When will Nehalem processors be "affordable" (<$200)?

[tracerit]

I currently have a E2160 and planned on upgrading to Nehalem when it comes out. When do you think we'll be seeing Nehalem processors for under $200? Or should I just upgrade to an E8500 for $180 now and wait it out?

 

[nanaki333]

let me check my crystal ball...... may 5th 2009 at 9:46:33AM

 

[edplayer]

Which Time Zone? I'm gonna make it on my calendar

 

[nefariouscaine]

Originally posted by: nanaki333
let me check my crystal ball...... may 5th 2009 at 9:46:33AM

i think he's in the know - but honestly i can't see the consumer versions of the new chips being much under $200 close to initial release

new socket - new process - and consumer release dates are a little sketchy right now too so as with all things there isn't much predicting pricing until it hits the shelves

and remember that upgrade means all board based parts will need to be replaced - mobo - ddr2 for ddr3 - likely if you have an aftermarket cooler its questionable

don't decide based on when the new parts are going to get down in price (as its all opinions and speculation) but if you can deal with your current level of hardware for an undetermined amount of time - just my 2 cents

 

[RussianSensation]

My guess is that by the time P55 (?) or mainstream chipset comes out so you are able to buy good OCing boards for $100-110 and DDR3 is reasonably priced, it won't be until Q2 2009. Other than that, overclock your processor now to 3.0ghz and it should hold you for another 6 months. In what tasks do you feel your system is running slow?

 

[tracerit]

I'm currently using a Gigabyte P35-DS3L mobo with E2160 (stock) in an aging Antec Sonata I case. I bought an Antec Mini P180 so I'll have to go with a MicroATX mobo. The E2160 doesn't handle HD content too well so I'm wondering since I'm getting a new mobo, if I might as well get a new CPU. For example, if Nehalem takes maybe into 2010 before we see <$200 processors, I'm going to go with an E8500. But if it gets cheaper in the summer, I'll just keep the E2160 now and wait it out.

 

[nanaki333]

processors are so cheap now. get a q9550 and you'll be good til the new processors come down in price.

 

[RussianSensation]

I wouldn't expect Nehalem to drop below $200 for 2 reasons:

1) In 2008 it's positioned as premium platform - with no competition from AMD why would they lower the price from $284 to $199 on the slowest chip?

2) Intel tends to phase out their processors on the high end (see Quad Cores) keeping price levels the same. The only exception to this seems to be Q6600 which is the only quad below $200.

Now consider that X58 is a premium chipset, and the cheapest X48 motherboard you can buy now is $190 (MSI X48C) on Newegg after MIR. Most are over $200. I don't expect any X58 board to cost less than $200.

Add to that that cheapest DDR3 4gb costs about $160. So you'll spend $100 extra for the mobo, $100 extra for the memory. That's a lot of $ when you can pick up a Q6600 for $180 today and overclock that to 3.4ghz.

Also, for HD movies, you might want to get a better videocard - something along the lines of 4670 - even 3850 will do.

Don't forget, overclocking 2160 is ridiculously easy on your board!!! If you don't want to overclock, then sure get an E8400/E8500.

I believe the next intel price cut is October 19th.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: tracerit
I currently have a E2160 and planned on upgrading to Nehalem when it comes out. When do you think we'll be seeing Nehalem processors for under $200? Or should I just upgrade to an E8500 for $180 now and wait it out?

When does Westmere (32nm) come out? Fall 2009?

 

[demiurge3141]

Originally posted by: tracerit
I'm currently using a Gigabyte P35-DS3L mobo with E2160 (stock) in an aging Antec Sonata I case. I bought an Antec Mini P180 so I'll have to go with a MicroATX mobo. The E2160 doesn't handle HD content too well so I'm wondering since I'm getting a new mobo, if I might as well get a new CPU. For example, if Nehalem takes maybe into 2010 before we see <$200 processors, I'm going to go with an E8500. But if it gets cheaper in the summer, I'll just keep the E2160 now and wait it out.

Stock? Come on, just overclock that thing, it will do 3.0-3.2 easy.

 

[vailr]

Newegg shows one P45 Micro ATX board, and it's priced at $159.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813136055
It's not a Nehalem board, but it does have the ICH10 chipset, which should be an improvement compared to your P35/ICH9 board.

 

[taltamir]

when AMD produces a contender, or when intel releases their next architecture after nahalem.

 

[coldpower27]

When we get some Dual Core's and platforms based on LGA1160. I would guess sometime Mid 2009 or later.

 

[harpoon84]

Current iterations of Nehalem (Bloomfield) won't drop below $200 AFAIK. We'll probably have to wait for Lynnfield in Q3 09 to see sub $200 prices.

 

[pitkalsar]

Originally posted by: nanaki333
let me check my crystal ball...... may 5th 2009 at 9:46:33AM

hay it's on my birthday! sweet i'll get nehalem on my birthday woohoo =p

 

[tracerit]

I'll just pick up an e7200/ECS mobo combo from Frys the next time they have it for $100 then. Or should I go with the e8500/ECS mobo they have now for $180? All I do is use the net, download bittorrents, play WoW, watch HD/1080p content, and recently I've been reading some ebooks in PDF (large files).

 

[QuadDamage2k]

Go 8500 and overclock, you will love it!

 

[Wuzup101]

Honestly, I just bought a q6600 and built a system around it. The prices on current processors is pretty good, and I don't see Nahalem being "cheep" any time soon (nor do I like being the extreme early adopter!). I'd much rather build a $1000 rig every year than build a $2000 rig every 2 years.

As far as current tech stands, I doubt an e8500 or q6600 (or one of the newer 45nm quads) is going to have any problem running any game/program for a while. What are you doing with your machine (gaming, encoding, etc?). Honestly, if it's just a standard gaming/media/etc... machine, I would just drop a new $200 chip in it right now (of after the next price drop if you can wait). If you don't need Nahalem right away (and really... there aren't many of us here that can say we "need" it), wait for a bit for some good boards to come out, ddr3 to come down, etc... and then build (you'll get better prices and better value).

Then again, it's even cheaper to just overclock the hell out of your chip. Get yourself a sunbeam core contact freezer for $35 (after a $5 MIR) from the egg and go to town.