Intel Core i7 960 3.2

[royaltiger]

Was looking at a possible upgrade of processor to the i7, have seen a couple of i7 960 3.2ghz with big differences in prices, at least a £100, also seen the name Nehalem mentioned on some but not others, just wanted to know are all these processors the same or are there variations of the same model.

[DocDutch]

I would wait for a bit mate, you'll have AMD's Phenom 6 cores now and probably in 2 months time the fixed Intel Sandy's to pick from.

Leave the i7 for now as they are bringing out i7 in Sandybridge as well on a new chipset.

so my personal honest opinion is wait 3 months and look again or is it dire need?

[royaltiger]

Not too desperate, got a fault with motherboard which is socket 775 so was looking to upgrade which means new board and processor. Wont the price be expensive compared to todays processors.

[Lister of Smeg]

Originally Posted by royaltiger

Was looking at a possible upgrade of processor to the i7, have seen a couple of i7 960 3.2ghz with big differences in prices, at least a £100, also seen the name Nehalem mentioned on some but not others, just wanted to know are all these processors the same or are there variations of the same model.

Personally, I'd save the £££ and either opt for the 950 & overclock it to about 4Ghz or go down the AMD Hexa core route & O/C this baby to about the same too.

Intel Core i7-950 Quad Core Processor £228.26

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Processor £137.42

the 960 is coming around the 950 price. Intel are shifting old die to make room for new nothing unusual. Remember the rediculasly cheap D805 with the 20x multi

[Lister of Smeg]

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop

the 960 is coming around the 950 price. Intel are shifting old die to make room for new nothing unusual. Remember the rediculasly cheap D805 with the 20x multi

It's only difference is a slight O/C. If he wants to save money get the 950 & O/C it.

its £6 more on OCUK so I disagree with you totally

its also not an overclock its stock speed is 140 mhz higher

[Lister of Smeg]

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop

its £6 more on OCUK so I disagree with you totally

its also not an overclock its stock speed is 140 mhz higher

But they essentially use the same architechture, and design. the only difference is +140Mhz speed of the 950/960 aka a pre-overclocked chip from the manufacturers.

You know how they make cpus yes??

This is not pre overclocked its running at a stock speed meaning there in a minimum testing headroom on the chip,

[Lister of Smeg]

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop

You know how they make cpus yes??

This is not pre overclocked its running at a stock speed meaning there in a minimum testing headroom on the chip,

The i7-920, 930, 940, 950, 960, 965, and 975 all have exactly the same cache and cores (with minor differences due to stepping).

The only real difference is the 960 kicks one more at the multiplier (24 vs 23) therefore you get 3.2 instead of 3.03 (or in turbo mode 3.46 vs 3.33

yeah and? they are tested at rated speeds and have a minimum tollerance same as any cpu. If the cpu was sold pre overclocked then some of this tollerance will be used.

Its all quite simple really, Some silicone is better than others

The 960 is stock 3.2 with a higher multi meaning any eventual overclock if the user wishes has a better chance anyway

[royaltiger]

Still confused on the "Nehalim" mentioned on some sockets but not others, is this to do with higher overclocking than standard overclocking.

[qasdfdsaq]

No, it's not really at all relevant. Nehalem is the codename for the original i7 architecture, all i7's are based on Nehalem.

all the processes have different names they do it to confuse ya im sure lol

Nehalem was the first released i7 you then have Gulftown clarkdale lynnfield and now sandybridge

[royaltiger]

At the moment I have the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650, so wanted something that matches if not betters, I have been running it overclocked and getting 4Ghz and so really wanted a good match or improvement at a good price.