discussion New i7 or wait

[Video_freak]

Hey everyone, I built my current system (Q6700 @ 3.8 and GTX 260 sli) in December 08, and now have a buyer for my parts. I'm considering upgrading to an i7 950 (I found it at a store for $250 with tax) and pairing that with a GTX 470, an ASUS P6X58D, and 6 GB of Corsair Core i7 Dominator RAM and eventually adding another 470/6GB of RAM. I know this mobo supports the hexacore i7s, so I could upgrade if I needed, but it doesn't seem like games (primary use for this PC) will really use them for a while. Nevertheless, should I wait until next year for new Intel CPUs/nVidia cards, or should I go for this setup now. Any recommendations/info would be helpful.

Thanks,

Will

 

[mkultra]

if the sole purpose of that rig is for gaming i'd update the GPU only, you won't see much gain in-games from an i7 setup.
the 1366 socket won't be replaced till q3/q4 2011, the early SB chip will replace 1156 chip so still ~1years of life left for i7.

also if you're gaming with that rig why on earth ould you need 12gb or ddr3? ALL(i said all) games will run fine with 6gb, hell you can fire 2 game at once and you'll still have like 3gb free

hexacores are not a gaming CPU, buy one only if you encode/edit video,rendering etc... games does not benefits from multiples cores. A good quadcore is as good for gaming and MUCH cheaper

 

[Video_freak]

I'm trying to build a pretty future-proof PC, which is why I'm saying it might be using 12 GB eventually. Six gigs should be fine now, but I know that on 4 GB certain games get memory-starved, so six won't be enough forever.

I agree on hexacore i7's and gaming, thanks for confirming.

As for future-proofing; is it better to get the i7/470 now or wait for those new architectures in a year (I could get by with my Xbox for this year if it was really worth it, I'm just not sure what kind of performance increase I can expect)?

 

[mkultra]

SB is suposed to be huge leap of performance, so for future-proofing I'd wait to see what SB can deliver in real life before making a decision

 

[Video_freak]

Isn't Sandy Bridge coming in March though? That's six months, not a year right?

 

[CTA]

there is no such as future proofing computer... anyway... just grab i7 now.. emember pre-i7 vs post i7/i5/i3 time?

 

[Video_freak]

I don't need it to last forever, but if waiting six months for SB and a new GPU is worthwhile, I'm down.

 

[Polygon]

Are you satisfied with your current setup? I'm pretty sure that setup can play most games at decent settings at least and at a good resolution. If I were in your place I'd definitely wait. Wait until your stuff doesn't actually do the job you want it, then buy. With ATI's new releases and Nvidia's around the corner, plus 3D and many other technologies developing I'd just wait to see what comes out.

 

[Bond007]

If you are getting a good price for your current parts, then why not upgrade. If you have just found someone who will buy them because you are practically giving them away, then hold off.

Also, I agree with above...if its doing what you want, then you should wait. Hopefully the hype is not for nothing, but it seems like the next round of CPUs from AMD and Intel should be a big leap in performance (time will tell).

 

[mkultra]

Isn't Sandy Bridge coming in March though? That's six months, not a year right?

only mainstream(read 1156 replacement) in q1