28 replies to this topic

[Pupik]

I'm building a new PC and the first part that I'm picking up tomorrow, is a new motherboard. But the thing is, I'm not yet locked on a CPU, so I don't know which socket I want more.

Was thinking to pick up i7-3770K which requires 1155 socket, but I don't know if in the future CPUs gonna use that socket in case I'll want to upgrade without the need to buy new motherboard. So my other option is to pick up i7-3930K which requires the newer 2011 socket, but then again, I have no idea if future CPUs from Intel gonna use that socket.

Didn't follow the tech development in the motherboards world for the past two years, so I have no idea what to pick. Motherboard with 1155 socket, or 2011?

[Riva]

1155 will probably last longer as it is intended for wider use than 2011. 2011 has only two CPUs i7 and Xeon and is intended for workstations. LGA 2011 will cost you a lot more than a 1155 (I myself paid £1000 last year for an ASUS P9X79, an i7 and 8GB Quad Channel RAM). If its for gaming then go for 1155 i7.

[dr_crabman]

Next years new consumer CPUs (Haswell) will need a new socket so 1155 isn't future proof in that regard. But 2011 isn't either, according to latest roadmaps Ivy-Bridge-E will be released at the end of 2013 (yes, thirteen) when Haswell for mainstream has already been released. So you'll be able to upgrade but only to CPUs that will technically be outdated and expensive. Go 1155 and use the saved money in two or three years to buy the mainstream-socket that's current then. Only exception would be if you 100% need 6 real cores right now, then of course buy 2011. But I guess if that were the case you wouldn't have asked.

[Pupik]

dr_crabman, on 04 August 2012 - 22:55, said:

Next years new consumer CPUs (Haswell) will need a new socket so 1155 isn't future proof. But 2011 isn't either, according to latest roadmaps Ivy-Bridge-E will be released at the end of 2013 (yes, thirteen) when Haswell for mainstream has already been released. So you will be able to upgrade but only to CPUs that will be technically outdated and expensive.

Eh, that wasn't really helpful. After Riva's message I already started to pick 1155 motherboard (so far, GA-Z77MX-D3H catched my eye).

[+Vice]

You need to ask yourself two questions.

1. Do you need 32GB or more memory?
2. Do you need 6 Cores?

If you answered yes for either of those questions get the LGA 2011 socket. And if you did say yes, get the 3930K. It's an awesome processor with 6 cores and isn't too expensive.

Now something to keep in mind as dr_crabman above me said, Haswell (the next architecture to replace Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge) is coming in 2013 but it uses a new socket called LGA 1150 making it incompatible with todays LGA 1155 and 2011 sockets.

You may notice that LGA 2011 comes with Sandy Bridge-E (E for Enthusiast) processor support whilst 1155 offers the newer Ivy Bridge chips. But don't be fooled, although Ivy Bridge is newer it isn't faster. It is merely a die shrink that hasn't resulted in any performance improvement but it has reduced power consumption from around 95 Watts to 77 Watts which isn't nothing to snuff at.

Unfortunately however this power reduction has not been beneficial to overclockers because Intel simultaneously changed the way they bond the heatspreader (the metal case on top of the processor) to the die beneath which has reduced the upper thermal transfer efficiency when the processors get hotter. What this all means is, it is harder to keep the temperatures under control when performing higher overclocks (4.6GHz and above) this may not be a concern to you but I feel it is worth mentioning just to be complete.

I hope this post helped.

[dr_crabman]

Pupik, on 04 August 2012 - 23:01, said:

Eh, that wasn't really helpful. After Riva's message I already started to pick 1155 motherboard (so far, GA-Z77MX-D3H catched my ye).

The situation right now is a bit complicated unfortunately and there's no clear answer possible without knowing exactly what you want and what the budget is. Do you want to pay way more for the CPU and mainboard now (and again for the processor when Ivy-Bridge-E is released) only to avoid changing the board in a few years? Do you need 6 cores or a maximum amount of RAM? If yes, 2011. But honestly the mainboard you chose shows me you're not really an enthusiast that wants high end so I'll go ahead and say that you'll be perfectly fine with a 1155-system.

[Pupik]

dr_crabman, on 04 August 2012 - 23:12, said:

The situation right now is a bit complicated unfortunately and there's no clear answer possible without knowing exactly what you want and what the budget is. Do you want to pay way more for the CPU and mainboard now (and again for the processor when Ivy-Bridge-E is released) only to avoid changing the board in a few years? Do you need 6 cores or a maximum amount of RAM? If yes, 2011. But honestly that mainboard choice shows me you're not really an enthusiast that wants high end so I'll go ahead and say that you'll be perfectly fine with a 1155-system.

