Whic mobo Shall i get for Hot new PC?

[therock003]

I need to build a new high-end PC and since the mobo is the foundation of it all i really need to make sure i get one that gets the job done.

First off is there any reason not to get one supporting the new icore processors? IS there any other competitions concerning CPUs?

Also i hear of usb3-sata3 being on the works. Shal i wait till mobos implement them as well?

Any other words of wisdom?

Impatiently awaiting your responses?

 

[Proximon]

i7 CPUs are the fastest currently, yes. Whether you need one or not depends on your budget and actual usage. The CPU is not the only part of your computer that determines performance.

There is always some new advance coming out soon. You can wait for it, but then there will be another after that.

 

[Helloworld_98]

i7 is fastest but for the money you can't beat amd.

USB 3 won't be out until september and then only ssd's and external HDD will use it in the beginning.

Same with SATA 3 except internal 15k HDD's instead of just HDD's.

And adding a bit, the current I7 motherboards will be obselete when the next line of 1366 processors come out after I7 because they will have to high a HT for the current mobo's to support.

 

[therock003]

And adding a bit, the current I7 motherboards will be obselete when the next line of 1366 processors come out after I7 because they will have to high a HT for the current mobo's to support.

When will that be? Cause i'm into the process of spending close to 1500+euro for my new PC, and i would hat ie if i would later decide to upgrade to a greater cpu only to see it's not supported by my mobo due to its higher HT.

Care to elaborate please?

 

[Duque]

And adding a bit, the current I7 motherboards will be obselete when the next line of 1366 processors come out after I7 because they will have to high a HT for the current mobo's to support.

Is this true? When you say current i7 motherboards does that include the asus p6t deluxe v2?

 

[therock003]

That's the one i think of buying as well.

Seriously is the above true? Cause i dont see any reason spending near 300 euros just to get a mobo that will soon be outdated and lose cpu upgrability, so seriously can someone comment on this?

 

[aevm]

If you can afford a a P6T Deluxe v2 and an i7 920 go for it. Nobody can guarantee that Intel's new CPUs in 2012 will work on it, but you still have a better chance that way than with something based on LGA775 (e.g. Q9550/P5Q Pro).

I wouldn't worry about USB3. Just buy an e-SATA bracket (or a motherboard that already comes with one) and an external HDD that supports e-SATA. It will be just as fast as an internal HDD.

 

[aevm]

There's also the AM3 route, if you prefer. Same as i7 920 - a pretty good chance of upgradability. It's cheaper. It's just as good in lots of games. It's not quite as good at compressing videos or other non-gaming apps, but still not bad at all. That is, you get a Phenom II 940 and an GA-MA790X-UD4P motherboard and 2 sets of 2x2GB DDR2 and you get a very good gaming box.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387

Since your budget is in euros, the Newegg link won't help you much. I put it there so you can see the specs. That board works with DDR2 and with the current Phenom AM2+ CPus, but it will accept future AM3 Phenoms too.

 

[therock003]

Well yeah i dont really care about usb3, sata3, but what's been said about the later batch of i-core not supported is really what shook me up!

 

[aevm]

Yeah, it's annoying when you have to change the MB too

The good news is, both the i7 920 and the Phenom II 940 should last you a long time. I'm still using a Q6600 and I'm nowhere near 100% with it most of the time.

You can also buy more time by adding a good aftermarket cooler and overclocking, you know...

 

[specialk90]

Go and re-read that comment about i7 being obsolete and what that person said just before that.
He is clearly an AMD guy.

There is nothing in Intel's current Roadmap saying the current 1366 boards will be obsolete. You can easily find Intel's "Roadmap" of their future CPU's. Most likely the only thing current 1366 boards won't be able to support within the next 2-3 years is CPU+GPU in one single package.

You said you want a HIGH-END PC so the best route is an i7 920 overclocked to 3.2GHz with Zalman 9700 + 1366 bracket.

ALSO, look for their new C0 stepping.

 

[Proximon]

I'm aware of no such information about "HT" and i7. I find the statement questionable as i7 doesn't use Hyper-transport.

In any case, I no longer put any emphasis on upgrade paths, except for very low budget builds. I have kept most of my magazines from the last 20 years. Try looking at a 4 year old Maximum PC and you'll see the light. No platform survives more than 3 or 4 years.

