Intel i7 930 VS i7 950

[Everendless]

I don't know what to get. the i7 930 or the i7 950. I know the only physical difference in them are the frequencies. The i7 950 being 3.06ghz and the i7 930 being 2.8ghz. BUT ive heard a ton about the i7 930 being an overclocking beast, and not so much about the i7 950 oc-ability. Currently the 930 is $285 and the 950 is $300.

My computer will be used for tons of gaming, photo editing, and graphic design work. I do want to be able to overclock. Give me some feedback. Thanks!

Edit: Also, the RAM is an issue in choosing the processor. Ive seen a bunch of people with the 930, with this RAM. Since the i7's only handle 1066 RAM, some people find it hard to find good RAM with an i7. I know that if I get the 930, I can indeed get that ram. But if I chose the 950, im not sure if that RAM would work.

 

[Remeniz]

Ok.

No point getting the i7 950 because its the same chip as the i7 930, it's just clocked higher. And the Corsair RAM you listed is great RAM, that's why a lot of people use it, although you can use any make. And the RAM controller's native speed is 1333Mhz on the i7's, not 1066, but the controller's sweet spot seems to be 1600Mhz. It works very well at this speed.

So you get the i7 930, with 1600Mhz RAM, set it's BCLK @ 160, a nice round number. Set it's multiplier @ X20 and that'll give you core speed of 3.200Ghz, higher than a stock i7 950. Set all the RAM timings manually and run the RAM multiplier @ X10. It's not rocket science, the RAM will run at 1600Mhz. You shouldn't need any VCORE increase for this.

Save the money, put in a few minutes work and you can have your i7 930 clocking faster than a stock i7 950, without breaking a sweat.

I run a i7 920(!) and 3.200Ghz is my absolute minimum core speed.

 

[Everendless]

Thanks man. That helped alot.

 

[Remeniz]

No worries.

Remember to manually set the voltages, low, and disable any auto OC features in the BIOS.

Anything else just give us a shout.