# 1156 or 1366? Which CPU and MB?



## TIGR (Feb 1, 2010)

I will happily and sincerely hand out Thanks to anyone who makes suggestions in this thread.

I'm replacing the rig in my System Specs. Going back to Intel so I can take advantage of Matrix RAID, for one. It'll be running six 1.5TB drives in Matrix RAID 0/10, and a second onboard SATA controller for optical/temporary other drives would be _nice_ but not _necessary_. The system will be used primarily for Folding@home, but when game time comes, I want to be able to run Quad SLI + PhysX. It's also for general multimedia, audio recording and editing (recording up to ten channels of audio through Alesis recording interface in System Specs, editing primarily with Adobe Audition), image and video editing, and general misc. computing. I would like to get a quad core but top priority is bang for the buck. 1366 would be nice for max performance. The system will be taxed, running up to 4 9800GX2s, though more likely 2 9800GX2s and 2 8800GTS 512s at first as I have three of my 9800GX2s in an Asus M4A79 Deluxe. If it can also handle running my surveillance system (8 480TVL CCTV cams through a 240fps PCI DVR card), then it will get that too (flexible PCI slot extender available).

Budget for CPU + motherboard = $350. For a truly amazing deal (like a used Asus Supercomputer board for half price) budget can be extended up to $385. Looking for absolutely amazing deals, not something I'm likely going to find cheaper next week. Prefer to avoid mail-in rebates. I will consider (and probably will need to buy) open box/used. Private forum sales, Ebay, open box/returns, they're all fine as long as the hardware works. I don't need a CPU HSF or any motherboard accessories.

Here's what I need:

· 1156 or 1366 socket CPU and motherboard
· Matrix RAID support (ICH10R provides it, as do some, but not all P55 boards)
· Four (4) PCI Express x16 slots, spaced for double-slot coolers
· SLI support

I _will_ be overclocking as much as possible without compromising rock solid stability with an S1283 heatsink. This system will not be in a case and will have a box fan cooling it as needed.

*So, what do you suggest, with all this in mind?*

*1156*
This would be easiest to do on the 1156 platform, due to the availability of lower-priced CPUs. However, if I can get better performance per dollar out of 1366 and stay under $350, that'd be preferred.

Here are all 1156 boards with P55 and 4+ PCI Express x16 slots at Newegg. Anyone know of others that meet the requirements? Any on this list that do not support SLI are disqualified. Some may not support Matrix RAID, but some that do not list Matrix RAID support do actually have it; that must be checked with the motherboard manufacturer.


*1366*
Here I'd have to go i7 920 (unless someone can find a Xeon W3520 cheaper). The best price I can find is $200 at Microcenter, which would be $214 after tax. That leaves $136 for a motherboard.

Here are all 1366 boards with ICH10R and 4+ PCI Express x16 slots at Newegg. Anyone know of others that meet the requirements? Any on this list that do not support SLI are disqualified.

_Edit to add:_ NF200s are fine by me if needed.


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## EastCoasthandle (Feb 1, 2010)

The best bet in your case is a 1366 motherboard.  1156 motherboards aren't designed for CF/SLI at PCIe 16x do to the i7 800/700/600 design. 1156 socket is for those who care for only 1 video card more or less.


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## PaulieG (Feb 1, 2010)

You will have a difficult time coming in under $350 or even $385 for a 1366 combo. The boards are simple just more expensive. Even if you find a decent usded board, you're still going to pay $150+ for it. A used i7 920 DO is still going to run you $200 or better, unless you get really lucky. 

For your budget, I'd get a nice 1156 board and get a used i5 750 chip. You can always upgrade to a 860 later. 

If you want to go 1366, I'd seriously suggest that you save your pennies, and at least get your budget up over $400 at least. I will tell you, except for the PCI-E lanes, performance is very similar across the board. 

Here's an idea:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188054
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

That will almost bring you into your budget, and that's with new stuff.


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## TIGR (Feb 1, 2010)

Paulie, rather than devote more pennies to this, I'll probably just wait until prices come down or a great deal pops up. As a matter of principle, for my personal rigs I tend to wait until products fall into a segment of the price-to-performance curve I'll be able to justify looking back in a year or two.


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## PaulieG (Feb 1, 2010)

TIGR said:


> Paulie, rather than devote more pennies to this, I'll probably just wait until prices come down or a great deal pops up. As a matter of principle, for my personal rigs I tend to wait until products fall into a segment of the price-to-performance curve I'll be able to justify looking back in a year or two.



Please see my revised post above. 

It's funny when people look at price to performance with today's technology. It's already just off the chart. Hell, 4 years ago I paid $350 for an AMD Athlon 4000 Clawhammer, and I thought I was getting a good deal.


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## TIGR (Feb 1, 2010)

Haha you _did_ get a good deal four years ago. Thanks for the suggestions.

Used CPUs and motherboards (unless they're DOA, and I wouldn't buy one without a guarantee against that at least), are for all intents and purposes, as good as new in my experience, so honestly I'd _prefer_ to get something open/used (as long as it works) simply for the bang for the buck.


