About the New I7 Core

Hello 

Since I am about to get windows 7 when it comes out, I was thinking of getting the new I7 core. I need some information on whether if my computer can use it or not.

(If I put this in the wrong place plz move it)




Ok I have 2 questions

1. What is the difference between the I7 cores and the Intel Core 2s?

2. Is a quad core better than a duo?

2. Will my computer be able to use the I7 core?

3. if so will these be ok?

http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?item=CPUIT7950
http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?item=CPUIT8860






information on my computer is here:

If you need more please tell me




More details about my computer
ComponentDetailsSubscoreBase scoreProcessorIntel® Core™2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz5.65.6  Determined by lowest subscoreMemory (RAM)4.00 GB5.9GraphicsATI Radeon HD 4600 Series5.9Gaming graphics1919 MB Total available graphics memory5.8Primary hard disk204GB Free (327GB Total)5.9Windows Vista ™ Home Premium
System   ManufacturerGigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. ModelEP45-UD3L Total amount of system memory4.00 GB RAM System type32-bit operating system Number of processor cores2 64-bit capableYesStorage   Total size of hard disk(s)327 GB Disk partition (C:)204 GB Free (327 GB Total) Media drive (D:)CD/DVD Media drive (E:)CD/DVDCD/DVD Media drive (I:)CD/DVDCD/DVDCD/DVD Media drive (K:)CD/DVDCD/DVDCD/DVDCD/DVD Media drive (L:)CD/DVDCD/DVDCD/DVDCD/DVDCD/DVDGraphics   Display adapter typeATI Radeon HD 4600 Series Total available graphics memory1919 MB       Dedicated graphics memory512 MB       Dedicated system memory0 MB       Shared system memory1407 MB Display adapter driver version8.632.0.0 Primary monitor resolution1680x1050 DirectX versionDirectX 10Network   Network AdapterRealtek RTL8168B/8111B Family PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC (NDIS 6.0) Network AdapterMicrosoft Tun Miniport Adapter



 

Also I might need a graphics card better than my current one (NVIDIA might be good i had enough of ati/amd)

The simple answer to if your system can handle the i7 is No, it is a different form and requires a board with the correct socket for it, your board is an LGA775 form, the list of CPU's you can use with your current board is Here.
The new i7 CPU requires Socket LGA1366 boards, I think they are also refereed to as x58 boards, in turn this will probably mean you need to get new ram as well, I can't swear to it, but |I suspect all these form boards require DDR3 ram, your board uses DDR2 ram, so to use the i7 CPU it's a pretty big upgrade, so IMHO I would not take that step, the new(er) i5 ( probably will be Socket LGA1160, basically another board again) is imminent and apparently walks all over i7, so with such a big change up you'd be better waiting.

So the only upgrade your board can probably take is a more powerful CPU using the LGA775 socket format, but unless you plan to keep this for a fair while, you may decide waiting an saving for the bigger upgrade to be what you want more.
As too core 2 duo\quad core, it is basically the amount of processors in each CPU, as the names suggest, core 2 has 2 cores, and quads have 4, so the quads are more powerful, but as to if you can notice a big difference, thats probably down to what you want to use with it, I certainly don't understand the ins and outs, so can't offer tech info as such, but I have seen it said that for a quad core to really shine it needs software designed to run on 4 cores, so is it more powerful than care 2 ? Yes, will this be clearly visible to the end user ? maybe not as much as it could without the right program.

The other point to note is the PSU, I don't know what the power requirements are for this new tech, but you will certainly need a good PSU for optimal performance, so depending on what you have, your wisest investment at this time is to get the best PSU you can afford, and IMHO the PCP&C units are pretty unbeatable, and a 1.2kw will handle anything you throw at it with ease, I have the 1KW (bought before 1.2's were out) and it's great, it also means it can probably handle future upgrades with ease as it should have plenty of spare power left, getting a PSU with just enough power for what you need at that time is a bad investment IMO, it means you need to upgrade this again possibly with future upgrades, so NEVER skimp on a PSU, get the best most powerful you can afford and it will pay you back in kind, hope this helps a bit anyway.

So what about the graphics card? what NVIDIA card is better than my current one?

Well with the speed this tech moves at there are no clear answers, well to be more precise the answers are very short lived, only a short while back it was the 4870's, then the x2 versions, prior to that were the 8800GTS I believe, but the problem in the "best" card is it depends on what it's to be used for, I believe the to die for card currently is the 295GTX, but that doesn't make it automatically the best card for a person. Such a card is so expensive you need to balance the best, with what you want, the price of that card at 1st release is astronomical compared to 6 months later, so devaluation on such a card is massive, so it is not a wise investment unless you really need what it offers over other cards, another point to remember is when making a massive jump in upgrading (i7, i5 etc) you need to check that getting such a card now, make sure the new tech can use the same card, not as noticeable on cards maybe, ram is the best example (eg DDR2, DDR3 etc), but still make sure what can work on what board, hope that helps a bit.