Intel Core i5 Tuesday

gizmo71 · Sep 06, 2009, 10:19:43

I think the UK launch is Tuesday, isn't it?

I've held off upgrading my games box for nearly a year longer than I normally would, and it looks like the i5 or i7 still won't really be much of a step forward from my current E8400 Core2Duo box.

Rik · Sep 06, 2009, 10:28:36

I couldn't find a firm date anywhere, Giz, though the Intel site did manage to make Firefox fall over.

Glenn · Sep 06, 2009, 10:28:54

Dave, if you are quick, you can get a deal on a motherboard http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=20048

Wags · Sep 06, 2009, 10:38:15

Custom PC mag still reckon that best bang for your buck for gaming is the e8400 and that whilst the i7 etc are amazingly fast, the difference in real life gaming is immaterial.

I'm also into gaming and the PC I built has an e8400 which I have modestly over-clocked to 3.6ghz and I have no need to upgrade as it handles all the games I play with ease (nothwithstanding the fact that most games are GPU rather than CPU limited). I will upgrade my graphics card (overclocked BFG 8800 GTS 512) before I even consider a CPU upgrade.

Sebby · Sep 06, 2009, 12:58:45

Quote from: Rik on Sep 06, 2009, 10:28:36
I couldn't find a firm date anywhere, Giz, though the Intel site did manage to make Firefox fall over.

It's a ploy to make you upgrade to the latest processor.

Rik · Sep 06, 2009, 12:59:19

Or a Mac?

Sebby · Sep 06, 2009, 13:02:50

No ploy needed for that, you will make your own mind up.

Rik · Sep 06, 2009, 13:08:38

With a little help from my friends?

gizmo71 · Sep 06, 2009, 13:08:58

The problem I've got is that the games I play - GTR2, GT Legends, rFactor, and iRacing - are all single threaded or two-threaded. If I was playing more heavily multithreaded games (quite a few of the FPS type games are) there'd be more benefit - although a Core2Quad would probably still be better value.

It's actually my workstation which is struggling, being an old Athlon 64 4000+ and only having one core, but I'm loathe to upgrade it to a Socket 775 setup when that's now obsolete.

MSI offer sounds like a good deal, but I'm a GigaByte snob.

Glenn · Sep 06, 2009, 14:20:47

I was an ABit user until around 6 months ago, when the they pulled the plug on their motherboard range.

Glenn · Sep 07, 2009, 21:12:27

Gigabyte board here http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=1065172

gizmo71 · Sep 08, 2009, 09:47:52

Quote from: Glenn on Sep 07, 2009, 21:12:27
Gigabyte board here http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=1065172

Yep, that's the one I'm looking at. i5 750 is around £150, and DDR3 now looks to be barely more expensive than DDR2.

Soooo tempted... I'm just worried that I'll end up with something no faster than what I've got now...

dujas · Sep 08, 2009, 11:45:30

Probably best to wait until a game comes along that surpasses Crysis in terms of hardware demands. Quad cores can show a frame rate improvement, but unlikely to be enough to justify the total upgrade cost.

gizmo71 · Sep 08, 2009, 11:59:21

Quote from: dujas on Sep 08, 2009, 11:45:30
Probably best to wait until a game comes along that surpasses Crysis in terms of hardware demands. Quad cores can show a frame rate improvement, but unlikely to be enough to justify the total upgrade cost.

I'm actually now considering moving the workstation to i5 and leaving my E8400 games box alone. I don't think it'd be that much cheaper to upgrade the workstation to a Core2Quad...

esh · Sep 08, 2009, 12:39:18

I currently run a Core 2 Duo at 3.6GHz with a Gigabyte board for gaming. You'll want clock rate not cores for games for the next few years still. Spend the extra money on a graphics card setup and good quality power supply. I'm currently using a BFG GTX 295 with Corsair Pro 750W.

Wags · Sep 08, 2009, 19:47:32

Some lab tests: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2009/09/08/intel-core-i5-and-i7-lynnfield-cpu-review/1

dujas · Sep 08, 2009, 20:26:34

QuoteI currently run a Core 2 Duo at 3.6GHz with a Gigabyte board for gaming. You'll want clock rate not cores for games for the next few years still.

They tend to go 'hand in hand' these days. The new i5/i7 CPUs will automatically raise the clock multiplier when all the cores aren't in use and the Core2Duos and Quads, overclocking wise, tend to top out at the same speeds for everyday use (Duos can usually reach higher FSBs though).