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## Duffman (Feb 1, 2010)

+1 on the 1366.  you'll want the extra pcie lanes with that much hardware


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## TIGR (Feb 1, 2010)

I should have mentioned that I don't mind a couple NF200s if that's what it takes.


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## PaulieG (Feb 1, 2010)

TIGR said:


> Haha you _did_ get a good deal four years ago. Thanks for the suggestions.
> 
> Used CPUs and motherboards (unless they're DOA, and I wouldn't buy one without a guarantee against that at least), are for all intents and purposes, as good as new in my experience, so honestly I'd _prefer_ to get something open/used (as long as it works) simply for the bang for the buck.



I agree with your perspective on used stuff, though I've had mostly negative experience with open box.

I still don't get people worrying about 8x PCI-E lanes. There is almost no difference b/t the 2 in real world applications.


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## TIGR (Feb 1, 2010)

I've done well with open box motherboards, though not so much with video cards. Have you run into problems buying motherboards this way? Maybe I've just been lucky. 

I wonder just how much of a difference I'd notice in FAH and gaming between x8 and x16 if I packed it with four GX2s, and perhaps more importantly, with more powerful cards that might end up in the board down the line. Will have to do a bit of Googling....


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## EastCoasthandle (Feb 1, 2010)

ASUS P7H55-M PRO LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard 
	Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor
	G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-2GBNQ 	
Should put you in the ballpark.  However, I am not sure if that motherboard offers ICH10R.


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## TIGR (Feb 1, 2010)

Thanks East, but I have 4GB of memory for whatever I get. That board has three too few PCI Express x16 slots, and does not support Matrix RAID to the best of my knowledge (doesn't come with H55).


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## brandonwh64 (Feb 1, 2010)

rember tho tiger the newer setups require tri channel with low voltages like 1.5-1.65 and older DDR3 that is like 1.9v are not really suitable for these systems (learned that lesson on my own). so check your ram before you decide


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## PaulieG (Feb 1, 2010)

TIGR said:


> I've done well with open box motherboards, though not so much with video cards. Have you run into problems buying motherboards this way? Maybe I've just been lucky.
> 
> I wonder just how much of a difference I'd notice in FAH and gaming between x8 and x16 if I packed it with four GX2s, and perhaps more importantly, with more powerful cards that might end up in the board down the line. Will have to do a bit of Googling....



Ask Buck Nasty about the FAH thing. I just sold him a 860/EVGA p55 FTW combo a couple of weeks ago.


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## TIGR (Feb 1, 2010)

Thanks Brandon, I have a set of these (G.SKILL Ripjaws 1600 @ 1.65v) which will work fine. I won't be able to utilize tri-channel until I add at least one more module, but they will work in the meantime.


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## Fitseries3 (Feb 1, 2010)

i5 650 or 660 + evga p55 ftw or gb p55-ud4

guaranteed 5ghz if you know how to OC.


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## theonedub (Feb 1, 2010)

TIGR said:


> I've done well with open box motherboards, though not so much with video cards. Have you run into problems buying motherboards this way? Maybe I've just been lucky.
> 
> I wonder just how much of a difference I'd notice in FAH and gaming between x8 and x16 if I packed it with four GX2s, and perhaps more importantly, with more powerful cards that might end up in the board down the line. Will have to do a bit of Googling....



I had a 275 on my EVGA P55 SLI @ x16 then added another 275 now both are at x8. No impact on PPD at all. Even a 4x slot would be enough for F@H.


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## TIGR (Feb 1, 2010)

Theonedub, did you notice any difference in gaming performance?


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## theonedub (Feb 1, 2010)

The only game I have played on my PC is Torchlight  there was nothing noticeable for what its worth.


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## TIGR (Feb 1, 2010)

Well I had to ask. Max FPS is very important to me in _Chess Titans_.


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## TIGR (Feb 2, 2010)

I'm thinking about a P7P55 WS Supercomputer as I was offered one for $125 shipped. That would be a decent, though not ideal platform, at a good price.


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## PaulieG (Feb 2, 2010)

TIGR said:


> I'm thinking about a P7P55 WS Supercomputer as I was offered one for $125 shipped. That would be a decent, though not ideal platform, at a good price.



Yeah, I'd snag that board. If you don't, give me the lead and I'll grab it. 

By the way, i'm going to downgrade one of my Rigs to an i5 750. So, if you're looking for an i7 860, LMK.


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## eidairaman1 (Feb 2, 2010)

1156 has no expansion in it, 1366 on the other hand does, also if you want save a little more cash up instead.


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## TIGR (Feb 2, 2010)

Will do Paulie. PM me a price on that 860 if you have a minute.

Eidairaman, what do you mean by 1156 "has no expansion in it" compared to 1366?


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## eidairaman1 (Feb 2, 2010)

rest assured 1366 will have a longer operating cycle over 1156, I mean they are already in the works with  Dual CPU 1366 Motherboards. What I meant by Expansion is Scalability, 1156 seems to be a dead end and will be replaced very quickly.


