CPU/Mobo A different (hopefully) SB vs Ivy question

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cybermantas

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Assuming a March release for Ivybridge (actually Ivybridge release doesnt matter, its ok if it even happens an year later), and an impending upgrade today .... would you reccomend ...

A) Nice SB procc (i5 2400 / i5 2500K ?) + cheap SB mobo (even cheap as H61 with no O/c capabilities)
B) Cheap SB procc (i3 2100 or even Pentium G series) + nice high end SB mobo (high end Z68 with all bells and whistles)
C) Both cheap SB procc + cheap SB mobo
D) High end SB procc + high end SB mobo

The idea being to replace the cheaper component in about an years time with the Ivy version ... the intended duration for the build (todays upgrade + an upgrade in an years time to Ivy) to be about 3-4 yrs from today for a decent med-end gaming (For the record, I have a E4300 C2D and it serves me just about fine, although barely in todays times in a 1440 x 900 resolution ... along with a HD 4870)

My drift, if you have figured it by now, is to gauge whether the benefit from Ivy is more from the CPU (power consumption, performance, any additional points) or from the mobo (PCIE3.0 , USB 3.0 , any additional frills ?) ... so if it is more from the CPU, then for an ideal budgeted upgrade path, I could chose a cheap CPU + nice mobo and change CPU in a years time... or vice versa if benefit is more from mobo... or none at all depending upon what the analysis is...

Does this even help or am I randomly thinking too much about things ? Oh, btw, if it helps to know the level of performance I am sort of looking at.... I am considering it at the i5 2400 + Intel DH67B3 level...
 
There wont be any major changes from IB compared to SNB. Performance in most of the apps will be almost same. However, for a small minority of the apps, there is an increase in performance. But the general view is that CPU wise raw performance, similar.

On to the other features, expect some changes. For starters, the IGP will be better than the HD2000 implementation seen on most of the i3/i5 and the k versions will also have the HD4000 series IGP, AFAIK. Plus better power control and newer features which are 7x chipset specific only.

Newer features on the chipset include PCIe 3.0 and USB 3.0. The addition of a native USB3 controller will be good and should be better than many of the controllers on the market. As far as PCIe 3.0, no single GPU is capable of currently saturating even a x8 link, AFAIK.

Finally, IMO, dont look at IB and plan, buy what you want now it self. With the USD going to touch 58 ~ 60 INR, according to speculation, it might be more expensive in the future.
 
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So broadly speaking (and apologies for getting back to the question that you avoided so gracefully :D), there are mixed performance improvements betweeb the cpu and the mobo and it shouldnt make too much of a difference and one could chose any of the 4 options depending on the budget ? In that case, lemme make it more complicated for you...

What would the order of the 4 options be if you had the following budget - either 1) 20k today or 2) 15k today and 10k 6-9 months later... money is to be used for CPU + mobo upgrade... Assume a competent GPU (560 Ti) is available on hand in both cases...
 
Ivy bridge is a 'tick' in Intel's roadmap, so the 22nm die shrink and newer tri-gate transistors are the main focus.

TDP for a quad core is expected to drop from 95W -> 77W.

Performance improvements are anyone's guess (they use selective benchmarks to claim higher % increases), but should probably average 5~10%.

IB will be backward compatible with the 6x chipsets but the 7x chipset should help with further power saving tech plus USB 3.0.

If you're sure about making the jump to Ivy Bridge , cheap SB proc + cheap SB mobo. Or just hold out till April and jump straight to IB.

If gaming alone is what you're struggling with, look at a GPU upgrade instead for now.
 
cybermantas said:
Bump on the question!
Click to expand...

You cannot bump the question. Its not phrased correctly :rofl:

Anyways, as Eddy saar has pointed out, if pure gaming, I would not see much of an improvment. But if you can hold out, do so. Application performance is a tricky one.

I would save both the 15k and 10K for the IVB config if I were you. Waiting so long and then 4 months before splurging on an older platform?
 
IB wont be a beast in terms of performance, and the main focus is lower TDp with a mild bump in performance. If AMD had it right with bulldozer, then I suppose Intel would've bumped up the performance and kept the TDP same as that of SB, but it wasnt to be. But still, I would suggest you wait till april to take the splurge, why buy old hardware now...
 
@All, thanks for the replies guys. I guess vivek's (and kris_one's) point about buying old hardware especially after having waited so long struck home... so makes sense to hold out a few months for Ivy Bridge - if only for the TDP benefits (my desktop is primarily for gaming, but also doubles as a download rig and hence is used mostly throughout the day) and not performance gains.

@Mr. J, thanks for the Haswell point, I guess that is another factor and brings home the point about the infinite upgrade path.

Which leaves the final deciding factor being the price... how much of a premium do you guys reckon the Ivy Bridge combo will be priced at. Again looking at the i5 2500K level of performance (which is also the sweet spot in best bang for the buck)

Off Topic - @vivek, yeah I guess the thread is to be bumped, not the question :)
 
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