Hexcore or wait ?

[gothic_hobbit]

Hi guys.

I'm stuck on a stone age Pentium 4 and have been looking to upgrade for a while. I have my heart set on getting an i7 hexcore. However, I have heard that Intel are bringing out a whole new processor in 2011. Will this be the most often talked about octacore ?

I was wondering if it's worth waiting until next year, or taking a plunge with the current cutting edge technology that is available right now.

Yours thoughts and suggestions please

 

[gothic_hobbit]

It all depends on what you use your PC for really! It will help everyone to advise you better if you state what your main uses are.

I would use it primarily for games and the occasional flac / mp3 encoding.

Also for youtube HD as my Pentium 4 Northwood just can't handle it Captain

 

[gothic_hobbit]

Dont bother. i5 7xx quad core is all you need for gaming. If you do a lot of heavy multithreaded encoding/number crunching, an i7 shows some benefits over i5 but at a big price hike for what those benefits are.

By the time anyone needs a hex-core, they will be available as a mainstream part cheaper than and outperforming the i7 hex-core. The i7 hex core will remain a stupid price until it disappears.

Awesome ! Just the advice I was looking for. Clear and concise and with no sarcasm. Thanks