few quid for another upgrade - maybe a bit sooner than he would have otherwise planned :D

But like you say, if extravagance is the driver then there's no choice get a 975 now and replace with an i9 as soon as they are available :D
 
do you have the budget to pay for an i7 920 plus high quality mobo, yes or no.
If you can afford it then do it, because it is simply the top performer full stop. You will sleep well knowing you have the best]
Again I would say your viewpoint is shared by many here! :)

I'm looking at a £155/£185 LGA1156 board and a £220 i7 860, according to consensus majority with that budget the *only* choice is a Bloomfield i7

But for reasons I cannot explain there seems to be something compelling about the Hyperthreaded Lynnfield heh! ;)
 
unless he's going to _really_ need the extra HP of the 860 or is just feeling extravagant then it's best to save a few quid for another upgrade
I see the 860 as a magical processor that bends and shifts to deliver the performance you need *no matter* what the scenario, and all of this without lifting a finger from the end user

I'm thinking that HT will become more and more useful as the years roll by, granted you always have the option to pop-out your chip for something faster but for those Feast & Famine upgraders that hardly touch their hardware for three years then buying a non hyper-threaded chip may not be the wisest choice . . . .
 
Again I would say your viewpoint is shared by many here! :)

I'm looking at a £155/£185 LGA1156 board and a £220 i7 860, according to consensus majority with that budget the *only* choice is a Bloomfield i7

But for reasons I cannot explain there seems to be something compelling about the Hyperthreaded Lynnfield heh! ;)

One of the most appealing things I read about lynnfield is in the anandtech review where they say that the turbo mode on lynnfield makes the entire system feel a lot more responsive

"Speaking of turbo, I'd say that Intel is definitely on to something here. The performance impact was small with Bloomfield, but turbo on Lynnfield is huge. My tests showed up to a 17% increase in performance depending on the workload, with most CPU-influenced scenarios seeing at least 9 or 10%. The turbo mode transitions happen fast enough to accelerate even simple actions like opening a new window. OS and application responsiveness is significantly improved as a result and it's something that you can actually feel when using a Lynnfield machine. It all works so seamlessly, you just always get the best performance you need. It's like Intel crammed the best single, dual and quad-core processors all into one package."

However there is soemthing that really scares me about lynnfield and that is the temps, take a look at this

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...e-i5-750-core-i7-870-processor-review-20.html

at the bottom they after 15min of prime with stock cooler, they see temps reaching 80 degrees.
If you do go lynnfield I would say a good cooler is a absolute must
 
If you do go lynnfield I would say a good cooler is a absolute must
I'm not sure it runs any hotter than Bloomfield yet?

But I agree that the chip will play better if its nice and cool! :cool:

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology on Lynnfield is [x5] BLCK I think compared to [x1] BLCK on Bloomfield, if the right conditions are met of course!

That's an extra 133MHz for the Bloomfield i7 and an extra 665MHz for the Lynnfield i7, certainly impressed me although I think that's only on single threaded apps, not sure by how much Intel® Turbo Boost would increase a two or three threaded workload?
 
What cooler would go good with a i7 860?

apparently when intel sent out the review samples they also provided a
Thermalright MUX-120 so reviewers could have descent results oc'ing, so I think thats a good start.

There is a thread somewhere around here on i5 oc'ing, that would be a good place to look.
 
I'm not sure it runs any hotter than Bloomfield yet?

But I agree that the chip will play better if its nice and cool! :cool:

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology on Lynnfield is [x5] BLCK I think compared to [x1] BLCK on Bloomfield, if the right conditions are met of course!

That's an extra 133MHz for the Bloomfield i7 and an extra 665MHz for the Lynnfield i7, certainly impressed me although I think that's only on single threaded apps, not sure by how much Intel® Turbo Boost would increase a two or three threaded workload?

I dont know how hot i7 gets, but 80 degrees after 15mins of prime seems pretty hot

Max Speed Stock 4 Cores 3 Cores 2 Cores 1 Core
Intel Core i7 870 2.93GHz 3.20GHz 3.20GHz 3.46GHz 3.60GHz
Intel Core i7 860 2.80GHz 3.06GHz 3.06GHz 3.33GHz 3.46GHz
Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz 2.93GHz 2.93GHz 3.06GHz 3.20GHz
 
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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 ?

I have the exact mobo that I got for a song.

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

MY thinking is that for 150 the 750 is a steal..but then I think 60 more gets me the 860 with HT.

I'm 95% going for a 750 and going for the budget bang for buck root.

150 for the chip and 65 for the ram.

Doubt I will notice the lack of HT.

:p
































































Or will I?:eek:
 
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I'm also stuck in the same boat having a very tough choice between the 920 and the 860. I'm leaning towards the 860 mind.

I read some stuff elsewhere where peeps said if you wanna overclock ignore the 860 and go with the 920. I want something I can sit at 4ghz 24/7. I'm not overly fussed with triple channel memory or running SLi. I've set a budget of £550 for cpu, mobo, memory and a nice cooler.

I did hope with all the new releases the choice wouldn't be so damn hard :(
 
99.9% the 860 will do whatever the 920 can, iother than the tripple ram and the upgrade to i9 thats about it.gaming wise its a great little chip and more than good enought for anything else that most of us would ever want or use on a daily basis.
 
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 ?
 
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