Upgrade now? or wait for sandy bridge

[Wiseguy2001]

Wait, so you only see Intel as having 2 high-end chips (970 & 980X)? Seems like a pretty high bar to "high-end".

They do have a 990x (and maybe a 995x) in the near future, so that makes three/ four!

I didn't just choose the top two, it's just they're the ones that happen to be Gulftowns which are a different beast to the other i7's (being hex-core and 32nm).

 

[drescherjm]

Will you make use of these extra cores? It's only
servers, bench-markers and folders (like Filter ) that will notice the improvements.

I could use all 16 threads in my tasks as a programmer.

 

[Wiseguy2001]

I could use all 16 threads in my tasks as a programmer.

Fine, I'll add programmers in medical imaging to the list. On a side note: I'm a programmer as well (business software) and am very interested in the amount of background analytics's that can be run on high-power processors to help companies make more informed decisions.

The point I was making is that it is only very select fields that can utilise/ need such high concurrency, no so much computer enthusiasts. But then as the old saying "if you build it, they will come".

 

[drescherjm]

Fine, I'll add programmers in medical imaging to the list.

The point I was making is that it is only very select fields that can utilise/ need such high concurrency, no so much computer enthusiasts.

Fully agreed.

 

[vortican]

Technology always moves forward, so waiting for 2011 is doable for those who can, but then why not wait till 2012 or 2013?

Right now, we are 3 weeks away from getting a chip that will get the same performance as the 980, but cost a whole lot less (OCed of course)
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=660266

P.S. it's not that we don't like you Filter, it's that we're jealous that we can't drop $1K on a CPU and $80k on a car and talk about it over an ostrich egg breakfast like it's last year Armani suit that we donated to the salvation army.

Best post ever.

I never thought that [H] was about how much money was spent. Rather, getting the most bang for the buck. In that respect, cheaping out is sometimes the best solution (and for some of us, the only way to fly).

 

[lightp2]

Dear OP,

I am repeating some basic things just to avoid common misses, then straight to your scenario.
1. Considering at this age you are still happily running 65nm C2D at 3.2GHz, implies you have relatively little demand for computing cycle. Please note there is no demeaning here.

2. One can argue for temporary situation, but given enough time, things will fall back to normal curve. What I am saying here is if you ever bought a new one, over time, (not necessary, but likely) your usage will fall back to the old pattern where you will keep this unit for 4 or 5 years. 65nm C2D in year 2006.

3. Therefore based on this observation, if you ever felt a need to upgrade, usually it should be SB because while some may debate on relative merits, the added cost spread over 4 years should still be tolerable.

4. The only problem in your case is, for now, it appears SB allows overclocking for certain models only.

5. You are running existing c2d with slight overclock, so overclock is not unusual for you, thus this consideration is listed here.

6. Therefore the next scenario becomes
6a. SB K-series -- > overclock friendly, higher cost.
6b. Lynnfield ---> overclock, reasonable, higher power usage.
6c. SB non-K-series --> no-overclock, but highest speed within budget.
6d. C2Q second hand/used.

7. critical issue is your intended usage scenario. This is not listed so you need to examine to see whether it is worth your effort and investment in pursuing an upgrade.

I list my observation here, it may not be correct so it is just a consideration
Since abundance of cheap and extremely overclock friendly 45nm LGA775 new and used processors have not tempted you until now, you are most likely a user happy with reasonable expectation. In this case, consider 6c. Some of them have high enough Starting and Turbo Speed plus the IPC improvement.

Else you can also wait for people offloading their socket 1156/1366 systems in the process of migrating to the new frontier.

However, if you are now extremely serious overclocking seeker on budget, and need a system now, I am afraid you either have to pay up for SB K-series, or stick to i5-760 build.

After all is said and done, I honestly feel a reasonable cost SSD adds a lot of snappy feeling to any build. The perception of improvement may be greater in many cases.

 

[harpoon]

lightp2,

The 'K' models are only about $10 more than the equivalent non-K model. Not much of an added expense at all.