Intel i3, i5, i7, sockets 1156, 1366, and 1155

1965ohio

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I just wanted to post this thread because I noticed that many people are asking should they upgrade their Core 2 Duo or Quad LGA775 systems to the current i series of Intel CPUs. Maybe it is just my opinion, but I will ask the community as a whole... what do you think?

I know Sandybridge and socket 1155 motherboards just hit the retail channels, yet they are not widely available and are very pricey at the moment. It also seems Newegg, ZipZoomFly, Microcenter and others are trying to unloaded all the LGA775, 1156, and 1366 systems with many coupons and discounts.

To me it seems like there is no reason to buy any 1156 or 1366 system at the moment unless you are using a Pentium 4 and can pick up an i3 or something dirt cheep.

What are the communities thoughts about this? Does anyone really think it wise to buy an obsolete socket right now? :pt1cable:
 
1156 and 1366 will be around for awhile, and are plenty fast. It all depends on what you pay. I found a used i5 750 for $75 and used i7 920 for $100 recently. At those prices, they are much better values than a brand new sandy bridge.
 

1965ohio

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I can agree with you on that. I am still in the LGA775 boat because I was afraid to adopt the the new sockets immediately. Sometimes you can still get used Core 2 Extreme QX9775 for $150-175 if you look around eBay...

I just hate just jump on new sockets. And since 1155 is out now, seems life you want future proof, you should still try to skip 1156 unless you already got one.

Just like when socket 423 came out for pentium 4... I knew in my gut to skip it... and it paid off. My 478 lasted me a few years... and my 775 boards have lasted 5!
 
Don't expect anything to last more than 3 years now. But most of the newer stuff is overkill for most folks anyway. It's just good marketing by Intel. They want to get you hooked on the upgrade cycle even if you don't need it.
 

1965ohio

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I guess I'll stick with my 775 sockets until I have no choice then too... Upgrading CPUs and Motherboards every year is a pain... and I still don't see why the last generation couldn't last as long as 775. I kind of take turns with them nowadays. I have to core 2 duo e7500 systems and now an AMD x4 965 BE system... unless one of my Intel systems dies... They still play all my games and the 1156 or 1366 seem easily skipped for me until 1155 is mainstream and my core 2 dies or something.

Even after this post, still a new thread every hour about it though... people wanting a new system right now are wondering if they should buy a dead socket. It doesn't seem they will deliver anymore new blazing CPUs for the older platform because of the upgrade cycles. So sticking with what you got a little longer makes sense, SB 1155 will come down in a few months.

Thanks for your thoughts. :D
 

kitaware

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That's me...upgraded from the P4/2.5gb/XP32bit/240gb (2 HDDs) to i7-860/6gb/W764bit/1T (2 Hdds)...

The upgrade was more than the CPU...upgrading the total system made sense as there was little to upgrade within the P4 box without changing the MB to allow 64bit for more than 4gb Ram...

...I got the i7 as HP was finally 'dumping' the 1st gen i7 as Sandy Bridge rose on the horizon a few months ago....

...and @ $500 the Cybermonday deal WAS dirt cheap...even less after selling the P4 and parts for $200...for a net upgrade cost of $300...
 

amnotanoobie

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Unless you're coming from a Pentium 4/D, 1st Gen Core 2, Athlon 64 or X2 (754/939 or AM2 only (not AM2+)), there wouldn't be such a massive gain to jumping to even the 1156 socket.

Even most of the PC Games today would play well enough with a 2nd gen Core 2, Athlon II or Phenom II. And at the rate of increase in the minimum specs with the games that are coming out now, Core 2's would seem to be still 'okay' until next year.
 

huron

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Happy to see this thread. Even though I often find myself itching to build something newer, faster, better, etc, it's good to see reason overtake the want of the shiny new things.

I've still go my E8400 and am OK with it for now. Maybe another year or so and I'll have to get something to replace it. When that comes, I know it will be fun.
 

HD-User1080

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1366 is still the enthusiast platform, and does offer some advantages over 1155, but for most 1155 is the only option that would make sense.

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but why is the 1366 still the enthusiast platform? I'm about to build an HD video editing workstation to use Adobe CS5 and other 3D graphics programs, and most people are telling me to go with the 1155 without a second thought. However, a few people who seem to know what they are talking about suggest that I stick with the 1366 right now. Do you agree with this? I'm still not sure why this is...

Thank you,
HD-User1080
 



Well, 1336 platform is still enthusiast becuase of the dual PCI-e 2.0 x16 bandwidth (for graphic setup that could use such bandwidth. If that happens in the near future that is :sarcastic: ) and triple channel memory bandwidth. For stuff like rendering and anything else memory bottlenecked.

There also 6cores cpu's on this platform vs LGA 1155 with has only 4 for the known future. With the 6 core i7's can still be faster than the 2nd Gen core i7's if all threads are used.




Now, if you already have an LGA 1336 platform, i would recommend staying with it. You wont get much gains out of an LGA 1155 since you already have a powerful setup.

If you dont, i probably better if you went with the LGA 1155 as it "can" be cheaper and it powerful in its self.


