Questions regarding a i7 build

D

ddutta

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 7, 2008
Messages
168
Am convinced I need to upgrade my E6420 + P965 + 8GB combo to a i7 + 12GB ... questions:
* I dont game/overclock (hence dont need more than 1 PCIe). Which mobo will be the most stable and give me the best value/price?
* mATX or ATX?
* Should I wait for the new i7s to come out? I guess they wont be 32nm .... and I might get a speed bump for the same price.
* I would have considered a i5 but the max RAM I can get at a reasonable price is 8GB (assuming 2GB sticks). Does anyone know where I can get cheap 4GB sticks
 
Why are you convinced of this?

you don't game / overclock, so are you just running out of memory, because obviously CPU/GPU
is not the limitation.
 
Zinn said:
It sounds like you're convinced that you want to spend a lot of money and haven't really thought about what / why you would be spending it on.

http://electricretard.com/0014.html
Click to expand...
Wtf?....

@OP

well if you do decide to wait for i5, some p55 mobos have 6 slots so you can still use 2gb sticks for the 12gb you want, but they will still only run in dual channel unlike x58.
 
stiltner said:
Why are you convinced of this?

you don't game / overclock, so are you just running out of memory, because obviously CPU/GPU
is not the limitation.
Click to expand...

Sorry I should mentioned why I need a lot of RAM:
* Run Windows VM on Linux and run Photoshop CS4 inside it .... want to give the VM 2 cores or something
* In general virtualization performance is better with more RAM headroom
* Even gimp + raw converter needs a lot of horsepower to process pics ....
* Run compute experiments with octave (matlab clone).
 
vertigomhs said:
Wtf?....

@OP

well if you do decide to wait for i5, some p55 mobos have 6 slots so you can still use 2gb sticks for the 12gb you want, but they will still only run in dual channel unlike x58.
Click to expand...

Hmm .... Thanks for a proper reply! I guess triple channel would benefit me. I just need max memory performance. Has anyone run any benchmarks where triple channel has made a huge difference?
 
Max performance? Might I suggest you do some reading on the difference between dual-channel and triple channel ram. They haven't maxed out dual channel yet so triple (unless you're about having the highest of the high end... AND know what it's doing) then becomes a none issue with your need of max RAM.

Case in point: You want Triple channel memory for MAX performance and MAX price? Get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104114 $1,200 bucks later you'll find out that it doesn't matter when you could have bought this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231260 for $200 bucks. Even though the speed is slightly reduced, for your needs, you'd be set.
 
For me, when running VMs with 2 cores and 8GB, I do see memory getting scarce. Hence a quad + 12GB would be good. Now the X55 seems like a nice low power nehalem but it wont be possible to go beyond 8GB without getting super expensive 4gb sticks.

I havent seen a benchmark with dual channel DDR3 compared with triple channel DDR3. So let me restate my goal :) I want max performance within ~600 for mobo/cpu/ram. I know I can get a X58 mobo for ~200, i7 for ~200 (at frys or microcenter), 12GB for ~200. Am sure this would be way faster than my current setup. The question is: will a lynnfield (i5) or the new i7s be better (apart from teh 8GB compromise of i5)?

SymptomsReagent said:
Max performance? Might I suggest you do some reading on the difference between dual-channel and triple channel ram. They haven't maxed out dual channel yet so triple (unless you're about having the highest of the high end... AND know what it's doing) then becomes a none issue with your need of max RAM.

Case in point: You want Triple channel memory for MAX performance and MAX price? Get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104114 $1,200 bucks later you'll find out that it doesn't matter when you could have bought this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231260 for $200 bucks. Even though the speed is slightly reduced, for your needs, you'd be set.
Click to expand...
 
SymptomsReagent said:
Max performance? Might I suggest you do some reading on the difference between dual-channel and triple channel ram. They haven't maxed out dual channel yet so triple (unless you're about having the highest of the high end... AND know what it's doing) then becomes a none issue with your need of max RAM.

Case in point: You want Triple channel memory for MAX performance and MAX price? Get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104114 $1,200 bucks later you'll find out that it doesn't matter when you could have bought this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231260 for $200 bucks. Even though the speed is slightly reduced, for your needs, you'd be set.
Click to expand...
you are comparing 4gb sticks to 2gb sticks, he can just get 6x2gb and still get 12gb without the hefty pricetag.

ddutta said:
For me, when running VMs with 2 cores and 8GB, I do see memory getting scarce. Hence a quad + 12GB would be good. Now the X55 seems like a nice low power nehalem but it wont be possible to go beyond 8GB without getting super expensive 4gb sticks.

I havent seen a benchmark with dual channel DDR3 compared with triple channel DDR3. So let me restate my goal :) I want max performance within ~600 for mobo/cpu/ram. I know I can get a X58 mobo for ~200, i7 for ~200 (at frys or microcenter), 12GB for ~200. Am sure this would be way faster than my current setup. The question is: will a lynnfield (i5) or the new i7s be better (apart from teh 8GB compromise of i5)?
Click to expand...
the chipset is p55 not x55;)

and you can still get 12gb's on it, like i said p55 still can use 6 slots of memory (6x2gb = 12gb of ram) its just that they will run in pairs and not in triple channel.

heres a p55 board with 6 slots: http://anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=622
 
vertigomhs said:
you are comparing 4gb sticks to 2gb sticks, he can just get 6x2gb and still get 12gb without the hefty pricetag.

the chipset is p55 not x55;)

and you can still get 12gb's on it, like i said p55 still can use 6 slots of memory (6x2gb = 12gb of ram) its just that they will run in pairs and not in triple channel.

heres a p55 board with 6 slots: http://anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=622
Click to expand...

Reason I did that is because I'm sure 12GB is just a stepping stone for right now. You're right, he could go for the 6x2GB sticks and skip the price.
 
I'll say that yes, if you have the money, an i7 / 12GB RAM system may be a worthwhile upgrade. I moved to an i7 920 system with 8 gigs of RAM six months ago at work to take advantage of the enhanced VM capabilities. I run Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V, using the WS2008 partition for general development. I then run a Win XP legacy development VM and several staging and test-bed WS2003/WS2008 VMs. Performance has been outstanding. However, I would not advise an upgrade unless you are unhappy with the performance of your current system.

For the motherboard: It seems that all X58 boards are more or less equal in terms of stability and performance when run at stock. Simply go for layout, available ports, needed features, and price. Note however that since X58 is a premium chipset, you'll find options somewhat limited for under $200, especially if having six DIMM slots is critical.

As for Socket 1156: I would expect most i3/i5/i7 1156 boards to accomodate four DIMM slots as opposed to six, although Anand's first-look at the Gigabyte EP55-UD6 shows that it has six slots. Whether this will come with any sort of catch compared to current 1366 boards remains to be seen. If you want to build now, then consider an i7 920. If you can wait a few months, then see what comes out in the 1156 range.

As for the RAM: You're on the mark in wanting six 2GB DIMMS as opposed to three 4GB DIMMS. My only advice here, given that stability is a number one concern and that you're not going to OC, is to look at 12GB packs instead of two 6GB packs, despite a possible slight disadvantage. 12GB packs are tested as a whole from the manufacturer, so you are less likely to experience any issues in setting them up.
 
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