What should I wait for, Sandy Bridge? I'm so confused!

hyrule571

Distinguished
Dec 7, 2010
280
0
18,790
I'm right now on a Pentium 4 Extreme Edition(SL7AA) based computer... Check out my configuration if you wish.

I'm looking forward to actually build a mainstream-high performance/enthusiast computer later on probably around winter time, because that is when Sandy Bridge-E is expected to release. I am patient with this computer and it suits my needs for now. Smooth 720p Youtube videos (not 1080p Lord have mercy, gets choppy), smooth UT2004 gameplay, and internet browsing is pretty quick with this ol' system. I'm wanting to update though because of all the new games coming out soon that actually support DX11 and not DX9 which is what my EVGA 7600GT(512MB) AGP supports. All the cool new features coming out soon and even the current DX11 or last gen games(DX10) have trouble and cannot run on this machine I'm on right now too smoothly. I'm on Windows XP Professional(SP3) anyways.

So I'm thinking.. I've been waiting and waiting and yes I know waiting is kind of dumb to do, because you'll always be waiting, but the latest I've been thinking to wait is this winter with SB-E. Is this a wise choice? Currently I've been reading about FINFets? 3D transistors on Ivy Bridge and not SB-E? PCI-E 3.0 for IB but not SB-E? Whats the whole deal here? I don't know what the difference would be like with the 3D transistors, but what would I be missing out on if I go SB-E and not IB? Would it be good timing to get a Sandy Bridge-E processor when it comes out, like how people had good timing with the i7-920? Thanks. If there's any clarification issues sorry.
 
Solution
If you want a high performance machine, go for the Sandy Bridge E. If you are familiar with the current gen processors (LGA 1366 and 1156/1155), then the two can be compared. Sandy Bridge-E is like the higher end, LGA 1366 model, and Ivy Bridge is like the lower to mid-end, 1156/1155 model. On the topic of 3D transistors, that relates to the integrated graphics on the CPU. You do not need to worry about on-board graphics, seeing as you would buy a dedicated Graphics Card (Like the one you have now). Also, both Sandy Bridge-E and Ivy Bridge have PCI-E 3.0, so no need to worry about that (Sandy Bridge-E also has quad-channel RAM, quad SLI/CrossFire, SAS, etc.) I think it would be worth it to wait for Sandy Bridge-E, seeing that the newer...

fencingdude101

Distinguished
Jun 11, 2011
5
0
18,520
If you want a high performance machine, go for the Sandy Bridge E. If you are familiar with the current gen processors (LGA 1366 and 1156/1155), then the two can be compared. Sandy Bridge-E is like the higher end, LGA 1366 model, and Ivy Bridge is like the lower to mid-end, 1156/1155 model. On the topic of 3D transistors, that relates to the integrated graphics on the CPU. You do not need to worry about on-board graphics, seeing as you would buy a dedicated Graphics Card (Like the one you have now). Also, both Sandy Bridge-E and Ivy Bridge have PCI-E 3.0, so no need to worry about that (Sandy Bridge-E also has quad-channel RAM, quad SLI/CrossFire, SAS, etc.) I think it would be worth it to wait for Sandy Bridge-E, seeing that the newer generation of Radeon/NVIADA graphics cards should be coming out around that time (Maybe even DDR4 RAM in 2012). The pricing on Sandy Bridge-E depends on how well AMD's Bulldozer does, so you'll have to wait a little on that.
 
Solution
I would not expect the SB-E/socket 2011 to be a good gaming/general purpose value upon release (I rather doubt you will find X79 mainboards for $125 any time soon!), but, will evaluate it's performance in games when it arrives...

One thing that is known.....current (socket 1155 SB) i5-2500k paired w/ a P67 or Z68 gives unbeatable performance for the money spent....
 

fencingdude101

Distinguished
Jun 11, 2011
5
0
18,520



I'm sure it'll be over-priced, but it's meant to replace the X58 chipset. I'm sure it'll be the most powerful gaming/enthusiast platform until the next generation replacement comes along.
 