Overall, both can handle what your asking. It just depends on your needs if you need to switch platforms or not.
 

PreferLinux

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1366 is still the "enthusiast" platform because 1155 is low-mid range on Intel's roadmaps, and because 1366 has hexa-core processors.

1366 is probably suggested because of triple-channel RAM.
 

1965ohio

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If you don't already have a socket 1366, no reason to buy one unless it is a great deal. You don't have to jump on the 1155... 1366 will be replaced with a new enthusiast platform and socket "LGA2011". But if you already have the 1366, I can't see any reason to replace it with the 1155, unless you only want to go around saying you got the newest tech for the moment.

This is why I started this thread actually. Because if you already have the 1156 or 1366, I can't see any clear reason to switch to the 1155 unless you just like to spend money. But if you are coming from the P3, P4, Pentium D or Core 2 lower than 2.6GHz... then you have 2 options... buy the soon to be dead 1156 or 1366 because the cost is going down sharply (not dead yet, but they are a much shorter lived socket than 775), or get the 1155 setup now and be done with it. If you really must have the highest enthusiast platform, LGA2011 is on the way!

 

TMDphoto

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Thank you 1965ohio. This is exactly the thread I was looking for, as I am attempting my first ever build (raw photo and avchd editing machine). I am currently working on an older "d***" machine that desperately needs to be retired. I have been on the fence for the last couple weeks (1155 or 1366). My only hesitation with 115 is that this will be my first build and will have trouble if there are lots/any bugs with the build (due to short track record/limited hardware ratings/potential for compatibility issues). I will plan to put my (1155) I-7 build questions up later today for your great site's input.
 

1965ohio

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TMDphoto, if you have any issues with your build then you can PM me. I would like to know your feelings about the new setup and your first building experience too. I will be upgrading to the 1155 in the summer unless the 1366 drops to the price of the current 775/1156 prices!

Happy building! :D
 

Raidur

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From a gaming perspective, I believe anything over LGA 775 is overkill. My Q9550 @ 4ghz should run 6870 crossfire with little to no bottleneck (can't believe I paid extra for all these PCI e lanes though on my chipset lol; 36).

I can't see any game needing more than 6870 crossfire to run at max settings for quite some time (plus or minus 8x AA). Hell a single one of my 4890s (I have 2) will max out most games with 4xAA, even these are overkill in crossfire most the time.

For gaming, keep your C2D/C2Qs, especially if you're pushing 6MB+ L2.

Newer CPUs, especially with Hyper Threading, are worth while for CPU-heavy workloads though.

But for games! Until damn developers start pushing the envelope again, the last 2 high end gens have been good for nothing but numbers. *cough* consoles sure don't have anything to do with the progression of graphics slowing substantially *cough*. Crysis still looks the best and we're on year 4?
 

amnotanoobie

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Unless you're coming from a very old rig. Also @ 4GHz, you aren't really helping with your electricity bill. The lovely thing with 1156 processors at stock is that they'd perform probably a bit lower than your C2D, but they'd do it with probably a quarter less electricity.

Though most games do run fine on (at least) 3GHz Core 2's.
 

Raidur

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Agreed and agreed. I get 3.6ghz with stock voltages so I keep it at that most of the time, unless I'm benching or playing a pretty game. :)
 

mikeunstuck

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Super helpful thread.

I'm running an older build (4+ years now). Core 2 6600 @ 2.4 (LGA 775), 4gb G-Skill DDR2, GEForce 8800GT. She's been faithful, but I want to get into some of the later games (MW2, BF:BC2, etc).

I like buying from Newegg, but the crowd/marketing there leans toward the enthusiasts. I'm more of a "budget gamer."

I'm expecting to buy at the very least a new mobo, CPU, RAM and GPU. But I've been out of the loop for the last two years or so, so I'm a little lost on the whole 1155 vs 1366 vs 1156 vs 775 stuff. If I could achieve a "few steps at a time" upgrade (i.e. not dropping $1k on a soup-to-nuts upgrade) that'd be awesome, but my head hurts trying to sort out the options. And I don't want to go buying new hardware that will be totally obsolete in a year.

My mobo is an old Asus P5WDG2-WS "Mainstation" - I believe intended for a server, but I got it cheap off my former boss who was stupid about upgrading every time Intel crapped out something new. Biggest problem with this mobo: no SLI support.

My system now runs games like MW and Fallout 3 well but can't max them out.

If anybody has any advice for how I can move on to the newer games and come close to maxing out the settings - without maxing out my credit card - I'd appreciate it greatly. I come humbly to the table of knowledge.

-Mike
 

jockey

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I would like to add that, similarly, AMD still does well in the market with the Athlon line, while the Phenom II's are very popular. Price and performance are the top two issues in building systems. As far as "future proofing" in this market, I don't believe there is such a thing. Most of us build systems and keep them for years, with periodic updates to a few components. I feel that the upgrade components' compatibility in a new system is more important an issue than any other.
 

amnotanoobie

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You should create a new thread for this. You'd probably get a better response there.