i920 or i860?

[Lawman]

I'm going to build myself a new rig next month, which in my original plan would include a i860 CPU because of the Turbo-mode (I'm no overclocker:isadizzy. However, "Socketgate" has made me also look at the i920 again and I was wondering what you guys think would be better:

System 1:
CPU: Core i7 i920 (2,66 GHz)
Mobo: Asus P6T Deluxe v2
Memory: 6GB (3*2) Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D (1600, CAS 8-8-8-24)

System 2:
CPU: Core i7 i860 (2,80 GHz)
Mobo: Asus P7P55D Deluxe or EVGA P55 FTW
Memory: 8GB (4*2) Corsair CMD8GX3M4A1600C8 (1600, CAS 8-8-8-24)

Money wise, those systems are pretty much equal. I'm partial myself to system 1, because I reckon with a (relatively mild) overclock to 3.4 GHz I can get the same performance as the i860 in maximum Turbo Mode yet don't have to worry about the socket. I'm also slightly worried about the population of all dimm-slots in system 2. System 1 also gives me the opportunity to go for the Gulftown CPU and SLI/Crossfire, though I have no such plans at the moment. Rig would be mainly used for FSX with photographic scenery. There will be an aftermarket cooler installed.

Any advise/thoughts would be most welcome.

[txnetcop]

There are several factors that come into play on your decision. First, if you are future building would you not rather have triple channel memory as opposed to dual channel memory. The 1366 socket i7 920 uses triple channel memory as opposed to i7860 1156 socket that uses dual channel memory. Granted the speeds in gaming are marginal at this present time between socket 1156 and socket 1366. The i7920 can be upgraded to the i7975 which is far more powerful than anything socket 1156 can ever produce as far as bandwidth and unlocked multipliers. Only i7 Extreme 1366 offers unlocked multipliers for future gaming.

Does it matter for FSX? Probably not a whole lot of difference, but for future gaming and simulators it could make a huge difference. Now, all that said, if you are building on a budget you can get an i7920 D0 stepping core for $199.00 at www.microcenter.com and combined with the ASUS P6T v2 1366 board is very powerful and overclocks higher than the OC'd i7 socket 1156 i7860 if only because of triple channel memory. I would spend a little more money and get the i7950 and not concern myself with overclocking until much later.

Ted

[harleyman]

Also for FSX hunt a lower CAS rated memory...8 and 9 are sorta high....

Look for a CAS in the 6-7 range if you can get it now...:ernae:



Example..And great ram too for the i7 920..... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145242

[Lawman]

Gentlemen, thank you both for your input:ernae:. I'm going with an X58-setup, though I'm going to ponder some more about the exact specs.