Z77 with Sandy Bridge

[Jakestar]

Hi guys,

I've been holding off buying a new build till Ivy Bridge came out. Now that it's out however, it seems I might be better served with a Sandy Bridge CPU, since they are quite a bit cheaper at the moment and overclock better. However, I like having USB3 and SATA 6Gb/s built into the board, so I'm still thinking of getting a Z77 MOBO (ASUS P8Z77-V).

My question, and something I haven't quite been able to figure out is, do I lose any of the Z77 MOBO benefits/features by going with a Sandy Bridge CPU?

 

[ubercake]

Even though the gen 3 Z68 and Z77 boards say PCIe 3.0 on them there's an asterisk.

If you with a Sandy Bridge processor, since the PCIe controller is part of the processor, you'll be limited to PCIe 2.0 for your discrete graphics. If you go Ivy Bridge, you'll get PCIe 3.0. Given that, there's no discrete video solution currently on the market that requires bandwidth beyond 8 lanes of PCIe2.0.

If you're into integrated video, the Ivy Bridge processor will give you better results. If you do a lot of video encoding, based on what I've seen in reviews, Ivy Bridge is the way to go.

If you live near a microcenter, the 3770K's price @ $289 is only $10 more than the price of the 2600K and the 2700K which are currently both @ $279. Living close to a microcenter, I'd spend the extra $10 on the newer Ivy Bridge.

 

[Rockdpm]

Yea if you can fit in Ivy to your budget. Get if, but if not, you won't really loose any features or performance by going Sandy Birdge.

 

[Jakestar]

If you with a Sandy Bridge processor, since the PCIe controller is part of the processor, you'll be limited to PCIe 2.0 for your discrete graphics. If you go Ivy Bridge, you'll get PCIe 3.0. Given that, there's no discrete video solution currently on the market that requires bandwidth beyond 8 lanes of PCIe2.0.

Thank you very much for that info! That's exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. As you mentioned, since there is currently no real need of PCIe 3.0 it's not a huge loss, but definitely good to know.

If you live near a microcenter, the 3770K's price @ $289 is only $10 more than the price of the 2600K and the 2700K which are currently both @ $279. Living close to a microcenter, I'd spend the extra $10 on the newer Ivy Bridge.

I live in Germany and the prices of the 3770K are currently at around €330 ($436), while the 2600K can be had for €276 ($365). Part of the joys of living in Europe I'm not willing to pay such a price difference, but I'll keep checking the prices.

Yea if you can fit in Ivy to your budget. Get if, but if not, you won't really loose any features or performance by going Sandy Birdge.

Yeah, I know. I wish I could fit it into my budget, but at the moment the difference is just too steep, and there doesn't really seem to be any other big features I would lose. I'll keep checking prices but most likely go for the 2600K.

 

[Soda-88]

If you don't plan on going above 4,5GHz (and nobody really should for a 24/7 overclock), definitely get IB. IB is fine as long as you don't overvolt (1,3v is the limit). Personally, I'd not go over 1,2v and see how far could I go with that much juice.

Edit:
Nvm, just saw your pricing situation, it's definitely not worth 55€.