i7 1366 or i7 LGA2011

edgedemon

edgedemon

edgedemon

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OK, Im really begining to go round in circles here trying to spec a new rig? The more I read, the more I change my mind. My machine is so old which means that I have pretty much replace everything except the DVD drive
Im getting a case and PSU for Xmas, can borrow a 2TB drive from the server and have a spare GTX470 I can use but need the rest.

Main usage for the new machine
Around 8 VM's for testing
Lots of image manipulation with photoshop
Lots of GNS3 usage (network simulation)
Bit of gaming..

Based on that I was thinking more cores and more RAM, so SB-E looks like the way to go until I saw the cost, so I started looking at SB Z68, but that still costs a fair bit, so I thought maybe i7 1366 as an option to tide me over.
As Im resigned to having to spend a large amount of money now as I've left it too long for my upgrade, so I have come up with 3 options

Machine 1 - SB-E loveliness

Core i7-3930K 3.20GHz
Asus P9X79 PRO
G.Skill RipJawsZ 32GB (8x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C9 1866MHz
2 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB in raid 0 303.98
Zalman CNPS12X Ultimate Performance Triple Fan CPU Cooler

total cost = £1314.93


Machine 2 - i7 1366

Intel Core i7 980 3.33GHz (Gulftown)
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58
Kingston HyperX Genesis 24GB (6x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz
2 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB in raid 0
Zalman CNPS12X Ultimate Performance Triple Fan CPU Cooler 72.98

total cost = £1078


Machine 3 SB

Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge)
Asus P8Z68-V PRO GEN3 Intel Z68
G.Skill RipJawsZ 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C9 1866MHz
2 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB in raid 0
Zalman CNPS12X Ultimate Performance Triple Fan CPU Cooler

total cost = £915.93

Based on these costs Sandybridge is a non starter as for an extra £100 I can get 6 cores and 8 additional GB of RAM.

Machine 1 has the advantage of being able to upgrade to Ivybridge-E by replacing the CPU, but in reality, Im not sure I would just upgrade the CPU, Id probably upgrade the mobo as well as there are bound to be additional goodies with a new patform.

Machine 2 will give me 6 cores, more RAM, though not quite 32GB, and probably have similar upgrade costs to Ivybridge-E based on replacing the CPU/Mobo, though Im not sure how well the CPU/mobo will sell on MM in a years time compared to SB-E..
Possibly a good stop gap solution??
Plus, I feel like Im spending money on old tech which makes me worry, though from the reviews I have read there isn't that much between a 980 and a 3930K

Interested to hear comments
 
X58 is dead for a new socket, and both 1155 and X79 will have 22 nm CPUs coming out next year.

I would advise getting S1155 instead, as they will be getting cheapo 22 nm quad cores, but X79 will only have overpriced 22 nm SB-E hex cores.

Unless you are willing to spend over £800 for the latest CPU architecture, you dont want X79.
 
For upgrading yes..
But a new build, the cost difference is 400 quid or so, there is a trade off with the extra cores and extra 16Gb RAM which will be useful with multiple VM's running. 8gb RAM sticks are still very expensive, so Im limiting myself to 4 cores and 16Gb ram with 1155?
 
Yea 4 cores and 16 gb ram is the limit with Z68 untill 8 gb modules become cheaper, though it will support cheap 22 nm quads.

X58 is limited to 32nm hex cores, and 24 Gb ram.

X79 will take the most stuff - 22nm hex cores which will be super expensive, and 32 Gb ram.

If you need more than what you can get on Z68, then get X79 not X58.
 
You have a point there

The only reason why I considered x58 was the cost
6 cores and 24gb of ram for around 700
or x79
6 cores and 32Gb of ram for around 1000

I was thinking of maybe the x58 route for 12 months and then rip out the CPU/mobo for an upgrade to ivybridge-E

Having said that, having thought about it, Id have to replace the RAM as well, and Im not sure on the resale value for x58 in 12 months time - shame as the benchies show a similar performance level for 980/3320K so could have been a slightly cheaper route to more RAM/cores

looking like x79 then...
 
Hi there,

One thing that may bring the price down for the Sandy Bridge E is switching to cheaper RAM. The kits you picked seems to cost £228.

Considering Sandy Bridge E doesn't really need super fast RAM to run well (see here) then you could just go for a couple of these cheaper kits. This will close the price gap a bit with X58 and make the much faster, much newer platform the clear choice.
 
An X58 system may make sense if you would be willing to buy second hand. Your wouldn't lose much money if you bought a hex-core CPU and MB, then sold it in 18 months time. there are loads of people that hold on to systems as long as they can, and I can see the hex-core 1366 CPUs holding their value very well , as there is no further upgrade path. There'll be plenty of 920 owners looking to upgrade over the next year or two. look at the Q9xxx series of CPUs as a reference point.
 
cmndr_andi said:
Hi there,

One thing that may bring the price down for the Sandy Bridge E is switching to cheaper RAM. The kits you picked seems to cost £228.

Considering Sandy Bridge E doesn't really need super fast RAM to run well (see here) then you could just go for a couple of these cheaper kits. This will close the price gap a bit with X58 and make the much faster, much newer platform the clear choice.
Click to expand...

Nice spot - cheers
 
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