 

[Jack64]

I'm aware of no such information about "HT" and i7. I find the statement questionable as i7 doesn't use Hyper-transport.

In any case, I no longer put any emphasis on upgrade paths, except for very low budget builds. I have kept most of my magazines from the last 20 years. Try looking at a 4 year old Maximum PC and you'll see the light. No platform survives more than 3 or 4 years.

BINGO!! Well said sir. From what I have read and researches, the I7 1366 should be fine for the next 3 to 4 yrs. After that....who knows!! The I5 coming out are a step backwards from the I7's, so go figure!!

 

[specialk90]

I'm not trying to be snide, but do you know what "HT" means with Intel?

It means "Hyper-Threading", which the i7 has.

Sorry, look for the D0 stepping as the C0 is the older one.

 

[Proximon]

Hyper-threading is a feature of the CPU, and has to do with threads assigned to cores.... in the context that HT was used:
"I7 motherboards will be obselete when the next line of 1366 processors come out after I7 because they will have to high a HT for the current mobo's to support."

Now I'm not a CPU engineer, but I took that to mean that he was talking about the QPI, the equivalent of the HT on Intel boards. That would at least make some sense to me. "To[o] high" meaning a higher frequency link from the CPU to the I/O chip.

In a recent article, Anand inferred that we would be able to upgrade current i7s to 6-core models next year:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=3513&p=7

I read all the tech news, and haven't seen any mention of this "HT" problem. Intel's roadmap doesn't mention it.

 

[specialk90]

Sorry 'bout that Proximon. Yeah, you are correct and where did you hear about Intel's 6-core chips? I thought it was only AMD and their Istanbul 6-core and Intel had a 32nm Octo-core slated for the end of 09 or very early 2010 but no Intel 6-core. Wait, the Intel 6-core, won't that be their server chip, a new iteration of Itanium?

 

[Proximon]

The original announced plan for i7 (or was it LGA 1366?) Was to have "4, 6, and even 8 cores" as I recall, I'm quoting from memory. That may have been here in the TH preview article for i7.

Anand Lai Shimpi mentioned the 6 cores in the article I linked, and he tends to have insider type info.

It's never been very clear where the any of the modern sockets are going. I'm still not sure AM3 will work out, although it's looking better. I don't think Intel has decided just how long they'll use LGA 1366. I do know they are also releasing the new socket for P55 boards this year.

 

[therock003]

Wait what new socket? Will P55 be better than 1366?

Also from what you said, i'm i right to understand that the future 6 and 8 cores will be supported by my current 1366 mobo(I mean the one i'm planning to get)?

One more thing, what's with the steppings?C0,D0 never heard of thos terms.

 

[therock003]

BTW is this the Zalman 9700 cooler that has been mentioned?

http://www.hardshop.gr/shop/item.asp?itemid=7383&catid=237

Wouldnt it be better though for liquid colling if i was to make the best of the oc capabilities?

 

[kubes]

@Proximon
I remember reading the article as well. And yes there was talk that the i7 architure could support up to 8 cores. My understanding that the 8 core verisons would be used for server type applicatoins. I also thought I read somewhere when there was talk about this that intel was moving to a different socket 11** shortly after the i7 when they go to the westmere (32nm). Meaning the i7 was going to have a short shelf life when compaired to most of the other intel mainstream processors. I wish I could find that article again.

One article i did just find

Now it is important to remember that this articles is only taking educated guesses on things. It shouldn't be really used as a creditable source.

@OP
I have an i7 and even though I know there's a strong possiblity it might only be main stream for a short periode untill something passes it up, the preformance it offers doesn't lose anything by that. It still is an impressive processor for its time even if something better comes out in the near future. It shouldn't have any problem pushing a rig for 3-4 years. And probally many more if your not a power user.

 

[Proximon]

P55 will be the successor of P45, and is intended to be more mainstream. The roadmap looks as if the P55 socket, LGA 1156, might be in use for a while at least.

So likely, the X58 boards will be king for the next year at least.

Seems that there is a new dual core coming for LGA 1156... that could be interesting if game developers don't get the multi-core thing worked out by then.