New computer, 1366 or 1156 socket?

[Freddie]

The 1366 is more likely to be able to upgrade to the next gen of CPU's such as hex-cores.

I'll add that to the bullet points in my earlier post. Personally I'm waiting for Sandy Bridge (next generation) before I buy a six-core CPU, and I'm not counting on it being compatible with current motherboards. But some people could really use a six-core CPU this year despite the insane price, and if so, they need to buy an LGA 1366 motherboard.

The best CPU is the 1156 family is the i5-750 (bang for buck)

I agree, especially if you overclock.

[Freddie]

Like I said, I am building an i5 system with my tax refund. AMD is cheaper but no where near the preformance and an i7 system is overkill and costly.

The folks at TechReview think the AMD X4 965 is about even with the i5 750 in performance, according to their most recent CPU roundup/benchmark article. I was surprised to see this, but that's what they show in their "overall performance" graphs.

I didn't read the article carefully so I don't know how they calculated this. I don't think it takes overclocking into account.

http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/18448/17

[Vecter]

Here is a quick comparison of the 3 levels of the new Core series:

http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=46472,43546,37147,

As you can see the i7 is the only quad core processor. The i3/i5 have integrated graphics.

If you want to upgrade to future multi-core processors your only bet will be to go with the 1366 socket as that will be the socket for enthusiasts. That's not to say the i3/i5 are not worthy of your choice. You get great power and a great price with the added flexibility of integrated graphics (not the best mind you.)

[Freddie]

As you can see the i7 is the only quad core processor. The i3/i5 have integrated graphics.

It's not that simple. The i5-750 is a quad and it does not have integrated graphics.

[Vecter]

It's not that simple. The i5-750 is a quad and it does not have integrated graphics.

Very true, just launched processor. 4core/4threads, unlike the i7 which is 4core/8threads. (Make sure its the i5-750S as the non S is an embedded processor)

Also another thing I didn't mention is the dual-channel and tri-channel memory configurations. The i7 series is tri-channel which means a bit more expense for 3 DDR3 ram modules if you want to take advantage of it.

[Khemikal]

http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?id...5,41316,37147,

This link has the bottom end of the main i3/5/7 lines. It shows that i3 is dual core with HT, i5 has dual and quad cores (some duals have HT and some don't), and i7 is quad core with HT. The i3 line does not have Turbo Boost, but the others do. The hex cores are not listed on their website just yet, so I do not have those included.

[Freddie]

The i7 series is tri-channel which means a bit more expense for 3 DDR3 ram modules if you want to take advantage of it.

Not all of the i7 series is tri-channel.

You can't go by the "i" numbers. They are marketing categories, not feature categories. If you want to know anything about the technical features of the chips you have to look at the details of the chips.

[jstanthr]

heres my 2 cents, the 1366 is more future proof AND it will overclock way higher on stock voltages, but the p55 boards are good performers too, either way you can't go wrong.