If you really want an i7, definitely get the Intel Core i7 2600K. About a motherboard, take the P67 series. The MSI P67A-GD65 should be a great one.

Those boards are still out there too. I just found 3 on amazon.

@Jamalje And ATX board will fit in an ATX case. I was looking into the Sandy Bridge i7s but now am thinking about upgrading to the new LGA1366s instead, as they still use the X58 and triple channel RAM. I am not at all convinced the Sandy Bridges are an actual upgrade from 1366s i7s. I see Intel has a new extreme i7 out, the the 990. While it is more expensive yes, it seems to me to be far superior than the Sandy Bridge, and that is not taking into account the issues with the MoBos for the SBs right now. Am I wrong in this or am I missing something about the Sandy Bridges?

Have you looked at the review/benchmark sites? The 2600K crushes the older i7s except for the 980X (which it still beat in many scenarios) and now this new 990X. The question you have to ask yourself is whether spending $700+ more for the 990X is going to get you anything that's actually worth paying that much more. I'm almost positive the answer is no.

Also, I was just diagnosed with Diabetes, and pancreatic cancer

That's terrible. I'm so sorry. I wish you the best.

Here is my computer:i7 920 2.66 DDR3, ASUS P6T Deluxe, 6GB memory, Power supply 1200W, Nvidia 260GTX 896GB, WD300GB 10000RPM 16MB, windows XP 64 bitsIf i changed the video card for the 560, 570 or 580 would i see a big difference (FPS)?Thanks

Here is my computer:i7 920 2.66 DDR3, ASUS P6T Deluxe, 6GB memory, Power supply 1200W, Nvidia 260GTX 896GB, WD300GB 10000RPM 16MB, windows XP 64 bitsIf i changed the video card for the 560, 570 or 580 would i see a big difference (FPS)?Thanks

Yes. Especially flying through clouds. My experience anyway.

Here is my computer:i7 920 2.66 DDR3, ASUS P6T Deluxe, 6GB memory, Power supply 1200W, Nvidia 260GTX 896GB, WD300GB 10000RPM 16MB, windows XP 64 bitsIf i changed the video card for the 560, 570 or 580 would i see a big difference (FPS)?Thanks

In this speed(2.66GHz) my opinion is “No much” but if you overclock your CPU to 3.8Ghz or higher(with good cooler) then you can see big difference on 500 series.RegardsBob

For what it's worth...3dMark06 CPU bench scores:8100 -my I5 2500K @ 4.2GHz (9000 @ 4.8ghz!)6400 -friend's I7 920 @ 4.2GHz Total 3dMark06 scores (for kicks and giggles)16,000 -my old e8400 @ 3.6GHz with the GTX 27521,000 -I5 2500k @ 3.7GHz with same gtx 275 (22,500 @ 4.8GHz)The minimum fps (FSX) with the I5 running at 3.7 GHz are double that of the E8400 running @ 3.6GHz (both machines using the same GTX 275, OS and FSX installs). Anyway, that's my informal take on the awesomeness that is the I5 2500K running the Asus p8p67 Deluxe with Corsair 1600MHz cas8 1.5v memory (2x4 8gb). P.S. I wanna give a shout-out to Microcenter, your service and prices are unmatched. And to Central Computers, for continuing to make their stock of P67 boards available to the public after the "recall". -Ken CarlinEdit: The I5 is as smooth as a babys &@($*, with the MD11 in FSX ....I've not felt the need to use any CPU or ******* tweaks.

The 2600K crushes the older i7s except for the 980X

Also the 2500K crushes the older i7's? :(

• "The minimum fps (FSX) with the I5 running at 3.7 GHz are double that of the E8400 running @ 3.6GHz (both machines using the same GTX 275, OS and FSX installs)".
• "Anyway, that's my informal take on the awesomeness that is the I5 2500K running the Asus p8p67 Deluxe with Corsair 1600MHz cas8 1.5v memory (2x4 8gb)".
• "The I5 is as smooth as a babys &@($*, with the MD11 in FSX ....I've not felt the need to use any CPU or ******* tweaks".

