Is the 2600K the most future proof CPU ever?

[Asphodelus]

Granted it's largely due to "Windows XP syndrome", but has any other CPU ever lasted such a long time (and counting)?

 

[scannall]

Granted it's largely due to "Windows XP syndrome", but has any other CPU ever lasted such a long time (and counting)?

Lots of i7-920's and other X58 parts like the Xeon 56xx series still out there chugging along. But yes, the 2600K has been performing well for a long time too.

 

[whm1974]

It came out in what 2010 or 2011? Not bad for a six or seven year old CPU.

 

[FelixDeCat]

I have had the Sandy Bridge i7 2700K for 6 years now, but I had my Northwood Pentium4 3.2GHZ for almost 6.5 years!!

2004-2011

2011-????

 

[mohit9206]

I've been using Pentium Sandy Bridge and it still is good for most things i do on my pc. Can't play latest aaa games anymore because its dual core but everything else runs great.

 

[Sonikku]

It is not so much that it is an amazing processor as much as it is that the rapid improvements of the 90's are long past us. Processors were getting so good so fast back then it became a joke at how your PC was obsolete almost as fast as you got it home from the store. Now? Half a decade later and the only thing needing replacing regularly is the gpu.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Now? Half a decade later and the only thing needing replacing regularly is the gpu.

Don't forget to install an SSD for the OS! That's the biggest improvement we've seen in the last 6-7 years, IMHO.

Faster / Larger SSDs are even better, but at the least, if you care at all about the performance of your PC, and it's less than 10 years old, then just add an entry-level SSD. (Older than that, and it might be an IDE system, which is hard to find SSDs for.)

 

[Sonikku]

Don't forget to install an SSD for the OS!

I have it on good authority that I stand to gain a 128gb ssd in the near future.

 

[bigboxes]

Granted it's largely due to "Windows XP syndrome", but has any other CPU ever lasted such a long time (and counting)?

My i7 920 is still chugging along. Also, depends on what you want a CPU to do. They can live a long life after they've stopped gaming.

 

[John Carmack]

It is not so much that it is an amazing processor as much as it is that the rapid improvements of the 90's are long past us. Processors were getting so good so fast back then it became a joke at how your PC was obsolete almost as fast as you got it home from the store. Now? Half a decade later and the only thing needing replacing regularly is the gpu.

50/50 that and lack of competition allowed Intel to sit back and do the bare minimum from year to year. See this rushed Coffee Lake launch and upgrade of the lineup from top to bottom? There was no technological barrier preventing them from doing this 3 or 4 years ago.

 

[whm1974]

My i7 920 is still chugging along. Also, depends on what you want a CPU to do. They can live a long life after they've stopped gaming.

Oh yes, a quad core CPU will last a long time now. Even if AMD and Intel released something with double the performance or more most tasks folks are doing wouldn't see any difference.

 

[kwalkingcraze]

Granted it's largely due to "Windows XP syndrome", but has any other CPU ever lasted such a long time (and counting)?

The oldest and most future proof CPU ever is actually AMD A10-5800K Trinity. Intel Core i7-2600K is nearly-close, but its GPU is getting slow and uncompetitive today (unless you put in your graphic card).

 

[VirtualLarry]

The oldest and most future proof CPU ever is actually AMD A10-5800K Trinity.

Some truth to that. I've got a buddy with one, still.

 

[Asphodelus]

The oldest and most future proof CPU ever is actually AMD A10-5800K Trinity. Intel Core i7-2600K is nearly-close, but its GPU is getting slow and uncompetitive today (unless you put in your graphic card).

From a gaming perspective, the HD 2000 was uncompetitive on the day it was launched. IIRC it doesn't even support DX11. This is sarcasm, right?

 

[StinkyPinky]

The pace of CPU's has clearly slowed so it's a bit misleading. My 4790k is three years old and not only is it still a good gaming CPU, it's still one of the best gaming cpus. After three years....

 

[Zor Prime]

I still use a Phenom II X6 that came out roughly a year prior to the 2600. I hop between it and my Ryzen 1700 box playing Mass Effect Andromeda, it still has life.

 

[SPBHM]

the 2600K OC really feels like a current CPU, other older CPUs are still good, but not like that, like the 920@3.5GHz or even a Q6600 @ 3.2GHz+
also the platform feels a bit more modern and power usage more under control. so yes...

the IGP was outdated and bad at launch and not the point here, 2600K is a CPU to be used with discrete graphics only basically,

 

[TahoeDust]

My backup box is a 2700k @ 5.0GHz. Unless I am doing VERY complicated tasks, benchmarking, or watching the FPS counter, it does not feel very different then my 7820x. For a week, while my 7820x was off at Silicon Lottery getting delidded, I ran the 2700k box with my 1080 ti. It was still an absolute gaming monster.

 

[mojothehut]

4770k @ 4.5 ghz on a Z87 mobo. Does everything I want it to do just fine still.
I upgrade to 4770k from 2600k , noticed almost no difference at the time.
Considering Coffee lake upgrade, mostly because I just want to build a rig for the sake of building.

 

[Tup3x]

3770K has slight edge (in longevity) because PCI-E 3.0 support.

 

[Spjut]

It says something about the longevity of CPUs when a Phenom II X4 or Kentsdale C2Q can't play modern games because of lacking SSE4 and not because of horsepower. Those games got SSE2 patched in when the community became too noisy.

As it is now I'm eager to see if an i7 920 will continue being viable for gaming until the next-gen consoles come.

 

[Guru]

Yes, but even the 800 or 900 series lasted quite a while and were useful for a long period. Probably until Intel's 4000 series CPU's. Though considering Intel has been milking the consumers and releasing barely 5% faster CPU's year over year, its no wonder processors like the 2600k are still relevant even today!

 

[.vodka]

Yeah, it's quite easily the most future proof CPU ever, especially if you get it up to 4.5GHz, nevermind a golden sample at 5GHz stable, that and a memory upgrade to faster 1866-2133 DDR3.

The extra threads did wonders these last few years over the 2500k's only four threads.

 

[Yakk]

I have 2 rigs still running i7-920@4ghz for day-to-day gaming since 2008. Almost 1 decade and still feel like a new CPU honestly!

The pace of CPU developement has been atrociously slow. Just added USB 3 cards and they still do just about everything I need at home, including encoding & gaming.

If Threadripper can match this, I'll be quite happy.

 

[kirbyrj]

From a gaming perspective, the HD 2000 was uncompetitive on the day it was launched. IIRC it doesn't even support DX11. This is sarcasm, right?

HD3000 on Sandy Bridge?