[Darkelf]

OK Guys wtf is this? Zoostorm or is this a better purchase Zoostorm

Or are they all just crap? I could build my own but I have one shot at this and cannot afford to fuck it up

[Grant]

Sorry to have missed this post sir. So my input as someone who has several of each processors sitting on his work bench ... the Core i7 just kicks arse! Even with a 2.66Ghz 8Mb Core i7 you
would expect better benches then the Q9650 3.0GHz 12Mb due to the new architecture of the Nehalem series. BUT ... and that's a big BUT .. it takes the proper motherboard to be able to handle
the CPU's raw speed. The ad's (unless I'm missing it) show the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 for the Core i7 but do not define what board for the Q9650 system.

Based on price alone I would suggest you review anything you can about the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 board and then go for the Core i7 system if the board review looks good. We've broken all
records with the new Nehalem processor and it will carry you for quite awhile.

[Darkelf]

Thanks Grant,

I have found a barebones system with Intel's smackover mobo in it. The i7-20 is £663 with 3GB Ram....as an Intel Guru is it as good as you can get at the moment or is the Asus P6T Deluxe a better buy? Heard a few nasties about memory compatability with the Asus boards...... I have a month or so to wait yet but am looking forward to getting my hands on one. Shame the cost of the i7-940 is £500 ish I would love one of those.

Just a footnote to this.....anyone recommend a good motherboard for these chips (/me looks at Grant)...

[Grant]

So I can't say anything about the Asus board as that would be against all policies that Intel has ingrained into me.
But I have "seen" one of the P6T boards and I would not buy it myself for the i7 CPU. I'd like to see a head to head
comparison between our Smackover board and the Asus board by a neutral party. Oh yea .. Asus needs to explain
their memory timings in the BIOS and that might help explain the "reported" memory issues you mentioned.

Oh wait .. someone did compare them and even though the Smackover beat the score overall the reviewers
did not like the board feature set as much as the Asus board. http://techreport.com/articles.x/15816
BIOS updates have been done since then even though we don't have the 'pretty' Asus BIOS menus. How many
3DMark point or FPS does the pretty BIOS menu get me?

I'll soon be camping out nice and cozy next to my Smackover board and Core i7-965 stuffed with my 9800GTX card.
And my bench marks will be off the charts as I tweak that bad biatch!

[Darkelf]

Cool mate. See I have a dilemer now. You're the subject expert on all things Intel but the scores on the doors put the ASUS above the Intel board on FPS on games like Crysis. Again as you have seen them both in action I think that the Smackover is probably the best. Just a side note though I will only be using it at stock speeds not overclocking..... To quote Bladerunner "that which burns twice as bright lasts half as long...."

Cheers Grant you have been very inciteful