Intel i7 Systems

mowog · 21-01-2009, 12:47 PM

How many of you out there have got one of current generation Intel i7 systems?

I recently upgraded my desk top and went and got the i7 and installed Vista Ultimate 64 bit. I must say I was a little concerned over the 64 bit version after some web pages I had seen about the hardware problems that 64 bit Vista has/had. I must say the bad days seem to behind 64 bit vista. I got all my printers working I had no problems finding 64 bit drivers.

I went a little nuts with ram it runs 12gb 64 bit vista can address and use all the ram where 32 bit is limited to 3.2gb. This system has exceeded my expectations the performance and stability is just over the top. Over clocking is dead easy with the Gigabyte mother board I am currently running it at 3.0ghz (2.66 is std) anything over that and the stock cooler cant keep up.

Mr Hardware · 21-01-2009, 12:52 PM

You must have money to burn. an i7 processor and board alone is $1000, not to mention several hundred dollars on ram. For that money, i'd hope you did have a quick system. Good value for money? no. Quick? yes.

mowog · 21-01-2009, 01:05 PM

Value for money? that is only a question the buyer can answer. For me it was I was looking at a Mac Pro desktop system as maybe for a similar spec it was $5000 more for the Mac.

Factor in that I have a brand name 1gb GTX280 video card 2tb of hard drive(s) an 850watt power supply and a quality aluminum case. This system wasn't cheap but it performs the intended function of dealing with large image files very quickly. I use to have to wait up to 3 minutes for a file to process. The i7 does it by the time I am taking my finger of the mouse button.

And it is a wicked games system as well.

MITCHAY · 21-01-2009, 01:09 PM

Man that thing would be a beast

TURBOTAXI · 21-01-2009, 07:05 PM

Sounds like a killer set up. I am going to i7 in the next 6 Months but my quad core set up is only 6 months old so I need to be patient.

Martyvan · 21-01-2009, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TURBOTAXI

Sounds like a killer set up. I am going to i7 in the next 6 Months but my quad core set up is only 6 months old so I need to be patient.

Im still running a P4 2.4ghz... which is now 6 years old.... I can only dream of having a PC that doesnt crash when you have email and Safari open!

mowog · 21-01-2009, 07:40 PM

My last desktop upgrade was in 2005... The old girl is sitting the corner at the moment she might just become a Windows Home Server box.

Force6 · 21-01-2009, 07:51 PM

I don't feel the need to upgrade to an i7 system yet, or at any time in the near distant future. At least until they're dirt cheap. At the moment I'm running an E8400 @ 3.7ghz and it's faster then any i7 is going to be (stock), especially considering that little use is made of the two extra cores (except for 3d modeling etc).

charles_wif_xf · 21-01-2009, 08:21 PM

I have an Athlon64 from January 2004 (2GHz, 2GB RAM, 6800 Ultra video) and it runs like a champ. The days of upgrading yearly are long gone. When this rig goes balls up, thats when I will lash out and get something *** kicking. I can't justify spending a thousand pesos on a board and CPU, as fast as it may be.

asusdragon · 21-01-2009, 09:56 PM

I have read up on the intel I7 and while it does sound good and will be of use to you using large image files i dont see the need to spend that sort of money and it be of no use to me well at the moment anyway and well im a little bias lol i perfer AMD

currently running at AMD Phenom 9950 2.2GHz and only really use it for net and d/loads lol just a little overkill, but i buy a new computer every three years and might as well buy pretty much top of the line at the time anyway so i can get the best resell after

mowog · 22-01-2009, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Force6

I don't feel the need to upgrade to an i7 system yet, or at any time in the near distant future. At least until they're dirt cheap. At the moment I'm running an E8400 @ 3.7ghz and it's faster then any i7 is going to be (stock), especially considering that little use is made of the two extra cores (except for 3d modeling etc).

With water cooling the 920 i7 has been clocked to 4.0ghz. In reviews the 920 i7 was faster than the current top of the line Xeon (i7 clocked at 3.2ghz). Your E8400 might struggle to keep up. The i7 is a quad core with hyper threading which means it works as an 8 core system.

A few people have mentioned cost being a factor... I use to sell computer systems in the 386 to the first Pentium period and the average home system back then was around $2500.00. I may have a different perspective on what is expensive. But its like a car if you want the current performance model its going to cost more than the fleet version.

jonk · 22-01-2009, 08:29 AM

I can't see the point of triple channel RAM...

mowog · 22-01-2009, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonk

I can't see the point of triple channel RAM...

Bandwidth... I did read the techo explanation and it seemed reasonable to me.

burnz · 22-01-2009, 09:34 AM

for viewing web pages and nothing else the 6600 quad is fast enough.

mowog · 22-01-2009, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burnz

for viewing web pages and nothing else the 6600 quad is fast enough.

My take to work system is a HP 2133 laptop with 1gb of RAM and an Atom CPU. She isn't a power house... All it does is keep me in touch with the corporate web mail and Skype and MSN. And a little web surfing via my own wireless account so the boss cant see the porn sites....

AUIIForte · 22-01-2009, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mowog

How many of you out there have got one of current generation Intel i7 systems?

I recently upgraded my desk top and went and got the i7 and installed Vista Ultimate 64 bit. I must say I was a little concerned over the 64 bit version after some web pages I had seen about the hardware problems that 64 bit Vista has/had. I must say the bad days seem to behind 64 bit vista. I got all my printers working I had no problems finding 64 bit drivers.

I went a little nuts with ram it runs 12gb 64 bit vista can address and use all the ram where 32 bit is limited to 3.2gb. This system has exceeded my expectations the performance and stability is just over the top. Over clocking is dead easy with the Gigabyte mother board I am currently running it at 3.0ghz (2.66 is std) anything over that and the stock cooler cant keep up.

That monster should last you 10 years before needing to upgrade! What a machine!

Cam · 22-01-2009, 09:08 PM

I considered upgrading to an I7, added up the cost of a whole system and decided that I'll go with a phenom II 940 BE (that i'll OC on water) for less then a 1/4 of the cost because i dont need DDR3 and a new mobo, my trusty AM2 mobo will take it.

Maybe in a few years i will consider an I7, atm i really cant justify spending all that money...

TURBOTAXI · 23-01-2009, 06:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martyvan

Im still running a P4 2.4ghz... which is now 6 years old.... I can only dream of having a PC that doesnt crash when you have email and Safari open!

Mate go to www.itestate.com.au and spend $500 and get yourself a complete new modern system. (PC, screen, keyboard, mouse) You wont know yourself.....

My only crashes these days are from overclocking.