Anyone mind explaining the i7 900 series to me?

D33PJackal · Mar 16, 2010

As I am still pretty raw with building and haven't even been in the market for a new computer for about four years now, I've let myself forget most of what I did know and become entirely ignorant to the new parts being put out. Honestly my knowledge of computer parts even at its height paled in comparison to what most of you guys know so you can imagine how out of the loop I am now.

As for my question, could someone quickly run down the various i7 900 CPU's for me and explain which to avoid, which is overpriced, which is good for OC'ing, which isn't, etc.?

EarthDog · Mar 16, 2010

Check out the i7 overclocking guide that is linked in my signature. The guy(s) that put that together put a nice section in listing all the chips.

Just get the i7 920 or i7 930.

Bobnova · Mar 16, 2010

The i7 920 is the best performance/buck once overclocked.
The 930 is decent, and when the price comes down will be excellent.

The rest are all woefully overpriced and pointless. If you're on LN2 and going for world records, the $1k cpus are the way to go.

muddocktor · Mar 16, 2010

The only Extreme series proc you might want to consider would be the newly released 980-x, which is the Gulftown core model. It has 6 cores w/hyperthreading versus 4 cores/8 threads for the rest of the 1366 processors. And this won't be an advantage if you are mostly a gamer. People who run DC projects such as Folding or BOINC and people who do a lot of video editing will see a sizable performance increase with the extra cores though.

psionic98 · Mar 16, 2010

the 920 and 930 both have some issues with even number multipliers, but overall the 920 is still a better cost/performance model than the 930 since it is basically the same chip, just with an extra multiplier unlocked

EarthDog · Mar 16, 2010

What is this issue with even number multi's??? Links?

freeagent · Mar 16, 2010

I see it too with my 965, its kind of weird. But its not something I have looked into.

Edit:

and its not all of the even multis, just a few

nzaneb · Mar 16, 2010

EarthDog said:
What is this issue with even number multi's??? Links?

Even multi woes on 1366 is pretty well documented. Once you start pushing higher clocks, that is. They're all pretty much guaranteed 4-4.2 ghz on decent air cooling.
Set it and forget it pairing: i7 920 and 1600/2000 mhz Ram, on pretty much ANY decent 1366 board

200 base clock, 21x multi (turbo)
2:8 Ram ratio for perfectly specified 1600/ 2:10 for 2000 mhz ram speed
Dial in a little extra voltage here and there, and walk away...

D33PJackal · Mar 16, 2010

So why is it I would want to stay away from the 960's and such?

baris_ · Mar 16, 2010

D33PJackal said:
So why is it I would want to stay away from the 960's and such?

Because they're VERY expensive and you can get to 4.0 GHz minimum with the 920 (D0 stepping). One doesn't need more. A 960 could maybe get you to 4.3GHz so what have you gained? You basically paid $300+ more for 0.3Ghz..

I would either go 920 (930) or 975. Never go anything in between. The money doesn't add up to the performance, not even close. This is when you overclock of course.

EarthDog · Mar 16, 2010

975 makes no sense unless you are under extreme cooling...(IMHO of course).

As far as the 960, if you are planning on overclocking, then its really useless. Its not really going to get you any further. And as baris already mentioned is it worth paying the extra $xxx for the 960 which may or may not get you another xxxMhz over clock?

nzaneb · Mar 16, 2010

EarthDog said:
975 makes no sense unless you are under extreme cooling...(IMHO of course).

As far as the 960, if you are planning on overclocking, then its really useless. Its not really going to get you any further. And as baris already mentioned is it worth paying the extra $xxx for the 960 which may or may not get you another xxxMhz over clock?

+1

My 920 can do anything my 960 could, even in suicide validation runs.

No LN2, no EE CPU's. Take the money you saved, buy better cooling, SSD's, and some nice Low CL 1600/2000 mhz sticks

D33PJackal · Mar 16, 2010

Ah, now I got ya. I wasn't sure if it was a static performance issue or just bang for the buck.

freeagent · Mar 16, 2010

I traded mine for a q6600, good deal

baris_ · Mar 16, 2010

freeagent said:
I traded mine for a q6600, good deal

Do you, actually mean traded? Didn't you have to add cash?

D33PJackal · Mar 16, 2010

muddocktor said:
The only Extreme series proc you might want to consider would be the newly released 980-x, which is the Gulftown core model. It has 6 cores w/hyperthreading versus 4 cores/8 threads for the rest of the 1366 processors. And this won't be an advantage if you are mostly a gamer. People who run DC projects such as Folding or BOINC and people who do a lot of video editing will see a sizable performance increase with the extra cores though.

mudd didn't you say to even boot the 980-X you needed a second CPU?

dominick32 · Mar 16, 2010

Another opportunity for me to push the Core i7-920 D0, its what I'm best at. lol

I love some of the responses here and agree with all of them. Buy a 920 D0 "set it & forget it." Assuming you have decent air cooling, this means play with the bios for 15 minutes after you build the rig and clock it to 4.0 to 4.3 GHz, let it run linx/orthos/prime over night, than keep it like that for the next 1-2 years or so. When it comes down to bang for the buck, the 920 D0 I predict will be the best overclocking CPU for the next 1-2 years, even when lower end 1366-6core gulftown derivatives are released in the mainstream sometime in the future.

When shopping, do not consider anything higher than 920 (they all will reach the same 24/7 clocks when it comes down to it), unless you are an extreme cooled rig needing more multipliers and/or needing maximum benchmark numbers. Otherwise, for a 4.0+ GHz gaming/general use home PC the 920 D0 is all you ever need.

muddocktor · Mar 16, 2010

D33PJackal said:
mudd didn't you say to even boot the 980-X you needed a second CPU?

Just to flash the mobo bios. If you get a new manufacture mobo it should have a bios version compatible with the 980. BTW, I see Newegg finally is listing the 980, but is OOS at the moment. And they are only selling them as a combo sale, which I imagine is with a mobo that has a bios that supports it. And as I figured, they are screwing the early adopters out of an extra $100 or so too.

D33PJackal · Mar 16, 2010

Well whether they like it or not the 975 has to drop doesn't it?

I mean, they cannot validated having two $1,000 CPU's by the same manufacturer and one of them has 50% more cores than the other. Now I get that they are trying to make more scratch by doing the combo but still it isn't like another place won't sell them without it.

White_Pawn · Mar 18, 2010

are all 930s D0?

Anyone mind explaining the i7 900 series to me?

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