The Time has come(upgrade Time!)

[prehensile]

yeah that is what i meant, you definately need a 4870 to justify the i7, hell for your budget you could get a 4870-x2 for the same price... and overeall you would have 2x the game performance.

if you have a P4, you will treble your processing power with just a x2 7750... later get a phenom 3ghz...

There is no way you are better off with a i7 compared to a HD 4870 x2, you get double your i7 system's fps. else you get a x2 nvidia card and also have integrated Physx.

if money is no object then sure a i7, but if it stops you buying a twice better gfx card, why do it?

if you upgrade to any platform that can handle a quad core at 3ghz-3.2ghz, you will not have to upgrade your mainboard until 2013 to play any game.

think about it scientificaaly and get the best fps and the best workstation not a symbolic new platform...! they might make you buy a new motherboard anyway because the next revision of i7 needs like power stepping or something who knows.

[prehensile]

sorry @ your first mix of parts HAHAHA 500 pounds on a processor and mainboard that is hilarious! for photoshop and games! but no hd-4850x2. mad! to spend so much money and still not be able to play on max quality.

4850 x2 benchmarks : http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,6...850_X2/?page=9
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http://www.lambda-tek.com/components...prodID=B166390
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http://techreport.com/articles.x/15818/7
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[j.o.s.h.1408]

i diddnt know a 4870-x2 makes a difference at my 1680res compared to a 260/4870. people all around the web keeps on nagging how a 4870-x2 is a waste at my res

[Pob255]

Generally speaking it is, without getting into the argument over very high fps rates
It's only on a couple of games where you'll notice much difference Cyrsis being the main one.

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,6...850_X2/?page=6
from the same review, cod4 the difference between the 4870 512mb and 4870x2 at 1680x1050 with everything set to max
min fps 60 vs 85
avarage fps 65 vs 94
So still fully palyable

Race Driver Grid and Assassins Creed difference is between a 4870 512mb and 4780x2 is around 1fps and too small to be counted.

On something like QW:ET I could get my 9800gtx to do over 150fps @1280x1024 if I forced vsync off, but the tareing was so bad it made it unplayable.

EDIT: that said a 4870x2 will get more benefit from a more powerfull cpu/system as it's less likely to be bottle necked by the cpu.
One big thing for going i7 is that the motherboards open you up for crossfire or sli on the same board for the first time so really opens up your options.

[magneticman]

people all around the web keeps on nagging how a 4870-x2 is a waste at my res

They're right.

if you upgrade to any platform that can handle a quad core at 3ghz-3.2ghz, you will not have to upgrade your mainboard until 2013 to play any game.

random and wishful thinking

[arthurleung]

i have weighed out the pros and cons of getting a i7 and IMO its a waste to be getting a dead socket archiecture. a core 2 quad is only maybe £200 cheaper in a similar spec but carrys not much upgrade path for me and still would cost me over £800 for one.

if i could build a quad core 2 with a 260gtx and that lian li case for £400/£500 with a quality PSU and mobo then i would consider it over a i7 costing double. trust me i have thought about it long and hard and to me a core 2 is a waste especially from a person coming from a pentium 4 mate.

many games and apps are not using i7 properly yet BUT in the future it will. gta4 from what i have read has already shown that a i7 cpu increases your fps quite noticably compared to a core 2 quad from what people have been saying so why not prepare for the future abit and buy a new architecture that will just florish in the future when more apps and games utilize it?

makes sence that a i7 will last me LONGER then a core 2 and thats the purpose of my next upgrade, do go another 3-4 years before another one.

Now unless their are some MAJOR bugs and issues with the i7 and the new AMD is equaly as good as a i7 or better for cheap, my mind is already set on a i7

You don't really get a lot of upgrade potential there. By the time you want another upgrade Intel will put out X68 or whatever chipset and the CPU not compatible with older chipset. Even if it theoretically supports older chipset, then Intel will somehow change the revision of the CPU making motherboard manufacturers need to write new BIOS. It took Asus 6 months to make a working BIOS for my P5B to work with my X3350/Q9450. Most motherboard manufacturers really can't be arsed to write new BIOS for you to support new CPUs. I almost gave up hope after the summer holiday, about to buy a new P45 mobo, just to find that a shiny new BIOS available to my 965 board.

