Customer Reviews

Intel Core i7 Processor i7-930 2.80GHz 8 MB LGA1366 CPU, Retail BX80601930

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Processors are pretty much a commodity, what really matters is how much you get for you money. In the i7 line this model currently is in a good spot. Going down one step to a 920 only save $10-20 but going up to a 940 will set you back $250. You can spend $1000 for a top of the line Intel i7 and only see a slight improvement in most Windows applications. The high-end processors are really targeted for servers and not desktops anyway. You can save about $100 and step down to a i5 but you will lose quite a bit of performance. Prices can change from week to week, so be sure and check to see if these numbers are still valid.

The primary difference between the i7 and other processors like the i5, or AMD processors for that matter, is how memory is accessed. The i7 uses triple-channel memory that is accessed directly instead of via external support chips which speeds things up a lot.

Be aware that the latest Intel chips use the LGA1366 socket and the i5 uses LGA1156, so you have a much better upgrade path with the i7 later on. If you build a i7 computer, make sure you chip and motherboard have the same socket!

With any of these processors you really should get a 3rd party heatsink; it will keep you processor cooler making for a more stable and longer living system.

With a decent motherboard, this CPU will run comfortably at 3.8GHz with an air cooler, and at 4.2GHz with better cooling. And it will be rock-solid! It eats through my games and converts or encodes audio and video faster than any CPU I have owned so far. I hear it is being phased out like the i7-920 before it, and will be replaced in this price spot by the i7-950. Although buying the LGA1366 platform is expensive, this is what you purchase if you want the best desktop platform available today.

I built an Adobe CS5 System for one of my customer with limited budget, and the I7-930 did the job.

It is much much smoother than the I7-920 and as good as any of its brother I7-940, and any others later. What I meant is that it's a few hundreds dollars less than the I7-940, and it can do the same job. It's extremely fast with ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 mobo with triple memory channels and with Window 7 64 bits operation system.

The HD Video display is as good as any blue-ray DVD you displayed on your TV with any current video card over $150.00; much of the credit goes to the CPU and it's triple memory channels. I means nothing can't go wrong with Radeon HD 5770 or above.

The fan comes with the I7-930 is so quiet. I can't even tell whether my board is posted.

Unless you have extra dollars to throw away, I would recommend the I7-930 would be perfect to fit your budget and do the extreme jobs you want it to do.

This was my third of 4th build, but I have not done one for many years and things have changed. I was most concerned about installing the processor incorrectly and damaging either it or the MOBO. However, installation was a cinch and the processor does not disappoint. It is just as fast as can be! This build was replacing a computer that was running on a Xeon processor that is not too old, a tall order, but it is faster than the Xeon, at least the one I had in the older computer. Highly recommend.

The i7-930 was purchased for my desktop system. I'm running ubuntu 10-04 with 12gb memory on two monitors. The CPU runs lighting fast with no problems. Re-touching photographs and running other applications make this CPU a complete joy. The price is reasonable for all the benefits you receive.

With this Core i7-930 in my new PC, the process of rendering was very faster.I use autocad 2010, Rhino, 3D MAX, Photoshop, Corel.
My system: Thermaltake Armor + MX full tower, Intel Pentium Core I7-930, Asus Sabertooth X58 Motherboard, Corsair GT 6Gbs 1866MHZ, Sappire Radeon HD 5770 Vapor-X GB DDR5 Video Card, Seagate hard drive 1TB, Thermaltake TR2 RX-850W ATX 12v 2.91v Modular, Windows 7 Ultimate.
Great Computer

Installed this Quad Core Processor inside of my Alienware Area 51 desktop, and it has done wonders in terms of performance gains and multi-tasking. I use my Area 51 for gaming, programming, and CAD designs. I love the turbo boost technology which intelligently provides more throttle for each processor when needed. This is an awesome feature that shouldn't be taken for granted. Overclocking the processor comes in handy when you are gaming and doing multiple strands of video editing. Also, I wanted to mention that this was a very good seller. Product worked to perfection with no issues. Product arrived on time in a timely manner. I would definately do business with again.

