New SSD for R1, or i7 970 for desktop?

Alright guys...here's the thing. I can get an Intel 160GB X25M for my laptop at a huge discount, or the i7 970, also at a huge discount, for my desktop wich already has the 940. What should I do?

 

Which computer do you use more? I for one will not spend a dime on my desktop (also with an i7 940) as now my laptop is much faster than it in every way

 

Your laptop is faster than your i7 940 desktop? Hmm, never would have guessed that is possible without a Clevo or something.

 

Kinda suprised me too. Guess throttlestop and FSB overclock can work wonders. I bet the higher clock rate helps. Every benchmark shows the CPU is faster than my 940. Granted that is an OC extreme mobile CPU vs a stock dekstop, but still...

 

are u using intel retail edge???

 

Oops, sorry guys, I posted this in wrong area. Seems like SSD is winning, so that is what I will do

 

I would say the current SSD option is buying yesterday's tech while the i7 970 is buying for the future.

If this to get rid of some cash that is burning a hole in your pocket, the SSD is the 'fun' thing to do.

If you're really looking for a performance difference (performance defined as being a boost to productivity) then the current SSD's are not in the league of what the 6 core 970 offers.

I do agree though that if it has to be an SSD, only Intel is in the running (still).

 

Buy both. /10char

 

Go with what you need. If you don't need or expect to fully utilize 6 cores then you don't need it. If you don't need either 6 cores or an SSD then don't get either and put the money towards something you do need. If you need both then go for whichever one is the most heavily discounted so you save money in the short term.

 

i agree.. get both... anyways how do you enter this program? I really want the stuff

 

Well, I suppose Handbrake performance would improve with 970, but my M17X R1 would appreciate the the snappy feeling of SSD, as well as power consumption...this is tougher than I thought...I thought I was sure about SSD, but I am still converting my DVDs to MP4s...

 

if you do processor intensive stuff get the i7 970. if not an ssd makes any system significantly faster.

 

I still vote for the hexacore.

RAM would also make a bigger difference too - if you can put 12GB or more and use a portion as a temp directory (and... ALL of your programs do not require a pagefile - or, you can live with the occasional crash. ).

See:
Memory Upgrade: Is It Time To Add More RAM? : Introduction

 

ssd definitely.

otoh, my real preference is for "all of the above, and then some" (was that one of the options?): more ram, 6 cores (but why stop at 6?), eight ssd's in raid 0 configuration, liquid cooled... (and that's just for the laptop)

Please do all this and we will all be very happy, living vicariously.

 

Q: Is the sole purpose of your desktop computer CPU-based video encoding?

(a) Yes. That is the only thing I do with my desktop computer.
(b) No. I do other things with my desktop computer besides encode videos all day.

If you answered (a), then get the Intel CPU. If you answered (b), then get the SSD.

 

All good points. I don't just encode videos. I'm leaning towards the SSD, I can always OC my current 940.

 

I would go for the 970 along the line that the chance of seeing significant drop in price is small as it is not a mass market item whereas we are going to see continueous price drop in SSD.

While you may not need all the extra CPU power for now, it does have a longer staying power especially when you can add more RAM and faster larger SSD say in 12 - 18 months time.

Again, just my way of looking at the ROI.

 

The SSD will do more to overall performance than the CPU.

 

OK, so I know the SSD is better overall, will notice a difference everyday, and the CPU will make a diff in gaming and video conversions, but chimpanzee is right, the i7 970 really won't come down much in price whereas we see SSDs dropping in price all the time. Now I'm leaning towards the 970.

 

i7 of course .... really price won't drop.. just get it... the more u wait the more confused you'll be...

 

Cpu prices are always dropping as well. Todays i7-970 is yesterdays Pentium 4...

 

It would drop but what is the extend ? Unlike SSD where we are going to see SATA for quite a while, both CPU (and memory as well) would see faster upgrade cycle in terms of interface which sometimes make their price harder to drop, especially the high end one. Just look at DDR2 4GB module, it is now significantly more expensive than DDR3 and also proportionally more expensive than DDR2 2GB because of its relatively low supply and that DDR2 is gradually phased out. Same goes for CPU. New CPU will usually use different socket, existing motherboard cannot use them making the 'upgrade market's' supply limited as well.

 

You say this...but when the i7 980x debuted it was $1000 a year ago. It's now it's come down all the way to $950. So sure, prices drop, but by the time it becomes more mainstream in price it will be like the P4, and when that happens I might not be using my current system. SSDs are coming down much faster. I'm thinking in the long run, it would be better to buy the i7 now.

 

Hey all. Just installed the new i7 970. Transcode time for the movie Ip Man went from 22 minutes to 12 minutes. Needless to say, I'm happy with my purchase