I can't decide if I want an Ivy Bridge or Sandy Bridge

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dR.Jester

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Jun 7, 2004
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Help me choose [H]!

I had some spendy money so I decided to upgrade from my i7 920 which overclocks horribly. Been running these parts for almost 3 years now - i7 920 and EVGA X-58.

Here is what I have so far...

2410aq9.jpg


Should I go with an i7 3770K or a 2600K? I want to be able to get a nice overclock since I have custom watercooling installed but cannot make up my mind between the two.

Also might add I have a GTX 580 with EK block on it.
 
If you can get a good deal on a Sandy Bridge cpu than i say go for it. From what i've seen from Ivy Bridge, it's really not that much of an improvement.
 
Depends on your uses. If you want to brag about overclocks, Sandy Bridge is better. If you upload a lot of YouTube clips, go Ivy because of the significantly stronger QuickSync engine in v2.
 
If you've got a custom water cooling setup, get a 2600K. It'll overclock much better and wont let that cooling go to waste. As for performance, either will be a beast and rip thru anything you'll throw at it anyways so you wont really miss that 5% performance boost you'd get from IB......which you'd probably get back from that 5+ GHz overclock with the Sandy. ;)
 
Just because on average Ivy shows to have less headroom than Sandy there's no guarantees your going to get a Sandy Bridge that overclocks higher than the Ivy Bridge CPU you could end up with. Ivy Bridge also consumes less power and has a far more powerful IGP which you can make use of even with a discreet graphics card. If building a new system now there's really no reason to go Sandy Bridge unless you find one cheap from say Microcenter and are trying to lower the cost of your build.
 
mavalpha said:
Depends on your uses. If you want to brag about overclocks, Sandy Bridge is better. If you upload a lot of YouTube clips, go Ivy because of the significantly stronger QuickSync engine in v2.
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I thought the youtube servers handles the actual transcoding not your local CPU right?
 
I know I am going Ivy, it has slightly better performance, yeah it might not OC as well or be able to take an extreme Overvolt, but from the reviews it looks like 4.5-4.6 GHz is achievable without too much more voltage.

The only thing that is killing me is waiting for it to be finally released, I hate paper launches, especially when I know what chip I want and have the mobo just waiting, I am half tempted to just purchase a G530 to play around with till Ivy gets here.
 
what is this stupid comments.

if you are new comer???

ofcourse IB

people says there is no much difference between SB and IB

but as far as we know IB consumes less Wattage atleast and newer intel processor.



if it was case SB to IB i will say maybe~~ up to you

but for new comer ofcourse IB .
 
I would do the same. If coming from S775/1156/1366 or AM2/2+/3/3+ I would just go with Ivy.
SB users shouldn't bother upgrading.
 
maxkilla said:
what is this stupid comments.

if you are new comer???

ofcourse IB

people says there is no much difference between SB and IB

but as far as we know IB consumes less Wattage atleast and newer intel processor.



if it was case SB to IB i will say maybe~~ up to you

but for new comer ofcourse IB .
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Ugh, this wattage FUD? Really? You do realize Sandy Bridge using 20 more watts 24/7 a year is like $10 more a year, right? Do you really want to give up a good overclock and lower temps for $10 a year when you're spending $700 on computer parts? And realistically it's a few dollars more a year as you're not running your CPU 100% load 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Why the hell do enthusiasts care about wattage? I can see if it's massive (like going from OCed FX 8150 to Sandy Bridge), but between the two it's stupid. Get a Sandy so you're not roasting your nuts off in the summer when you overclock it.
 
Since yo already have a Z77 board this should be a no brainer. Get the IB.
 
I would probably go Ivy unless you can get a 2600k for microcenter-deal type prices. Anything under say 230/240 for a 2600k and I'm not sure I'd pay the premium for Ivy.
 
For a Z77 board, definitely go Ivy because that platform has been designed primarily for it. There are some issues with SB chips on Z77 currently. If you are willing, buy a 2600k today and exchange it with the retailer when IB comes out Sunday. :)
 
There is only one reason to buy a SB instead of IB for a new build and that has to do with how much cheaper you can buy a SB for. If cost is not a concern then IB.

