Get Sandy bridge now or wait for the enthusiast version??

[nox156]

Hey guys,

I am toying with the idea of upgrading my computer, it's pretty much time but you know how technology is, something new and exciting comes out and all you can see is the next best thing.

I am therefore at a loss as to what I should do or what would be the most logical thing to do...

Here is my current rig:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
Asus P5N32-sli SE Deluxe
4 gig DDR2 memory at 800 MHZ (I think)
XFX 9800GTX

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Now my big problem is I really wanted to get an SSD but the nvidia chipset on the MoBo doesnt support AHCI. Theres also the fact my computer is getting old. Toying with the idea of an upgrade, here's what I had in mind

Intel i7 2600-k (High OC)
Asys P8P67 Deluxe
8 gig DDR3 memory 1600 or 1866 MHz
EVGA GTX 570 SC x1
OCZ Vertex 3 Pro or Crucial M4 once they come out

Now that would be a solid build but I can't help but check out the enthusiast version of the sandy bridge architecture that should hit Q3 of 2011, is it worth waiting that long? Do we know what the performance benefits are going to be

- I know they will have 6-8 cores (pretty useless for gaming and I am not THAT much of a power user)
- They will support PCIE 3.0 (will it have more than 1 16x lane?) I don't plan to go over 2 way sli so a p8p67 in x8 x8 should be sufficient, the performance difference would not be enormous. Whats the performance difference of PCIE 3.0??? Will manufacturers support it when it comes out?
- What else is there???


if you guys have any inputs or experience with this dilemma let me know

Thanks

 

[gamerk316]

^^ You basically did the exact build I put together yesterday.

I doubt that in SB's lifetime, those extra two cores will make much of a difference. From programmers to the way software is compiled, we're just not ready for that much resources yet. Likewise, PCI-E 3.0 won't be needed for a few years yet, as we're not really stressing PCI-E 2.0 yet.

I think the build you have is plenty. At the very least, the CPU won't be a bottleneck anytime soon.

 

[nox156]

ideally I'd want this computer to last me 3 years or so, while maybe changing graphic cards along the way.

The enthusiast version seems to be a little more "future proof" than the current version but then there is also the price, I suppose the new chips will come at a premium (500$ + ??) So perhaps it's not the way to go.

 

[gamerk316]

^^ I made it 2.5 years on a C2Q QX9650, and made a new build due to "other" hardware related problems (mainly, the crappy DDR3 memory controler on the 790i series motherboards); performance was fine across the board. Worse case, you can drop in an Ivy Bridge CPU 2-3 years down the road for a slight performance boost.