Upgrade Existing X58 or Upgrade to P67/Z68

[Ryan]

So yeah, basically as the topic title says, I'm sure whether I should upgrade my existing X58 platform or switch over to Sandy Bridge P67/Z68.

 

Right now I have an i7 920 with 12 gigs of RAM. I've been planning for a while now to get a new motherboard so my system supports SATA III and USB 3.0, but the more I think about it, is it worth putting money into upgrading an outdated platform? Would I be better off trying to sell my CPU and spending the extra money and upgrade to a Sandy Bridge CPU and mobo or isn't it worth it at this point?

 

I really only use my system for general stuff and gaming. When I'm at university, my PC is just sitting at home fir 8 months of the year, so it only really gets used for 4 months or so. When I think of that way, I kinda think Sandy Bridge wouldn't be worth it. I just don't know.

Edited August 14, 2011 by Ryan

[OverTheBelow]

I wouldn't upgrade at this time, but instead wait for 22nm Ivy Bridge's debut sometime in early 2012. Do you really need to upgrade right now? You can buy PCI cards that offer USB 3.0 and/or SATA rev 3 for a fairly cheap price.

 

Ivy Bridge will overclock better than Sandy Bridge and also run much cooler, with the added bonus of a powerful integrated GPU should your dedicated card fail or some sh*t.

 

 

Production [of Ivy Bridge] starts in December with release in March 2012

 

Sandy Bridge CPUs are brilliant though, so if you are really eager to upgrade then by all means do so. I on the other hand am going to wait for Ivy and then OC it to 6ghz on air!

Edited August 14, 2011 by OverTheBelow

[yoječ]

I second that. Sandy Bridge will be faster, but not enough to make the upgrade really a good idea. I'd wait for the Ivy Bridge, or get LGA2011 CPU which will supposedly be out this year.

 

@OverTheBelow: How'd you know that IB will overclock way better? In the Pentium4 days Intel also though that lower manufacturing process will decrease output heat and increase OC capabilities, and... it wasn't as good as it sounded.

[OverTheBelow]

 

I second that. Sandy Bridge will be faster, but not enough to make the upgrade really a good idea. I'd wait for the Ivy Bridge, or get LGA2011 CPU which will supposedly be out this year.

 

@OverTheBelow: How'd you know that IB will overclock way better? In the Pentium4 days Intel also though that lower manufacturing process will decrease output heat and increase OC capabilities, and... it wasn't as good as it sounded.

I don't know - it's just an estimation. You don't really see many 45nm CPU's reaching over 4.5ghz on a mere 1.38 vcore, but you do with 32nm Sandy Bridge chips (especially on forums like Overclock.net). Whether thats to do with the new architecture I am unsure. I can only hope Ivy Bridge will offer a boost in OCing potential. If not, I'll still be happy with undoubtedly lower temps.