CPU replacement options

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gghilliard

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Jan 6, 2011
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I am planning to upgrade my CPU, MB, and RAM in the fall. Currently have a core i7 970.

I primarliy use my PC for gaming and like to run things maxed. Also looking for something that will have some longevity.

I was wondering if there is anything new from Intel in the next 6 months? Even if there was would there be something that is on the market now just as good or better? Should I wait?
 
Solution
Ecky
Intel is making roughly 5% improvements per year. Right now, a Core i5 is the sweet spot for gaming, but an i7 6700 would probably have a bit more longevity - probably 4-5 years vs 5-6 years, if I were to guess, if not longer, because of how much CPU development has slowed down.

Here are your options:

-Haswell-E (socket 2011v3) was released in 2014 in 6 and 8 core variants.

-Broadwell-E (2011v3) was just released, in 6, 8 and 10 core variants. It's about 5% faster per clock, and overclocks about 5% less than Haswell-E. It's currently a bit more expensive, so a lot of people are just buying the 2014 Haswell-E instead.

-Skylake (1151) was released in 2015, and was around a 10% IPC bump over Haswell, and a 5% IPC bump over Broadwell...
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rush21hit

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Mar 5, 2012
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tbh, your CPU is still decent even by today's standard.

My suggestion for now is to put your attention more on new generation of GPU from both sides while awaits on how Zen from AMD would do against Intel's offering. After the bench numbers are solid, then you can decide.
 
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Ecky

Ecky

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Feb 3, 2013
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Intel is making roughly 5% improvements per year. Right now, a Core i5 is the sweet spot for gaming, but an i7 6700 would probably have a bit more longevity - probably 4-5 years vs 5-6 years, if I were to guess, if not longer, because of how much CPU development has slowed down.

Here are your options:

-Haswell-E (socket 2011v3) was released in 2014 in 6 and 8 core variants.

-Broadwell-E (2011v3) was just released, in 6, 8 and 10 core variants. It's about 5% faster per clock, and overclocks about 5% less than Haswell-E. It's currently a bit more expensive, so a lot of people are just buying the 2014 Haswell-E instead.

-Skylake (1151) was released in 2015, and was around a 10% IPC bump over Haswell, and a 5% IPC bump over Broadwell. It overclocks a little better than Haswell, and is available now in 2 and 4 core variants.

-Kaby Lake (1151) is the Skylake refresh planned for either late this year or early next year. It will use the same 14nm process as Skylake, with a slightly tweaked uArch, and probably improve IPC by 0-5%. The big improvement with Kaby Lake will be its greatly improved iGPU.

-Skylake-E (1151v4?) will probably hit sometime mid- to late- 2017 and bring a ~5% improvement over Broadwell-E, along with slightly improved overclocking ability. It will not used socket 2011v3, but rather (presumably) 2011v4.

-CannonLake (1151?) is scheduled ostensibly for late 2017, maybe early 2018. It's expected to essentially be the Kaby Lake architecture, with a few tweaks (maybe a slight 0-5% IPC bump) on Intel's then-to-be-released 10nm process.
 
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Solution
Ecky

Ecky

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Feb 3, 2013
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Regarding AMD's Zen, we know that it will first be released in 8c/16t configurations on socket AM4, and it's likely coming to market around the time of Kaby Lake, roughly, so early next year. AMD's PR slides from a few years ago claimed a 40% improvement over AMD's Steamroller architecture, which would put it somewhere between Intel's Sandy Bridge (2nd gen i7) and Haswell (4th gen i7) architectures in IPC. This was a big deal when it was announced, because Haswell was the newest Intel architecture at the time. However, Intel will have released Broadwell, Skylake, and Kaby Lake since then, making Zen's (admittedly tenuously) predicted IPC less than stellar. Even though Intel is only improving about 5% per year in IPC (and more in iGPU and efficiency), they add up over time.

EDIT: So, in short, the CPU market is really boring right now, and will continue to be boring for the foreseeable future. I doubt you'll have any regrets if you buy a Skylake i7 today, but a Haswell-E or Broadwell-E 6-core would not be a poor choice either.
 
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grimfox

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Jun 2, 2009
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You aren't suffering with your CPU atm (I run a 920) however if you plan on investing in VR then a new CPU is going to be a requirement to meet the minimum specs. The primary benefits to upgrading your CPU is going to be the mild performance boost and the substantial efficiency boost going from a 130W processor to something in the neighborhood of 90W or less.
 
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