I7950 or Sandybridge Core i7-2600K?

[Nemesis 1]

There is more cache on the 2600k in addition to HTT.

Ya this is true Ben . About the 8MB of Cache Vs 6mb cache. But you do understand you can assign the amount of cache the IGP gets do you not . Slices. The thing I have been trying to find out with little success. Did the extra 2 mb of cache add another stop onthe ring bus . Now this does change the picture abit if another stop was added to the ringbus. As more bandwidth is available.

 

[Ben90]

It would appear so. I'm moderately clueless as to how ring busses work aside from some obvious basics, but it looks like the extra 2MB block will indeed increase aggregate bandwidth.

Its easy to see how this design is bringing us one step closer to a many-core-compatible architecture as this alleviates some scaling problems in current-gen processors.

I'm curious as to how the ring bus will affect latency however. What happens if a cache hungry process has the information stored in a location many hops away from the processing core. It might not matter on these small quad cores, but on a 16 core monstrosity will latency still remain low?

 

[mv2devnull]

However I get the sense that many of these are people who have the bug to get a new PC even though they don't really need it today, and they're conflicted between scratching that itch or having to wait 5 weeks to scratch it.

Of course. But it should be a no-brainer for them too. They will most likely have the bug next year as well, whether or not they do scratch now.


Btw, what are these "techies" referred to by the OP?

 

[itsmevader]

techies

hardcore programmer and gamers

 

[mv2devnull]

Those hardcores already know what they really need.

 

[itsmevader]

Those hardcores already know what they really need.

Besides they know that now something good is getting and something is coming which they don't know that it would be worth or not. Perhaps you should check the so far voted poll's result.They looks terrible to me. 1/4th do not agree to wait. 11 count is pretty surprising. Its just not to 2-3 guys.

 

[Gillbot]

Ka-ching ! Exactly.

Example: we have a folding race going on in December in DC. I need a CPU NOW, the race is over by the time SB comes out. I am sure there are many other examples, not the least of which may be a Christmas present for someone ????

I'd let you borrow a 980x but I know how hard those folders are on gear! ;-)

 

[smakme7757]

I was going to buy a i7-950 seeing as the price is so nice , but waiting is the best option. Normally when people say wait it's like 6 months to a year, but now were talking mere weeks. There is no better time than to wait than now!

Plus i've never jumped on new tech so early and i need a PC upgrade so now i have my chance!

 

[BBMW]

In my mind SB vs current 1366 comes down to the following questions:

How many video cards do you want to run?
How much memory do you need.

If you're only going to run one video card, go with SB. If you need more three (or more, if possible?) go with a 1366 platform processor. For two, if you need PCI x16 on both cards go with 1366, otherwise SB.

With memory, if you need more than 16GB, but 1366, and start looking at server platforms.

I do think for the vast majority of desktop users SB will be the better choice.

 

[busmaster11]

My biggest gripe is that with SB I'm buying a GPU I'll never use, and paying for it and having it add to the heat dissipation and wattage. I this a valid concern?

 

[Nemesis 1]

Don't use IGP. As for adding cost to cpu . At the pricing I don't see where intel is charging to much at all. Its a free video processor. Intels real problem with SB isn't available performance so much as AMD/ATI and NV fanbois will finally be united against the true innnovator INtel.
SO I just going to go with the 1155 SB on the browser,Both SB and IB. and have a blast doing it. I have a gaming setup that I can do the E-penis thing if I so desire.

 

[BathroomFeeling]

My biggest gripe is that with SB I'm buying a GPU I'll never use, and paying for it and having it add to the heat dissipation and wattage. I this a valid concern?

If those leaked prices are accurate, it should be about equal or lower to existing CPUs. Eg. i5 760 ~ i5 2400 or 2500. So basically you get an integrated GPU for free. Power draw seems about equal or a touch lower that of existing CPUs too, so no additional heat.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3871/the-sandy-bridge-preview-three-wins-in-a-row/12

 

[Martimus]

If those leaked prices are accurate, it should be about equal or lower to existing CPUs. Eg. i5 760 ~ i5 2400 or 2500. So basically you get an integrated GPU for free. Power draw seems about equal or a touch lower that of existing CPUs too, so no additional heat.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3871/the-sandy-bridge-preview-three-wins-in-a-row/12

It isn't free. It comes at the cost of power and development costs that could have been used on the CPU portion of the die.

 

[Martimus]

EDIT: I don't feel comfortable saying what I wrote, as I am not so sure anymore. It really has been a long time since I worked with this and I don't want to spread misinformation.

