So, Nehalem is OK?

[Thunderbolt56]

The core i7 looks to be a solid advancement in CPU performance and technology. I remember paying close to $400USD for a P4 3.4 a few years ago and did it gladly. Cost is relative, but with the fast processors out right now at comparatively low prices many will still wait until mid-late 2009 to upgrade. I know I will. Not because of the cost but because everything I play right now runs butter-smooth on my current rig.

As far as BoB:SoW is concerned, consider that it's supposedly still close to 12 months from prospective release and consider all the tech advancements that will take place in that time. Also consider that it will likely still be too much for most machines at release to run on "high" settings which is nothing new.

I plan on building a new rig in April/May next year simply because that's my cycle, but even so, chances are it'll still be a bit sluggish for titles slated for release Q4 '09.

[Flyby]

Good feedback T-bolt,
But it's hard to imagine that Oleg's sim, which has been in development for so long now, might stress systems built in the time frame for your next upgrade. I understand that in times gone by people were burned at the stake for practicing the kind of witchcraft he must be using to write code for Sow!
Flyby out

[~BeoWolf~]

Here is the link for Maximum PC's review on what they know about the Nahalem I7 processor. It's seems like Intel is getting out and dusting off some old ideas with Hyper threading and doing away with the FSB memory controller and looking more like an AMD chip. I like what I have read so far, but this chip on an Intel Mobo will not support SLI with nvidia GPU's. Hopefully by the time SOW hits the streets, the nvidia chipset to support SLI will be available on other Mobos.

Enjoy:

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/fea...cpu?page=0%2C1

[Flyby]

Originally Posted by ~BeoWolf~

Here is the link for Maximum PC's review on what they know about the Nahalem I7 processor. It's seems like Intel is getting out and dusting off some old ideas with Hyper threading and doing away with the FSB memory controller and looking more like an AMD chip. I like what I have read so far, but this chip on an Intel Mobo will not support SLI with nvidia GPU's. Hopefully by the time SOW hits the streets, the nvidia chipset to support SLI will be available on other Mobos.

Enjoy:

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/fea...cpu?page=0%2C1

Follow this link for more reviews on the Nehalem. Maybe some of your favorite tech sites are listed. One point I'd like to make is that several mobo mfgs already have SLi and/or Crossfire enabled on the X58 platform. I still want to see a complex flight sim run on Nehalem. That processor might be fine for RTS and stuff, but combat flight sims need a bit more ooomph, imho. Oh, yeah, the link: http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquir...views-counting

[Zoom2136]

i7 is 25% faster than Core Duo clock per clock... so yeah its more than ok for this sim... and possibly SOW

As for SOW pushing the i7... probably it will bring it to its knees if all the bells and whistles are turned on... remember they build a sim that can last 5-10 years....

Read here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...alem,2057.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ming,2061.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...e-i7,2063.html

[Skoshi Tiger]

The review below sort of says that we'll only be seeing the benifit of the i7 with high performance SLI or Crossfire graphics setups!

http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/Feature/...rformance.aspx

Using single card graphics on overclocked systems you got comparable results with a QX9650 CPU. (It isn't an exaustive test)

Is there any reason to go SLI or Crossfire if your monitor can't display really high resolutions?

Playing IL2 1946, my 22" LCD at 1650 *1080 gives me about 61fps most of the time dropping down to about 22 in the Black Death track when one of the airfields gets attacked.

I supose its all depends how the applications are coded and optimised. I've been running dual core and multiprocessor pc's for a while and and I really can't think of many programs that have actually use the technology to it's full advantage. ( It's depressing having a dual processor rig and only play games that use one! )

I'm sort of hoping titles like Bob will show us what these puppies can really do! I've been waiting a while!

[Flyby]

Originally Posted by Skoshi Tiger

The review below sort of says that we'll only be seeing the benifit of the i7 with high performance SLI or Crossfire graphics setups!

http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/Feature/...rformance.aspx

Using single card graphics on overclocked systems you got comparable results with a QX9650 CPU. (It isn't an exaustive test)

Is there any reason to go SLI or Crossfire if your monitor can't display really high resolutions?

Playing IL2 1946, my 22" LCD at 1650 *1080 gives me about 61fps most of the time dropping down to about 22 in the Black Death track when one of the airfields gets attacked.

I supose its all depends how the applications are coded and optimised. I've been running dual core and multiprocessor pc's for a while and and I really can't think of many programs that have actually use the technology to it's full advantage. ( It's depressing having a dual processor rig and only play games that use one! )

I'm sort of hoping titles like Bob will show us what these puppies can really do! I've been waiting a while!

good input, man. I'm of the same opinion about Crossfire and SLi. Neither one scales well as a matter of leading edge technology. It's a matter of which individual game benefits from either technology so far as I can see. In IL2, I haven't seen anyone post that his/her two cards scale 100%, giving twice the fps of one card. I think many still find using two cards problematic. Then there's the promise of Hydra. I've read about Hydra allowing two or more GPUs to scale nearly perfectly. So far I'm of the opinion that Crossfire, and SLi are more hype and clever marketing rather than bleeding edge technology, at least for the sims I like. Both have been around for a while and still no 100% scaling from either, as far as I know. I may be way off base, but I think it's a shame how ATi and Nvidia tout these imperfect technologies; not to mention how the motherboard manufacturers jump on the money-sucking bandwagon as well. Sorry if I stepped on any toes.
I also agree with you about monitors and dual GPUs. Unless it's a humongous monitor like a 30 inch being played at 2560x and trying to get a game like Crysis to run smooth at that rez, I think a good single GPU with 1ghz of ram, like the GTX 280 is more than enough card for lesser monitors; certainly enough for a single 22 inch monitor anyway. Be mindful that not all 1ghz GPUs are created equal either. One day I'd like to get a nice speedy quad Penryn. Maybe the prices will continue to drop, or I can trade in blood? I'm thinking a single GPU on a P45 chipset, and a quad that I can easily overclock to, oh, 3.6ghz (on air cooling).
OK. I need to shut up now. Opinions expressed here are not my own as I am a mindless minion of the Evil Empire.
Flyby out