Planning an upgrade.

lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
edited December 2009 in Hardware
I've finally caught the bug - I'm drooling uncontrollably over a Core i7 platform, and I want to upgrade. I'm planning on the following build:

LGA1366 6.4GT/s mobo w/ 3 x16 slots (likely an x16/x8/x8 setup), planning to run dual HD5850s in crossfire along with a 9600GT for PhysX if the setup works in the software
Core i7 920 (or 930, if it's out)
6GB of some type of OCZ RAM

The problem is, I'm going to need to save up some cash to be able to afford it, and money tends to burn holes in my pockets. So, I ask the community at large... if you see me considering buying something else, please remind me of my goal so that I stay on track. ;D

Comments

  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited December 2009
    Sounds like a sweet setup! You could always buy one component at a time to commit to it. Having a Core i7 sitting on your desk will remind you of the other things you need to save money for. :)

    I'm a little jealous, but at least I'm finally moving my desktop to a Core2 system in a couple weeks. I stay pretty far behind the curve, and I haven't been on the cutting edge in a loooong time. And that was a disaster involving RDRAM and a Pentium 3.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited December 2009
    I suggest waiting for Sandy Bridge and Zambezi at this point.
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited December 2009
    I know I probably should wait, but it's so hard to work up the self control once I've decided I need to upgrade. It's gonna depend a lot on how soon those platforms are coming out - if waiting means I'll have to go another year on my core 2 quad, then I probably won't be able to hold out. If they're coming out by summer, I may be able to pull it off.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited December 2009
    4Q10, 1Q11, but it's only a year for a pretty large improvement in clockspeeds, performance and TDP.
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited December 2009
    Sandy BITCH ain't got nothin' on 920!
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited December 2009
    Maybe not, but Bulldozer does. 16 execution threads, yesplz.
  • mas0nmas0n howdy Icrontian
    edited December 2009
    I couldn't wait either. Grabbed an i7 920 at Microcenter for $199 and had my whole upgrade for $550. If you can talk yourself out of needing 3 GPUs, there are solid X58 boards for <$200.
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited December 2009
    The killer is really going to be the processor itself. I can't get a Core i7 for any less than $300 CDN. If I settle for a dual-x16 board (which really isn't unreasonable), I can get the motherboard and RAM for about another $300. That'd be a total price tag of about $600 before taxes.
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited December 2009
    Drive to Warren and get an i7 from MicroCenter for $200.
  • Cliff_ForsterCliff_Forster Icrontian
    edited December 2009
    Bean, your current specs are fantastic. If thats my system, I wait a while yet. A core 2 Quad with dual 5850's is drool worthy by most peoples standards.
  • photodudephotodude Salt Lake, Utah Member
    edited December 2009
    Why do you feel you "need" an upgrade? What's the driving reason for moving to an i7 right now? Are you just wanting to fold faster, or is there something else?
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited December 2009
    It's been a few months, if he's anything like most of us.
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited December 2009
    The system I'm trying to build is going to be considerably slower than what he's trying to move up from. I for one encourage him to upgrade now and sell me the old parts for cheap :D
  • chrisWhitechrisWhite Littleton, CO
    edited December 2009
    Sounds like it's time to uninstall Steam for the next couple of days :)
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited December 2009
    photodude wrote:
    Why do you feel you "need" an upgrade? What's the driving reason for moving to an i7 right now? Are you just wanting to fold faster, or is there something else?

    The discrepancy between the age of my CPU and graphics. I have my doubts as to whether a core 2 quad can really keep up with two HD5850s or not - not so much because of the processor itself, but because of the rather slow DMI interface. QPI is actually the biggest want factor for me in the upgrade.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited December 2009
    If you think DMI is a limitation for your Radeons, you're barking up the wrong tree. How many times have I been right about these things before? ;)
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited December 2009
    Not enough to fully convince me. You can say CPU doesn't matter all you want, but I notice a big difference in the performance of most (if not all) of my games between my E6600 and my Q9450. If clock speed is not the factor, then simultaneous execution threads is - and a Core i7 is automatically an upgrade if you look at it that way.

    As for the interface, I don't trust DMI because no matter what I try, I can't run Dirt 2 in Crossfire. The game only runs properly on a single card, and the issue seems to be fairly unique to me - lots of people complain that they don't see much performance gain in Crossfire, but I haven't found much (if any) information on framerate hitching caused specifically by it.
  • Cliff_ForsterCliff_Forster Icrontian
    edited December 2009
    QPI is a reasonable want, but the current games are not going to leverage it in a way that is really compelling. Its just not worth the cash if you already have a machine like yours.

    To my knowledge the only recent game that really scales heavily with the CPU at full HD resolutions is Dragon Age. That game shows some serious performance improvements going from a dual to a quad core on the 5870. Its an unusual example though, I can't find anything else like it. Dragon Age seems to especially love the i7.

    Still, unless you could guarantee obtaining really decent value for your current mobo, CPU and RAM, its a hard thing for me to suggest just based on that single benchmark.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited December 2009
    If lots of people complain that they don't see much performance gain in CrossFire, it's either:

    The bus architecture in use by the Lynnfields, and used on the Core 2 since 2006 is incapable of handling CrossFire/SLI.

    OR

    The game just does a shitty job at scaling with CrossFire.

    One of these things is not ridiculous.
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited December 2009
    Either one of those is possible - in fact, both could be in play. My specific issue isn't that it isn't scaling - it's that when Crossfire is enabled, the game will literally freeze for up to 2 seconds at a time at random during gameplay. I had the same problem to a lesser extent running it on a single card, but was able to resolve it by shutting down background applications when I want to play the game. This makes me suspect there is too much data flying through the north bridge, and the additional load created by the second graphics card is too much for the P45 chip to handle. Whether this is DMI's fault or the P45 north bridge specifically, I don't know, but my feeling is that the motherboard is the bottleneck.
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited December 2009
    Good grief - my PC is doing its very best to make a liar out of me. I just ran the game again in crossfire recording it with my camera to catch the freezing problem, and it wouldn't do it. So I got curious, and cranked up the graphics settings... I'm getting a much better frame rate now in Crossfire, and I can almost max the game with a minimum framerate of 76.6FPS. I wish I knew what's changed...

    Maybe I can wait until Bulldozer after all.
  • ardichokeardichoke Icrontian
    edited December 2009
    You know you want to be able to say you have a bulldozer in your office. I know I do.
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