Should I wait for Intels new CPU's?

scotty365

scotty365

scotty365

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I'm wanting to build a new system in the next month or two and intend on putting a q6600 in this one and keeping it - I'm not in a rush to upgrade so have the option to wait should I wish.

Having read around the forums for a while I keep seeing advice given to potential i7 buyers to wait for the forthcoming Sandybridge/Bulldozer range - what will be the main benefits over i7 and when is it due to be released? Naturally, having heard that the 1156 and 1366 sockets will be redundant shortly and if I'm going to spend money on a new system, I want it to be upgradable and as future proof as possible - is there any evidence that the new range of CPU's will offer this?

I'd like to hear some views from those of you who are awaiting the new Sandybridge/Bulldozer - what is the attraction for you?

Scotty
 
if your happy with your pc as it is, then u might as well wait for abit.

althou apparently, starting next month, intel are reducing the price of thier current range, some going to half the price.

so if you have some spare money then, and the prices are good, then y not

theres no firm news when they will be released, but it seems roughly, the i3/i5 replacement will come late 2010/early 2011

with the i7 replacement coming later in 2011
 
I'm interested in this as well, but more so to do with prices. Do prices of older CPU generations generally go down rapidly after a new generation is released, and do the prices of the new generation CPUs generally start higher or on par with the older generation's equivalents?
 
usually the first cpus out come at a price premium, not quite as bad as new GPU's thou.

the intels price is supposed to be dropping soon, althou thats not always the case, sometimes theres only a small reduction in price.

i guess it depends on thier stock level of older cpu's
 
I've found that Intel CPU's seem to hold their value very well - even when the i7 was released it didnt have a huge impact on popular models like q6600 E8400 and other high end cpu's. I know someone who bought a Q6600 around 3 years ago for £130 and sold it recently for £100. Thats not how I remember things work in years past, most computer hardware lost a lot of value quickly.
 
At the end of the day you will always be able to wait for the latest hardware to the point where you never actually buy anything. If you're in no rush then hang on for some price drops or buy now if you need things a bit quicker.
 
Loony BoB said:
I'm interested in this as well, but more so to do with prices. Do prices of older CPU generations generally go down rapidly after a new generation is released, and do the prices of the new generation CPUs generally start higher or on par with the older generation's equivalents?
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If you're asking about buying new, then at launch you'll pay a premium for a new gen chip. By the first price cut (usually at 3 months) the new gen chip will be priced similar to the old gen but in reality price/performance will work out better.
Older generations drop rapidly in price when a newer range comes out, BUT only until the majority of stock is shifted. Once production ceases you either can't buy the older chip any more or have to pay way more than it's "popular" price. It's always a gamble guessing which point a chip price has bottomed out. The 2 top performing chips of any generation are usually a safe investment.

It's rarely worth waiting for a new gen of chips or platform. Even if newer chips are pin compatible, there's no gaurantee that they'll work in previous boards due to voltage, BIOS, FSB or chipset compatibility. Remember, manufacturers only stick with sockets to make life easier for themselves and encourage take up by board manufacturers/OEMs; it has nothing to do with wanting to help end users upgrade or future proof.
 
Don't expect Intel to make a future proof socket. It seems that every major revision comes with it's own socket. If you are lucky you might get to keep your RAM but not much else. AMD are far more stable with their socket tech.
 
Tealc said:
Don't expect Intel to make a future proof socket. It seems that every major revision comes with it's own socket. If you are lucky you might get to keep your RAM but not much else. AMD are far more stable with their socket tech.
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Socket 775 has been around since 2004 so they don't change it as often as people think.
 
Slackworth said:
At the end of the day you will always be able to wait for the latest hardware to the point where you never actually buy anything. If you're in no rush then hang on for some price drops or buy now if you need things a bit quicker.
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Such is true. I've always advised to buy for what's here today unless something is imminent but then you're going to pay a premium. It's performance / price * usage in my view :)
 
Tealc said:
Don't expect Intel to make a future proof socket. It seems that every major revision comes with it's own socket. If you are lucky you might get to keep your RAM but not much else. AMD are far more stable with their socket tech.
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Really?