I have the i7-930 installed in a high end ASUS X58 MB W/Corsair Dominator 1600 MHz memory. The system works well and and the memory operates at rated speed. The 930 is provided from Intel with speed step technology and mostly operates at 12X of BCLK (133MHz) and a Vcore=0.93v. When the930 is in a hurry, it operates at 21X of BCLK and a Vcore=1.25v. When the 930 is operating flat out 23X of BCLK and 4 cores with 8 threads running Prime 95 the CPU goes into thermal runaway above 71 degrees C (I stopped here) after about 15 min. Oh! by the way I am running the Cooler Master V8 CPU high performance cooler at 2100RPM in a Cooler Master HAF922 case. So, this CPU runs so hot that it cannot be over-clocked without water cooling or danger of burnout. This is my reason for 4 stars plus the fact that the 930 is slow to enter the flat out mode. I would think you could get as good or better performance from one of the new unlocked i7-800 series CPUs with over-clocking. The only limitation being a limit of graphic cards performance. But the CPU performed as advertised by Intel.

When the Core i7's first came out I had the Core 2 Quads and was not sure about making the change. First the price to enter was too high and I was happy. I then switched over to the Core i7860 which I did see a greatly imporved performance! I do not use the Turbo Boost feature as I want to make sure that everything is running on full power all of the time.

Once I read about the 930 and I saw the cant's miss price if picked up locally, I did the math and jumped on it! I sold my 860 part AND picked up an extra 4GB's RAM all at no extra cost to me!! Is there a difference between to two? Yes. First, the 930 comes in a much larger box as the fan is larger. The chip is physically larger than the 860 as well. Is it faster? Yes, but I am not sure if it is because of the extra RAM or if it is just faster. If could be due to the QPI and extra RAM bandwidth as well. It is faster and worth the upgrade.

I used a Gigabyte socket 1156 before with USB 3.0 but I could not use it without sacrificng my PCIe 16 lane thing. With this chip, you CAN use all of the newst features without worries! You can even do full speed SLI or Crossfire (I have not tried it and may not until video editing software uses them) as well.

The swap was the easiest MB transfer that I have ever done. Since the brands were the same, it was just a matter of taking it out and putting the new one in. I had a few issues in regards to drives, but Windows 7 found all except for the LAN and NEC USB drivers. This chip uses more power, but my PC is cool. I did a little test run on DVD encodes and I see a difference, but I did not truly put it through it's paces yet, but so far so good. 12GB's of RAM is not a bad thing to have either...

UPDATE: I just did a defragmentation on 3 HD's. Normally I do five at a time and it could take an hour. All three (500GB or better, almost filled) took less than ten minutes with all but the most fragmented and largest (1TB) taking the longest! I would say that this is a big difference!

Also, Windows Index Experience rated my same SSD a 5.9 with the i7 860, now it is a 6.9! The graphics (with the same card and driver) jumped a point each to a 7.3, from 7.2. The CPU score remained the same at 7.4. After reading forums, I expected it to go t 7.5. Moving up a level makes a difference.

I went from socket 775 with a q6600 to a new motherboard, ram and this cpu. Since I don't have time to benchmark, I can honestly say that I don't notice any stand out differences from my old setup. I got caught up with the bleeding edge hype and took the bait. I did overclock my q6600 and haven't had time to overclock this 930 yet, so maybe that will be a different story. Still, I wish I had waited for sandy bridge or a few more tick tocks. So if you have a core 2 derivative, then think twice before making the jump if your poor like me. Don't get me wrong, it's a great processor, runs cool, no hiccups, another amazing Intel proc. It's just that you had better be a hard core enthusiast if your going from core 2 to core i7 to appreciate it.