Go with i7 2600k or wait for 8 core?

[Mendel]

Looking to build a new computer with AMD next generation graphics and Intel next generation GPU. But should I wait for 8 core cpu or go with 4 core Sandy Bridge?

This roadmap at Anandtech would seem to indicate 8 core SB is possibly Q4 2011 product.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3871/the-sandy-bridge-preview-three-wins-in-a-row/4

AMD next generation graphics would seem to be launched pretty close to first Sandy Bridge processors so it would be really tempting to build the new rig right then. (Q1 2011)

Possibly though, a new Nvidia GPUs might come out by the time the 8 core CPUs are out?

On the other hand my current setup (q6600 + 5870) is something I can live with for maybe a year... but I will not install 64 bit os on it cause I can't do that as an upgrade to 32 bit windows and thus can't upgrade memory and 4GB won't be great much longer. Also my motherboard has a minor defect of a broken sata socket and my hard drive setup is just horrible: I need two drives to boot it up, one has mbr and the other has windows installed, and third is mounted as a folder. Anyways the current setup is reaching end of its life and I need two computers anyways cause other people need to use computer too.

Thing is, I want to build a really awesome machine, I guess it's part of imminent 30s crisis or something. First I thought I would get a motorcycle but my wife promised she won't watch big brother for two years if I don't so the next logical choice is to build a bad ass benchmarking/gaming rig. Never tried any crossfire/sli stuff so I think I'm going to explore that world.

 

[rpg.314]

Honestly, what are you going to do with 8 cores?

In case your timeline for cpu purchase is into next year, I'd suggest that you wait for BD. Even if it can't go head to head with SB, I am hoping for some nice price drops.

 

[entity279]

I'm in a similar pozition and I think I will be aiming for 8 cores as well. My X2 will (have to) hold me for (yet) another year.

While I totally agree that for me something with more than 4 cores is overkill (heck, I can't even think of an application I would use that would see some benefit from 4C+SMT), I also believe that an 8C system wouldn't need any replacement for a long, long time.

So I think I'll wait for BD to show up and maybe make a purchase then (anyway, it's better as I will also probably have enough money then)

 

[rpg.314]

I dunno about my home machine, but if I had an 8C SB @work, I'll run the whole test suite even for whitespace only changes.

 

[V3]

The Intel next gen quad channels i7, are they really going to limit it to single memory slot per channel ? The idea of having 32 GB for reasonable price is so tempting, if Intel offers 8 slots. I'll probably upgrade to something like that. 6-8 cores, 32 GB, 10 hdds and some low end graphic solution, happy days at work.

If not probably go with some low power AMD BD solution.

 

[Babel-17]

Looking to build a new computer with AMD next generation graphics and Intel next generation GPU. But should I wait for 8 core cpu or go with 4 core Sandy Bridge?

This roadmap at Anandtech would seem to indicate 8 core SB is possibly Q4 2011 product.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3871/the-sandy-bridge-preview-three-wins-in-a-row/4

AMD next generation graphics would seem to be launched pretty close to first Sandy Bridge processors so it would be really tempting to build the new rig right then. (Q1 2011)

Possibly though, a new Nvidia GPUs might come out by the time the 8 core CPUs are out?

On the other hand my current setup (q6600 + 5870) is something I can live with for maybe a year... but I will not install 64 bit os on it cause I can't do that as an upgrade to 32 bit windows and thus can't upgrade memory and 4GB won't be great much longer. Also my motherboard has a minor defect of a broken sata socket and my hard drive setup is just horrible: I need two drives to boot it up, one has mbr and the other has windows installed, and third is mounted as a folder. Anyways the current setup is reaching end of its life and I need two computers anyways cause other people need to use computer too.

Thing is, I want to build a really awesome machine, I guess it's part of imminent 30s crisis or something. First I thought I would get a motorcycle but my wife promised she won't watch big brother for two years if I don't so the next logical choice is to build a bad ass benchmarking/gaming rig. Never tried any crossfire/sli stuff so I think I'm going to explore that world.

