I7 Noob. Need help.

[turiguiliano]

I was always curious about I7 PC set ups. I had the option to build one last year. But an entry level would cost 70k alone last April 2009. Too much I guess.
Here's what I will use it for:
2-3 pieces 23" monitors (yes, for work).
Storage. D-uh.
I also want to learn more about video editing. High quality stuff. Mostly for my website and some other projects.
Games. Can't do with out them. Mostly FPS games like Crysis 1, 2; MF2, and soon,  Starcraft 2.

What would you recommend? I mean a detailed(parts) set up. Stores to get them from?

All help appreciated. Thanks.


Current set up:
Processor
2.93 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
3072 kilobyte secondary memory cache
64-bit ready
Multi-core (2 total)
Drives
1830.39 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
1607.56 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space
Main Circuit Board
Board: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. EP45-UD3L
Bus Clock: 266 megahertz
BIOS: Award Software International, Inc. F4 02/24/2009
Memory Modules
3328 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
Display
NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT

Main Display
Hannspree 23" wide. HDMI ready
And the usual Panther 1000va AVR, APC/ups. Power surge protection strips.

[kevin1410]

sir, you don't have to recommend yourself an I7 setup UNLESS you are a hardcore user or an enthusiast user like HARD in gaming, HARD in multimedia applications.

Sir, I suggest you have to switch in quad core. INTEL or AMD quad core processors would do any of them. But before I give you the specific setup, what is your accurate budget for this matter?

[pitongjerome]

to do all that i suggest a core i5 750, which is a quad core, and sometimes beat the i7 920.
at least 4gig ram. and then a really good videocard.

if you are using multi threaded apps, i7s are the way. not that much faster though. and not many apps are multi threaded. it is more expensive because:
i7920 is multi threaded. more expensive (like 4k than i5 750)
ram is triple lane. i think minimum 3 sticks dapat nakalagay, as opposed sa i5 lynnfield na dual lane. and as i have read sa reviews, intel failed sa dual/triple lane because there is no significant diff dito.
videocard is 16, which is better for sli/crossfire.

videocards, i suggest radeon 5850. around 13k ata? dx11.

(im not an expert, correct me if im wrong)

anyway, i think a core2extreme is sufficient. important din ang videocard kasi. pag may bottleneck ka, sayang ang isang component mo. nalilimit siya dahil sa isang slow component.

also, there is now a 6 core pc from AMD. the AMD PHENOM 2 X6 1090T. same price sa i7920. around 14k. cheaper mobo. but its 6 core cannot compete with intels hexacore hehe

[turiguiliano]

sir, you don't have to recommend yourself an I7 setup UNLESS you are a hardcore user or an enthusiast user like HARD in gaming, HARD in multimedia applications.

Sir, I suggest you have to switch in quad core. INTEL or AMD quad core processors would do any of them. But before I give you the specific setup, what is your accurate budget for this matter?

Thanks for your help and input. I intend to do that. And we all know that it will be possible if we have the right machine for it.
Currently, this is what I got a quote for at greenhills (my friend owns the shop)

I7 SETUP

INTEL I7 920
Asus T60 SE
6gb kingston dd3
palit GTS 250 or GTX 280 1gb
Segate 500gb - root
Seagate 1TB - slave
thermaltake PS 301 case
Thermaltake 700w PSU
Logitech keyboard and mouse
hannspree 23" lcs(2 units)
lite on dvd writer (2)
--------------------------------------------
TOTAL                75k

Last year, exclude the monitors, I was at 70k already. This is the case and the components inside it ONLY. Lol. FTW to wait for a year.
So I just got the (specs on 1st post) PLUS...UPS/APC, mulsti socket surge protectors and a Panther 1000va AVR. And only two months ago, an HP 3-1 printer.
Current set up now costs 65k. lol.
What it did for me:
GAMES - Crysis 1, 2. Arkham Asylum, Modern Warfare 1, 2(fake and original - with STEAM on line games).

to do all that i suggest a core i5 750, which is a quad core, and sometimes beat the i7 920.
at least 4gig ram. and then a really good videocard.

if you are using multi threaded apps, i7s are the way. not that much faster though. and not many apps are multi threaded. it is more expensive because:
i7920 is multi threaded. more expensive (like 4k than i5 750)
ram is triple lane. i think minimum 3 sticks dapat nakalagay, as opposed sa i5 lynnfield na dual lane. and as i have read sa reviews, intel failed sa dual/triple lane because there is no significant diff dito.
videocard is 16, which is better for sli/crossfire.

videocards, i suggest radeon 5850. around 13k ata? dx11.

(im not an expert, correct me if im wrong)

anyway, i think a core2extreme is sufficient. important din ang videocard kasi. pag may bottleneck ka, sayang ang isang component mo. nalilimit siya dahil sa isang slow component.

also, there is now a 6 core pc from AMD. the AMD PHENOM 2 X6 1090T. same price sa i7920. around 14k. cheaper mobo. but its 6 core cannot compete with intels hexacore hehe

My other questions on the I7 setup...
1. What's the MAX RAM I can put in my system? - I always believed that more RAM never hurt anyone.
2. Do I need to do "SLI"? Dual video cards?
3. What games (first person shooter and 'lord of the rings type games) can I play with the I7 set up?
4. Any other stuff I need to put there? - for video editing. I really want to learn more of it. Effects and stuff. lol


Thanks again in advance.

