Future proof

[hennessy1]

How future proof is the Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Kentsfield 2.66GHz ?

 

[swtethan]

no one knows, but in july... quad cores will start at $266

 

[Cooler]

Nothing is really future proof just ask the people who got an Pressler cpu 6 months before C2D came out. In 14-15 months Intel?s new arch will be out with an IMC and new version of hyper threading which allows at least 8 threads per chip. Just buy what you need right now and always plan to upgrade in every 1.5 years or buy a new computer every 3.5 if you play PC games. On bright side cpus have about 2 year life cycle before they start to become noticeable slower on new video game unlike gpus.

 

[Extelleron]

Nothing is really "future proof" in the computer industry. Less than two years ago everybody wanted an X2 4800+ or an FX-57 and modern C2D processors, or even AMD processors like the X2 6000+, put either to shame. Two years from now X6800's or QX6700's will still be good performers but if you buy a high-end product like either of them, expect them to lose value pretty quickly.

Overall, how fast you'll notice the need for a new CPU depends on what you do. If you do really CPU intensive tasks like encoding or rendering, you will probably want to upgrade pretty often. If you all you do do is play games and perform less CPU-intensive tasks, then you'll be fine for maybe 2-3 years.

 

[sdsdv10]

Originally posted by: Cooler
Intel?s new arch will be out with an IMC and new version of hyper threading which allows at least 8 threads per chip.

Actually, it will be 16 threads per chip. The Nehalem (sp?) chip will have up to 8 physical cores (from what I read there will be dual, quad and octa core variants).

 

[DrMrLordX]

The QX6700 should last you 'til Nehalem, provided you get a good OC out of it. If you manage to hit 3.4 ghz or higher, you'll be in pretty good shape.

 

[tatteredpotato]

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX
The QX6700 should last you 'til Barcelona, provided you get a good OC out of it. If you manage to hit 3.4 ghz or higher, you'll be in pretty good shape.

Fixed

 

[DrMrLordX]

Hah, well maybe Barcelona will unseat it, and maybe it won't. Clockspeed will be important, methinks. I still think a 3.4 ghz+ Kentsfield will do pretty well for quite some time, even if K10 chips manage to unseat it (and Penryn).

 

[Bateluer]

Its funny how our standards so so different than the rest of the public. Most people are still running with single core P4s between 2 and 2.4Ghz, or A64s between 1.8 and 2.2Ghz.

And here we are worrying that our 2.6Ghz quad cores won't last us a few months.

 

[trexpesto]

My gal has a Dell P2, I think 466MHz. Webmail, DiamondMine, Chronicle of Higher Education.
The thing cost like 2400 about 10 years ago.

 

[Pwntcomputer]

How much performance difference do you see Nahelem and IMC having over Penryn? I want to upgrade in the next year or so. Penryn is a die shrink and a couple other things, but Nahalem seems to be much more significant.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Extelleron
Nothing is really "future proof" in the computer industry.

QFT

Originally posted by: Cooler
Nothing is really future proof just ask the people who got an Pressler cpu 6 months before C2D came out.

Hahaha, reminds me of a LAN gaming buddy of mine who bought a (I think) BadAxe motherboard with a Pressler the month before Core 2 Duo came out. In another forum I told him to wait, but he said that he just coudln't wait anymore, but he was futureproofing his purchase by getting a board that can take a Core 2 Duo. Well, he got an older revision that cannot take the newer chip.

future proof
Loch Ness Monster
unicorns
the female orgasm

What do the four have in common? They don't exist (well, except for the last one, LOL).

 

[BitByBit]

Originally posted by: Pwntcomputer
How much performance difference do you see Nahelem and IMC having over Penryn? I want to upgrade in the next year or so. Penryn is a die shrink and a couple other things, but Nahalem seems to be much more significant.

I don't expect Nehalem's IMC to make a huge difference to performance; Core's massive caches and sophisticated prefetching are Intel's 'instead-of' solution, and greatly reduces the need for a fast memory interface. I suspect the biggest improvement will come from its core improvements (likely FPU) and its SMT ability. Given the width of Core's execution engine and its ability to decode four instructions per cycle, it is likely that SMT will make a bigger impact on Core's performance than it did with Netburst. Of course, to fully utilise SMT Nehalem would need to be executing code with more than four threads.

 

[destrekor]

a single CPU will never be truly future proof.
If you jump on a new socket and/or chipset at it's launch, you'll be sorta future proof for awhile. Look the LGA775 platform will be around for a little while, and now is still a great time to jump into it. I'm switching from Socket939 very shortly. I didn't expect the 775 platform to stick for long but it has and looks like it will, as no new socket is coming out. And with all chipsets now supporting Quad Core, buying a board now should allow you to be good for at least a years worth of CPU releases from Intel. 1333fsb is supported now too, even though CPUs really aren't shipping with it yet.