 

[betasub]

^ The sort of wisdom that's not too common on "teh intawebz"

 

[BoomerD]

I'm about to start buying parts for a new i5 build. I'm gonna wait and see what the Sandy Bridge processor release brings. Prices look pretty decent.

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/intels_sandy_bridge_launch_details_leaked_web

 

[mv2devnull]

My biggest gripe is that with SB I'm buying a GPU I'll never use, and paying for it and having it add to the heat dissipation and wattage. I this a valid concern?

Apparently the SB can power off unused components, so heat and wattage should not be an issue. At least the prereleased designs hint so.

 

[aigomorla]

Wait... where was there news of a LGA1355?

This one is even new to me...

I heard of a dual socket SB... is that 1355?

Apparently the SB can power off unused components, so heat and wattage should not be an issue. At least the prereleased designs hint so.

Inactive cores? or inactive components?
Like Video card and erata?

Wait... isnt that called sleep?

If your talking about cores, its a built in feature on westmere's.

 

[smakme7757]

From what i've read the SB CPUs will disable the GPU if a descrete GPU is detected on the motherboard. I don't know for sure, but simple logic tells me that a disabled chip won't produce heat or use sytem resources.

It's all hearsay until we see a proper review of the final product.

 

[Hogan773]

It isn't free. It comes at the cost of power and development costs that could have been used on the CPU portion of the die.

Huh?

So we have a SB chip with lower TDP wattage, faster speed, better clock for clock, includes integrated graphics, and its the same price.

But you're bashing it because it "could" have been even faster in the CPU had they not chosen to spend time or money developing the graphics?

Its still better than the current i5s in every way at basically the same price.

Some of the rationalizations on these boards AGAINST SandyBridge are really stretching logic. If you want to buy a CPU today and you can't wait for a few weeks then just buy the freakin CPU but don't have to come on here and say that SandyBridge will be a disappointment or it will be "way expensive" or whatever. Just admit to oneself that you are choosing immediate gratification over spending similar money for a better product in 1 month's time.

 

[Hogan773]

Wait... where was there news of a LGA1355?

This one is even new to me...

I heard of a dual socket SB... is that 1355?

Whichever poster on here started talking about LGA1355.......I've never heard of that. It is LGA 2011.

 

[Martimus]

Huh?

So we have a SB chip with lower TDP wattage, faster speed, better clock for clock, includes integrated graphics, and its the same price.

But you're bashing it because it "could" have been even faster in the CPU had they not chosen to spend time or money developing the graphics?

Its still better than the current i5s in every way at basically the same price.

Some of the rationalizations on these boards AGAINST SandyBridge are really stretching logic. If you want to buy a CPU today and you can't wait for a few weeks then just buy the freakin CPU but don't have to come on here and say that SandyBridge will be a disappointment or it will be "way expensive" or whatever. Just admit to oneself that you are choosing immediate gratification over spending similar money for a better product in 1 month's time.

I don't see how what I said is bashing anything. But nothing is ever free, and this is no exception. I don't feel that Intel was foolish by developing a better integrated graphics platform at the expense of other options, but to say that there was no expense at all is patently untrue.

 

[aigomorla]

Whichever poster on here started talking about LGA1355.......I've never heard of that. It is LGA 2011.

This guy:

From what I can tell, the new Sandy Bridge to be released immediately will be on LGA 1155, and then later in the year they will be releasing LGA 1355. I'm assuming this is comparable to LGA 1156 VS LGA 1366. But what is the difference there? Is 1366 a better enthusiast/gamer platform? Is LGA 1155 going to be the lesser of the two compared to LGA 1355 when it comes out, or is that not really how it works?

 

[Hogan773]

I don't see how what I said is bashing anything. But nothing is ever free, and this is no exception. I don't feel that Intel was foolish by developing a better integrated graphics platform at the expense of other options, but to say that there was no expense at all is patently untrue.

I think you missed his point....he was saying the CUSTOMER basically gets the graphics for free. As in, SB is same price as today's chips, yet also includes graphics. I don't think he was literally saying that there was no "cost" incurred from an engineer's standpoint anywhere along the development pipeline.

Same could be said for the increased speed.....with SB you get the faster performance vs current CPU "for free" (because its the same price).

This logic can be picked apart of course in the technology realm because things are always getting faster, and in most cases cheaper, so there is lots of getting new performance "for free"

 

[mv2devnull]

1355 could be a typo and reference to 1356, shown here.