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So when's the next "big" CPU release?

Firegod

Firegod

Firegod

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I still haven't seen anything to tear me away from my clocked Q6600. There is the Q9550 but I see this as more of a side-ways step. More cache and lower temps.

Then we have Core i7 (and soon Core i5). Quite an expensive upgrade, meaning new RAM and new Mobo as well. Also, I believe the next chipset/CPU use a different PIN configuration; is that correct? If that is correct, then I'll definately sit i7 out.

So when do we think the next big overhaul will be, are we looking at Q1 or Q2 of 2010? Will socket and pin configurations settle down by then? I'm not totally "up to speed" with all the techno blurb, but from what I have seen lately it has been quite quiet... no?

:)
 
@RJC, i5 is more mainstream though is that correct? Or will it be something that people on the likes of here will buy, say, enthusiasts. Or is that still i7?

@psychas, when is 32nm out?

Thanks!
 
Not sure what the post is all about... there will almost certainly be no more releases for socket 775 (rumors of an e8700 aside) so your next upgrade will need a new motherboard and ram anyway I7 and whatever intel decide to call I5 will run side by side for the next cycle with i7 being the premium socket and 'I5' being the mainstream. Its tricky at the moment to decide what to do given that the cheaper I7's (namely the 920) will have to dissapear to make the higher end 'I5's make any sense financially for intel so if you wait for 32nm you may have a choice between a high end I5 costing around £200-£250 or an expensive I7 costing £400+ with a motherboard likely to cost in excess of £200... (cheaper I7 motherboards are also rumored to dry up to accomadate 'I5'). In any event 2010 will be the 'tock' year for intel (or is it a 'tick' - never sure about that) where they reduce their manufacturing process to 32nm I doubt LGA 1366 (i7) or 1156 (I5) will be replaced until well into 2010 (earliest Q4 imo) or probably 2011..... so much like any tech there is never a 'futureproof' time to buy although we are still in the early stages of the current socket tech meaning it will hopefullt stay around for a while..... maybe
 
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the cheapest i7 chips will probably still be £200 throughout the sockets life as i guess intel EOL chips that cause crossovers between i5/i7 as they seem to be planning for the 920 when i5 comes out.
and 32nm is probably due 2H 2010
 
Firegod said:
So when do we think the next big overhaul will be, are we looking at Q1 or Q2 of 2010?
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i7 is the big overhaul. We will probably see the 32nm die shrink in a year or so, but that will just be an update like Wolfdale/Yorkfield were to Conroe.

Core i5 will launch in the next few months, using sockets 1156/1366 and dual channel DDR3. Apparently the performance of the higher end parts is close to an i7. Intel will be marginalising Core i7; presumably because they realised it was a bit of a hard sell in this tough economic climate, and socket 1366 will be reserved for the really high end stuff.

AMD have some good stuff coming in the next year, but I'm not sure when.
 
Hmm so if i7 is the big overhaul, is it worth it over a Q6600? Or will the 32nm chips be the best time to upgrade?

@reflux, anymore info about what AMD has to offer? I used to love my AMD64 x2 CPU but jumped ship when I saw the Q6600.
 
Depends what you use your computer for. I'm (nominally) on a quad core at the moment, and have no particular interest in i7. Current system is ludicrously quick and I'm far from finished playing with it. I only wish rma would take less time.

I'm looking forward to amd at the moment. Not very impressed by intel releasing a slower i5 after the very fast i7, and not impressed by the rumours of stopping sale of the cheaper i7 options. Looks too much like an afterthought to me.

I doubt I'll get a new system for at least a couple of years though, were I more desperate to upgrade now I'd be with i7.
 
Firegod said:
Hmm so if i7 is the big overhaul, is it worth it over a Q6600? Or will the 32nm chips be the best time to upgrade?
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Depends what you use your PC for really. If you do a lot of multithreaded operations, i7 is the king. But it's not a massive step up for general tasks really. I moved to i7 because I wanted to, not because I needed to.

@reflux, anymore info about what AMD has to offer? I used to love my AMD64 x2 CPU but jumped ship when I saw the Q6600.
Click to expand...

Bulldozer is supposed to be the next big thing from AMD. 12 cores or something.
 
Thanks for all the help! :)

If it helps my rig is mainly Games and Photo work. (Some music/video work occasionally). But mainly Games. With the recent release of ArmA2 it appears to eat CPU's for breakfast. So just really starting to put feelers out for info. I don't really follow tech too avidly but tend to get back into deeply when I need to make a purchase. :)

I'll read up on that AMD CPU definately though! :)

Cheers.
 
A Q6600 @ 3.8ghz is a nice place to be. There isn't a lot that will make that struggle.

I think you'd be best off keeping track of developments in the next year, and seeing how things go. There's certainly no need to be upgrading right now.
 
hmm the CPU decision is on my mind now, wait and upgrade the lot, or buy something better that will slot into my existing board ... decisions decisions
 
reflux said:
A Q6600 @ 3.8ghz is a nice place to be. There isn't a lot that will make that struggle.

I think you'd be best off keeping track of developments in the next year, and seeing how things go. There's certainly no need to be upgrading right now.
Click to expand...

And in my case an q9650 at 4.5Ghz is an even nicer place to be ;)

Apart from gaining a few minutes in video encoding, the i7 has nothing to offer me yet.

I reckon I won't need/want to make to "upgrade" until 32nm and 6 core cpus are out and only then if there are programs/games which take advantage of them and I can see some gain.

However, I suspect the 6 core cpus will be £400+ and out of my budget so I can't see myself upgrading until well into 2011.
 
im upgrading now to i7. I sold my Core 2 Duo/8800GTX pc for £540. This means that a total refresh to I7 (new mobo (rampage II extreme), CPU, ram(Intel 920), 4890, HX 750, is only costing me a few hundred.

There may be a difference there may not be, but its come together nicely so I cant complain. It will do me for a year or so hopefully.
 
i heard i5 are going to overclock better, is that any true? They also all seem to have unlcoekd multiplier, cheaper than i7, if it's gonna be 5 Ghz on air no prob, then it might be worth waiting :S

also heard they are goign to be called i7 just the 5xx series or somethign like that
 
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