Upgrade Question : IB-E or Haswell-E

[adnank77]

So I'm still running i7 930 with a mild overclock .. See the full specs in my signature..

I'm wondering about next gen games at my crazy resolution ... When will be the right time to upgrade? I won't have budget until March .. Should I go IBe in march or hold on longer for Haswell-e?

I'm considering tri graphics setup that's why I'm considering the E series for extra PCIe lanes...

 

[tweakboy]

Dude, Im waiting for Sept 10th when 3 Ivy Bridge E 6 cores 12 threads is enough for my DAW. 8 core in future is overkill for me at least... So ya Im gonna get the 4960X chip so I can say I had the fastest chip in the world at one time. hehe desktop of course. gg and gl

 

[tweakboy]

once I spend this 1k on the 4960X ..... no more PC spending for long time, until I get a video card 880 GTX. unconfirmed model name...

 

[crashtech]

It's impossible to say, but in a few weeks we'll at least know how IB-E performs. It might be better to revisit the question at that time.

 

[Arachnotronic]

So I'm still running i7 930 with a mild overclock .. See the full specs in my signature..

I'm wondering about next gen games at my crazy resolution ... When will be the right time to upgrade? I won't have budget until March .. Should I go IBe in march or hold on longer for Haswell-e?

I'm considering tri graphics setup that's why I'm considering the E series for extra PCIe lanes...

Life's too short to wait - get the IVB-E. That's what I'm doing.

 

[isamu99]

Is Ivy-E a significant upgrade over a Core i7 950?

 

[cytg111]

It's impossible to say, but in a few weeks we'll at least know how IB-E performs. It might be better to revisit the question at that time.

this.

And possible longer, if it was me, i'd like to see how the first PS4/X1-> PC ports are going to do on quads+

 

[crashtech]

Is Ivy-E a significant upgrade over a Core i7 950?

Clock-for-clock, Ivy-E can be expected to be about 15-20% faster than Bloomfield overall. Is that significant? Sure. Reason enough to spend lots of money? Up to you.

 

[blackened23]

I think it's more than 15-20%. I've upgraded numerous 920 and 870 systems to Ivy Bridge and in CPU limited applications the difference is quite immense. Of course, most folks just look at GPU limited gaming benchmarks and immediately brush such differences off, but I can state that most applications are not GPU limited. Further, most games are not GPU limited either - but most people like taking comfort in their 5 year old systems by staring at GPU limited benchmarks. Even if you're a gamer not every game is a Metro: Last Light - CPU makes a big difference in strategy games, MOBAs, MMOs, among a variety of other games - SC2: HOTS in particular benefits tremendously from higher CPU speed. Anyway, I feel like some folks wear blinders and see what they want to see when staring at benchmarks for their C2Q and Nehalem PCs...(By the way, this is not in any way directed at you, crashtech - just a general observation)

With all that said...OP: if you're upgrading now I would just get IVB-E. If you're upgrading early next year, Haswell-E makes more sense but be aware that the costs for Haswell-E will be generally be higher - this may or may not matter to you. DDR-4 and SATA-E will be new features with Haswell-E and I have absolutely no doubt that both of these technologies will be expensive at launch. On the other hand, all of the tech associated with IVB-E is well established and reasonable in price, IMO. You also get all of the current technology that you need such as SATA6G and PCIE 3.0. That (added cost) may be a consideration for you, if cost matters a lot to you.

 

[crashtech]

It is more than that if they were not running an extreme overclock. The stock turbo clocks are 3.33 for the 950 vs. ~3.9 for IB-E, right there is another 17% if all else was equal. All the variables make answering a vague question pretty difficult.

 

[blackened23]

It is more than that if they were not running an extreme overclock. The stock turbo clocks are 3.33 for the 950 vs. ~3.9 for IB-E, right there is another 17% if all else was equal. All the variables make answering a vague question pretty difficult.

Well that's a valid point. The question becomes slightly ambiguous when taking overclocks into account - of course the IVB and even Haswell have much higher overall clockspeed frequency potential. But you're probably correct about 15-20% at stock frequencies.

 

[tweakboy]

Is Ivy-E a significant upgrade over a Core i7 950?

YES big difference. Ivy E crushes a 950. gl

 

[adnank77]

Thanks guys .. Since I'll have budget in March only, I guess you are right that it's kinda early to judge.
In general, IBe sounds more tempting due to expensive side effects of HasE

 

[JimmiG]

Pity we have to wait so long for Haswell to reach the high-end platform. It looks like the true next-gen CPU/platform that LGA1150 should have been. Who cares about Ivy Bridge now? It's last years news.

Frame rates in games at high resolutions are mostly dependent on the GPU. You could always get two GTX 780's or something and keep the rest of your system for now.

 

[adnank77]

Pity we have to wait so long for Haswell to reach the high-end platform. It looks like the true next-gen CPU/platform that LGA1150 should have been. Who cares about Ivy Bridge now? It's last years news.

Frame rates in games at high resolutions are mostly dependent on the GPU. You could always get two GTX 780's or something and keep the rest of your system for now.

I'm thinking of this approach too .. get a pair of good graphics cards in March and then do a system revamp when Haswell-e is out along with adding a third card ..

