Sandy Bridge or wait.

[hpglow]

Here is the deal, I have the money for a decent computer overhaul. However, I will not have the cash to do it again for some time. I know that I want to wait for the next die shrink to upgrade my video card ( Radeon 4890 .) Here is the delema I have: Do I wait for the next intel processor? Do I wait to see what Bulldozer brings to the table and at what cost?

Here are my options: a Buy a socket 1155 board now with a low end core i5 and upgrade to the ivy bridge chips when they arrive, and risk possible compatibility issues. b Wait for the next intel enthusiast socket to arrive and evaluate then. c Wait for Bulldozer.

I am a price vs performance person. I don't care if my box is intel or AMD. So, what would you do if you were in my shoes?

 

[nalc]

What's your CPU now?

If you're going to be waiting until late Fall to jump into a 28nm Radeon HD 7xxx or Geforce GTX 6xx, is it worth upgrading immediately? Sandy Bridge will be bottlenecked significantly by the HD 4890, so unless you are running something drastically terrible that's bottlenecking the hell out of your 4890, I'd wait and get both CPU and GPU together. Prices will be lower by then, they always are.

This is my understanding, from gathering as many facts as I could

Ivy Bridge is the die shrink of sandy bridge. Lower power consumption, and higher clocks, but it won't be a drastic improvement. It will roll out on mainstream socket 1155 and workstation/server socket 2011. It's not going to blow sandy bridge out of water clock-for-clock. It's the same improvement as an E6600 to a E8400 - better clocks, same architecture. There will probably be a new set of chipsets for it, but the old ones can probably be BIOS flashed to support it.

Sandy bridge socket 2011 is coming out soon, which is independent from Ivy Bridge (SB will be on both, then IB will be on both). This will be oriented at servers and workstations. I don't expect to see as good of a budget offering for this as we saw with 1366, i.e. no i7-920. I'd be shocked to see a socket 2011 i7 launch for $350. Expecting to see a lot of Extreme Edition cpus, Xeons, 6-8 core hardware. For gaming, currently the increased core counts are not well supported. The quad channel memory won't make an appreciable difference for gaming over dual channel memory. And running two card SLI or Crossfire on a x8/x8 split like the Socket 1155 stuff allows is negligible performance impact versus doing a x16/x16 split like 1366 allowed and 2011 will allow. It's going to be killer for folders and people doing rendering and stuff, but gamers won't see a benefit worth the significant price increase, unless it is the craziest imaginable "price is no object" quadruple-crossfire/sli behemoth.

Bulldozer is still a wildcard. We really don't have any concrete information, which is a little concerning since we're only 2 months from launch. 2 months before SB launch, we had already seen plenty of CPU-Z screenshots from engineering samples, and knew how much it would overclock, and knew all of the CPU models and their bulk pricing. Haven't seen much solid information for bulldozer, though. AMD's priority seems to be increasing core counts for the same clock speed and power consumption, which is fine and dandy for many markets, but gaming isn't one of them. They say that they can match Sandy Bridge, but don't specify how. I'm doubtful that they can improve instructions for clock or clock speed so drastically (they're now 3 generations behind - Phenom II is similar to Wolfdale in those two parameters, and behind Nehalem, Westmere, and Sandy Bridge), and from what I understand a lot of their "beats SB" tests have been in applications coded to take advantage of the additional cores. I'm sure they will have a kickass budget hexcore for folders and renderers, but us gamers might want to stick with a fast quad i5.

I bookmarked this post, so I can come back and see whether I was right or not when all of this comes to pass.

 

[Ultima99]

Wait.

 

[hossdaddy]

please list your full system specs and uses of the pc. If gaming what games and what monitor & resolution are you running at.

 

[E4g1e]

Wait.

That depends on the OP's current system. If that current system is so old that it's either nearly totally obsolete or no longer competitive in performance with even today's entry-level pre-built system, then I can see the reason for an upgrade.

 

[/usr/sbin]

Depends on your system, and the deals you can get. Also resale value of your current system if you intend to sell it (and how much it will change in 6 months).

After selling off old parts, and taking advantage of deals I went from:

Q6600
4 GB G.Skill DDR2 RAM
P45 mobo


TO:

i5 2500K
8 GB G.Skill DDR3 RAM
P67 Mobo


After everything was said and done, it cost me ~$185. That was absolutely worth the upgrade. I should be set for another 3 years or so.