 

[Pwntcomputer]

Originally posted by: destrekor
a single CPU will never be truly future proof.
If you jump on a new socket and/or chipset at it's launch, you'll be sorta future proof for awhile. Look the LGA775 platform will be around for a little while, and now is still a great time to jump into it. I'm switching from Socket939 very shortly. I didn't expect the 775 platform to stick for long but it has and looks like it will, as no new socket is coming out. And with all chipsets now supporting Quad Core, buying a board now should allow you to be good for at least a years worth of CPU releases from Intel. 1333fsb is supported now too, even though CPUs really aren't shipping with it yet.

I believe you are correct in that the socket isn't changing, but it is my understanding that only the new motherboards will support Penryn and the higher FSB. Is that correct? Thanks to BitByBit for his comentary. I really don't see myself running 8 threads at one any time soon, but who knows what software programmers are shooting for. I guess the story is always the same, as soon as you get the next thing, something new is already being discussed

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: destrekor
If you jump on a new socket and/or chipset at it's launch, you'll be sorta future proof for awhile. Look the LGA775 platform will be around for a little while, and now is still a great time to jump into it.

Tell that to people who purchased LGA775 boards a year ago today, just before the new revisions came out. IIRC about a month (or couple weeks) before the Core 2 Duos came out, it was discovered that the boards at that time would not run the C2D. Okay, so you buy a new board last summer for the C2D. What about "official" 1333MHz FSB support? What happens when Intel goes to 1600MHz FSB? What happens if Intel changes the power specs?

Stuff like this has been going on forever. Sometimes there are adaptors to allow a newer chip to run. Sometimes there is no way but a new motherboard. Got a socket 7 Pentium 100 on an HX chipset board and want to upgrade to the fastest CPU that will fit? Nope, sorry, the K6-2+ won't work. Early socket 370 PPGA Celeron board? Nope, sorry, FCPGA (Coppermine) and FCPGA2 (Tualatin) won't work. You think you can drop in a socket 478 Prescot P4 3.4E onto an Intel 845D chipset board that's been overclocking your 1.6A for years? Nope, sorry. How about some of the early 865PE chipset boards advertised (right on the motherboard box) as being "Prescott Ready?" Heh, funny about that, but Intel changed the power specs so nope, they won't run a Prescott. Got a socket A Duron 600 on an AMD 760 chipset board and want to run a Barton? Hahah, good luck. Early adoptor for socket 939 with a VIA chipset board and want to upgrade your Clawhammer to a Toledo dual core? Nope, can't do.

The physical socket aside, boards are not "future proof" either. If you have a short upgrade cycle (1 year or less?), then purchase a board with an eye towards what you may upgrade to. If you have a long upgrade cycle (2-3 years) then buy the board for what you need today and be happy if 3 years from now you can do a chip upgrade, and don't get mad if you can't.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: destrekor
If you jump on a new socket and/or chipset at it's launch, you'll be sorta future proof for awhile. Look the LGA775 platform will be around for a little while, and now is still a great time to jump into it.

Tell that to people who purchased LGA775 boards a year ago today, just before the new revisions came out. IIRC about a month (or couple weeks) before the Core 2 Duos came out, it was discovered that the boards at that time would not run the C2D. Okay, so you buy a new board last summer for the C2D. What about "official" 1333MHz FSB support? What happens when Intel goes to 1600MHz FSB? What happens if Intel changes the power specs?

Stuff like this has been going on forever. Sometimes there are adaptors to allow a newer chip to run. Sometimes there is no way but a new motherboard. Got a socket 7 Pentium 100 on an HX chipset board and want to upgrade to the fastest CPU that will fit? Nope, sorry, the K6-2+ won't work. Early socket 370 PPGA Celeron board? Nope, sorry, FCPGA (Coppermine) and FCPGA2 (Tualatin) won't work. You think you can drop in a socket 478 Prescot P4 3.4E onto an Intel 845D chipset board that's been overclocking your 1.6A for years? Nope, sorry. How about some of the early 865PE chipset boards advertised (right on the motherboard box) as being "Prescott Ready?" Heh, funny about that, but Intel changed the power specs so nope, they won't run a Prescott. Got a socket A Duron 600 on an AMD 760 chipset board and want to run a Barton? Hahah, good luck. Early adoptor for socket 939 with a VIA chipset board and want to upgrade your Clawhammer to a Toledo dual core? Nope, can't do.

The physical socket aside, boards are not "future proof" either. If you have a short upgrade cycle (1 year or less?), then purchase a board with an eye towards what you may upgrade to. If you have a long upgrade cycle (2-3 years) then buy the board for what you need today and be happy if 3 years from now you can do a chip upgrade, and don't get mad if you can't.

very true.. I looked past those things I guess.