i7 860 or i7 920 D0 with modest overclock?

[Pulsedriver]

Hey folks,

I am still caught between whether to go for;

i7 860 with either MSI GD65, eVGA P55 ***, or Asus A7P55D Deluxe.

4GB DDR3 12800


OR

i7 920 D0 with Asus or MSI board...

6GB DDR3



In terms of overclocking, im not sure, I know stock vs stock the 860 is better.

But if I was buying the i7 920 D0 and clocked it to say, 3.2ghz would it be significantly faster than an 860?

 

[Exsurgo]

People love to ovecomplicate this issue Both those CPU's when overclocked have the same potential; the 860 is faster on stock only because of it's more aggressive turbo mode, LGA1156 CPU coolers/heatsinks are a little more difficult to source.

It really comes down to how much RAM you want in your system.

4GB - P55
6GB - X58
8 GB - P55
12GB - X58

For me 6GB hits the mark, and 8 would have been overkill, hence I went for the x58 with an i7 920. Don't go below 4GB's with a new PC if you want some sort of futureproofing.
From what I hear the P55 and X58 systems dont overclock as well with all their RAM slots taken up, but it could just be a silly rumour (anyone have any confirmation on this?

 

[Pulsedriver]

For sure mate, currently I have 4GB on a Q9450 system.

A lot of the work I will use it for will be audio and video encoding, plenty of work with large files etc.

With the occasional game! Although this will be a new build for a new Windows 7 (which should arrive Friday hopefully)

 

[Stormar]

thats not quite true a p55 mb on certain boards can go up to 16gb but anything around 4 -8gb is enought

 

[Pulsedriver]

It's definately a close choice I know that much! As ultimately it will cost me the same, only thing that sways me towards the 860, is the motherboards and cpu's are newer... It's nice to have newer tech, the i7 920 has been around for quite a while now.

 

[Zenduri]

it its for audio and video encoding etc get the 920 its mroe at home with encoding etc

 

[McstylisT]

Either cpu's are excellent. For me clocking the 920 to 3.2ghz would make it faster in my book. The 860 at stock is only faster due to the 200mhz extra clock and the improved p55 turbo function. This pushes the overall clock higher in general compared to the x58.

Clock for clock though the 920 slightly edges it I think. But to be honest visually , what you'd see its probably minimal. Only synthetic numbers better.

However that's only the CPU part. Add the option of an extra 2GB so 6GB , in triple channel mode and its painting its own picture really.

Are you tied for cash at the moment. ?? If so the go for the cheaper option , neither will let you down at all.

McT

 

[Wolf11]

I have been umming and arring this same decision for a week or so and tonight took the plunge and went for I7 860 .I like the idea of cooler running /lower power consumption but very similar performance.

 

[CK61938]

I'll say the more RAM you put in the less you can overclock. I tried this one with my Q6600. With 4GB I was able to OC to almost 3.6GHz. When I put in another 4GB the machine wouldnt boot up. So I had to clear the CMOS and the most I could OC the CPU was to about 3.0GHz or 3.2GHz at a push. Needless to say I sold the other 4GB sticks. so now even both my i7 920 machines each have 6GB and I dont see the reason for getting more.

 

[Sayso]

you can get an easy 3.8 at stock voltages on most 920s..havent played around with the "I5s" but have read good things about them.

there are a few on here running a 920 with 12G at 4+ but you ill have to buy a top end mobo to do this.

 

[McstylisT]

you can get an easy 3.8 at stock voltages on most 920s..havent played around with the "I5s" but have read good things about them.

there are a few on here running a 920 with 12G at 4+ but you ill have to buy a top end mobo to do this.

I am not sure its motherboard related personally. Theoretically it could be , but since im one of those who done the testing i believe its more to do with each CPU's imc and how it reacts. Some are great , some not. Some like mine somewhere in the middle.

Most who you mentioned achieve this with the UD5 mobo. However there has been many others using the same board having quite a few problems. Hit and miss really. Congrats to those who have done it though.

McT

 

[PermaBanned]

For sure mate, currently I have 4GB on a Q9450 system.

Then you have no need of an upgrade...