 

[hpglow]

I'm currently running a 2.5Ghz C2Q. I do mild gaming, at 1680 x1050. I play some low end stuff mostly every now and then I will play through a newer title. Most everything I play is already constantly over 60 fps.

Having CPU overkill with the 4890 for a while dosn't bother me, my system folds while not in use so all the points are welcome. I will be putting down for a monitor with a higher res once I purchase the newer card.

I'm not worried about selling the parts when I rebuild. I have a broke freind that is using an older Athlon single core that will inheret my mobo, ram, and CPU when I upgrade. I have plenty of money to make whatever upgrades I need to I just won't have the cash to do it again for a couple years.

I've been working 50 hours a week out of town so I've kinda been out of the loop on recent developments so I figured I would probe the Hardforums for some input.

 

[Timmy121]

I'm gonna wait till late this year for the new chip sets and price drops on Black Friday! SAVE YOUR MONEY! hehe

 

[Abula]

Sandy bridge socket 2011 is coming out soon, which is independent from Ivy Bridge (SB will be on both, then IB will be on both). This will be oriented at servers and workstations. I don't expect to see as good of a budget offering for this as we saw with 1366, i.e. no i7-920. I'd be shocked to see a socket 2011 i7 launch for $350. Expecting to see a lot of Extreme Edition cpus, Xeons, 6-8 core hardware. For gaming, currently the increased core counts are not well supported. The quad channel memory won't make an appreciable difference for gaming over dual channel memory. And running two card SLI or Crossfire on a x8/x8 split like the Socket 1155 stuff allows is negligible performance impact versus doing a x16/x16 split like 1366 allowed and 2011 will allow. It's going to be killer for folders and people doing rendering and stuff, but gamers won't see a benefit worth the significant price increase, unless it is the craziest imaginable "price is no object" quadruple-crossfire/sli behemoth.

I second the above quote. If you have good budget, i would wait, but if you are looking for something more mainstream the current Sandy Bridge 2600k/2500k seems like a good option, if you want wait for Bulldozer and the Z68 mobos, and then decide.

 

[rive22]

definitely wait

 

[E4g1e]

I'm currently running a 2.5Ghz C2Q. I do mild gaming, at 1680 x1050. I play some low end stuff mostly every now and then I will play through a newer title. Most everything I play is already constantly over 60 fps.

Having CPU overkill with the 4890 for a while dosn't bother me, my system folds while not in use so all the points are welcome. I will be putting down for a monitor with a higher res once I purchase the newer card.

I'm not worried about selling the parts when I rebuild. I have a broke freind that is using an older Athlon single core that will inheret my mobo, ram, and CPU when I upgrade. I have plenty of money to make whatever upgrades I need to I just won't have the cash to do it again for a couple years.

I've been working 50 hours a week out of town so I've kinda been out of the loop on recent developments so I figured I would probe the Hardforums for some input.

If your friend really needs a new system because it's so old that it could barely run anything that's current (software-wise), then yes, upgrade your system and donate your current system to your friend. And make sure that 4890 goes with that older system because it is likely that the video card in your friend's current system will not work at all with the system that you're about to give to him (as in many of those older single-core AMD systems have AGP video cards and not PCI-e). AGP will not work at all with any current PCI-e system. You will then need to buy a new video card for your new system.

 

[tonytnnt]

I think a 2500k will give you a pretty big boost IF you get a new graphics card with it. Just budget yourself a little lean this time and save for upgrades along the way. Though I couldn't blame you for waiting until the Z68 chipset comes out, in case that provides any significant benefits or to see how the Bulldozer wildcard plays out. Waiting until next gen graphics cards come out though probably isn't worth it. And if it is, buy one when it comes out and hook your buddy up with your current card.

 

[hpglow]

I think a 2500k will give you a pretty big boost IF you get a new graphics card with it. Just budget yourself a little lean this time and save for upgrades along the way. Though I couldn't blame you for waiting until the Z68 chipset comes out, in case that provides any significant benefits or to see how the Bulldozer wildcard plays out. Waiting until next gen graphics cards come out though probably isn't worth it. And if it is, buy one when it comes out and hook your buddy up with your current card.