OT. Wouldn't it make more sense to have 2x 256GB SSD and raid them to make maximum use of the available space?
 
i'm going SB (upgrading from C2D E8400) just because maximum overclocked SB on air will be better than IB. now I have to decide whether a Z77 or Z68 motherboard...
 
I agree with all the post that say if you want crazy Overclocks go SB otherwise go IB. At stock IB is .0365% faster , a joke but you get the idea. But does it using less watts and PCIe 3.0 is nice if moving to SLI
 
3770K.

Otherwise no PCI-E 3.0 with that motherboard. And that seems like a more likely bottleneck at least for gaming and the latest graphics cards...
 
Hi Hard forum. This seems like a relevant thread for a first post, if I am hi-jacking or anything please teach me since this is my first forum I have ever joined. I too am having the same dilema. I picked up a 2600K on the 13th for $199 from Microcenter and am looking to upgrade my gaming only rig. I plan to go from a 3.8 Q9550 with GTX-280 tri-sli on and xfx 780i board to either sandy bridge or ivy bridge on an asrock extreme6 or extreme4 (not yet purchased) with a $499 newegg GTX680 (not yet purchased) when I can snag one. I have until Saturday to return the 2600k for store credit and replace it with the upcoming 3570k, I cannot afford the 3770k because it is out my budget. I plan to overclock and have a NH-D14 cooler.

My question is, do you think down the road a year or two when I look to SLI my GTX680's I will be kicking myself over not getting a 3570k for pcie 3.0?
 
chronicfx said:
Hi Hard forum. This seems like a relevant thread for a first post, if I am hi-jacking or anything please teach me since this is my first forum I have ever joined. I too am having the same dilema. I picked up a 2600K on the 13th for $199 from Microcenter and am looking to upgrade my gaming only rig. I plan to go from a 3.8 Q9550 with GTX-280 tri-sli on and xfx 780i board to either sandy bridge or ivy bridge on an asrock extreme6 or extreme4 (not yet purchased) with a $499 newegg GTX680 (not yet purchased) when I can snag one. I have until Saturday to return the 2600k for store credit and replace it with the upcoming 3570k, I cannot afford the 3770k because it is out my budget. I plan to overclock and have a NH-D14 cooler.

My question is, do you think down the road a year or two when I look to SLI my GTX680's I will be kicking myself over not getting a 3570k for pcie 3.0?
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No, you'll be fine, the GPU isn't too hamstrung from SLI on PCIe 2.0vs PCIe 3.0. I say keep your 2600k, OC it and have fun, down the road, chances are you'll have more and hopefully cheaper choices for your next platform. If you really want PCIe 3 now, then yeah, sell the 2600k for a premium and go with the 3570k, it performs close to the 2600k at stock except when threaded task come into play. You can't go wrong either way, you'll probably want to go IB-E down the road for all the PCI-e lanes.

FYI, I love the Extreme 4 mobo, its awesome and such a steal at $135, $200 mobo features at a bargain price.
 
At the moment, 8x/8x PCI-E 2.0 vs 8x/8x PCI-E 3.0 doesn't seem to matter on SLI/crossfire setups involving the GTX 680/HD7970.

However, 8x/8x/8x/8x PCI-E 3.0 vs 8x/8x/8x/8x PCI-E 2.0 seems to matter a lot for tri-SLI and quad-SLI GTX 680s. Based on what other members are saying about Vega's testing on quad-SLI 680s, between PCI-E 2.0 and 3.0 is up to a massive 50% increase. So, 8x/8x PCI-E 2.0 vs 8x/8x PCI-E 3.0 is probably going to matter quite a bit if you're going for the dual-GPU cards (i.e. HD7990, GTX 690 when they are released).
 
Thanks guys. I have been trying to find good info regarding bandwidth analysis between pcie 3.0 and 2.0 but haven't found much at 1920x1200/1080 resolutions. Most are done using multi monitor setups, but to be fair that is where the bandwidth really flies. I appreciate your feedback regarding keeping my 2600k, it has been on my mind 24/7 for the last week waiting for these ivy reviews to drop. It looks like for the moment I am holding onto the 2600k and will pair it with a z77 mobo and GTX680.