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## PaulieG (Feb 2, 2010)

eidairaman1 said:


> rest assured 1366 will have a longer operating cycle over 1156, I mean they are already in the works with  Dual CPU 1366 Motherboards. What I meant by Expansion is Scalability, 1156 seems to be a dead end and will be replaced very quickly.




Really? I don't see it this way. The only real expansion that 1366 will have over 1156 are VERY expensive options like dual cpu and 6 core chips. 1156 is the more reasonable platform for mainstream enthusiasts. For this reason, 1156 should be popular for a long time. Hell there are currently more options for the 1156 platform than 1366.

I've owned several rigs with both platforms, so I have no real bias. Both are tremendous platforms.


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## TIGR (Feb 2, 2010)

At this point we can only speculate as to which socket will be more _usefully_ future-proof. They target different segments, and I doubt that either will be discontinued before I make a mobo and CPU replacement anyway. Also, future 8+ core CPUs may warrant the purchase of new motherboard anyway, so there's no guarantee that even a current 1366 mobo will be of use down the line. I could go on to say that dual-1156 socket mobos and 8+ core 1156 CPUs might come out after 1366, and at a better price-to-performance ratio (as all flagship components carry a price premium), but the point is, it's all speculation.

That all said, I _would_ prefer 1366, even if only for the extra x16 lanes and DDR3 channel. Although, NF200s will be in almost anything I would get anyway, so the added latency from that cancels out, and looking at online benchmarks, the extra DDR3 channel doesn't seem to be making more than a 5% overall difference in gaming. I'm unintentionally almost talking myself out of 1366 here.

If you guys had to put a number on the performance increase garnered from an extra DDR3 channel, _overall_ (or perhaps one for 1080p AA gaming and one for "general purpose" computing), what would it be? A 5% boost to gaming and same for general purpose computing, or what? There are a lot of benchmarks to wade through....


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## PaulieG (Feb 2, 2010)

TIGR said:


> At this point we can only speculate as to which socket will be more _usefully_ future-proof. They target different segments, and I doubt that either will be discontinued before I make a mobo and CPU replacement anyway. Also, future 8+ core CPUs may warrant the purchase of new motherboard anyway, so there's no guarantee that even a current 1366 mobo will be of use down the line. I could go on to say that dual-1156 socket mobos and 8+ core 1156 CPUs might come out after 1366, and at a better price-to-performance ratio (as all flagship components carry a price premium), but the point is, it's all speculation.
> 
> That all said, I _would_ prefer 1366, even if only for the extra x16 lanes and DDR3 channel. Although, NF200s will be in almost anything I would get anyway, so the added latency from that cancels out, and looking at online benchmarks, the extra DDR3 channel doesn't seem to be making more than a 5% overall difference in gaming. I'm unintentionally almost talking myself out of 1366 here.
> 
> If you guys had to put a number on the performance increase garnered from an extra DDR3 channel, _overall_ (or perhaps one for 1080p AA gaming and one for "general purpose" computing), what would it be? A 5% boost to gaming and same for general purpose computing, or what? There are a lot of benchmarks to wade through....



The extra channel, in terms of real world performance is less than 5%. That's been my experience.


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## TIGR (Feb 6, 2010)

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I'm thinking Asus P7P55 WS Supercomputer + i5 750.


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## TIGR (Feb 7, 2010)

Well either I just just got scammed out of $90 or just got a good deal on a P7P55 WS Supercomputer. Should know soon. Now if I could find a good deal on an i5 750 somewhere....


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## shevanel (Feb 8, 2010)

i wouldnt mind going to the 860 and let my 750 go. even though the 750 is pretty much the same as the 920 i had (performance wise)..  the only thing i miss is the HT.

 whenever i used video encoding software the extra 4 threads really packed a punch. but going from a i7 920 setup to a i5 750  have noticed no difference other than the encoding use. 

not to mention power consumption and heat is drastically less on the i5 ime


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## TIGR (Feb 8, 2010)

I just did some looking and it seems that even a 920 would only be around 16% faster for video transcoding than the Phenom II 940 in my other rig (at least at stock clocks). So I'm now actually considering just using the AMD quad-core rig for tasks like video editing that can utilize four cores, and going dual core with this one instead of a 750. In terms of overall gaming performance, the 750 only appears to be about 7-8% faster than an i3 530, at a 38% higher cost (all things stock, and Newegg prices). And of course the 530 is 32nm vs the 750 @ 45. I'm mostly just thinking aloud, open to comments.

With an i3 530, I'm pretty sure any bragging rights would go out the window.  Which is fine.


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## shevanel (Feb 8, 2010)

i change cpu's every 2 months so its hard for me to worry about long term. although the next time i change out cpu/mobo its going to be one of those dual cpu 1366 mobos !


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## TIGR (Feb 8, 2010)

I wonder how long it will take for there to be more or less ubiquitous support for dual 4/6/8-core CPU systems....

Edit: shevanel, if you do decide to replace your 750, would you PM me a price you'd consider selling it for?


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## shevanel (Feb 8, 2010)

wont be until the first week of march that i sell my cpu/mobo/ram

i really like the 750 and i do reccomend it. great value if you score one at $150


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