Hello all. I'm building a new PC and am having trouble deciding on i5 vs i7. I'm sure this issue has been beaten to death here as of late, but I have a few specific questions as I am still somewhat unfamiliar with the true differences in the CPUs. Assume that I will be going with a quad-core either way; I'm wondering about the need for hyperthreading (i7) vs not (i5). Also, in the spirit of "bigger is better," I'm wondering about the sockets, specifically, will a CPU with 1156 pins be handicapped and address and transfer less data than one with 1366 pins? Having said that, I'm also wondering about the i5 vs i7 chipset. My primary uses are basic desktop; email (addressing extremely large PST files), web browsing (several companies' browsers open with dozens of windows and tabs open at a time), basic office automation stuff, and minimal but occassional gaming (Crysis etc). Gaming is not my priority. Keeping the user interface fast and responsive with a hundred different processes showing up in Task Manager and huge amounts of RAM tied up is my priority. Although I'm experiencing massive memory leaks and processes that need to be manually killed, rather than killing themselves when the app is closed, I remain an Internet Explorer user. At the moment I have almost 1.5GB of memory tied up in just IE windows, and this makes any work on the system sluggish (P4 @ 3Ghz, 2GB RAM, WinXP). This is typical for my system, as it remains on 24/7 and I don't normally close windows, I minimize them and come back to them frequently. I am reluctant to upgrade to Windows 7, although I know its 64-bit goodness will pay off in the end, and despite my unwillingness to learn a completely different UI, I know that its inevitable and I might as well accept it. With a few basic MB/CPU/RAM combos from newegg, I've got a few i5 and i7 systems configured on paper, both LGA 1156 and LGA 1366, and they're coming to within a few hundred dollars of each other. Those few hundred dollars will translate into funds for hard disks, DVD burners, and some much needed new peripherals. So the lower-end i5 would give me more bang for my buck, assuming I put a cap on my budget (as yet I have not). Then again, a few hundred bucks amounts to a few less pizzas a month for a while, and maybe an i7 will extend the life of the machine a few years so I'm not upgrading again too soon. Is the 1156-based i7 going to be less-capable than the 1366 version? Do I really need all of the features and speed of the X58 chipset over the H55? I'd like to stretch the legs of the CPU a little but and overlock, but within reason; this PC is going into my home office and I've got the fans configured right now to 600-900 rpm and the system, although presently empty, is extremely quiet. I don't want to be generating a ton of heat that results in a noise system. Will the i5 be a better choice for modest overclocking without too much heat generation? I guess the bottom line is, with a difference of a few hundred bucks, is the i7 worth it for my applications and requirements, or will an i5 do, and the difference in money can then be used on other items? Many thanks. ETA Another post reminded me, I was looking at 1366 because, in five years when I'm feeling like I need to upgrade, I'll probably be able to go to Ebay and pickup a six-core for a song and just drop it in...
Yeah, the 1366 socket is the way to go, definately. If I were you, I'd go for the i7 for sure. You can always save up some money in a couple of months to get additional HDD's, CD drives and whatnot, so better go for the higher end.