And how would i7 "last" longer than a C2Q? You are the one who decide how long it will last. Q9xxx (or Phenom II) may be a bit slower, but then when games finally utilize quad core it will push the bottleneck back to the GPU. In that case having an i7 doesn't help much.

[p@p@ l@z@rou]

i have done that a few times..(been at the cutting edge,,, the fx51 £600amd and eec mem £260 with a special 940 mobo as soon as it was available). There is a fine line with super spec and actual real world use. Plus you do get some problems with mobos until the bios gets sorted and fixed after a couple of revisions. If you can afford to do it and lose that money for the extravagance then go for it. Only recently i have slowed down and not gone for the absolute latest and greatest. i would personally go for a samsung 1tb drive and a radeon card. IMHO i think the image quality is better, after having nvidias for a while and a 9700pro when they came out. It is wise to think of your upgrade path, but beware that socket types can change and get tweaked and there are many factors that can affect the usuability of your mobo. Personally i would get an asus mobo. Really not sure about that biostar, but the proof is in the pudding. I would also go for 4gb of mem, and maybe get a slightly cheaper case that is functional (you can get some ace cases cheaply now) also i wouldnt go mad on the cooling just yet, do that when you need to. That pc would be a beast for months before you need to spend on better cooling. Just my 2 cents, spend on what you need for power and save what you dont. Good luck with your build, sounds nice. I like the fact you can get 1 4870 the get another one later n xfire it
popa

[j.o.s.h.1408]

You don't really get a lot of upgrade potential there. By the time you want another upgrade Intel will put out X68 or whatever chipset and the CPU not compatible with older chipset. Even if it theoretically supports older chipset, then Intel will somehow change the revision of the CPU making motherboard manufacturers need to write new BIOS. It took Asus 6 months to make a working BIOS for my P5B to work with my X3350/Q9450. Most motherboard manufacturers really can't be arsed to write new BIOS for you to support new CPUs. I almost gave up hope after the summer holiday, about to buy a new P45 mobo, just to find that a shiny new BIOS available to my 965 board.

And how would i7 "last" longer than a C2Q? You are the one who decide how long it will last. Q9xxx (or Phenom II) may be a bit slower, but then when games finally utilize quad core it will push the bottleneck back to the GPU. In that case having an i7 doesn't help much.

as far as i know according to the intel lifecycle they are not releasing a new cpu till 2nd half of the year at least. once i build a new pc im not going to change mobo and cpu till after 2 years at least. i just want to change gpu's, ram and other components to at least be able to game at the highest settings.

their are some indications that the next gen gpu's ie the 360/5870's may make a c2q a bottleneck? i have not bought anything yet so i am still considering all my options

[Blitzen]

This is a bad time to buy the new Intel core.

Let them get the next gen core out and see how it performs. Also, make sure the technology is right first.
The memory will drop massively in price aswell as will the motherboard.

[vincent.m]

when do you think that the i7 will be a low in price, like around the 100£ mark?? also if you buy the cpu does that mean you have to get new mobo AND DDR3 ram?

EDIT: FOR POOR ENGLISH

[j.o.s.h.1408]

as far as i know, the i7's doesn't have any major bugs and issues with it.

[kalniel]

when do you think that the i7 will be a low lower??

You couldn't edit your post to rephrase that in English could you?

[Thorsson]

Now is not a good time to be upgrading unless you have money to burn. On the one hand you have C2D which is still very powerful and very good bang for buck, but is yesterday's tech, and on the other hand you have i7, which is currently only a little more powerful, very bad bang for buck, and of unknown lifespan.

Personally I would go bargain C2D, save my money and wait for i7 to mature.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

if i was to get a core 2 i will be a quad core for sure as games are already making use of quad cores. take gta4 for example.

what are the disadvantage of going with i7 besides the cost?

[Infinite]

none


EDIT ->>>

the way i see it, if you get a i7 now while it is still fresh, it will last until intels next gen of cpus and it will be on par with revisions in between (with a little oc) and you wont need to upgrade any of the components.

eg i got my C2D a few months after it first came out and i paid a premium for it (450 i think), however even now it still matches any C2D rig that people still recommend ( with a bit of overclocking).

[Thorsson]

It's purely a cost-based decision.

Edited as above post was changed substantially.