Gaming Rig, i5 or i7?

1119 Views 16 Replies 12 Participants Last post by Ruther, Nov 23, 2009

AlphaO

Discussion Starter · Nov 22, 2009

3

Hey guys, I'm planning on purchasing a new rig on black friday or cyber monday, and I was hoping that you guys could give me suggestions on parts!

Right now, I'm stuck between choosing i5, and i7. If it helps, I want to be able to do some medium-heavy gaming, perhaps some video editing and more, but nothing too much. I want this computer to last, perhaps through college as well! Also, I would like ATI 5xxx series if possible

.

Budget is approx $1500 (including monitor too, 22"+), but I can go more if needed, but I don't really want to. Anyways, hopefully you guys can suggest some nice parts

.

I guess I shall list the components I need as well.
CPU
HDD
Motherboard
CPU Cooler
Ram
Monitor - 22"+ would be preferable!
PSU
GPU - ATI 5xxx preferable!
Optical Drive
Case - Full Tower would be nice

See less See more

1 - 17 of 17 Posts

88EVGAFTW

· #2 · Nov 22, 2009

i7 with 1366 socket, that way when the i9 comes out next year you can upgrade with no problems. If you get Socket 1156 and want to get an i9 later, you'll need a new motherboard and probably ram, unless the 1156 uses triple channel also.

Kiggold

· #3 · Nov 22, 2009

Go i7. Period

With a $1500 budget you will be able to get a nice i7 rig. I spent $1200 on my rig last week (Excluding hte GTX260s and the HDD), so with that extra money you can pick up a nice monitor and a ati 5xxx card.

Riou

· #4 · Nov 22, 2009

$1500 budget -> go i7 LGA 1366
sub $1000 budget -> go i5 LGA 1156.

AlphaO

Discussion Starter · #5 · Nov 22, 2009

Haha, sorry if I didn't make it too clear earlier, but I'm not planning to upgrade until probably after college (4 years).

Edit - nvm, lelouche answered my question

.

See less See more

The_Rocker

· #6 · Nov 22, 2009

i7 920.

yellowtoblerone

· #7 · Nov 22, 2009

With no substaintial diff in gaming I'd say go I5. You save more, and will be able to use the extra money saved on better video card/monitor.

A faster cpu/more threads do not make your games run faster. However if you're like most people who like to multitask with the 6 gigs of ram as baseline, go I7. I personally cannot go without the extra threads and 6 gigs.

A note: doens't matter what your budget is, always go for the best value that fit what you need. For example, there is no point in paying 100 dollars more for a GTX 285 when a GTX 275 can do just as well when OC'd.

Riou

· #8 · Nov 22, 2009

Btw if you live near a Microcenter, they have the i7 920 for $200 and the i5 750 for $150. For California, there is one in Santa Clara and another in Tustin.

psi_guy

· #9 · Nov 22, 2009

like the rest have been saying, go with i7 920. you won't be disappointed. pick up 6gb ddr3 2000mhz ram (for the oc), a decent psu, a well-ventilated case, and good luck getting a 58 or 58 series ati.

AlphaO

Discussion Starter · #10 · Nov 22, 2009

Well, I'll see if I can get my sister to drive me down to Microcenter to pick up a D0 920. What motherboard would go well with this CPU? I've seen bloodrage and others, but I'm not really all too clear on motherboards.

yellowtoblerone

· #11 · Nov 23, 2009

Not to undermine other people's posts, but I suggest you listen to some i5 users first before deciding. People who have answered either have i7 or do not have either i5/7. I'd hate to see you overspend on something that's overkill for your needs.

Riou

· #12 · Nov 23, 2009

How much video editing do you do? If you do a lot, the i7 is faster due to HT (8 threads instead of 4). If you do not video edit very much at all, then i5 will save you money.

The best bang for the buck is an i5 750 with a decent motherboard. If you need a lot of multi-threaded performance, go i7 920 over the i7 860/870.

The only big problem of i5 or LGA 1156 motherboards is SLI/Crossfire performance. If you only use 1 video card, LGA 1156 boards are good. Multiple GPU setups work more optimally on LGA 1366 than LGA 1156.

Raul-7

· #13 · Nov 23, 2009

Go with the i5 750, it's more than sufficient enough for 90% of PC users including gamers. You will save roughly $200-$300 by going the LGA1156 route and still have a kick-ass system.

If you really need HT, then you can spend an extra $80 at MicroCenter for an i7 860.

Jennifer24

· #14 · Nov 23, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raul-7

View Post

Go with the i5 750, it's more than sufficient enough for 90% of PC users including gamers. You will save roughly $200-$300 by going the LGA1156 route and still have a kick-ass system.

If you really need HT, then you can spend an extra $80 at MicroCenter for an i7 860.

Agree as well.

See less See more

sx4thewin

· #15 · Nov 23, 2009

2

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlphaO

View Post

Haha, sorry if I didn't make it too clear earlier, but I'm not planning to upgrade until probably after college (4 years).

Edit - nvm, lelouche answered my question

.

There will most likely be better things out that have nothing to do with i5/i7.....

See less See more

Blackhawk4

· #16 · Nov 23, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jennifer24

View Post

Agree as well.

If you get a i7 860 you might as well go i7 920 for $30 more

See less See more

Ruther

· #17 · Nov 23, 2009

if u want to squeeze every bit of gaming goodness go with the i7...

triple channel memory, 16x/16x pci-e's (for crossfire or sli) comes to mind...

1 - 17 of 17 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.