Yes, you can't upgrade from 32 bit to 64 bit but you can do a clean install. So, in case what you mean is that you're out of luck due to pricing .....
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/1033/ordermedia/default.mspx

Congratulations on upgrading to Windows Vista. The retail package product ships on DVD with 32-bit edition software, but two forms of alternate media are available to help meet your specific requirements:
32-bit CD
If your system features a CD drive but no DVD drive, you can order Windows Vista on CD-ROM. The installation files span multiple discs, so unattended installations are not possible.
64-bit DVD
If your system features a 64-bit processor, you can take advantage of its advanced design by ordering 64-bit software media. You'll get the same interface, features, and functions, but you'll get them in an operating system that takes advantage of access to vastly more memory. All installation files are on a single disc. Please note that 64-bit media is included in the box with the purchase of Windows Vista Ultimate.
The 64-bit version of Windows Vista is not for everyone. Please confirm that your system, applications, and devices are compatible with a 64-bit edition of Windows Vista before installing. Learn more about the 64-bit editions of Windows Vista.
You can order either of these alternate media for a minimal fee, including shipping and handling. To order, you'll need to supply the 25-character product key that came with your purchase.* You'll find the product key on a yellow sticker on the back of your DVD media holder.

I bought a PC with 32 bit Vista and MS later allowed me to clean install 64 bit Vista using my 32 bit Vista serial number.

I don't think you need to have MS ship you one, any legit copy will do. MS is only charging for the cost of S&H.

The switch from to 32 bit to 64 bit is free, in the eyes of MS.

 

[Mendel]

64 bit OEM win 7 isn't way too expensive, at least when comparing to total cost of system. The problem is that when doing clean install I would have to install oh...gawd...so...many applications again (this 32 bit win 7 is upgrade from Vista upgrade of XP that has been going since the Pentium 4 era) , some of which I have paid for and lost the license key of and my email address I used for registering has been discontinued by my ISP.

So I rather keep the current system running as a secondary computer so that I can keep running the software I have purchased. I could of course dual boot, but I really want the new system to have SSD storage and there isn't a free sata slot. So basically, while my current setup isn't actually all that old, there's really nothing I want to transfer from it to a new system.

In fact I have never built a new system from scratch since I first got this computer as a Pentium 100MHz. I've just kept upgrading it one part at a time. Time for a fresh start, really!

 

[Mendel]

Honestly, what are you going to do with 8 cores?

Umm... watch stock market graphs... oh wait... There's benchmarking! Showing off 16 logical cores in task manager! Maybe some video encoding as I do occasionally put up youtube videos but then again it's not encoding that takes time, its the uploading(and of course editing). Well, there's a scenario where I'm uploading video, running a torrent client and encoding another part of a video while playing a game. Something like that will happen quite rarely though and hasn't been too bad with quad core either honestly... Internet connection bandwidth is more of a bottleneck than cpu performance.

Main use is for gaming though, where 8 cores would initially bring no benefit but there is the platform issue to consider: I could argue that LGA2011 is going to have a longer lifetime and offer better options than LGA1155. Quad channel memory support is probably only going to make it to LGA2011.

Also I have a little bit of an issue about having an integrated GPU in my CPU that I don't want to use and even if I wanted to, cannot be used (With P67) at all. What a waste of die area.

All that is a bit of a moot point though if the performance of 2600k, especially overclocked, is going to be about as good as those initial benchmarks on a lower end model would seem to indicate.

Still. If I do indeed get the 2600k, I might feel really ankward half a year later when the new high end stuff ships.

 

[Davros]

First I thought I would get a motorcycle

Then I demand you spend the same amount of money
eyeinfinity 6
32gb+ imagine a 16gb ram drive
multiple ssd'd in a striped array
and maybe a hyper drive 5 http://www.hyperossystems.co.uk/

 

[Mendel]

Hyperdrive would be too volatile, losing data on a power outage even with the dc adaptor.
Two or four way raid 0 Vertex 2 or next gen Intel SSD should suffice indeed.
I'm thinking 4x4GB or 6x4GB memory kit depending on how many channels are supported on motherboard and cpu. I highly doubt 8GB memory units will be affordable if even available.

