VOGONS


First post, by dicky96

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HI guys
How do these various processor types compare for performance when used to buid a fast XP gaming rig? Socket 1155, 1156, 1366?

I was thinking of putting a second SSD in this machine which I already have (so I can boot Windows 10 or XP), And install either a GTX 750ti or a GTX 780ti to build a fast XP gaming rig using a 19" 4:3 monitor.
ASUS Motherboard P8Z68-V
Intel i7-2600K @ 3.4GHz
GTX 780ti or GTX 750ti

This is very close to (and based on) a recent video from Phils Computer Lab
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlGsffEoWOM

But I picked this PC up today at the flea market for 20 euros
IPMTB-GS Pegatron Motherboard
i7-920 2.66GHz
6Gb RAM (3x 2Gb)
asus gt220/di/1gd3 GPE

I assumed when I had a quick look before I bought it would probably be a socket 1155 or 1156 but no, its 1366. First LGA1366 I've come across so far.

So I was just wondering how would these two above rigs compare with each other as a fast XP gaming rig? - Assuming I put the 750ti or 780ti in either rig. I know the P8Z68-V has XP drivers and I think the Pegatron does.

Also in general what is the performance difference between LGA 1155, 1156, 1366?

Rich

Reply 1 of 10, by Blzut3

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While I don't have any specific data to back up my claim, I don't think you'd notice any significant difference between the platforms when it comes to Windows XP gaming. Socket 1366 has the advantage of more memory bandwidth and supporting 6 core processors, but these features aren't all that impactful for games of that era. Socket 1155 has higher performing cores, but I can't imagine the difference equating to anything substantial.

Socket 1366 and 1156 should perform almost identically since they're both Nehalem/Westmere cores. There are some significant differences in the two platforms from a technical point of view, with 1366 more closely resembling the old north bridge/south bridge design and 1156 being more integrated like Sandy and beyond. But for pretty much any practical purpose the two can be considered the same clock for clock. Not much reason to seek out 1156. Especially when you consider that based on other threads here the X58 platform seems to play well with retro expansion cards.

You can get a general idea on how Nehalem compares to Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge via this video. I believe Westmere (i.e. the 32nm parts be it 6 cores on 1366 or the dual cores on 1156) have a slight IPC improvement over Nehalem, but don't have any good comparison on hand for that. In the end though if we're strictly talking about highest per core performance then Ivy Bridge is clearly the winner.

I myself am using Socket 1155 for my XP build, but the choice was entirely because this board has a floppy controller on it for some reason, so had to have it.

Reply 2 of 10, by dicky96

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Thanks for the video link. Yeah I am sure you are right, for what games I want to play the i7-920 should smash it. In fact I was quite surprised how capable these old processors are!

I will definitely like to overclock the CPU, I'm not sure if that Pegatron motherboard would be up to overclocking or not but to be honest for what I paid for the computer It looks like i could sell the Asus gt220 for more than I paid for the whole rig and then change the mobo if necessary to overclock. I'm quite pleased with the purchase TBH. 😀

Hmm looking at sold listings on ebay, why do some X58 have 4 dimm slots instead of 6?

Rich

Reply 3 of 10, by Blzut3

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dicky96 wrote:

Hmm looking at sold listings on ebay, why do some X58 have 4 dimm slots instead of 6?

I don't know if there are any such boards coming out of China today (seems to be a lot of dual channel 1DPC boards out of China), but back in X58's heyday a 4 DIMM board should be triple channel with one channel being 2 DIMMs per channel. This would have been done to allow migration from dual channel platforms to triple channel platforms without having to change the amount of memory in the system. In practice for best performance it's probably best to just pretend that 4th slot (usually colored differently) doesn't exist on those boards.

A similar thing is done today for the 6 channel Xeons.

Reply 4 of 10, by dicky96

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Yeah some do look like that. Some only have 2 dimm slots and even say dual channel in the description.. Actually a lot of the three channel ones being sold in completed listings are making quite a lot of money!

I found the user manual for the Pegatron. It's an AmiBIOS, it doesn't mention very much about the BIOS settings in the manual, and nothing about overclocking. I guess I will just have to have a look around in there myself.

Reply 5 of 10, by The Serpent Rider

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Also in general what is the performance difference between LGA 1155, 1156, 1366?

NT5.x (Windows 2000/XP) gaming era was roughly between 2000-2006. Sufficient performance level for that time period is high-end Core 2 Duo Wolfdale (3 to 4 Ghz). After that anything goes really, so you almost literally can throw any compatible junk at it, which that video blatantly demonstrates.

But if you want to achieve stable 120+ fps with very high resolution, especially in late games, that's the whole other story. Overclocked i7 2500K/2600K/970 and 780 Ti would be highly recommended.

I must be some kind of standard: the anonymous gangbanger of the 21st century.

Reply 6 of 10, by Auzner

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i7 920 was an extremely popular processor 10 years ago. Folks were running Vista with that already. 1366 has some advantages on the higher end of things, but 1155 gets newer processor archs and is generally a lot cheaper. X58 stuff did not have built in USB3 and some revs had serious SATA controller bugs.

Reply 7 of 10, by dicky96

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Well the i7-920 PC does work at least, I have it in the workshop now. There are no options to overclock the CPU using this mobo, and used X58 mobos with 3 channel DDR and overclock options are rather expensive so I don't see any point in upgrading the machine for fast XP gaming, I may as well use the i7-2600K on the P8Z68-V instead as that does have overclocking. Would I notice any significant difference (for XP) if I changed my Z68 mobo for a Z77? Looking around, used Z77 can be had at reasonable prices sometimes and I can find XP drivers and some will support i7-2600K

The i7-920 was not a bad purchase though, I've got Windows 10 installed on it and I'm gonna use this in the workshop for soak testing GPUs instead. If (when 🤣) I eventually blow it up with a bad GPU it won't be a big loss.

Reply 9 of 10, by Shagittarius

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Having just upgraded my XP rig from a Core 2 Quad to a Xeon x5690 I can say that as far as games go there was no need to upgrade, I also went from a GTX 580 to a GTX780ti which did net me performance but it wasn't performance I needed , the old rig already ran all XP era games plenty fast. However, the speed that the OS runs and productivity / web surfing definately benefits. Unless you are chasing benchmarks for the sake of benchmarks as long as you have a fast C2D and a decent video board, you could probably get away with a GTX280 but Crysis might not hit 60FPS, you will be fine. Get hardware that you find interesting, that's important.

I will say that in everyday use for web surfing and light applications the Xeon is every bit as usable as my 9900k is. I didn't know how much I would enjoy having 2 nice machines side by side but now that I do I find lots of reasons to have both on all the time. I set up the Xeon to dual boot XP and Win 10, it runs both like a champ.

Reply 10 of 10, by The Serpent Rider

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Would I notice any significant difference (for XP) if I changed my Z68 mobo for a Z77? Looking around, used Z77 can be had at reasonable prices sometimes and I can find XP drivers and some will support i7-2600K

No, also Z77 has dropped native PCI support. Only if it's really good price.

I think I7 3770K (BX80637I73770K) is faster then 2600K.

From the box, no it isn't. Because Sandy Bridge has soldered IHS and can be overclocked better.

As long as you have a fast C2D and a decent video board, you could probably get away with a GTX280 but Crysis might not hit 60FPS

Crysis is not Windows XP game anyway. But yeah, when it comes to a single core performance, overclocked Core 2 Duo Wolfdale isn't all that far from Nehalem/Sandy Bridge.

I must be some kind of standard: the anonymous gangbanger of the 21st century.