Great to hear that, that's what I need to make my decisions about getting an i5 2500K or not.

Also the 2500K crushes the older i7's? :oGreat to hear that, that's what I need to make my decisions about getting an i5 2500K or not.

I ordered a 2600K with memory, cooler & all that jazz yesterday. Unfortunately, every time I find an online vendor with a P67 board in stock I receive an email a few hours later saying it's backordered... I am now on my 3rd & hopefully final attempt. This time around it's the ASUS Sabertooth P67, only one they had listed in stock...EDIT: I have been seeing a lot of H67 boards out there. Is there any significant difference between the two?EDIT2: Found my answer. According to other fora the H67 isn't OC-friendly.EDIT3: OK, 4th attempt. This time a P8P67 from central computers...

I ordered a 2600K with memory, cooler & all that jazz yesterday. Unfortunately, every time I find an online vendor with a P67 board in stock I receive an email a few hours later saying it's backordered... I am now on my 3rd & hopefully final attempt. This time around it's the ASUS Sabertooth P67, only one they had listed in stock...EDIT: I have been seeing a lot of H67 boards out there. Is there any significant difference between the two?EDIT2: Found my answer. According to other fora the H67 isn't OC-friendly.

Yea, your right, about the H67The K series of the 2nd generation I processors indicate that it is "unlocked" meaning they are overclock-able, The H67 Chipset is for those that are not looking to boost their gaming performance. They come with the integrated videocard built into the motherboard, meaning you will not "need" a video card. You can add a videocard, but with the H67 the board utilises the i3/5/7 graphics built with in the processor. Simply put and according to newegg tv, being told by an intel rep, the H67 is good for things like watching Blue-Ray, DVD's, and things like that. I wouldn't recommend it if your trying to build a "high end" system, for gaming purposes in relation to high performance.On a note about you looking into the ASUS sabertooth. While I dont feel that this product is unworthy, you need to know that it only has (2) 6bb/s ports, and (4) 3Gb/s ports. The 3 Gb/s ports are the ones that are effected by the Sandy Bridge recall. So if you are only plugging in one HDD and one optical drive, then you will be fine, If you have multiple HDD's then I would suggest that you plug both HDD's into the 6Gb/s ports and the CD/DVD drive into the 3Gb/s ports. With that, you wont have to worry about loosing the data transfer between your HDD's. If you plan on using more than 2 HDD's then I would recomend either waiting for the boards to be back on the market with the updated P67 chipset. On a side note, Intel plans on shipping a new chipset called the Z68 to motherboard manufactures. This new chipset utilizes the LGA 1155 socket as well, and from what I have been reading, this chipset will help with OCing and all that. This is slated to be on the market around April. Don't quote me on the Z68 information though, this is what I have read during my research online, as Intel has yet to acknowledge the Z68 chipset, and it is nowhere on their site. So I can't confirm the validity of this information with 100% confidence. I only mention it because it is buzzing around the internet, and in Intel's recall announcements, with out naming a chip, have stated that the P67 recall has not impacted the release of their "new" chipset, unfortunately they do not give this "new" chipset a name.Even though this recall has frustrated many, including my self, there are ways around it. The good thing about most ASUS boards with the 1155 socket, the Pro, and Delux, come with (4) 3Gb/s and (4) 6Gb/s SATA ports. 2 are controlled by the P67 chipset and they will be gray, and 2 are controlled by the Marvell 9120 controller, and these are navy blue. But according to ASUS the navy blue SATA ports are only to be utilized by HDD's. So in short, if you are using ONE HDD, and ONE CD/DVD drive, the sabertooth should be fine. If in the future you plan on using more than this, I don't think this would be a good buy.