@cyrusfox: I have liked the looks/design of asrock and came home one day last week with the intention of pulling the trigger on the extreme7 gen3 to keep my tri-sli setup.. They deactivated it that day and it soared to $325 which is too rich for my blood. Luckily I was able to talk my better half into allowing a GPU purchase as well (GTX 680) because I fear the z77 extreme9 is gonna come in at over $300 because of bluetooth and thunderbolt. Anways it turned out well in the end and it looks like I will end up with a decent gaming rig 2600k/extreme4-6/GTX680/with 2 crucial m4's(i already have the SSD on my current setup). I'm happy with that potential build. Thanks for helping!!
 
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Update: I broke down and returned the 2600k. I guess I will be going ivy afterall probably 3570k. Also picked up a EVGA signature 680 (w/out backplate) earlier today. Will get the proc, asrock z77 extreme4, and vengeance low profile ram on sunday or monday. Can't wait to get this system together!
 
You should go Ivy unless you get a steal. remember also that if over time overclocks can get worse... I've had many overclocks on Intel for past 6 years and most every one of them degraded over time. ivy is faster out of box and should be priced inline with sandy...
 
burningrave101 said:
Just because on average Ivy shows to have less headroom than Sandy there's no guarantees your going to get a Sandy Bridge that overclocks higher than the Ivy Bridge CPU you could end up with. Ivy Bridge also consumes less power and has a far more powerful IGP which you can make use of even with a discreet graphics card. If building a new system now there's really no reason to go Sandy Bridge unless you find one cheap from say Microcenter and are trying to lower the cost of your build.
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This. Might as well get the newer one unless you get a really sweet deal on a Core i7 2600k.
 
It seems that you can quite easily hit 4.4 - 4.5 GHz with little or no voltage bump (and therefore little increase in heat), so it's not like they are terrible overclockers, just not as good as SB's can be:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/22833/1

This has helped convince me to order the 3770k, coming form a Q9550 it should be a nice bump in performance....
 
Camberwell said:
It seems that you can quite easily hit 4.4 - 4.5 GHz with little or no voltage bump (and therefore little increase in heat), so it's not like they are terrible overclockers, just not as good as SB's can be:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/22833/1

This has helped convince me to order the 3770k, coming form a Q9550 it should be a nice bump in performance....
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This is pretty accurate. Up to about 4.5GHz takes little or no tweaking. After that you've got to really ramp up the voltages and the heat production goes through the roof. I can get them to post and even run some tasks at 5.0GHz, but your looking at load temps on water in the 87-90c range. At least with my current ambient temps. But this is using a decent water cooling setup.
 
Since Ivy Bridge sucks because of Intels failure with the TIM thing i would buy Sandy Bridge.
I would buy SB in a protest because what Intel has done with IB isn't acceptable.
 
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I have been reading that Ivy is capable of withstanding higher day to day temps than sandy bridge. Is there a certain load temp you would recommend to quit overclocking at for safe 24/7 use? I use IBT to test stability, I am too impatient for Prime.
 
Blackbird said:
Since Ivy Bridge sucks because of Intels failure with the TIM thing i would buy Sandy Bridge.
I would buy SB in a protest because what Intel has done with IB isn't acceptable.
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:rolleyes: You have no idea what you are talking about.
 
chronicfx said:
Update: I broke down and returned the 2600k. I guess I will be going ivy afterall probably 3570k. Also picked up a EVGA signature 680 (w/out backplate) earlier today. Will get the proc, asrock z77 extreme4, and vengeance low profile ram on sunday or monday. Can't wait to get this system together!
Click to expand...

You went from 4/8 to 4/4? :confused:
 
snoops said:
:rolleyes: No idea what you are talking about.
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Eh, well have you heard about the high temps on IB? And what's causing the high temps?

Do you want to support Intel by buying their IB CPU and tell them: "Intel, i love what you did with Ivy Bridge (deliberately f*cked up the temps only to save a few $ in manufacturing costs) so i want you to make that the new standard in your future processors so all future intel CPUs will have f*cked up temps aswell" ?

If you buy their sh*t IB CPU you indirectly tell them that.
 
Blackbird said:
Since Ivy Bridge sucks because of Intels failure with the TIM thing i would buy Sandy Bridge.
I would buy SB in a protest because what Intel has done with IB isn't acceptable.
Click to expand...

Forced to agree. I have no idea why people think this is acceptable.
 
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