Expected UK availability date for Sandy Bridge

[noobybooby]

Hi,

I've been looking to buy a new machine for the last few months, and decided to wait for Sandy Bridge (i5-2500).

My current (and only) machine is on its last legs. Recently it has started to refuse to boot up normally, and only works in Safe Mode. So I'm becoming quite desperate to get a new machine.

I've seen the information stating that Sandy Bridge will be released on 9th Jan (http://www.guruht.com/2010/11/intel-sandy-bridge-release-date-and.html). However my question is, if that information is correct, then when am I, a UK consumer, going to be able to get my hands on it? A couple of weeks later, or a couple of months? What is the usual timescale for Intel roll outs post-release date?

Also, will the new 1155 mobos be available in the UK on the same day/week as the CPUs? It would be pretty silly if they weren't.

 

[cmndr_andi]

Well it should be noted the release date of the 9th is not confirmed by intel, but since they are being announced on the 5th in Las Vegas (lol almost said New Vegas) it sounds about right to me. We should get a confirmed roll out date on the 5th.

Assuming that it does get released on the 9th then I would expect UK availability pretty much immediately. The motherboards are already ready and have been shown to quite a few websites and Bit Tech seem to have got some chips - I imagine the OCUK folks have got their hands on them too, but they will be under NDA so won't be able to share yet.

In the past OCUK (and other UK retailers) have offered new Intel CPUs, boards and overclocked bundles immediately after launch - so if you want to get buying quick then you will be able to. However, personally I would suggest waiting a week to pour through the motherboard reviews and pick the best motherboard for your uses (and ensure there aren't any initial bugs), but if you absolutely need a motherboard ASAP then I would suggest going for the cheapest Gigabyte/ASUS board with PCIE v2.0 x8x8 SLI/CF capability.

Also, due to the restricted BCLK overclocking I would strongly suggest you go for the i5 2500K (with the unlocked multiplier) so you will be able to overclock your chip.

 

[noobybooby]

Well it should be noted ...

Thanks for the swift reply. Suprised anyone could be so coherent at 3am!

Glad to hear that CPUs and mobos are likely to be ready soon after launch. Yes, I could wait a week or so to check the reviews on prospective mobos before purchasing. I just didn't want it to be 2 months or something (using safe mode is a real PITA).

Re. getting K version of the CPU - I know people say its strongly recommended but I honestly have no plans to ever overclock, so it would be pretty pointless for me. Only advantage to me I can think of is that it might improve resale value.

 

[Dark_Angel]

Sorry to somewhat steal into the OP's thread, but am I wrong in thinking that the difference between the non overclocker friendly versions, and the OC-able versions (K) of the 2500 is something like 10 US dollars? So in theory, it shouldn't be much more than £10 difference here?

Also, what will the MB prices be? I'm assuming from about £90 - 100 for the basic entry level boards?

 

[DragonQ]

I think it's a $20 difference ($199 vs $219 IIRC).

 

[Redmint]

Considering the difference between the i5k chips and i5 non-k chips wasn't too much, I'd expect the same sort of situation with the 1155 chips.

 

[cmndr_andi]

Sorry to somewhat steal into the OP's thread, but am I wrong in thinking that the difference between the non overclocker friendly versions, and the OC-able versions (K) of the 2500 is something like 10 US dollars? So in theory, it shouldn't be much more than £10 difference here?

Aye, if this price list is accurate the difference between the i5 2500 and 2500K is $11 (in quantities of 1000). I'm sure for individual sales in the UK this will turn into £10-15, but I reckon this is definitely worth it - if nothing else but resale value, since the non-overclockable chips will not be nearly as sought after as the K series. Also overclocking with an unlocked multiplier is hilariously easy, so if the OP ever wanted a bit more performance in his CPU heavy applications the option would be open.

Also, what will the MB prices be? I'm assuming from about £90 - 100 for the basic entry level boards?

Based on P55 launch prices this looks very likely - though we may see something like the cheapo m-ATX Gigabyte UD2 that works as a great overclocking motherboard and is priced in the £80s.

 

[Redmint]

Weren't the UD2s the ones that were known for catching fire when overclocking i7 chips due to lack of VRM cooling, or was that another board?

 

[thingemajib]

so is it pretty much confirmed that these chips are not going to overclock (bar the k ones)? or is this still rumours?

 

[Redmint]

Well the reviews will confirm or deny that once the NDA has lifted.

 

[cmndr_andi]

so is it pretty much confirmed that these chips are not going to overclock (bar the k ones)? or is this still rumours?

From what I have been reading, it is confirmed. The stock BCLK is 100MHz and you can raise it a bit (less than 10%) but any more than that (ie a meaningful overclock) and you won't have any luck.

That means you can't just buy the cheapest quad core i5 or i7 and clock it to the sky, instead you need to buy the K series which comes at a ~16% (i5) or ~8% (i7) price premium over the cheapest chip in the line with the same number of cores.

To me these price premiums are not exactly extortionate, but gone are the days where you can buy a cheap intel chip and clock it to the sky - beating the performance of the much more expensive chips.

 

[Dark_Angel]

Aye, if this price list is accurate the difference between the i5 2500 and 2500K is $11 (in quantities of 1000). I'm sure for individual sales in the UK this will turn into £10-15, but I reckon this is definitely worth it - if nothing else but resale value, since the non-overclockable chips will not be nearly as sought after as the K series. Also overclocking with an unlocked multiplier is hilariously easy, so if the OP ever wanted a bit more performance in his CPU heavy applications the option would be open.



Based on P55 launch prices this looks very likely - though we may see something like the cheapo m-ATX Gigabyte UD2 that works as a great overclocking motherboard and is priced in the £80s.

Hmm.

I'm finding it extremely hard right now to put off buying an I5 setup... but from what I can gather in my (albeit limited) research, I'll effectively be able to by a SB setup for about the same ?

Call it 150 - 160 for the chip and 90 for the board, so let's say around the 250 - 275 mark?

 

[Redmint]

The price gap will indeed be quite small. If you want a 1156 board with a decent feature set you'll be spending close to £100 still and SB will most likely be about the same.

 

[cmndr_andi]

Yes, SB should cost about the same as current s1156 kit - since it is a direct replacement. However, I would expect the boards and chips to be slightly more expensive than a current i5 + P55 as prices have had time to settle.

If you want a SB (or P55 for that matter) board than can do proper SLI or crossfire, then you will have to spend a bit more than £90 for the board. However, if you don't need these features then I reckon £90-100 will certainly bag you a nice board.

As for the price of the chip - the i5 750 launched at $196 and cost ~£160 when it arrived in the UK. The exchange rate is currently very similar to then, so with the price of the i5 2500K supposed to be $216 - then ~£175 is my best estimate for the launch price of this chip. Coupled with a £100 board that comes to ~£275.

 

[Dark_Angel]

Truthfully I've never bothered with cross fire or SLI. My current 775 board is SLI, and I haven't ever used it. Ironically now it's sitting an ATI card in it!

I think I'll just stick with the one card in the next gen too. So a basic but stable board is all I ever really need.

 

[kevy1986]

You state that your pc right now won't boot properly and only goes into windows safe mode. That seems like it's probably gonna be a software problem rather than hardware, however I know windows is a strange beast. What exactly is the problem or symtoms ? Have you tried a rebuild or anything like that to get it to work, also what is your current system spec just out of interest ?