Yea, your right, about the H67The K series of the 2nd generation I processors indicate that it is "unlocked" meaning they are overclock-able, The H67 Chipset is for those that are not looking to boost their gaming performance. They come with the integrated videocard built into the motherboard, meaning you will not "need" a video card. You can add a videocard, but with the H67 the board utilises the i3/5/7 graphics built with in the processor. Simply put and according to newegg tv, being told by an intel rep, the H67 is good for things like watching Blue-Ray, DVD's, and things like that. I wouldn't recommend it if your trying to build a "high end" system, for gaming purposes in relation to high performance.On a note about you looking into the ASUS sabertooth. While I dont feel that this product is unworthy, you need to know that it only has (2) 6bb/s ports, and (4) 3Gb/s ports. The 3 Gb/s ports are the ones that are effected by the Sandy Bridge recall. So if you are only plugging in one HDD and one optical drive, then you will be fine, If you have multiple HDD's then I would suggest that you plug both HDD's into the 6Gb/s ports and the CD/DVD drive into the 3Gb/s ports. With that, you wont have to worry about loosing the data transfer between your HDD's. If you plan on using more than 2 HDD's then I would recomend either waiting for the boards to be back on the market with the updated P67 chipset. On a side note, Intel plans on shipping a new chipset called the Z68 to motherboard manufactures. This new chipset utilizes the LGA 1155 socket as well, and from what I have been reading, this chipset will help with OCing and all that. This is slated to be on the market around April. Don't quote me on the Z68 information though, this is what I have read during my research online, as Intel has yet to acknowledge the Z68 chipset, and it is nowhere on their site. So I can't confirm the validity of this information with 100% confidence. I only mention it because it is buzzing around the internet, and in Intel's recall announcements, with out naming a chip, have stated that the P67 recall has not impacted the release of their "new" chipset, unfortunately they do not give this "new" chipset a name.Even though this recall has frustrated many, including my self, there are ways around it. The good thing about most ASUS boards with the 1155 socket, the Pro, and Delux, come with (4) 3Gb/s and (4) 6Gb/s SATA ports. 2 are controlled by the P67 chipset and they will be gray, and 2 are controlled by the Marvell 9120 controller, and these are navy blue. But according to ASUS the navy blue SATA ports are only to be utilized by HDD's. So in short, if you are using ONE HDD, and ONE CD/DVD drive, the sabertooth should be fine. If in the future you plan on using more than this, I don't think this would be a good buy.

Yeah, I noticed the sabertooth only had 2 6gb SATA ports, but I could live with that. I only use my 2nd HD for backup purposes and a storage for all my setup files (it even has a working copy of win 7 for emergencies), so it could be set up to run on usb or firewire if need be. I didn't really choose the Sabertooth, it just happened to show as in stock after searching 8 other vendors with nothing so I gave it a shot.As far as the Z68 is concerned, I don't know anything specific at all, but I've read that it's supposed to be something of a P67/H67 hybrid, so I'm not sure what to make of that. My problem now is I've got cpu, memory, liquid cooler & a bigger HD already shipped & no board to put it all on. Heck, my old board with my Athlon II x3 @ 3.6 GHz & 8gb DDR2 is already sold soon as I can pull it out. So yeah, I'm pretty antsy for an 1155 mainboard. Aside from the P67, what other's would you recommend? I'm pretty old school. This is my second build since 10 years ago, so I don't know much about current tech.

