New build

[Chewy_Solo]

I guess I have run into another roadblock... 1156 or 1366? 1156 apparently performs better... Tough one...

[x88x]

Personally I would go with 1156 because it looks like that's what Intel wants to go with in the future, so hopefully you would have a smoother upgrade path.

[slaveofconvention]

I guess I have run into another roadblock... 1156 or 1366? 1156 apparently performs better... Tough one...

I just read a review of the new i5 gear etc, and the conclusion was something along the lines of "It's great but, quickly, get an i7 920 before intel reaslises what they've done with the pricing!"

[x88x]

Howso? The i7-860 (s1156) is basically identical to the i7-920 as far as I can tell, and it's the same price.

[slaveofconvention]

I admit I didn't read the article fully as it's only been about 6-8 months since I built my Q6700 rig and I'm not particularly interested, but....

In contrast, the fully-fledged LGA1366 Core i7-920 is cheaper than both of the new Lynnfield Core i7 CPUs. With LGA1156 and dual-channel DDR3 memory comparable in price to LGA1366 and triple-channel kits, we don't see the point in opting for an LGA1156 Core i7 CPU at all. If you're too lazy or scared to overclock, the Core i7-860 is faster thanks to Turbo Boost (rev 2), but the Core i7-920 is far faster when manually overclocked.

However, opting for an LGA1366 system has many advantages over an LGA1156 one. There's a wider choice of motherboards and coolers, while the X58 chipset and triple-channel memory are better for gaming than P55 and dual-channel memory. Folders and multi-monitor enthusiasts will also appreciate the extra graphics slots of provided by X58, while having 6GB of memory for much the same price as 4GB is also welcome. Finally, we know that Intel will continue to release CPUs on LGA1366, as the company told us that prototypes of the six-core Gulftown CPU are currently being tested on LGA1366 motherboards. This forthcoming CPU probably won't be cheap, however. Therefore, neither LGA1156 Core i7 CPU is worth buying - you'd be better off with an LGA1366 and Core-i7-920 system.

Of course, there will be cheaper LGA1156 motherboards on the way, which will help to make the Core i5-750 more attractive - the cheapest we are close to forming an opinion on is MSI's P55-GD65 motherboard, but at around £135, it's still priced higher than we would have hoped. For the Core i5-750 to become a truly great purchase, we believe that there need to be a bunch of respectably-featured boards closer to the £100 mark because, even with the P55-GD65 and cheaper memory, the platform costs aren't much lower than a Core i7-920 based system.

With that in mind, even if you like the look of the Core i5-750, you really should decide whether you can stretch to an i7-920 as things currently stand, just to make sure you're getting a good deal. Either way, our advice is to go out and buy a Core i7-920 before Intel realises its mistake and discontinues it.

[x88x]

/shrugs
IDK, prices might be different in the UK, and honestly I'm not interested in upgrading for a while either, but I checked NewEgg, and the 720 and 860 are both $290, with the 750 at ~$200.

[slaveofconvention]

I think it has more to do with the availability of motherboards, as well as the triple channel memory over dual channel - more choice and better RAM thruput works out as a faster system esp. for gaming. The probable introduction of the next gen 6core CPUs on 1366 is also a positive...

[Chewy_Solo]

Yea, I think Ill go i7... Ill order tommorow. Hopefully my RAM will be in stock.

[x88x]

I think it has more to do with the availability of motherboards, as well as the triple channel memory over dual channel - more choice and better RAM thruput works out as a faster system esp. for gaming.

?? both 1366 and 1156 are exclusively DDR3. Since the RAM controller is on the CPU, they'd have to go pretty far out of their way to run either with DDR2.

The probable introduction of the next gen 6core CPUs on 1366 is also a positive...

So they're gonna run both sockets in parallel? That's...odd...it seemed like they were just transferring everything over to socket 1156 (ex, replacing the 720 with the 860), and ditching socket 1366. Has Intel released their official plans for 1366 yet?


Sorry Chewy, I don't mean to hijack your thread.

[FuzzyPlushroom]

I'd be concerned about choosing one socket over the other and ending up with a Betamax-vs.-VCR situation, honestly. My guess is that it'll work out more as 370-vs.-Slot-1, where both sockets will continue in parallel, one for budget chips and the other for high-end gear, until all processors are released on a new standard that's not compatible with either.