Core i7860 - What is your experience?

[nate42nd]

3.8 is a good overclock. Mine runs too hot on air. I need a better cooler.

Thanks fop the post on your system. keep us informed.

[moshpit]

Core i7 860 is a SWEET CPU! I love mine. Just for giggles, I've Prime95 tested mine at 4019mhz to see if 4Ghz was possible. It certainly is. Temps are pretty uncomfortable there, hitting 85C at peak load temps, but is pretty cool to see.

I honestly run this chip at stock. Turbo mode just handles everything so well I don't feel the need to OC on this chip. My i7 920 sits at 3.6Ghz all the time. The 860 idles around 1.2Ghz and cranks up to 3.46Ghz when needed. That's plenty for me. And crazy efficient as well.

[Psycho101]

They are indeed sweet. For almost half the price of the utterly pointless 870 you get a chip that clocks just as far.

Many reviews both online and in magazines including my trusted favorite PC Format (been a subscriber since 1996) have highlighted it's so called "lack of OC head room. Sure there doesn't seem to be as much to squeeze out of it compared to the % gains in a 920 D0, but the D0 is the seccond stepping of that product. Over 1 GHz extra is not a failure, it's amazing. just think what the "Tock" revision of Intel's "Tick-Tock" release strategy will bring.

The recipe for success given the right prices:

Take your 860
Grab the spec of Gigabyte P55(A) you need
Buy a nice 1.65V DDR3 Kit, maybe 1333@7-7-7-21 or 1600@8-8-8-24
Sort out a nice Intel or Indilinx based SSD
Pur-chase either one or two 5870/5850's

Combine with the rest of your existing hardware, eBaying any no longer needed parts, adjust relevant BIOS settings to get an easily achievable 3.8GHz (possible to do with all power saving C states and EIST on, but no volt drop at idle) and you have a veritable super computer.

It's worth noting though that you should also price up an X58, i7-920 and triple channel kit, as in some territories, the difference in price is now surprisingly small in some countries. Sourcing components from another country, like buying from the US if in the UK can shave further cash off the price.. this will continue to be the case if the"older" 1366 boards continue to get cheaper, while a price freeze is in effect on the 1156 because it's considered "the new thing"

[moshpit]

Psycho makes VERY good suggestions. Looking at an X58+920 combo may actually cut very close to the cost of a socket 1156 setup and will give better performance in the end.

[nate42nd]

The X58+920 combo would be close but if we had wanted to join everybody else we would have done it. I Got an 860+P55 for fun. I don't regret it one bit.

[moshpit]

Originally Posted by nate42nd

The X58+920 combo would be close but if we had wanted to join everybody else we would have done it. I Got an 860+P55 for fun. I don't regret it one bit.

And no reason you should. I love mine as well :D

[Psycho101]

Nobody's saying don't buy a socket 1156. Just that some reading this thread may think they hae to because it's the "new thing". Those that buy one will most certainly love them, that's a certainty. 32nm 1336 is just round the corner, and we all know what a die shrink did for Core 2. Maybe some would be better off waiting. In reality if you have a moderately fast C2D/C2Q then performance going to Nehalem of any flavour isn't going to be like night and day. Faster yes, a whole new world, no.

If you're an enthusiast, sure go for it. There's a lot of tweaking to be done with the new P55A boards especially. You also get SATA 6G to play with. There aren't many 6G compatible drives here yet, but as far as SSD's are concerned, this tech should really let them fly.

Alot of people who will look at this thread for tips will maybe need to consider price to performance. It's a very valid statement that in some countries a 1336 board, RAM and CPU will be a better buy in terms of this.

I still love the new P55 and i7 860. It' at a price point that the original release of Nehalem should have been. It does have its limitations though. As an avid gamer, I'm looking to get into Quad SLI/Crossfire soon. The 1156 CPU's only support 16 PCIe lanes, 8 per slot in a dual config, which simply isn't enough. There are boards with additional PCIe lanes via a controller chip, but these are almost al 4x slots/lanes and don't benefit from the improved latency of having the interface hard wired to the CPU.

None of this is intended to make anyone feel bad about pushing the button on an 860 or belittling the tech. It's sweet. One must consider all the options first. If you like playing with new hardware get one. If it meets your needs, get one. Sometimes though older can be better.

[moshpit]

Well said :D