i7 920 (2.66ghz) VS q9550 (2.83ghz)

[Kimbo]

i am looking for any solid personal info from anyone that has gone from a q9550 to an i7 920 and is a heavy gamer. (ie: plays the latest games and has good general computer knowledge)

is it faster ? noticeably so ?
sure, i know, the ddr3 and newer mb chipset etc all comes together for better results, but still...

i'm "worried" about going from 2.83ghz to 2.66ghz.
or is this a case like we had with the p4 ? which was that even a 2.4ghz core 2 duo would smoke even the fastest p4, the 670 at 3.8ghz ?? (or even the extreme version)

but i'm not sure this is the case now...
does the i7 cpu range has as big a difference ??
also not too happy loosing 4mb of L2 cpu cache. (going from 12 mb to 8mb)
why did intel decrease the l2 cache on the i7's ? heat ? not enough room ? doesn't need as much ?

atm i have a x38 chipset mb & q9550 & 4gb ddr2 1066mhz ram
i'm thinking of: x58 chipset mb & i7 920 & 6gb ddr3 1600mhz ram

please advise!!!

[Drufuss]

Originally Posted by Kimbo

i'm "worried" about going from 2.83ghz to 2.66ghz.
or is this a case like we had with the p4 ? which was that even a 2.4ghz core 2 duo would smoke even the fastest p4, the 670 at 3.8ghz ?? (or even the extreme version)

Hi Kimbo!

Slightly off-topic, but this sentence reminded me of the first P4's which where beaten easily by a moderate overclocked P-III.

also not too happy loosing 4mb of L2 cpu cache. (going from 12 mb to 8mb)
why did intel decrease the l2 cache on the i7's ? heat ? not enough room ? doesn't need as much ?

Maybe this has something to do with the new memory controller?

i7 may eventually shine in the future when more apps and games make use of mutliple threads (2 or more cores + hyperthreading)

Greetings

Dru

[PsyChoses]

hey here are some reviews for ur reference.

Intel Core i7 920 and 965 review @ Guru3D

Intel's Core i7 920, 945 & 965 processors @ Bit-Tech

Intel's Core i7 processors

As for me I have the Q9550

[Kimbo]

arghh..
ok, i started some more reading and...
what's going on with ddr3 ram speeds ?
so unless you opt for the i7 965 (forget it!!!) cpu, the other 2 will ONLY run ANY ram at 1066mhz ??? yeah, right..
if this IS the case, forget it!!
i'll stick with what i got...