[lykenhowl]

Current set-up is already good to go and can do the job. Actually there are only VERY FEW applications that require more than 2 cores (even in gaming). Kaya lang naman naglalabasan yung mga matataas na spec ng procie and gpu is because of competition between Intel vs AMD and NVIDIA vs ATI.

[pitongjerome]

Thanks for your help and input. I intend to do that. And we all know that it will be possible if we have the right machine for it.
Currently, this is what I got a quote for at greenhills (my friend owns the shop)

I7 SETUP

INTEL I7 920
Asus T60 SE
6gb kingston dd3
palit GTS 250 or GTX 280 1gb
Segate 500gb - root
Seagate 1TB - slave
thermaltake PS 301 case
Thermaltake 700w PSU
Logitech keyboard and mouse
hannspree 23" lcs(2 units)
lite on dvd writer (2)
--------------------------------------------
TOTAL                75k

Last year, exclude the monitors, I was at 70k already. This is the case and the components inside it ONLY. Lol. FTW to wait for a year.
So I just got the (specs on 1st post) PLUS...UPS/APC, mulsti socket surge protectors and a Panther 1000va AVR. And only two months ago, an HP 3-1 printer.
Current set up now costs 65k. lol.
What it did for me:
GAMES - Crysis 1, 2. Arkham Asylum, Modern Warfare 1, 2(fake and original - with STEAM on line games).



My other questions on the I7 setup...
1. What's the MAX RAM I can put in my system? - I always believed that more RAM never hurt anyone.
2. Do I need to do "SLI"? Dual video cards?
3. What games (first person shooter and 'lord of the rings type games) can I play with the I7 set up?
4. Any other stuff I need to put there? - for video editing. I really want to learn more of it. Effects and stuff. lol
Thanks again in advance.

max ram depends on OS. 32 bit can only do up to 3-4 gig ram.

64 bits, paf 4 sticks of 4 gig, 16 gig ram.

you need sli if you need to play new games at very high settings.

for video editin, i think hyperthreading is mostly needed, and i have known that the AMP phenom2 x6 really does well in those fields.

games mostly depends on video card.

[turiguiliano]

max ram depends on OS. 32 bit can only do up to 3-4 gig ram.

64 bits, paf 4 sticks of 4 gig, 16 gig ram.

you need sli if you need to play new games at very high settings.

for video editin, i think hyperthreading is mostly needed, and i have known that the AMP phenom2 x6 really does well in those fields.

games mostly depends on video card.

Got another quote from the store. Now it's 104K.

[pitongjerome]

Got another quote from the store. Now it's 104K.

lol. you should look at amd phenom 2 x6 now turi. im serious. theyre damn good for those rendering and editing purposes.

games are from videocards mostly. crossfire mo yan.

[incubus_boy08]

Si magkano ba budget mo? I can suggest you one depending on your budget. Hirap kasi mgsuggest kung hindi estimated ang budget. Maya mgsuggest tayo mga high-end tapos di pala abot ang budget. Pero kung video editing/enhusiast gaming ng aim mo, malamang mga nasa 50-70k ka PC + 1 LCD pa lang yun. Also I suggest use AMD builds if budget concious ka and besides bang for the buck talaga AMD products. Like me, I'm using Phenom II x4 B50 3.8Ghz @ 5k only! True quad core for only 5k FTW! Maghanap ka ng ganyan sa Intel ewan ko lang kung meron hehe. Eto suggest ko sayo na setup for graphic cards.. If ATI has crossfire and NVIDIA has SLI, then why not combine them? Using a software mod, pwede mo na pagsamahin ATI + Nvidia sa isang mobo. Get the ATI (5970/5870/5850) as your main card and Nvidia (9800gt/gts 250) for Physx processing. Kahit anong games laruin mo diyan, kakayanin ser!! hehe

[alvinilano]

Got another quote from the store. Now it's 104K.

Mag macpro na lang ako pag ganyan kalaki.. 8 core..

[KitC]

Base unit mac pro is already 140k di ba?

[alvinilano]

Base unit mac pro is already 140k di ba?

mga ganyan yung 8 core ngayon sir

[KitC]

mga ganyan yung 8 core ngayon sir

I'm very much aware of that. btw, I just learned that there are 6-core i7s now in GH that cost 50k for the cpu alone. food for thought.

[pitongjerome]

I'm very much aware of that. btw, I just learned that there are 6-core i7s now in GH that cost 50k for the cpu alone. food for thought.

thats the extreme ed i7 right? yung may hyperthreading so its like 12 core. thats a whopping 50k lol tama

[alvinilano]

thats the extreme ed i7 right? yung may hyperthreading so its like 12 core. thats a whopping 50k lol tama

Wow love to have that, 12 cores!

[incubus_boy08]

50k for a processor? Di ako bibili nun unless wala mapagtapunan ng pera. Overkill for all applications today. Just my two cents lang!