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Speaking from personal experience I would go for a Q9550 but it would have to be an E0 stepping cpu.
Speaking from personal experience I would go for a Q9550 but it would have to be an E0 stepping cpu.
As soon as I get my Core i7 machine built I can speak from that experience - I currently have the Core i7 965 EE sitting on a shelf waiting for a home.
I think that I'd skip the Core2Quad series and go direct to Core i7.
I made the mistake years ago of upgrading my system piecemeal with a 'slightly' newer processor, better graphics card, etc....when all was said and done I could have saved all that money over the span of 2 months and built a new system with a much newer processor and mobo and newer RAM technology. I wish I had, now.
See, while I was reading tons of info, I found an equal number of reasons for as well as against socket 775.
Did not want to get a new CPU with a new motheroard and new RAM modules for an i7 system.
And because I have decided for Mini iTX form factor, I don't have any other choice than socket 775.
At the moment all my tasks are done by my Wolfdale Core2Duo E8400 to my complete satisfaction.
Of course that might change in the future, because performance always went up, never down.
Again, I think the decision to go Core2Quad versus Corei7 comes down to budget and what you want to spend. While a Corei7 setup, won't cost a lot more...it does come at a small price increase. The next thing to consider is how likely are "you" to upgrade your CPU at a later time. If you are the type of person willing to spend money to make small changes like slowly increasing your CPU speed...going with the older Core2Quad (LGA775) architecture wouldn't be a great choice. However, if you are like me and will almost certainly be going only for a significant change in the future..you would be replacing the CPU, mobo and RAM anyway....so going LGA775 really is a non-issue.
If you have a Wolfdale now, and esp. the E8400, you'll find it better for OCing - but with Quad Cores, you'll get better overall performance when not OCing - but at a premium, as more cores = more electricity usage = more thermal dissipation.
Since you have chosen the Mini iTX format, you're correct - Core2 is your only choice. For now. With the ability of the Core i7s to use less power, and the Core i5s coming out, I am betting that there will be a new Mini iTX based on the Core i5 here very very soon, as the first i5 comes in Sept and more next year.
Are you saying that LGA775 is bad to go either way?
No, I'm saying that since there won't be new chips using the LGA775 mobos..you ability to upgrade them in the future is small. However, if you aren't likely to go for a small upgrade here and there, but rather a large upgrade, it's not going to be an issue as a large upgrade will mean a new cpu, with a new mobo and most likely new RAM. So, going with an LGA 775 is no big deal for these type of users...like me. I'll be on my Core 2 Quad for at least 2 more years now...and by then, things will have changed.
Most people don't realize that core i7 only excels over core 2 when it comes to high end multithreaded apps like media encoders and what not, and even then its only 5-7 secs faster then a properly configured core 2 platform.
So the question is this, are you really willing to pay an extra 300-500 bucks just to go the i7 route?
Me personally i'm going to upgrade my current rig, and by the time the 6 core i7 chip is released i'll move over to the i7 platform.
Hi, I have finally made my first experiences & tests with my new system.
Wanna have a look ? ... >>> Going from mATX to Mini iTX ... <<<