Upgrade now or wait for 7th Gen CPU? (detailed questions)

[sguven]

Hello all,

Before I proceed I will post my current specs. My computer was built in 2008 and I have kept it going through various upgrades ever since.

Motherboard: (3-Way SLI Support) EVGA X58 SLI Classfied Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX DDR3 Mainboard
RAM: 6x Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB DDR3 1600MHz
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-950 3.06 GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366 with Factory OverClocked to 3.7GHz
CASE: CoolerMaster Cosmos S Gaming Full Tower Case
FAN: Asetek Liquid CPU Cooling System
PSU: 1,000 Watts Power Supplies CoolerMaster Real Power Pro - Quad SLI Ready
GFX Card: XFX FX-797A-TDBC Radeon HD 7970 Black Edition Video Card - 3072MB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 3.0 (x16), 1x Dual-Link DVI-I, 2x Mini DisplayPort, 1x HDMI, DirectX 11, Dual-Slot, Eyefinity, CrossFireX Ready

Unfortunately, my gfx card that I purchased in 2012 finally passed away. I was able to run all the games I play in max modes without any problems, but now I am at a crossroads with the GFX card dying.

I am aware that sometime in late 2016 there will be the 7th Gen of the Intel CPU's coming and some of my comp-savvy friends are holding on before upgrading. There are four scenarios I am considering:

1) Keep the rig running until late 2016 by getting a mid-range gfx card now, then build a new PC with fully new components
2) Keep the rig running until late 2016 by getting a mid-range gfx card now, then build a new PC with my old components and buying new ones.
3) Build a new PC from entirely new components now.
4) Build a new PC using some of my old components and buying new ones.

Here are my questions.

1) Is it truly worth to wait until the 7th Gen of the Intel CPU's come later this year? As a general rule I understand it doesnt make sense to wait for the next gen in computer technology since there will always be better tech around the corner, but if we are looking at a very important architechtural / generational leap here, I need to know.

2) Lets say I wait that long. Of the list above, can I still use my 6 sticks of RAMS? Are there motherboards out here now, which support my old DDR3's now, and which also would support the DDR4's, lets say if i want to get them in a year? (summary: can I salvage my DDR3's for a future build?)

3) What about my motherboard? What is the newest CPU that it can hold, if I decide to stick with it? Would you recommend keeping the MB and renewing the CPU and the GPU, or is its architecture too old now for the newer models of CPU's?

4) If you recommend me to wait for building a rig later this year, what mid-range gpu do you recommend me? The highest demanding game I would play would be fallout 4 with some ENB settings. Budget of lets say 400 dollars / 300 pounds max.

5) I recently ordered a new power supply thinking the problem was with it in my rig. Here is its description:

Cooler Master V1000 - Fully Modular 1000W 80 PLUS Gold PSU with Silencio FP Silent 135mm fan (6th Generation Skylake Compatible)

This got me thinking, it says its 6th Gen compatible. Now If lets say I keep this PSU in a closet and use it in my new rig that has 7th Gen CPU, does this mean its not `enough` for it? What exactly does it mean for a PSU to be compatible with a Xth Gen CPU?

I know this is a lot of information but I would very much appreciate your expert answers and suggestions. Thank you in advance.

Sertac

 

[Barty1884]

There's never a perfect time to buy/build - there will always be new tech coming.

To answer some of your questions.
1. You're spot on. If your current setup (less the GPU of course) is performing to the levels you want at the moment, holding off a while longer is probably your best bet. If it's really not performing well, then you could upgrade - I don't believe there are such dramatic improvements worth your time/money today though.

2. No, boards will support DDR3 or DDR4 - some of the Skylake boards can use DDR3 (low voltage generally), but one of the biggest improvements with the latest chipset is significantly fast RAM support via DDR4 - which raises the question, why would anybody choose Skylake + ddr3?

3. The best/newest CPU your board can accomodate would be the i7-990X (extreme) which I don't think would be a worthwhile improvement over the i7-950 for the price yo uwould have to pay to find the 990X in 2016.

4. Really, if the plan was just to run this for 6 months or so, I wouldn't invest in anything beyond a GTX 950. It'll do what you want, and with Pascal cards coming out around mix-2016, you would be upgrading then anyway.

5. The xth Gen compatible, more often than not, is a marketting ploy. Latest gen CPUs are coming out with lower & lower TDPs, so it's not as if they're more power hungry.

Quality PSU though, and should be more than sufficient for any rig/upgrade.

 

[sguven]

Barty, thank you for taking time to write your answers. They are very helpful.

What are some of the upcoming milestone points in 2016 that I should be on the lookout for?

I have been told Q4 2016 for the CPU. You mentioned something about the Pascal cards - can you elaborate?

Anything else to be on the lookout?

 

[why_wolf]

AMD will be dropping their new ZEN CPUs sometime this year (probably the tail end of it) so that will hopefully introduce some competition against the i5 and i7 lines. So it might be worth it to wait for them solely to see if it changes Intel's pricing if you don't mind being patient.

Also seeing as how you are using an X series board you might be interested in the new Broadwell-E series that should drop either this quarter or next quarter. If you really like major power and don't mind paying a lot for it. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/11/intels-broadwell-e-lineup-rumoured-to-feature-monster-10-core-cpu/

Both AMD and Nvidia are releasing new GPUs on new architecture sometime this year. Pascal for Nividia and Polaris for AMD. Both should introduce some major improvements over previous generations, or at the very least increase power efficiency in them.

 

[sguven]

Thank you all for your answers.