Right now I am actually leaning in the direction of ordering a socket 1155 board with a 2500k next week. I'm not sure if I can wait for a new chipset, it would be nice to have integrated USB 3.0 though. But that is not a biggie, I can just order a board with it and I have a add-in card laying around not doing anything. I also have to order some ram because my current setup is DDR2. Plus I want to jump up to 16GB anyway, not too useful now but this upgrade has to last me 3 to 5 years.

I'm really not going to mess with the graphics card until the new stuff comes out or I find a killer deal on a 6970 or a gtx570.

 

[Abula]

I'm not sure if I can wait for a new chipset, it would be nice to have integrated USB 3.0 though.

There is no guarantee than SB X68/2011 will have it, my personal guess is they gonna wait for ivy bridge and push their Thunderbolt with X68. The 2500k is a wonderful cpu, i think you should be fine with it, and has usb3 still, even Intel boards are using atm 3rd party usb controllers, in my case they work wonderful, no issues at all, i have a usb3 dock, usb3 flash drive and usb3/esata 4xdisk enclosure and no issues, the speeds are fairly close to esata, considering that the disks are sataII i think its good.

 

[E4g1e]

Right now I am actually leaning in the direction of ordering a socket 1155 board with a 2500k next week. I'm not sure if I can wait for a new chipset, it would be nice to have integrated USB 3.0 though. But that is not a biggie, I can just order a board with it and I have a add-in card laying around not doing anything. I also have to order some ram because my current setup is DDR2. Plus I want to jump up to 16GB anyway, not too useful now but this upgrade has to last me 3 to 5 years.

I'm really not going to mess with the graphics card until the new stuff comes out or I find a killer deal on a 6970 or a gtx570.

Even without chipset-integrated USB 3.0, it is noted that most if not all P67 and H67 motherboards include an onboard third-party USB 3.0 controller or two.

And as I mentioned in a previous post, your friend's old single-core AMD system might have had AGP graphics and no PCI-e capability (or might have had no discrete graphics card whatsoever but instead had relied on the motherboard's integrated graphics), so the graphics card from that system likely cannot be carried over at all to your current system. As a result, the "newer" old system will likely be completely unusable unless or until the proper graphics card is installed.

By the way, you did not give us the exact specifications (parts, graphics card, hard drives) of that broke friend's single-core Athlon system. Only if you tell us that may I recommend or not recommend a new graphics card for the system that you're going to give to him. Otherwise, without telling us the exact components of that friend's system, he may end up with a totally unusable system until he gets a new graphics card himself for it. And if it turns out that he has absolutely no discrete PCI-e graphics card whatsoever, you might have no choice but to give that HD 4890 to that friend and pick yourself up a new graphics card for your own new build.

It would also be helpful to us if you would mention the exact motherboard you're using in your current system.

 

[hpglow]

Even without chipset-integrated USB 3.0, it is noted that most if not all P67 and H67 motherboards include an onboard third-party USB 3.0 controller or two.

And as I mentioned in a previous post, your friend's old single-core AMD system might have had AGP graphics and no PCI-e capability (or might have had no discrete graphics card whatsoever but instead had relied on the motherboard's integrated graphics), so the graphics card from that system likely cannot be carried over at all to your current system. As a result, the "newer" old system will likely be completely unusable unless or until the proper graphics card is installed.

By the way, you did not give us the exact specifications (parts, graphics card, hard drives) of that broke friend's single-core Athlon system. Only if you tell us that may I recommend or not recommend a new graphics card for the system that you're going to give to him. Otherwise, without telling us the exact components of that friend's system, he may end up with a totally unusable system until he gets a new graphics card himself for it. And if it turns out that he has absolutely no discrete PCI-e graphics card whatsoever, you might have no choice but to give that HD 4890 to that friend and pick yourself up a new graphics card for your own new build.

It would also be helpful to us if you would mention the exact motherboard you're using in your current system.

I'm not worried about my friend I have a 3870 to give him with the board to tide him over until I upgrade my 4890. He will be ok.

 

[E4g1e]

I'm not worried about my friend I have a 3870 to give him with the board to tide him over until I upgrade my 4890. He will be ok.

That makes sense. I did not know this until you mentioned it.