 

[RAJOD]

I think it's more than 15-20%. I've upgraded numerous 920 and 870 systems to Ivy Bridge and in CPU limited applications the difference is quite immense. Of course, most folks just look at GPU limited gaming benchmarks and immediately brush such differences off, but I can state that most applications are not GPU limited. Further, most games are not GPU limited either - but most people like taking comfort in their 5 year old systems by staring at GPU limited benchmarks. Even if you're a gamer not every game is a Metro: Last Light - CPU makes a big difference in strategy games, MOBAs, MMOs, among a variety of other games - SC2: HOTS in particular benefits tremendously from higher CPU speed. Anyway, I feel like some folks wear blinders and see what they want to see when staring at benchmarks for their C2Q and Nehalem PCs...(By the way, this is not in any way directed at you, crashtech - just a general observation)

With all that said...OP: if you're upgrading now I would just get IVB-E. If you're upgrading early next year, Haswell-E makes more sense but be aware that the costs for Haswell-E will be generally be higher - this may or may not matter to you. DDR-4 and SATA-E will be new features with Haswell-E and I have absolutely no doubt that both of these technologies will be expensive at launch. On the other hand, all of the tech associated with IVB-E is well established and reasonable in price, IMO. You also get all of the current technology that you need such as SATA6G and PCIE 3.0. That (added cost) may be a consideration for you, if cost matters a lot to you.

You just had upgraditis. I have a I7-920@ 3.4 with a 770GTX and a I73770k with GTX 580. The 920 holds it own just fine in everything gaming. Better in most games than the faster 3770k I have due to its better gpu.

In SC2 (cpu limited) the 3770k will pull 5-10 more fps, not huge. I don't do a ton of video encoding so any difference there is not really worth it.

Most people will have major buyers remorse if they pay for a new MB, Ram, CPU, etc thinking the Ivy going to crush the i7 X58 in games. Its not.

Sure you can cherry pick a few cpu limited games to make you feel better about getting the upgrade, but the reality is its not worth it for most people.

I have a 6 cpu lan and can hope from the 920 to the 3770k and I don't FEEL a huge difference. If i cherry pick some benchmarks (that have nothing to do with day to day computing for me. I could make it look like the upgrade was really needed.

Most people are not going to make up the difference in productivity in anything to pay for the MB/cpu/ram. Some people just want to have the latest like getting a new cell phone every 6 months. Thats fine. But don't act like "OMG I need it, cause you really dont, Its more "I want it".

 

[tweakboy]

Is Ivy-E a significant upgrade over a Core i7 950?

HUGE difference man. Yes upgrade cuz it blows your 950 away. Get a SSD if you can as well, unless you have one already. gl

 

[Remobz]

In my opinion, IB-E is useless and way toooooooooo late to matter now.

 

[Ajay]

Unless you really need to upgrade now, for some specific reason (even if it's because you have money burning a whole in your pocket or you are bored); I think you'll be better off waiting for Haswell-E. It'll be a much more modern platform, X79 was lacking from the get go and still is. If Haswell-E turns out the same, then in 2015 Skylake shows up and it should be a very nice upgrade over what you have now and will support PCIe 4.0 which should provide plenty of bandwidth for up to 3 or 4 video cards.

Actually, if you are not much into overclocking, why go with Intel HEDT platform at all?

 

[adnank77]

Unless you really need to upgrade now, for some specific reason (even if it's because you have money burning a whole in your pocket or you are bored); I think you'll be better off waiting for Haswell-E. It'll be a much more modern platform, X79 was lacking from the get go and still is. If Haswell-E turns out the same, then in 2015 Skylake shows up and it should be a very nice upgrade over what you have now and will support PCIe 4.0 which should provide plenty of bandwidth for up to 3 or 4 video cards.

Actually, if you are not much into overclocking, why go with Intel HEDT platform at all?

Thanks dear .. I've decided not to upgrade until I see a real jump or requirement which is fitting your criteria here ..

 

[Arachnotronic]

I love my 4930K. Just buy one. It'll make your old Nehalem seem...old

 

[Batmeat]

I'm still using an i7 860 and waiting. Haswell at this point is huge letdown. I'll revisit upgrading again with Haswell E, but if not then, then Skylake for sure.

 

[JimmiG]

When will be the right time to upgrade?

When the games you want to play no longer run at acceptable frame rates at the detail settings you want to use.

 

[adnank77]

I love my 4930K. Just buy one. It'll make your old Nehalem seem...old

LoL ..

I never doubted that my Nehalem is Old .. I'm only doubting if it's Old-Enough to be replaced ..

4930K is awesome processor .. But I'm not convinced yet that it's an awsome replacement for i7 930 ..

Enjoy your 4930

 

[Unoid]

Haswell-E will be where it's at for a lot of us enthusiasts I'm guessing.
However the price of entry will be worse than x79. (expensive ddr-4)

It will be nice to be able to buy a 8c/16t for $500 (I hope)

However we will be stuck with 4.2ghz overclocks unless intel magically makes it on 14nm, then who knows. IMO Intel should make Haswell-e on the haswell 14nm refresh and shorten the Mainstream --> enthusiast gap down to 6months, not 12-14 months.