i7 vs Intel Core 2 Quad, is it worth it

[zenyora]

hello everyone;

i was going to post my specs for my new build(i7), but then i started to wonder if its actually a good a idea to build an i7 system right now over an Intel Core 2 Quad?
my budget is around $1500 which gives me 2 options :low end i7(920) or high end intel quad(Q9550).

keep in mind this is going to be mainly a work station not a gaming system(maya, zbrush, mudbox, softimage, aftereffects, photoshop..etc)

thanks

 

[Druid]

Do you need a monitor, OS, keyboard, or mouse? If you don't, 1500 is plenty for i7.

 

[Evolv]

A i7 build definetly has better performance over any Core 2 Quads right now.

 

[Tenenbaum]

Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TpowerX58 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Newegg.com - Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - EVGA 017-P3-1291-AR GeForce GTX 295 1792MB 896 (448 x 2)-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
Newegg.com - LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies

This is around 1500$.
Far far far far far from low end.

 

[UA_Iron]

What is the main graphics engine of those programs you listed? is it openGL or directx?

Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners
Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies
2X Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Newegg.com - ATI 100-505550 FireStream 9170 2GB GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 STREAM PROCESSOR - Workstation Graphics / Video Cards

Depends if the programs you use are graphics card dependent on rendering or more CPU based. Q9550 is not a bad choice either way. That graphics card will tear your brain out, eat it and then rerender it back to life in nanoseconds.

 

[Evolv]

It's better to go for a i7 build since his budget is $1500. There is no reason to get a Q9550, when the i7 blows it away in performance by a lot.

 

[zenyora]

well this is my build that i came up with for the i7 keeping in mind what i am going to use it for , and that iam going to OC on air.

CPU:Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
Newegg.com - Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Is it better to get this low end i7 over a high end Intel Core 2 Quad (ex:Q9550 etc)?

Motherbored:ASUS P6T Deluxe LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - ASUS P6T Deluxe LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

good bored or should i be looking at something ells?

RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

OR

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory


PSU:CORSAIR CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies

as i mentioned iam planning on OC and at some point either go SLI or CrossFire, do i need 1000W for this build? if not what other Modular psu would you recommend?


HardDrive: Not sure , need help on this one as iam not sure which setup is best for my use?
is it better to RIAD 1, or should i get a 10000rpm for OS and slower one for data?

GPU: Dont mean to start an ATI vs Nvidia war, but which is better? i found some benshmarks online in which Crossfire was better than SLI but it was from early 2008.

CPU Cooler:1)ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler
Newegg.com - ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

2)Vigor Monsoon III LT Dual 120mm Fan CPU Cooler Socket 1366 Ready
Newegg.com - Vigor Monsoon III LT Dual 120mm Fan CPU Cooler Socket 1366 Ready - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

3)is there a zalman that is for socket 1366?

DVD Drive:LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30
Newegg.com - LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners

OR

ASUS 22X DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-22B1LT
Newegg.com - ASUS Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner with LightScribe - CD / DVD Burners

do you recommend something ells?


Druid: yes i need a monitor
UA_Iron: that is an $800 card..out of my league.

 

[Evolv]

Here are some charts comparing i7 920 and the Q9550:
Benchmarks--PCMark And 3DMark Vantage - Review Tom's Hardware : UPDATE: Core i7: Blazing Fast, O/C Changes

Since you're going to overclock I suggest getting this motherboard:
Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TpowerX58 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Biostar makes some of the best overclocking boards.

You should get this ram as well:
Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
This set has the lowest timings and thats what you want.

For video cards, Nvidia is currently doing better. Depending on what resolution you'll be playing, look into either a GTX 260 Core216, 285 or 295. And if you eventually go SLI, you need a good psu. This one should hold up pretty good:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

It's not worth it to get a Raptor hard drive. They're just as fast compared to a 7200.11 with 32mb of cache. You could buy two Solid State Drives and run them in raid. Or just one for your OS, and a normal hdd for your other stuff. But currently SSD drives are the fastest things out there:
Newegg.com - OCZ Solid Series OCZSSD2-1SLD60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II Solid State Disk (SSD) - Solid State Disks

This would be a better cooler than the ones you listed:
Newegg.com - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
And you need the bracket for it:
Newegg.com - XIGMATEK ACK-I7361 CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

The optical drives is up to you. They both pretty much do the same thing, but I personally prefer LG.

 

[UA_Iron]

SPECopc Viewperf 10.0 Maya Benchmarks (doesn't include gaming graphics cards)
Charts, benchmarks Workstation Graphics Charts, SPECopc Viewperf 10.0 Maya

Looks like maya uses an openGL based graphics engine.

Your video card will be the weak link in this whole thing if you are rendering large things - not the GPU.

 

[meat_helmet]

SPECopc Viewperf 10.0 Maya Benchmarks (doesn't include gaming graphics cards)
Charts, benchmarks Workstation Graphics Charts, SPECopc Viewperf 10.0 Maya

Looks like maya uses an openGL based graphics engine.

Your video card will be the weak link in this whole thing if you are rendering large things - not the GPU.

Do u mean CPU??

If so that is incorrect. Rendering in things like maya (by default uses the mental ray renderer) is CPU dependant.

Having a good graphics card will help you with the actual amount of on-screen polys and texture etc. Rendering 3D images is a whole different balll game and has to do with the CPU.

So, an i7 build will greatly help you. It will be much better to go with an i7 build with a weaker graphics card, than a core 2 quad build with a strong graphics card. The i7s multithreading also helps quite a bit in rendering.

I use 3d Studio max, Photoshop, Illustrator, some Maya and alot of CAD for my uni and work.

To break it down these are where things will help you:

Rendering (eg. rendering with GI etc.) = A strong CPU will help you.
On-screen display of complex 3D forms (eg. lots of polys) = A stong gaming GPU or workstation card.
Mulitasking and large format, mulit-layer images (eg. photoshop A0 images) = Lots of RAM will help.

I would say get an i7, with 6GBs of ram or more, then look at what kind of graphics card you can get. As for Nvidia vs ATI - its very difficult to find benchmarks for 3d programs on gaming cards - most will only deal with workstation cards. In the workstation world ATI has the upperhand at the moment, but that doesnt mean it translates to gaming cards.