Intel CPU for new render machine

[tlunnuk]

Getting started on a new machine. Was planning on building it around the core i7 960. Intel is releasing its new 980x gulftown in one month....6 cores at 3.33 ghz.

 

I am thinking about just sticking with the 960 since it is difficult to justify an extra $420 for a 25% gain in performance, but I am planning on having this machine for at least 5 years and I would like to "future proof" it as much as I can.

 

any opinions?

 

only comparison I have is jumping from a core 2 duo to a core i7 of equal speed, and in terms of renderings, its a pretty nice jump. 4 cores 8 threads vs 6 cores 12 threads. Releasing the core i7 970 in 6-7 months that will make the 960 obsolete.

 

I used cad, sketchup, revit, max, and adobe....usually simultaneously.

Edited February 17, 2010 by tlunnuk

[ihabkal]

5 years is like 20 in computer years. just like dogs.

I think sticking with the 2.8GHz model is even better, the cpu is a little slowe but much cheaper.

[AJLynn]

One possibility to consider is getting a less expensive, 9xx series i7 now with the intention of upgrading the CPU later when a 6-core that is not at the top of the price curve is released.

[tlunnuk]

thank you for the advice. I am leaning towards to the 960 due to price but I might wait until march 16th to see what happens.

 

several years ago I purchased a Q6600 right before the core i7's came out and I remember wishing I had waited.

[ihabkal]

I feel you, I forked out $1500 on the extreme core2Quad 2.66 GHZ, now worth $50

[Grohu]

I recently was researching similar problem and in the end I added few $$ and went with dual Xeon 5520. Even at slower clock speeds that thing is screaming. Before I was running on a 3.4 overclocked Quad Yorkfield and even though I'm around 1.2 GHz slower per core it simply kills my old setup. With 16 threads, I'm certain I won't be needing another system for a while. And IF I do I'll simply switch CPU's alone to get higher clock #'s.

[exxoo]

I feel you, I forked out $1500 on the extreme core2Quad 2.66 GHZ, now worth $50

 

Well if you go with the high end like the "extreme" you will always pay much more per clock. Seldom worth it

[AJLynn]

I've been doing a bit of testing lately and my 2.7GHz Core 2 Quad is only 40% slower than a 2.8GHz Core i7 860 in multithreaded rendering. Now I know, 40% sounds like a lot, but this is a CPU that was introduced 2.5 years ago and was nowhere near top of the line at the time, so I'd say it's holding up pretty well actually.

 

Last month I finally got around to selling my previous CPU, a Core 2 Duo E6400, on Ebay and it went for $57 plus shipping, so your Quad is worth more than $50