First; Why did you cut the "e" from the "eye" in my post ? Secondly; what's wrong with the motherboard I linked? Picked it mainly because it supports both SLI and crossfire, as I was thinking to first get another AMD card and run crossfire and later, get two 690s when they get cheaper. And what's with both of you (you and Vice) talking about maximizing the current 32gb ram limit. My current 775 socket motherboard supports 32gb.

[+Vice]

I'm surprised that you would want to run two GTX 690's on that motherboard. It will work but those are very fast graphics cards and you'll definitely want to do a lot of overclocking to keep them purring. It's basically like having four GTX 680's in a case. And that motherboard isn't really designed for overclocking. It doesn't even have an 8-Pin CPU power connector which would limit the power delivery to the processor for good overclocks.

I'd recommend instead something like the Asus Republic of Gamers Gene IV - It is X79 though.

Also the reason I said about 32GB of RAM is because the X79 boards can do 32GB at the low end and 64GB at the high end. It can also do 32GB very cheaply by using 8 x 4GB sticks vs 4 x 8GB sticks (which cost more than twice as much as the 4GB sticks and come in much slower speeds).

[Pupik]

I doubt I'll need to overclock the CPU (i7-3770K) by much if at all, to not bottleneck two 690s.

[+Vice]

Pupik, on 04 August 2012 - 23:25, said:

I doubt I'll need to overclock the CPU (i7-3770K) by much if at all, to not bottleneck two 690s.

Well what resolution do you intend to game at? Because if it's anything less than triple 1920x1200 displays then you will yes. Two GTX 690's is four GPU's at almost the same clocks as the GTX 680. It's the fastest GPU on earth and you'll have four of them. Even a stock 3930K will bottleneck that kind of setup in every game out right now unless you're pushing the resolution quite high.

Of course your FPS will be off the charts anyway but you won't get 100% utilization on those graphics cards in any game with only one display. I'd estimate about 40% even in Battlefield 3 @ 1920x1200.

[dr_crabman]

Pupik, on 04 August 2012 - 23:16, said:

First; Why did you cut the "e" from the "eye" in my post ? Secondly; what's wrong with the motherboard I linked? Picked it mainly because it supports both SLI and crossfire, as I was thinking to first get another AMD card and run crossfire and later, get two 690s when they get cheaper. And what's with both of you (you and Vice) talking about maximizing the current 32gb ram limit. My current 775 socket motherboard supports 32gb.

Really don't know what happened to the 'e'. Strange.

But wait, you want to buy 690s and put them on a small µATX-motherboard? Something doesn't add up here, the board is fine for a normal to low-budget system but I'm not even sure you'll get the maximum performance out of two graphics cards like that (PCIe-lanes are my main concern there). And no, a not-overclocked 3770K won't be enough. Maybe 2011 and a high-end CPU is indeed better for you but I get the feeling you didn't think this through 100%.

[Pupik]

Didn't noticed that the motherboard was micro atx. New pick: GA-Z77X-D3H. How's it?

edit: You know what? **** the SLI plan on 1155. Gonna pick a motherboard with crossfire support and shove another AMD card in it, until the new CPUs that require a different socket you guys were talking about gonna be released.
Any complains on http://www.asus.com/...et_1155/P8B75V/ ?

[Ambroos]

Pupik, on 05 August 2012 - 00:02, said:

... and shove another AMD card in it...

AMD? nVidia is sort of kicking ass right now, the 670, 680 and 690 are insanely good in every aspect.

[Pupik]

Ambroos, on 05 August 2012 - 00:06, said:

AMD? nVidia is sort of kicking ass right now, the 670, 680 and 690 are insanely good in every aspect.

Already has 6990 in my current machine. Going to be a nice and cheap upgrade to buy another one and crossfire them.

[dr_crabman]

Pupik, on 05 August 2012 - 00:02, said:

Any complains on http://www.asus.com/...et_1155/P8B75V/ ?

The B75 chipset is low end and according to Intel meant for "small business". For example you can't overclock with it so a K-CPU is completely useless. Get something with a Z77, the Gigabyte you linked to looks fine. ASRock is good too (way better than they were a few years ago) if you want something solid for a reasonable price, ASRock Z77 Extreme4 would be my choise in this price range.

Ambroos, on 05 August 2012 - 00:06, said:

AMD? nVidia is sort of kicking ass right now, the 670, 680 and 690 are insanely good in every aspect.

As are the HD7870 and 7850 for their current prices. 7970 dito. 670 is of course a great value too but nV has nothing competitve that's cheaper than that, maybe soon the 660.