Parts help

[DQuaN]

Hi All,

I'm always specing up computers on websites, maybe one day I'll actually buy one and do a new build. I just had a couple of questions.

First, how does the i7 960 compare to the i7 2600? Or even the 2600k although I'm pretty sure it's miles better than the first 2.

Second, all modern GPU's seem to have a miniHDMI instead of standard. Looking into it, it seems the difference is that it cannot carry sound but then I've heard some conflicting reports saying it can. What's the deal?

Ta

Dunc

 

[David]

The original i7 processors like the 960 are still very strong, but the sandy bridge stuff like the 2600 is gonna be more efficient, and from what I've read gives a performance increase of anywhere between 10-50% depending on the application. The socket types are different so you'd also be looking at a different set of motherboards depending on which you choose. Ultimately it will depend on your budget and intended use.

I think the k just designates that it is unlocked for overclocking (or maybe just easier overclocking?). You can supposedly get 2600k well over 4ghz no problem.

As for the miniHDMI, I know for a fact that it can carry audio (at least on my GTX480). I've messed with it a few times while displaying games on my TV. It could be that some of the lower end cards have miniHDMI for video but dont actually have the hardware to handle sound.

 

[Terronium-12]

If you go with Sandy Bridge make absolutely sure you get a B3 revision compatible board. And I believe the 2600k has Turbo Boost.

Oh, and that mini port isn't HDMI, it's DisplayPort.

 

[David]

Displayport is something else. Many new cards (at least nvidia from personal experience) have a miniHDMI port and come with a miniHDMI to HDMI cable.

 

[Terronium-12]

Displayport is something else. Many new cards (at least nvidia from personal experience) have a miniHDMI port and come with a miniHDMI to HDMI cable.

I had no idea DisplayPort and HDMI were different.

Joking aside, a lot of the cards I'm seeing now have 1, 2, or even 4 mini DisplayPorts. Last card I remember seeing with miniHDMI was a 4890.

 

[nick09]

This card has mini HDMI.

For your information the i5-2300, i5-2400, i5-2400S, i5-2500, i5-2500K, i7-2600, and the i7-2600K has turbo boost(that's what I know from newegg's listing). I have read that the difference between a non-K and a K version is just the onboard Intel graphics(2000 vs 3000 "K version", better 3D performance) and better overclocking. To make most use of the K version's overclocking you need to get a P67 chipset motherboard. Though you won't be able to make use of the onboard graphics that comes with the CPU. With a H67 motherboard you can make use of the graphics chip on the CPU. Though you still can overclock the GPU and the memory if needed.

 

[Casio]

Hi All,

I'm always specing up computers on websites, maybe one day I'll actually buy one and do a new build. I just had a couple of questions.

First, how does the i7 960 compare to the i7 2600? Or even the 2600k although I'm pretty sure it's miles better than the first 2.

Second, all modern GPU's seem to have a miniHDMI instead of standard. Looking into it, it seems the difference is that it cannot carry sound but then I've heard some conflicting reports saying it can. What's the deal?

Ta

Dunc

The new sandy bridges wipe the floor so hard with the old 1366 socket chips it's not funny. Even the i5 2500 generally benches higher than all 1366 chips except the 980/990.

 

[David]

I had no idea DisplayPort and HDMI were different.

Joking aside, a lot of the cards I'm seeing now have 1, 2, or even 4 mini DisplayPorts. Last card I remember seeing with miniHDMI was a 4890.

Didn't mean to make it sound like I didn't think you knew the difference. Sorry if I offended.

 

[DQuaN]

Thanks for the input guys. Looking at Tom's Hardware The 2600 and 2600k both kick the pants off the 960. I had a feeling this was the case but the reason I asked is that this 2600 bundle is cheaper than this 960 bundle. It has slightly less RAM but I'm guessing the main reason it's cheaper is because the motherboard isn't as good.

 

[David]

It looks like combination of a few things. The 2600 bundle comes with less RAM but its also lower speed at only 1333mhz instead of the 1600mhz stuff that comes with the 960.

Also the motherboard that comes in that 2600 bundle is a smaller form factor and seems to lack some of the extra slots and things that the board in the 960 package has. If you're seriously considering the bundle you'll definitely want to consider how much room you want for upgrades and expansion later (do you need more than 16gigs of RAM? Maybe, maybe not haha).

 

[Terronium-12]

This card has mini HDMI.

For your information the i5-2300, i5-2400, i5-2400S, i5-2500, i5-2500K, i7-2600, and the i7-2600K has turbo boost(that's what I know from newegg's listing). I have read that the difference between a non-K and a K version is just the onboard Intel graphics(2000 vs 3000 "K version", better 3D performance) and better overclocking. To make most use of the K version's overclocking you need to get a P67 chipset motherboard. Though you won't be able to make use of the onboard graphics that comes with the CPU. With a H67 motherboard you can make use of the graphics chip on the CPU. Though you still can overclock the GPU and the memory if needed.

Well what do you know about that? Cards still have the miniHDMI ports.

As for the second half this is why I need to get back up to date. The last CPU architecture I've read at least several in-depth articles on was Nehalem; do you have any idea how long ago that was?

Didn't mean to make it sound like I didn't think you knew the difference. Sorry if I offended.

Absolutely none taken. I was kidding around...the eye rolling may have been a bit much but I blame the internet for not being able to perceive emotion properly.

 

[nick09]

I was bored so I put a list of parts together.
ASUS motherboard(or this MSI if you want some onboard USB3.0)
i7-2600K(surprisingly this was cheaper than the non-K version)
GSkill RipJaws 8GB(2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333

The list I made up may cost as much as that 960 bundle but you will get the i7-2600K and 8GB of RAM.

 

[DQuaN]

Nice, I assume that the CPU comes with a stock cooler?

And yeah, no mini ATX for me. Not so much for the expandability but more for the ease of access and better cooling.

 

[nick09]

Yeah the CPU comes with the cooler when it's in a Intel box. Found a motherboard that is ATX but there is no video out for the CPU. Here is one if you want the video from the CPU.