 

[Davros]

Hyperdrive would be too volatile, losing data on a power outage even with the dc adaptor.

it has battery backup and backs up to a compact flash card in case of power loss

highly doubt 8GB memory units will be affordable if even available.

theyre available
the ASUS Z8PE-D12X supports upto 96gb it has 12 ddr3 slots

 

[DuckThor Evil]

As long as you realise that your upgrading is based solely on desire rather than need you should be ok. Let's face it, you'r really not going to need any extra power compared to your current rig until next gen consoles arrive and graphics should take a leap forward. That is still few years away and by then you should be able to get much more powerful machine with similar budget.

Then again buying new rigs is fun

 

[Davros]

true, and with a a good cooler he could get that q6600 to 3.6 a 50% increase (thats what im going to do to tide me over once i feel lacking in cpu power)

 

[Mendel]

yeah the q6600 is running at 3.2 constantly so it's okay for a while.

I'm hoping the next cpu can run at 4GHz or over with air or noob water cooling like H50.

 

[homerdog]

Then I demand you spend the same amount of money
eyeinfinity 6
32gb+ imagine a 16gb ram drive
multiple ssd'd in a striped array
and maybe a hyper drive 5 http://www.hyperossystems.co.uk/

Lol it boots Windows XP in 4 seconds.

 

[Erinyes]

Im looking at an upgrade next year as well. Im currently on an E8400+4850, which still runs all the newer games(at reduced settings of course). Tho i have only 2GB of ram, and at today's RAM prices it dosent make sense to upgrade to 4GB of DDR2.

Im thinking of upgrading to the Core i7 2600k as well, and i think that should keep me going for another two years. Most games nowadays dont even make use of quad cores so 8 cores is overkill for the short to medium term. Ill hold out for an 8 core machine when Haswell is released(along with 22nm BD). And i think 4 GB of ram should be good for 2011. A better investment would be an SSD(waiting for Intel's Gen3 to see how they perform)

 

[DennisK4]

I was looking to upgrade with an 8-core Sandy Bridge but for some reason (anyone?) Intel are going to wait a long time before releasing those.

So I may not be able to wait that long and I guess that will mean the soon-to-arrive 6-core i7 990X Extreme Edition.

The Intel next gen quad channels i7, are they really going to limit it to single memory slot per channel ? The idea of having 32 GB for reasonable price is so tempting, if Intel offers 8 slots. I'll probably upgrade to something like that. 6-8 cores, 32 GB, 10 hdds and some low end graphic solution, happy days at work

Does anybody have any info that would suggest we can expect the option of more than the current desktop limit of 24GB RAM with Sandy Bridge?

I am considering going with a 2 x Xeon X5680 workstation setup for 12 physical cores and 96GB RAM but the price is astronomical - now add the GPUs and SSD!

 

[Tahir2]

I have been doing the opposite of Mendel and been steadily downgrading my system.

Currently a Sempron with 2nd core activated, 4GB of Ballistix DDR2 800 memory.

Sold the Radeon HD 4870 512MB today, changed platforms from an Intel Core 2 Duo to integrated gfx AM3 system and managed to get that free Sempron when upgrading a friends PC.

Next on the list for the downgrade is 2x 2GB Ballistix memory, need to make back what I paid for it ages ago at least and will use a 2GB Kingston stick instead.

System will then be used for the kids PC and some HD content occassionally.

Reason for this madness? Recent purchase of an Xbox 360 Arcade for very little and my PS3 is hopefully on its way soon too.

Damn consoles...

 

[homerdog]

Exactly the opposite here. I am looking to sell the XB360 to subsidize a CPU upgrade, but I doubt I'd get much for it. Oh well, it isn't getting any more valuable collecting dust in the closet.

 

[Davros]

I am looking to sell the XB360 to subsidize a CPU upgrade,

The Gaming Gods weep tears of joy...