It will be interesting to see socket 2011/X79 vs. current SB/Z68 benchmarks vs. IB/Z68 to see if the former really has any significant advantages, and if so, how much for the additional (guessing at this of course!) $500 added platform cost...(guessing $400 cpus and $300 X79 mainboards)...

It will also be nice to see if Win8 has improved 6/8 core scaling, vice the current Win7 being tapped out at 4 cores for gaming...
 

Haserath

Distinguished
Apr 13, 2010
1,377
0
19,360
I'm betting they will perform similarly in games(and other tasks) for the most part. SB is not limited by anything that SB-E has to offer(memory bandwidth, more PCI-E lanes, cache).

Ivy Bridge will come out a few months after this year passes and will probably beat the E series in gaming benchmarks. The Finfets(3D transistors) are totally new and will be implemented first in Ivy Bridge giving a decent clockspeed boost, and Ivy will also be at 22nm adding onto the boost provided from the new type of transistors.
I'm guessing the 2011 v. 1155 fight will be the same as 1366 v 1156 fight; no real performance advantage in most things if using the same number of cores as long as you didn't have something like 3 video cards fighting for pci-e bandwidth.

If you're going to wait until winter, you might as well wait for Ivy. If I were you, I would jump on Sandy Bridge now and just blaze with that.

I could be wrong. Maybe SB-E will be a performance monster, but that just doesn't seem likely. Only more useless features for the desktop unless you use 3-4 videocards(and with an n200 chip on the mobo, 1155 can even get most of the performance from them).

I forgot when Pci-e 3.0 is supposed to come out though. That should reduce the latency between the components using it, which would boost frames slightly in games, but it won't be worth the price if it's on SB-E.
 

Haserath

Distinguished
Apr 13, 2010
1,377
0
19,360

Umm, that's not Win7 being tapped out, that's the games themselves. Battlefield Bad Company 2 goes up to at least 8 threads, but the game is being limited by the video card anyway.
 

hyrule571

Distinguished
Dec 7, 2010
280
0
18,790


Awesome man, I thought the same too that it really could be a good platform to jump on. Hopefully it is, especially when compared to AMD. If it's not keeping up with AMD then i'll stick with my current dinosaur system. If Unreal Tournament comes out soon I'm going straight Intel and stuck with SB-E if its good or not =/ unless if theres a newer model like Haswell, which I think is the successor to Ivy Bridge like Sandy Bridge-E(LGA 2011) is to Sandy Bridge(LGA 1155).
 

hyrule571

Distinguished
Dec 7, 2010
280
0
18,790
In the future this is what I'm planning...
A good Gigabyte or MSI or EVGA motherboard to begin with...

3.0GHz or more(not turboboost 3.0GHz i mean stock speeds with turboboost not kicked in) SB-E processor
1600MHz or 1866MHz or 2133MHz RAM 4 x 2GB - 8GB.
GTX 6XX, GTX 570 comparable... So not the best best but a higher end one.
HDDs and SSDs i'll figure out later, probably a 256GB SSD or 128GB SSD. with 1TB HDD.
Some 750-800W PSU Corsair or Seasonic... GooD?
 

fencingdude101

Distinguished
Jun 11, 2011
5
0
18,520


Sounds good. I prefer EVGA, but any one of those three are fine.

There are actually 3 models of the Sandy Bridge E, all of which are above 3.0 GHz. The differences are how many cores they have, how over-clockable they are, how much L3 cache they have, etc. Check out this chart for the specific numbers

http://www.nordichardware.com/news/69-cpu-chipset/42981-three-sandy-bridge-e-processors-revealed-before-q4.html

Lastly, Sandy Bridge supports quad-channel RAM, so you may want to look into that. Also, the next generation of GPU's may be out by then.
 

hyrule571

Distinguished
Dec 7, 2010
280
0
18,790
Alrighty, I just hope my dad can pay all that off xD

Anyways, I'd probably get the one under the 990x comparable(3.3GHz 15MB Cache 6 cores), and instead get the 3.2GHz 12MB 6 cores.. Watch its like 500-600 bucks as if Intel is a poor and dying company and they need that much money lolz.
 

TRENDING THREADS