City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

New cpu and mb

Father Xmas

By Father Xmas,
Posted on: 2010-05-25 06:24 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs

 

Posted

I'm not sure where else to put this thread but I figured this might be a good place to start. I am looking to spend 300-500 dollars on a new cpu and mb this summer in anticipation for GR. I started looking at intel's i5 and i7 line but couldn't really figure out which one would fit my needs for gaming best. The i5s are much cheaper than the i7s but technology wise I don't know which one performs better.

As for mother boards I was looking at asus but I have no idea where to even begin to know which one is good or bad.

I am open to any other suggestions outside of the intel and asus brands. I appreciate your help!

Virtue: @Santorican

Dark/Shield Build Thread

 

Posted

The I5's use Socket 1156, the I7's use Socket 1366.

The I5's are Dual-Core CPUs (except for the top-end of the I5's - the I5-750 which is a Quad-Core).

The I7's are all Quad-Core CPUs and up (the newest I7 is the 6-Core 980X for $1000)

I wouldn't bother with any of the lower I5's, but the 750 is an acceptable chip. It lacks the Hyper-Threading (which makes the operating system think each core is 2 cpu's), but it's not bad for the bucks, but it's 'Turbo-Boost' is slightly better than the earlier I7-920's.

Also, the chip architecture is different for memory controller and "data bus - actually called QPI now", but it's hard to explain.

I7's have normal Hyper-Threading (so a quad-core I7-930 reads as 8 cpu's to the operating system), and the Turbo-Boost, and are "more" future-proof in that they use the 1366 socket.

There's not really enough room here to go into huge details, but a quick google lookup on "Differences between I5 and I7 CPU" will give a wealth of info.

A lot depends on other uses for your machine, overclocking you plan, and later upgrades. Example: Intel most likely won't be releasing any new chips in the 1156 socket format, but if you're not planning on upgrading the CPU without a new motherboard in the future that really doesn't matter.

Personally, I would get an I7-930. That's pretty much the best overall "bang for buck" [Intel] chip right now, imo. (I don't do AMD, so I can't comment there)

As far as motherboards go, ASUS makes great enthusiast boards (good for overclocking, pretty reliable, etc). You pay a bit more for the privledge though. If you want a good, and reasonably priced mb, my recommendation is to look at the Gigabyte UD5 or UD7 line of boards (if going socket 1366...I'm not sure what the 1156 boards designations are). Just my opinion though, I'm sure there's others who would disagree with me.

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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Soulwind View Post
The I5's use Socket 1156, the I7's use Socket 1366.
Not 100% true. I'm using an i7-860, which uses an 1156 socket.

The i5, as I'm recalling, don't havehyperthreading, or virtual cores (my 17 is a quad core, but shows as 8 cores,) as you mention later. That tends to be the difference between the two. The 1156s use dual channel DDR3 RAM, the 1366s go with triple channel. And if you ever want to grab one of the hexacore i7s, you'll need to stay with the 1366.

There are, basically, exceptions to everything. (Part of what makes Intel such *fun.*)

For the OP, Asus is pretty good, and geared (generally) with the enthusiast in mind. I've had decent luck with MSI, as well. You may also want to look into AMD processors - less "Which socket goes with what," and the sockets tend to "live" longer (which gives more time for upgrading.) The CPUs tend to be cheaper - but are slightly lower performence (not that you'll see a huge difference, most likely.) F'rinstance, yes, Intel's six-core CPU runs $1000, just for the CPU. For that, I could put together a Phenom II x6 based system - the entire system. (The Phenom II x6 runs $200-$300, depending on which you get.)

Of course... COH doesn't use all that, very little does currently. But given the budget you mentioned, you can get an AMD quad-core for $100 or so that performs rather well, a matching board, 4 Gb RAM and be just a touch over that $300 you mentioned. $160 or so for a Radeon 5770 and you're pretty well set. Check FatherXmas's signature for one build (a little over budget, but you may be recycling some parts, like the case.) There are other sites with "low cost" builds out there, as well.

 

Posted

Not sure if the other posters made this clear enough: You will almost undoubtedly need new RAM as well for your new set up if you are changing the motherboard to the extent you are indicating, so don't forget to budget for that as well. My assumption is that your current mobo probably supports DDR2, or at least DDR?

