Intel i7/Nehalem Anyone?

[willing2share5 (imported)]

I am curious to see if anyone else has made the switch to the Intel Core i7/Nehalem processor?

I usually skip a CPU generation when upgrading PCs and this time was no exception. I switched from an Intel Pentium-D machine to the Intel 920 i7 processor in April, thus bypassing the whole core-duo line. So far, I am very impressed by the new CPU, especially combined with the DDR3 memory sticks, which have come down nicely in price. There are many technology improvements in the i7 that I will not go into here, but you learn about them on the Intel web site.

The 920 comes in at 2.66GHz and using the stock BIOS overclocking settings on the Asus motherboard, I am currently running at 3.2GHz with zero issues. There are lots of posts about people getting the 920 to 4 or 4.2 GHZ, but I want to use my PC for a while before attempting higher numbers and running the risk of frying it. So far, the CPU has handled everything I have thrown at it with ease. The video cards on the other hand get a really good work out LOL!

If anyone is on the fence about upgrading to the i7, I highly recommend the 920. However, I would not recommend the 940 or 965 since you will pay way too much for these chips and with a little overclocking, the 920 will net you the same basic performance. All the i7 CPUs are true quad cores and hyperthreading is turned back on. So in theory, the CPU can handle 8 threads at a time, but most apps can't push the CPU that hard. Folding @ Home is an example of one that can, but it is not a general use program and most people don't run it, especially once they see the electric bill after they have been running there PC non-stop for a month or two!

I have built a number of systems over the years and for a while I got away from it since the price difference between building your own and buying a stock machine from company X was not compelling enough to go through the hassle of building. But with the i7 line of processors, I was able to save some decent bucks by building my own, plus I would like to experiment with water cooling later this year and I selected a case with this in mind. If you have never built a system before and want to try your hand at it, I recommend you start with the Intel core-duo or AMD chips, related motherboards and memory. Your mistakes will cost a whole lot less!

Here are the specs on the i7 build:

Case: Thermaltake Armour+ (Yeah, it's a big manly case!)

PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 1200

Motherboard: Asus Rampage II Extreme (the bundled sound card is crap)

CPU: Intel 920 i7 (I couldn't get the D0 rev, but the C0 is fine so far)

Memory: 12GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 (via two 6GB kits for a total of 6 memory sticks)

Video: (2) EVGA GTX 275 cards in an SLI configuration

Audio: Sound Blaster X-fi Titanium Fatality

Hard Drives: (2) 500 GB Seagate Barracudas in a RAID 0 configuration

CD/DVD/BD: LG BH08 (Does everything including read/write of BD double layer discs)

OS: Windows Vista 64 Bit

Other components not part of the build:

Monitor: 28" Hanns G HDMI

Speakers: Logitech Z-5500 5.1 surround sound

Printer: Okidata C5500n color laser printer

KVM: ATEN 8 port unit

If you are not familiar with the i7 and want to build your own system, I strongly suggest you do a lot of research first. The CPU line forces a lot changes upon you, as the builder, due to the technology shift between it and any previous line of Intel CPUs. One thing to note is that if you plan to run a 32 bit OS, then save your money and go with an Intel core-duo or AMD product since you will be wasting your money on a high end i7 system and then crippling it with a 32 bit OS.

This is a fairly high-end build and you can save a fair amount of money by using different components. The i7 is a very capable CPU and probably more than most people need. Later this year, Intel will begin shipping the i5 series, which is a scaled down version of the i7 and is meant for the masses. But I thought I would share this with the group in case anyone was considering the switch to the i7.

If you have any specific questions, let me know.

Will

[curious_guy (imported)]

Am I correct in my belief that there are no 64 bit versions of Windows XP? Are there any 64 bit versions of Linux?

[prozac420 (imported)]

Am I correct in my belief that there are no 64 bit versions of Windows XP? Are there any 64 bit versions of Linux?

Many Linux distributions have versions compiled for various 64-bit processors including Intel's x86-64 and Itanium IA-64 platforms, MIPS, SPARC, DEC, PowerPC, PA-RISC, and AMD64. There is a 64-bit version of Windows XP, but it never caught on due to poor driver support from outside vendors.

[StefanIsMe (imported)]

An educational posting indeed, but am I the only one who notices that the adjectives, names, etc. etc. for computer parts are sounding more and more... violent?

thermaltake ARMOUR...

" TOUGHPOWER...

Asus RAMPAGE EXTREME

Sound BLASTER

Titanium FATALITY <---- ??!

Barracudas

RAID (no ants in this computer!)

...One wonders if this is the result of all the skinny computer-geeks that used to get beat up in school, many of whom are now running computer part factorys, and naming their products with their highschool revenge-fantasies in mind !!

[fhunter]

May be it more about marketing for gamers?

PS. I don't know what for can one use so much computing power and memory? Not counting pleasuring male ego?

[willing2share5 (imported)]

An educational posting indeed, but am I the only one who notices that the adjectives, names, etc. etc. for computer parts are sounding more and more... violent?

thermaltake ARMOUR...

" TOUGHPOWER...

Asus RAMPAGE EXTREME

Sound BLASTER

Titanium FATALITY <---- ??!

Barracudas

RAID (no ants in this computer!)

...One wonders if this is the result of all the skinny computer-geeks that used to get beat up in school, many of whom are now running computer part factorys, and naming their products with their highschool revenge-fantasies in mind !!

It's really the death of the English language via marketing!!!

[willing2share5 (imported)]

PS. I don't know what for can one use so much computing power and memory? Not counting pleasuring male ego?

I am:

future proofing against the inevitable bloated code that accompanies such technological advancements

a programmer and I often push my PC to the limits

securing my bragging rights at work for the next few months

[calmeilles (imported)]

I am:

future proofing against the inevitable bloated code that accompanies such technological advancements

a programmer and I often push my PC to the limits

securing my bragging rights at work for the next few months

When I started my current job desktops had 4 Meg of memory and most of our servers had 8 Meg.

Now a desktop has 4 or 8 Gig and a few of my servers (absurdly) go up to 100 Gig.

Sheesh, I have more computing power in my bedroom than the entire damn company had at its disposal a decade and a half ago.

[Paolo]

And here I just moved up to an AMD dual core machine...

Well, I'll just be out of date until this one quits.

Gotta say, with 2 CPU's, Windows 2000 really sings, though, and she does what I need her to do - most of the time.

[curious_guy (imported)]

And here I just moved up to an AMD dual core machine...

Well, I'll just be out of date until this one quits.

Gotta say, with 2 CPU's, Windows 2000 really sings, though, and she does what I need her to do - most of the time.

If you run two CPU intensive programs, at the same time, does your computer automatically run each one on a different core? If it does, is it the motherboard that splits up the load or the operating system?