BOXXLABS Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Think i7 Skulltrail boards are also due out soonish. 2 CPU system with desktop CPUs! Sweet I'm not sure where you're getting your data, but I have pretty early access to confidential intel roadmaps - and I don't remember ever seeing anything like a "skulltrail" platform for i7 or Nehalem. I wouldn't hold my breath for anything like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Anyway I don't think there are a lot of games that will benefit from 8 cores. What you'd want is an i7 with a good motherboard that lets you do some overclock, and a couple of high end Geforce cards. Still not cheap, but you'll optimize your frag rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb4026 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Currently have: intel core 2 extreme qx6700 quad core evga nforce 680i sli motherboard nvidia quadro fx4600 8gb crucial memory To increase rendering speed....... Should one go with an i7? If so which one? I see 3 choices at different price points: 920 @ $295, 940 @ $570 & 965 @ $1020. Is the extra $$ worth the difference in performance? Newegg has a combo specials with the the i7 and different motherboards. I would have no idea which motherboard to get. They have a: 1) supermicro mbd-x85ax-o LGA Intel x58 atx server motherboard 2) ecs x588-a lga 1366 Intel x58 atx intel motherboard 3) supermicro mbd-c7x58-o lga 1366 intel x8 atx intel motherboard 4) evga 132-bl-e758-a1 lga 1366 intel x58 atx intel motherboard. 5) Biostar Tpowerx58 lga 1366 intel x58 atx intel motherboard Whats the difference?? What other add-on's are needed if one were to get an i7? memory? ddr3? graphics card? anything? I would like to order everything I need at once so I can just pull the machine apart and install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOXXLABS Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I'll share a little of my research - At the retail prices and stock speeds, The i7 940 offers the best floating point-per-dollar of any CPU on the market. And better than the i7 920 or 965. Floating point performance is tightly correlated to raytrace rendering performance. Take this information for what it's worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb4026 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Thanks Adam, thats a good starting point. It's quite a bit less expensive than the 965 too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneis Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 (edited) "Word"... The best you can do for render times is increase your CPU clock-rate (faster CPU). If that is financially viable, do so. If not, don't. It's as simple as that. Nothing more. Realistically, it you do your maths with CPU/ RAM, a "new computer" will turn up to be either the "best value available" or "a waste of money". There is no magiclal formulae or "what if I do this" scenario, it's just a matter of economics. More bang for more buck. Research, people, RESEARCH! Edited January 15, 2009 by shaneis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb4026 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 What about overclocking the 940? I have no idea how to do that...but could save some bucks? Would I have to change power supply and cpu fan if I chage motherboard and cpu? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOXXLABS Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 hmm. Well overclocking would obviously change the math wouldn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 You don't need a "server" motherboard. Aside from that, look at the included features and figure which you're likely to use, but at this point all the 1366 boards look very similar. I'd probably do the Asus P6T if it were me because I've had a string of good luck with Asus. The memory does need to be DDR3 and should be in sets of 3. 3x2GB with a 64-bit OS is popular these days, the next obvious step up being 6x2GB. This stuff is currently more expensive than the DDR2. You can use the same PCIE video cards and the same ATX cases and power supplies. Going to i7 will not increase your power/heat spec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneis Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Daniel, how much does your budget allow? That's the governing factor. If you can factor-in an amount that allows you to O'Clock - do it. If however, you cannot, then go for the most powerful CPU available. That's what I meant. Sorry if I was mis-interpereteed. S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb4026 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 (edited) My budget would be around 1K for all parts needed. And I would want a minimum of 8GB memory, which is what I currently have. I was reading an article that discussed the asus P6T and an included "overclocking" utility in the Bios that seemed to make overclocking fairly simple. They managed a stable 3.99GHz out of a 920 using the Auto Overclocking utility. I have no idea how to overclock so i would love some "auto" feature. ps...i have vista 64 Edited January 15, 2009 by danb4026 add Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb4026 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 In looking at memory...the choices for 12GB are from Corsair at $289 and from OCZ at $389. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I was just talking with a friend who wants a new computer. We came up with this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112025 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131359 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226034 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150323 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145233 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129032 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126022 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153028 $1240.90 not including whatever shipping / tax and a monitor. I don't think you can go much cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb4026 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Can you buy 6 separate 2gb memory modules from any manufactureer to get 12GB or is there a reason to buy a 12GB (6x2gb) packages from Corsair or OCZ, the only mfg that make them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Having all your memory be the same is a good idea, but there's no really good reason they have to come from the same package except for some really finicky overclock scenarios. 6GB isn't enough... what is the world coming to... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slinger Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I was just talking with a friend who wants a new computer. We came up with this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112025 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131359 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226034 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150323 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145233 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129032 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126022 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153028 $1240.90 not including whatever shipping / tax and a monitor. I don't think you can go much cheaper.Good build. Only thing I would recommend is another hdd, one around 320gb or smaller, for OS. I would never have my OS ans storage on same drive, especially 1TB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb4026 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I guess whai I mean is, Can u install 2 (3x2gb) kits from the Same mfg to equal 12gb. There r more manufacturers for that option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Yes, that should be fine. Like I said, people prefer that all the memory come from one package, but it's not actually a big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb4026 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I just went out and bought an i7 920, asus P6T deluxe board, 16gb corsair mem and a new cooling fan. I am about to install and will let you know how it goes. I just rendered an image pre-new items, which took 10m 17.1s. Once I am finished I will re-render and see if there is a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecton3d Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 did that include an aftermarket HSF for the i920? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb4026 Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 (edited) Yeah, I got a Noctua HSF. Everything is installed, I'm still working on getting everything running properly. Edited January 16, 2009 by danb4026 add Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb4026 Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 OK...the rendering that took over 10 minutes 17s with my intel core 2 quad extreme QX6700 just took 7min 47 sec with the i7 920. I am going to start playing with overclocking after I get some sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb4026 Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 The same rendering is down to 5m 30s. I overclocked the cpu to 3.99GHz. It was very simple and no problems thus far. The Asus P6T Deluxe board makes it really simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devin Johnston Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 Anyone heard when dual processor mother boards will be out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOXXLABS Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 end of Q1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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