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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tretchie - Thursday, February 5, 2009 - link
I'll answer my own question. It does, for about $200 less than the Sony BWU300S.lanned - Thursday, February 5, 2009 - link
I realize $/gb would be shot, and that you begin to approach the price of an SSD setup especially doing a Raid 0.But while waiting for the SSD situation to stabilize and for prices to drop, I'd be content with Velociraptor drives.
Wesley Fink - Monday, February 9, 2009 - link
RAID 0, 1, or 5, or a Velociraptor Boot Raid are all good choices for the dream system depending on your needs. We mentioned that all those options were considered, but we ran up against the $5000 self-imposed cost wall.At present we lean toward a boot SSD Raid with a couple of the cheaper SATA II compatible SSD drives like the $129 G. Skill 64GB and the latest Patriot or OCZ SSD drives. However, we have seen enough issues with older SSD drives that we are not prepared to recommend a specific SSD drive at this point other than the expensive Intel SSD.
Since we are testing SSD drives you can expect more info on SSD choices at AnandTech in the near future.
greyscale - Thursday, February 5, 2009 - link
With out benchmarks, this article is a complete waste of time. I too can sit around and spec systems on Newegg. What I can't do is test them all to see what type of performance increase the extra money gets me.You owe me ten minutes.
Wesley Fink - Thursday, February 5, 2009 - link
As we point out every time we publish a Buyers Guide, we have tested and benchmarked almost all of the recommended components at AT. The Guides reflect those experiences, comparisons, and published results. Where we do not have a recommended item available in our offices we research user eperiences with that component.We also try to point out when we do not have direct experience with a particular item - like the 30" LG S-IPS panel - and why we still selected that item. You may also want to take a closer look at the evolving Bench comparison you can access by clicking Bench (under Home) at the left of the AT page. While it is still in Beta it is a direct comparison of the performance of almost every CPU you can buy in a variety of benchmarks.
greyscale - Thursday, February 5, 2009 - link
Wesley, the charts do little to no good in this case. For one, I can't even find the original i7 920 review so I have no idea what GPU, RAM and mainboard were used. I'm sure it's here, the data is so it has to be, but I can't find it. But unless the parts are the same as one of these builds it's kind of irrelevant. Individual reviews don't tell me anything about synergy.CPU charts don't tell me how an Entry, OC and Dream system will perform or what value each offers. They don't tell me how the Entry will overclock compared to the OC-centric build. There's a nearly $700 price difference, but who's to say it won't do just as well with the addition of a $50 cooler?
I know there are endless variables and results will vary but it seems like it would make sense to actually build and test recommended (suggested) configurations to give readers an idea of what kind of performance they can expect for the dollar. Price to performance ratio is where it's at, yo.
Tom's does it. Just sayin'.
C'DaleRider - Friday, February 6, 2009 - link
The original review of the 920? It's in this article: The Dark Knight: Intel's Core i7, and the URL is:http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc...">http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc...
Only took about 5 seconds of scanning the CPU/Chipset section to find it.........
j@cko - Thursday, February 5, 2009 - link
I was wondering, how come Anandtech did not recommend Enermax Revolution as the PSU for the Dream System? It's got the highest rating among its class everywhere. Thanks.greyscale - Thursday, February 5, 2009 - link
Jacko: the Corsair is cheaper and better. Deal with it.j@cko - Thursday, February 5, 2009 - link
Uh... Cheaper? Yes. Better? Anandtech says otherwise. Check your facts b4 making yourself look like a fool.