Final Words
The Intel Core i7 processor currently owns the high end of the market, which is the reason the CPU prices remain high relative to Intel Core 2 Quad and the AMD Phenom II. The cheapest Core i7 920 CPU is around $300, with two more models going for $600 and $1000. In addition, the Core i7 uses a new socket 1366 and supports the first triple-channel DDR3 memory configuration. That means new Core i7 buyers will be shopping for a number of new and unique components as they move to Core i7.
Despite the high cost of the CPU and the uniqueness of some components, we have shown that it is possible to build a complete high performance Core i7 system for as little as $1450. That price is for a system with 1TB hard drive, Blu-ray player/DVD burner, a Radeon HD 4870 1GB video card, 1920x1080 monitor, keyboard/mouse, and even Windows Vista Home Premium. If you have some components that are compatible with a Core i7 build, you can reduce the cost even further. Just be sure you will not be leaving performance behind with the components you are considering moving over to a new Core i7 build.
We also showed an extremely flexible Core i7 overclocking system build with components selected to support overclocks to 4.0GHz with the Core i7 920 processor. While the cost was just a bit over $2000 for the complete system, the overclocking i7 system should carry you considerably higher than the current top-line Core i7 965 which runs at 3.2GHz. The OC system was pushed toward value overclocking but the $1010 965 CPU is unlocked and it could be the basis of a "highest performance at any cost" Core i7 overclocking system.
Finally, our Core i7 Dream system used all the best performing parts we could assemble in a $5000 "performance king" system built around a 30" S-IPS panel LCD driven by an NVIDIA GTX 295 dual GPU video card. The Dream Core i7 includes the superb Silverstone "positive pressure" aluminum case and the similarly excellent Corsair 1000HX modular power supply driving a $1010 Core i7 965 and 6GB of fast Mushkin DDR3-1600 triple channel memory. We could have carried the "dream" even further with items like RAID 5 storage, a boot SSD RAID, quad SLI with two GTX 295, or a GTX 285 triple SLI setup - supported by the ASUS motherboard used in the dream system. We went as far as $5000 would take us and paused, but there could definitely be more.
The point of all this is that while the Core i7 CPU is the most expensive processor family in today's CPU market, there are still many options. You can build a complete i7 system for less than $1500, use the Core i7 as the heart of an overclocking computer for around $2000 that has incredible performance potential, or use the top $1000 Core i7 965 as the basis for a luxury system with extreme performance for gaming, photo editing, or graphics. The Core i7 is that flexible and is at home in a wide variety of computer configurations. Of course, if all you do is surf the Internet, write email, and work in Microsoft Office, you should save your money and get a more reasonable system - there are plenty of people that simply have no need for eight logical processing cores.
We hope these three systems with widely different goals and prices have given some ideas of where you might like to take a Core i7 build. Wherever you take it, you will be extremely pleased with the Core i7 performance. Core i7 owns the top of the current CPU market because it delivers the best performance in the market today. There is definitely a price premium but you get the best performance you can buy in today's desktop market with an Intel Core i7 system.
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JonnyDough - Saturday, February 7, 2009 - link
The main reason for buying an AMD system is to keep Intel from price gouging when they become a processor making monopoly.MonkeyPaw - Thursday, February 5, 2009 - link
Man, if $150-175 is what you consider a small difference, I hate to think what you'd call a big difference. If you actually think about your comparison, the i7 costs 45% more than Phenom II. Will you see 45% more performance in everything you do by buying the i7? Will you feel 45% better?You assume that everyone has $600 to spend on CPU+Board+Ram. I can at least assure you that I don't.
(I'm typing this on an Intel laptop, btw.)
JarredWalton - Thursday, February 5, 2009 - link
You have to also look at the total platform cost. If you're spending $1000 for a system and jumping to Core i7 increases the cost by $150, that's really only a 15% increase. Is the Core i7 15% faster than Phenom II? In the vast majority of cases, yes - unless you're running games that are GPU limited, of course. Both are viable options (and Core 2 is still viable as well), which is why there will be a separate Phenom II Guide.harshbarj - Friday, February 6, 2009 - link
Your forgetting that with the i7 you need ddr3 ram and that cost significantly more that ddr2. i7 boards also cost a lot more than am2+ ones. SO if your just buying a CPU to set on your desk it will cost you 15% more but if you want to build a system the numbers are far closer to 40-45%JarredWalton - Friday, February 6, 2009 - link
DDR3 prices have come down quite a bit of late. It's still twice as much in some cases, but you also need to consider that twice $50 isn't all that bad. So:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">2x2GB CL4 DDR2 = $50; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">2x2GB CL9 DDR3 = $76 (Yes, you could get cheaper DDR2 or more expensive DDR3, but these are at least somewhat "equivalent".)
X58 motherboards are very high-end right now, so it's only fair to compare them to X48 options - and if you get DDR3 on X48, the RAM comparison can go away, other than the fact that you need tri-channel.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">DFI LANParty DK X48-T2RSB PLUS = $200; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R = $200.
Then you have CPUs. They simply won't be "equal" - Core i7 is better in some areas to the point where Penryn and Phenom II don't stand a chance, and in other areas it's pretty close to a tie. Let's just say Core i7 920 has an edge in overall performance, but if you don't do 3D rendering, video encoding, or other highly threaded tasks it may not matter. If you're one of the "won't matter" crowd, you should probably look at Core 2 Duo and forget the Quad parts as well. Anyway, we'll go for a reasonable matchup:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">Core i7 920 = $290; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">Core 2 Quad Q9650 = $345.
On, snap! What just happened!? Yes, that's right: a similar performance Core 2 Quad can actually end up costing *more* than Core i7 and offer worse performance. So you grab a more competitively priced Core 2 Quad like the Q9300, but now the i7 920 has a much greater performance advantage.
The problem is people aren't comparing apples to apples. Core i7 is a high-end setup, so the motherboards are all top quality. Yes, you can get decent motherboards for Core 2 for a lot less money, but none of them match X58 across the -ahem- board. Dual x16 slots? What about the potential for SLI and CF support on a single board? For gamers, that might be enough reason alone to get an X58 (though you'd want to get a different board than the Gigabyte I listed above).
You *can* build a very good Core 2 system for a lot less than you can build a Core i7 system, and more likely than not most people will be very happy with performance. Here's the thing, though: *most* people will be more than happy with the performance of an older Athlon X2 socket 939 or AM2 setup, which you can easily assemble for $300-$400.
If you need or want more performance, don't sleep on Core i7. The net performance boost can be quite substantial, the platform does have some very compelling features, and for an upper midrange to high-end system it's really hard to claim equal performance. An overclocked Phenom II or Core 2 Quad might match a stock clocked i7 920, but that's hardly a fair comparison. Once you http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3506">overclock both platforms, even traditionally GPU-limited things like gaming can see a clear benefit. A $280 Q9550 with DDR2 and X48 compared to i7 920 with DDR3 and X58 will be a price difference of around $100, even counting the extra 2GB for a 3x2GB DDR3 memory kit.
Souka - Sunday, February 8, 2009 - link
Blah blah...Cire i7.... Phenom IIMy P4 AGP system runs just fine...plays games just fine too...and it's approaching it's 6th birthday...