This Is Not A Pimp-My-Rig Thread

**LeftEyeNine** · 04-30-2009, 15:25

(Also, I would like to throw in my vote for stepping back from the I7, and going with an LGA 775 chip instead. Big money savings, no performance penalty.)

Ouch. That hurt.

**Lemur** · 05-01-2009, 20:28

Originally Posted by LeftEyeNine

Ouch. That hurt.

If I may be pardoned for hurting you further: Not only will an LGA 775 board be cheaper, and not only will a Core2Duo or Quad be cheaper, but you can populate your motherboard with DDR2 instead of the much pricier DDR3. Once again, cheaper with no performance penalty. The only reason to go with an I7 is if you have plans to swap out the proc withing the next two or three years.

**LeftEyeNine** · 05-01-2009, 20:54

/hangs himself

**Lemur** · 05-01-2009, 20:56

Wait, have you already bought the I7 components? If so that's not a big deal, and you have the option of upgrading your proc in a year or three, which is great. There's nothing wrong with the I7, and a lot that's fantastic. I'm only throwing this info out there in case you've yet to buy the parts.

**LeftEyeNine** · 05-01-2009, 21:10

I've already bought'em, sire. Although the current rig somehow feels like there's something clogging up the flawless performance (such as more RAM, a better GPU or newer HDDs), I'm fairly pleased with what i7 can do.

This is the first time in my life that I can (almost) max out settings in games like Company of Heroes, HL2 (yeah it's oldened a bit but hey) or Colin McRae Dirt.

Thanks for your precious concerns.

Btw, should I go with changing my current OS (XP SP3 32-bit) to better benefit my rig? Say, Windows Vista or XP 64-bit ?

**Lemur** · 05-01-2009, 21:44

Well, the next logical step would be to move to 6 gigs of RAM rather than 3 (I7 is optimal in multiple of 3, so a move to 4 or 5 gigs is out of the question), and taking advantage of the Windows 7 64-bit demo. You could fill the time between now and May 5th by finding and downloading Vista 64-bit drivers for everything and popping them onto a disc.

I would also recommend keeping your current XP install, perhaps creating a new partition for Win7, or slapping in a new HD for it. Should be good fun all the way around.

**LeftEyeNine** · 05-01-2009, 22:25

and taking advantage of the Windows 7 64-bit demo. You could fill the time between now and May 5th by finding and downloading Vista 64-bit drivers for everything and popping them onto a disc.

Nothing wrong here, sire ?