I'm in the same boat.I just bought the AUSU P8P67 Delux not more than 5 min ago. I know I probibly should have waited, but I cant, I have EVERYTHING but the board. I know how to work around the recall issue, and ASUS has their BIOS updates on their site. The computer I am using is still 100% fully functional so IF I need to flash the bios (EFI) on the asus board, I can get all the stuff I need with this PC, save it to a thumb drive and go from there. and if that doesn't work, I'll just return the board, and wait. I'll be out shipping costs, but I just cant look at my empty case, i5 2500K any longer. As far as recommendations, It all depends on what you are looking to do. The i5 2500K will out perform the i7's from the 1st generation. The i7's of the first generation will smoke a dou core and anything previous (unless you have a dual core overclocked to SH*T). There are 100's of people on this very forum still using the i7's, and are doing just fine with them. Processors are always improving, Intel will release a new processor utilizing a new socket later this year. But that doesn't mean that the 2nd generation i5's and i7's will then be garbage. Its all dependend on what you want. If you absolutely can not have a "defective" board then wait until recall is over with and the updated P67 chipsets are on the market. If you are confident in your own computer knowledge and understand that the recall only effects between 5-15% of chipsets released, and know the ways around the issue (by using the 6Gb/s SATA ports) you wont run into any issues. I'm taking my chances.......It might be a stupid one........maybe the store I just bought it from will honor the recall, I don't know, WORST case.......my board is junk, doesnt work, Im out $250, I'll just have to save up, take a second job, walk some dogs, I dont know, and buy the updated P8P67 and call it lesson learned.

I'm in the same boat.I just bought the AUSU P8P67 Delux not more than 5 min ago. I know I probibly should have waited, but I cant, I have EVERYTHING but the board. I know how to work around the recall issue, and ASUS has their BIOS updates on their site. The computer I am using is still 100% fully functional so IF I need to flash the bios (EFI) on the asus board, I can get all the stuff I need with this PC, save it to a thumb drive and go from there. and if that doesn't work, I'll just return the board, and wait. I'll be out shipping costs, but I just cant look at my empty case, i5 2500K any longer. As far as recommendations, It all depends on what you are looking to do. The i5 2500K will out perform the i7's from the 1st generation. The i7's of the first generation will smoke a dou core and anything previous (unless you have a dual core overclocked to SH*T). There are 100's of people on this very forum still using the i7's, and are doing just fine with them. Processors are always improving, Intel will release a new processor utilizing a new socket later this year. But that doesn't mean that the 2nd generation i5's and i7's will then be garbage. Its all dependend on what you want. If you absolutely can not have a "defective" board then wait until recall is over with and the updated P67 chipsets are on the market. If you are confident in your own computer knowledge and understand that the recall only effects between 5-15% of chipsets released, and know the ways around the issue (by using the 6Gb/s SATA ports) you wont run into any issues. I'm taking my chances.......It might be a stupid one........maybe the store I just bought it from will honor the recall, I don't know, WORST case.......my board is junk, doesnt work, Im out $250, I'll just have to save up, take a second job, walk some dogs, I dont know, and buy the updated P8P67 and call it lesson learned.

You didn't just order a p8p67 deluxe from central computers, did you? If so I beat you by 30 minutes Of course, immediately following the order I sent sales an email saying I'd take any p67 board they have as a substitute if it's unavailable. Just ship it & then tell me what to expect...

You didn't just order a p8p67 deluxe from central computers, did you? If so I beat you by 30 minutes Of course, immediately following the order I sent sales an email saying I'd take any p67 board they have as a substitute if it's unavailable. Just ship it & then tell me what to expect...

HAHA Yup, If it is back ordered, then I'll let Karma take over, and I'll cancel the order, Put my empty shell DEEP in my closet........wait for the updated P67's to release, or the Z68 or whatever, and learn some patience (of which I have very little of). If its not, Then I should see this thing by next Monday or Tuesday, and then the build can commence and all the headaches involved with that process can follow as well. I really REALLY hope they had more than one............But once again.....if they don't have it, I'll just cancel the order, and wait.

HAHA Yup, If it is back ordered, then I'll let Karma take over, and I'll cancel the order, Put my empty shell DEEP in my closet........wait for the updated P67's to release, or the Z68 or whatever, and learn some patience (of which I have very little of). If its not, Then I should see this thing by next Monday or Tuesday, and then the build can commence and all the headaches involved with that process can follow as well. I really REALLY hope they had more than one............But once again.....if they don't have it, I'll just cancel the order, and wait.

Well I'll tell you what. If I get the last board & you lose out I'll buy your AoA training for the NGX. Fair enough?