Why get a Sandy Bridge motherboard?

[scotty_2011]

Hello,

My current desktop is a Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 runnning on a Asus P5B-VM.

Its been almost 4 years so I am looking to upgrade to one of the newer ones. I see a lot of news about the new Intel sandy bridge but cannot figure out whats so great about it.

Can someone please help me understand whats special about it?

Thanks
-Scotty
I'm trying to upgrade my CPU/Motherboard only. Any recos for <$300 for the package that will be great for the next 3-4 years would be awesome! I've RMA'd the ASUS board twice in warranty, so not sure if I should stay with ASUS anymore.

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

It's a $330 or less processor that's beating the crap out of pretty much every non-server processor out there.

Certain professional-level programs that use Hyperthreading, like Photoshop, do perform better on other processors. But for the vast majority of us, Sandy Bridge can't be beat.

You won't be able to do just the CPU and mainboard though. Sandy Bridge requires DDR3 RAM.

 

[jaguarskx]

Increased processing power which makes CPU intensive programs faster at what it does. Can also make gameplay a little better; a lot better for those intensive CPU games. The video card is the primary bottleneck for most games though.

 

[jprahman]

Basically the Sandy Bridge i5-2500K is the best gaming processor available currently. It even beats the $1000 i7-990X at gaming performance. There are also dual core Sandy Bridge models than can match or even slightly beat AMDs Phenom II X4s and the Sandy Bridge dual core CPUs are slightly less expensive than the Phenoms.

Also, unlike the AMD AM3 platform or the LGA1366 platform LGA 1155 will have an upgrade path down the road because the next generation of Intel's processors, Ivy Bridge, will be released in early 2012 and will be compatible with LGA1155. All of the other current platforms (AM3, LGA1366) are dead ends right now because replacement platforms (AM3+ and LGA2011, respectively) are going to be released soon.

 

[scotty_2011]

Makes sense. So I suppose I should just wait the next few months for it to be re-leased with volume. The machine is working fine right now - so I can wait for a bit.

I'll try finding deals for a SSD also since after CPU/Mobo/Mem that the only one left. Ah - the joys of upgrading

I have the Apevia MicroATX Case with a 420W power supply. Would that also need upgrading?

Thanks!
Scotty

 

[scotty_2011]

Looking at newegg it seems they have a bunch of the I3 and I5's available right now.

Since I don't game, is there a lowest Sandy Bridge CPU that you stick with?

There seem to be a few with and without turbo boost at various price points :/

 

[scotty_2011]

Think it's time for a whole new build including case and power supply. Sandy Bridge is in a word.. The best you can get

Thats what it seems like. The new wonder CPU

I really really like the Apevia case. Its small and perfect to fit inside my desk in a corner. I'm gonna try to re-use that and upgrade the power supply if need be. How do I figure out how much power supply I need?

 

[jprahman]

Thats what it seems like. The new wonder CPU

I really really like the Apevia case. Its small and perfect to fit inside my desk in a corner. I'm gonna try to re-use that and upgrade the power supply if need be. How do I figure out how much power supply I need?

Antec PSU calculator, try this, you won't need that beefy of a PSU unless you start adding discrete video cards.

 

[scotty_2011]

Antec PSU calculator, try this, you won't need that beefy of a PSU unless you start adding discrete video cards.

Sweet link - thanks! Will use that once I figure out the components...

 

[christop]

well it went from 45 nans to 32 which makes it run cooler and overclock to crazy speed on mainly stock voltages. It is a bad ass cpu.

 

[scotty_2011]

I'm unable to find a MicroATX motherboard that has Sata 6 GB/s. So far i'm pretty firm on the MicroATX form factor to have it fit in a small corner inside my desk.

The SSD'd seem to not have that big of a gain... so is it OK to stay with the 3GB/s?

 

[scotty_2011]

I'm way out of date

Does anyone have a public list on newegg with a decent sandy bridge build?

Thanks!
Scotty

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

You won't find the boards right now, as they have taken down the old boards and don't have many of the new fixed boards in stock. You'll have to wait a couple of weeks for full selection.

 

[jprahman]

Well, IIRC, all Sandy Bridge chipsets support SATA III 6Gbps, so I find it odd that you can't find Sandy Bridge microATX motherboards with SATA III 6Gbps ports, although it could be related to a lack of selection with the boards slowly being relaunched.

If you have to go with SATA II 3Gbps then you should be fine. Only the highest end SSDs will max out SATA II 3Gbps, so unless you are getting one of those then you'll be fine.

 

[g00fysmiley]

newegg has 4 1155 mobos out atm

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627+600093976&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=280&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

I said they don't have MANY of the new boards in stock. Plus, the OP is looking for choices in M-ATX, which there are few of right now. I know I wouldn't buy any of the three M-ATX boards on NewEgg at the moment.

OP will still have to wait a couple of weeks for full selection.

 

[barrymobiel]

Why isn't newegg in europe I want the new boards so i can finaly build my new pc

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

Yes, that business-class H61 board would be an excellent choice...

In case you were wondering, the above sentence is laden with sarcasm. I wouldn't choose an H61 board even if it was free.

In other words, that's not a choice.

 

[g00fysmiley]

hehe dejavu we just did this in another thread >_< but yea p67 4tw, i'll be tetting a p67 with 2x pcie-16 for sli here if bd doesn't beat sb

and yea h61 is a board you get if you have a very limited budget, if i had a sb and onyl about a hundred buck i'd then go with it... but only if i didn't have a workign computer so i could save up and get a p 67

 

[scotty_2011]

yep - very few microATX right now.. i'll just wait.

On other news - I snagged a 2 month old Kingston SSD for only $180 from a friend who needed more space . Seems I have a head start on the upgrade now...

 

[scotty_2011]

Best answer selected by scotty_2011.