Why I'm upgrading to an Intel Core i7 based computer...
From my previous blog, many of you now know that I’m into PC gaming - but that’s just a glimpse of what I use my PC for. The modern PC is a “media engine”.
I’m upgrading my PC at home to the latest in Intel’s processor, motherboard, and storage architectures - and here’s why…
The Internet brings information at a near instant rate, and those of you with high-speed internet access can relate. But it’s not fast enough… well, not for me at least. I consider myself to be a PC multi-tasker at heart. Just looking at my PC, I have over 70+ processes running just after boot up - is that a lot? Well, that’s a relative statement… but for many who like to ‘streamline’ their systems, that’s a lot of overhead. And I hate to wait for data…
I want data, and I want it fast… and my ISP link will be my limiting factor now. My next “Media Engine” (PC) will have the following:
The Central Processing Unit (haha - how 80’s sounding!) is the heart of your PC, and I was able to get a Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Extreme Edition CPU. This is exciting because the new processor brings some awesome stuff to my PC experience. In my case:
- 4 Cores @ 3.2GHz - with Intel HyperThreading technology to give me 8 threads of compute power to handle all my processes.
- Intel Turbo Boost Technology! (as best shown in this video)
- all on a 45nm chip which allows for ‘cooler’ computing and better power management, my old days of heating the room to use my PC are gone!
Next is the Intel® DX58SO (Smackover) Motherboard, which has recently added SLI technology to it’s support matrix. I’ll also bring 6GB of DDR3 along for the ride. note: If you didn’t know, the Core i7 Processor is optimized for a tri-channel memory architecture - so it’s 2GB x 3 channels, hence the 6GB for system RAM.
All this intelligent computing power means I’ll need access to data - and FAST! This is why I’m so excited to check out the Intel® X25-M Solid State Drive (SSD).
Well, that’s my long-winded basis on why I’m upgrading… tell me your thoughts? Should I add a second SSD (with RAID) to make the data flow even faster? Or should I put a 2nd video card in to enable faster framerates? Now I just need to make time to do the upgrade…
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Comments
Feb 19 | John said:
i need more money.
Feb 19 | sophia stalliviere said:
I think you should put in another video card. Just a personal opinion! Great article. Let us know about your outcome and how it effected your gaming lifestyle!
Feb 19 | Todd Christ said:
@John - I hear you! You gotta pay to play though! :)
@Sophia - I'm going to setup things, and load the latest BIOS which enables SLI - right now I have an nVidia GTX260 as my graphics card - a second one would definitely be fun! I've done SLI before (and even Crossfire) - so we shall see!
Feb 20 | june said:
so tell me Todd. what type of video card do you have? Nvidia? be honest.
Feb 20 | Todd Christ said:
Hi June - from my previous response, I have an nVidia GTX260 w/896MB RAM. Over the years, I've used just about every flavor video card out there dating from the EISA bus to modern PCI-e 2.0.
Feb 21 | Chris Winnfield said:
todd,
thanks for this. I have been procastinating on upgrading my system, and I think it's time. On my way to Frys to pick up my core i7.
talk to you later -- love the blog too!
Chris
Feb 21 | Todd Christ said:
Sounds great Chris! Please come back and tell us about your experience! Thanks for reading :)
Jul 20 | Zzyzx Oh said:
I know it's been a long time since this article was posted, but the i7-975 with X58 mobo and a smallish SSD is a nice combination. The low-end X25-E 32GB from Intel is fine for booting systems like Ubuntu, which will probably never need that kinda space for the os. I use network storage for my personal data and that config is just fine for me and moves the heat of a real drive out of my home office.
Now, I want to know who is running this config with the lowest wattage power supply. How low can you go?
Jul 20 | Todd Christ said:
Thanks for your agreement! I have tried 32GB SSD's and Vista Ultimate fills up about 60% of it - it's liveable, but you have to manage your disk utilization/space closely.
In regards to power - to be honest - the power requirements are based on the needs of the whole system... using a simple power meter, my machine will idle around 180W, and that's with 2 GTX260 video cards in SLI, during peak power - it jumps to ~450-500W when running some heavy benchmarks.
I do have a Tier1 PSU from ETASIS in my PC, which is rated at 850W (a little overkill isn't a bad thing right?) but with all my PC builds, I try to build for the future.