If we are talking just desktop sockets and not going all the way back to the beginning of time.

AMD:
Socket 754
Socket 939
Socket AM2/AM2+
Socket AM3

Each socket required a new CPU apart from AM2 and AM2+ which were interchangeable.

Intel:
Socket 478
Socket 775
Socket 1156/1336

Socket 775 has been the most versatile socket Intel has ever made, Celeron, Celeron D, Pentium 4, Pentium D (P4 based dual core), Core Duo, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, Pentium Dual Core (Core 2 based), Celeron (c2 based), Celeron Dual Core (c2 based)
 
Personally i don't even plan to upgrade with the next generation either. My rig easily handles everything i throw at it so i see no need.

My arguement for waiting for Sandybridge instead of going to i3/i5 now is that i really don't see any point in building a rig around a socket that will be dead by the end of the year. Almost the same with i7. Best case, it continues to survive until Q3 next year as Intel originally planned, or the worst case is that it get's moved forward as well and is another case of buying into a dead end socket.
 
Admiral Huddy said:
Such is true. I've always advised to buy for what's here today unless something is imminent but then you're going to pay a premium. It's performance / price * usage in my view :)
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Normally you're right, but I bought an i5-750 and a 5850 in October last year and both are still MORE expensive now than they were then. Crazy.
 
scotty365 said:
I know someone who bought a Q6600 around 3 years ago for £130 and sold it recently for £100. Thats not how I remember things work in years past, most computer hardware lost a lot of value quickly.
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That's 'cos cumputer hardware, especially processors increased in power rapidly and the software everyone used could make use of that power.

Today, the rate of processor power increase has slowed, or at best only significantly benefits a fraction of the software (which tends not to be mainstream).

I used to upgrade every two years and the jumps where huge:

386sx 25MHz
Pentium 60MHz (@66MHz)
Pentium 150MHz (@187MHz)
Celeron 300A (@464MHz)
AMD Athlon 1GHz (@1.4GHz)
Pentium 4 1.8 (@3.2GHz)
C2D E4300 1.8 (@3.2GHz)

Each of those upgrades more than doubled CPU performance, destroying the value of the older chip. Today, my E4300 is the oldest computer I've ever used, it's over 3 years old and yet it still runs all my stuff great.

Looking at what I could replace it with, notice I never bought top of the range CPUs, there's noting close. The i5-750 is the most likely next step and whist it has 4 cores instead of 2 that's only going to benefit me occasionally, it's single thread performance isn't even double my current system.

That's why CPUs are holding their value, 3 year old chips are still useful today, in a way they never were in the past. The emphasis is now on power, cooling, case size etc... for most people, computers are finally powerful enough.
 
My rig runs everything I throw at it so there is no point yet but in 6-8 months time when sandybridge and bulldozer are out and hopefully more sensibly priced then I can see me upgrading. It will have to be a full upgrade anyway as I still run ddr2
 
Not like a Q6600 is gonna struggle anyhow, most games/software barely can make use outta the full 4 cores even.

Id say if u got a good system with 4gig+, perhaps look at the gpu or ssd if its lacking for a quick/cheaper speed boost.

Not like theres much reason this year anyhow, crysis 2 delayed till 2011, and a hand full of decent titles still due this year.

I reckon spring/summer 2011 will be the year too get a nice new beasty pc and at least some decent games will be out hopefully by then.
 
Thanks for the input -
I'm going to get the Q6600 and wait for the price drop - if the future looks bright for SB (if there is any reliable proof that makes it a worthwhile leap in performance) then I'll wait, pay the premium and buy early.
Failing that I will probably go i7 with multi GPU support.
 
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