New build questions on future components. Should I wait?

[JayT1806]

I am a gamer so having a good computer to play games flawlessly is sort of important to me. Now that six cores are out for 900$, has Intel decided not to release core i9's? I have received advice to wait for six cores (the core i9), but now they are out I am not sure what to do. Is there a website that shows all future components that will be coming out? It has been two years since I build my last computer. Before I continue let me show you what I have.

Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit
Intel 3.16ghz Dual Core
4GB 1066 DDR2 RAM
500 GB 7200 RPM HDD
Geforce EVGA GTX 260 900 MB
EVGA NVIDIA nForce 750i Motherboard
Rosewill 750 Watt PSU
Antec 900 Tower Case

The two games I mainly play as of late is Starcraft 2 Beta, and Bad Company 2. Starcraft 2 runs around 70 FPS in beginning and drops as more units come into play which lowers FPS to 40-50 FPS which all settings are the highest setting. Bad company 2 runs around 35-45 FPS but this game isn't that entertaining to me.

If I were to build a new system, I would keep my GTX 260, Windows 7, Case, maybe the PSU and the HDD so that lowers how much I will spend total on the new machine. I don't think the GTX 260 is the bottle neck.

Right now I have my eyes on the six core ntel Core i7-970 Gulftown 3.2GHz LGA 1366for 899$ or the 2.8 GHZ Core i7 for 289$. Now, I wanted to wait till the 3.0+ ghz core i'7s dropped in price but I have waited a good 10 months and still no price drop.. I just like to stay about 3.0 ghz for some reason.

Now my questions are:

- Are the core i7's going to drop in price any time soon? What is the predicated time?
- Will the six-core processors be overkill for my type of need? I only use it for gaming. Will it be overkill in two years? Games are becoming more demanding than ever.. I usually rebuild a computer every 2 years..
- How Long will the LGA 1366 socket last?
- I was always told to wait for the new six cores, but now they are out and im sure their prices won't drop for a good year if that and that wait is to long for me. I am lookin to make a longer term investment so I won't have to build a new computer for another good 3-4 years.. so considering that, should I invest in the 6 cores? Will their prices drop in the next 6 months?
- Is there anything I should be waiting for? New motherboards or new HDD's? New features? Is there a website out there that shows us the future new components to be released in the next 2 years? Is it on TomsHardware?

 

[Pyroflea]

The Core i7's will most likely drop in Q3; Intel generally releases new products at this time.

I think a Six-Core would be complete overkill. 4-cores would be plenty, if you ask me.

The LGA1366 socket still has a few years for sure. Look how long the LGA775 was around; 1366 just hit the market last year, so it's gonna stick around for awhile.

Again, 4-cores should be plenty. I can still play most games on higher settings with my old Dual-core and my 8800GTS

As for anything to wait for, probably not. Obviously new CPUs and GPUs will be released on a fairly regular basis, and SSDs are still too new for any breakthroughs in the immediate future.

On a side note, Tom's did some testing and found 3-cores and 3GB of RAM to be the ideal amounts for the money; Anything more than that will begin to be less and less beneficial.


Good luck.