Storm

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Posted

My current mb does support ddr2 ram and I believe I have ddr2 ram so will have I have to upgrade that if I get a new mb? Also I only game and surf the internet on my computer at home so thats all I really do if that helps any.

Virtue: @Santorican

Dark/Shield Build Thread

 

Posted

I really would recommend that you check out Father X-Mas's signature builds, they are a very good starting (or even ending) point and he's done most of the work for you.

Plus, they make a nice checklist to make sure you've covered everything you'll actually need, like Memory, Hard Drive, Operating System, etc for an actual new build. Then you can eliminate whatever you might be salvaging from the old machine (if anything) and go from there.

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Hello, my name is Soulwind and I have Alt-Itis.

 

Posted

Yeah, you'll likely have to get DDR3 to go with a new mainboard. (A few AM2 boards have limited DDR2 support, but just assume you'll need to do a RAM upgrade as well.)

What all are you saving from the current system - case, hard drive, optical drive, monitor, kb/mouse, I'm assuming.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Soulwind View Post
Example: Intel most likely won't be releasing any new chips in the 1156 socket format, but if you're not planning on upgrading the CPU without a new motherboard in the future that really doesn't matter.
Not 100% true. At least the Core i7-875K is coming for LGA 1156.


@Santorican:
I'd say you have three build options based on motherboards:

LGA 1366 with i7-920 or i7-930.
LGA 1156 with i5-750 or i7-860.
AM3 with Phenom II X6 1055T or 1090T.

Newegg lists the i5-750 and the X6 1055T for $200 each. The X6 1090T costs $310 and is the most expensive CPU here. The i7-920 and the i7-860 are priced at $280 and the i7-930 at $290. LGA 1366 boards cost more than LGA 1156 and AM3. Expect to see a difference of $50-100. Prices for LGA 1156 and AM3 are close together and you should be able to get a good board for $100-150.

I bought a new pc very recently myself and faced the same choices.
My first decision was against the LGA 1366 + i7-920/i7-930 combination. In performance rankings you'll find this combo head-to-head with the LGA 1156 + i7-860 combo, which is cheaper because of the cheaper boards.
Next decision was against the i5-750 which gives probably the best price/performance ratio among the Intel CPUs listed here. This was not an easy choice, but in the end I had enough money in my budget to buy the better CPU and so I went for "shiny".
And when I had my PC build complete the Phenom II X6 was released. I postponed the acquisition of a new PC and waited for reviews and tests of the new AMD CPUs. And I liked what I read. I bought the X6 1090T.

 

Posted

Personally I like Socket 1156. I'm not into Xtreme Gaming so the primary advantage of Socket 1366 motherboards, the X58 chipset with it's 36 PCIe lanes split up among three or four graphic card slots, is wasted on me. Also the requirement of memory in pairs instead of threes helps keep the overall price down.

As for CPUs for Socket 1156, the i5-750 is a $200 quad core that outperforms all but the top of the line older Socket 775 Core 2 based quads and at a lower price. The i7-860 bumps the clock speed up a notch, allows DDR3-1600 memory without the need of base clock overclocking, slightly higher turbo boost (automatic overclocking when fewer cores are being used) amounts and hyperthreading which can improve overall efficiency of the CPU in multicore applications. That's not as important for gaming but if you encode video or do 3D rendering it makes a measurable difference.

Note that both Socket 1366 CPUs (i7-9xx) and Socket 1156 CPUs (i3, i5, i7-8xx) are DDR3 memory only. So you will have to add memory prices into your upgrade equation as well. DDR2 is on the way out, prices of DDR2 and DDR3 are about equal now ($50-60 per 2GB stick).

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$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components

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Posted

Hello I need some advice on a new computer set up. I'm upgrading my ancient computer set up to something more modern.

Here is the link of the parts that I'll need, I had to upgrade my video card and power supply about 6 months ago so they're up to date.


CPU Compound
Motherboard
CPU
OS Now I'm not sure if I'll actually need this? I run XP Home Edition
CPU Fan
RAM

Virtue: @Santorican

Dark/Shield Build Thread

 

Posted

Well this is a zombie thread, as a warning this may be locked soon depending if the mods notice it's resurrection.

  • CPU's fine.
  • Arctic Silver is still one of the best.
  • CoolerMaster V8 is nice, while on sale with rebate. Only warning with 3rd party heatsinks is make sure you have the headroom in the case for it (161mm/6.33" tall).
  • Yes, 64-bit Windows 7 is a good idea because when system memory plus video card memory is over 4GB on a 32-bit OS, it's system memory that loses.
  • Socket 1366 systems really prefer their memory sticks in threes, not twos. So either 3GB or 6GB are options.
  • The motherboard is a bit pricey when not on sale with rebate. Video card slot layout not ideal for triple SLi with double wide video cards, if you were ever considering that extreme.
TL;DR version
Memory should be in sets of three sticks. 64-bit OS is a good thing when you have a lot of system memory.

Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components

Tempus unum hominem manet

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Father Xmas View Post
Well this is a zombie thread, as a warning this may be locked soon depending if the mods notice it's resurrection.

  • CPU's fine.
  • Arctic Silver is still one of the best.
  • CoolerMaster V8 is nice, while on sale with rebate. Only warning with 3rd party heatsinks is make sure you have the headroom in the case for it (161mm/6.33" tall).
  • Yes, 64-bit Windows 7 is a good idea because when system memory plus video card memory is over 4GB on a 32-bit OS, it's system memory that loses.
  • Socket 1366 systems really prefer their memory sticks in threes, not twos. So either 3GB or 6GB are options.
  • The motherboard is a bit pricey when not on sale with rebate. Video card slot layout not ideal for triple SLi with double wide video cards, if you were ever considering that extreme.
TL;DR version
Memory should be in sets of three sticks. 64-bit OS is a good thing when you have a lot of system memory.
Thanks father! I'll have to get one more gig of memory. I try to keep all of my questions in one thread that way I don't spam up the place lol.

Virtue: @Santorican

Dark/Shield Build Thread

 

Posted

microcenter is running a special buy the cpu get mb for 10.00,but it might be instore only

http://www.microcenter.com/specials/...ndlePROMO.html

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Posted

Overall is there anywhere I can get something alittle bit better for the same money or less?

Virtue: @Santorican

Dark/Shield Build Thread

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Santorican View Post
Overall is there anywhere I can get something alittle bit better for the same money or less?
Unless you are planning on running sli (two video cards connected together for more processing power) then forget intel. AMD's Phenom series are comparable and much much cheaper. I picked up an AMD Phenom II 1055T, plus a motherboard for it, plus 4 gigs of DDR3 memory, plus a two year unconditional replacement agreement for only $432.49. That processor is fully as fast as the intel I-7. I got them at Fry's.

Incidentally the Fry's replacement guarantee is one of the most awesome deals ever. Warranties can be a major pain to get fulfilled and take time. Fry's two year replacement guarantee only costs $35 and it means that any time within two years of purchase I can just bring my motherboard and processor back into the store, tell them it isn't working, and they will replace it then and there no questions asked, no forms to fill out. Unless it's physically damaged. So I can't take a hammer to it and still get the same replacement deal.

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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandu View Post
Unless you are planning on running sli (two video cards connected together for more processing power) then forget intel. AMD's Phenom series are comparable and much much cheaper. I picked up an AMD Phenom II 1055T, plus a motherboard for it, plus 4 gigs of DDR3 memory, plus a two year unconditional replacement agreement for only $432.49. That processor is fully as fast as the intel I-7. I got them at Fry's.

Incidentally the Fry's replacement guarantee is one of the most awesome deals ever. Warranties can be a major pain to get fulfilled and take time. Fry's two year replacement guarantee only costs $35 and it means that any time within two years of purchase I can just bring my motherboard and processor back into the store, tell them it isn't working, and they will replace it then and there no questions asked, no forms to fill out. Unless it's physically damaged. So I can't take a hammer to it and still get the same replacement deal.
From what I'm reading the AMD is good for multi threading applications but for over clocking the i7 is much faster as well as consuming less power. I do however like the price you got them for and I'm seriously reconsidering buy the AMD instead.

Virtue: @Santorican

Dark/Shield Build Thread

 

Posted

I'm glad I saw this thread because it got me wondering if there is any noticeable difference anyone has noticed running this game on an Intel chip versus an AMD chip.