Sandy Bridge vs AMD

[xander25]

So I'm looking for a high performance gaming PC that can run most things for the next two years on max or near max settings.

I had my dream computer all spec'd out on Newegg and went to pay for it today...then Sandy Bridge struck.

I'm really not looking to put off the new PC until April. If I knew I'd be able to get the new boards in 3 or 4 weeks, it'd be worth it.

So my question is thus: Does AMD's best offer still suit a high end gaming PC? What about Intel's best non-Sandy chip?

I'm willing to spend up to $500 on a new CPU if it's worth it. The rest of the components will be built around that CPU.

Thanks in advance!

 

[minitron815]

High end gaming PCs are much more dependent on the GPU and not the CPU but Intel has a better offering now for $200+ even without Sandy Bridge (i5-750/760).

Oops didn't see that $500 was for the CPU only. Wait until April to see if Bulldozer is out and how good it is compared to Sandy Bridget, otherwise get an i5-2500k whenever.

 

[xander25]

I really don't want to wait all the way until April.

If the majority of the game's detail is on the GPU would I even notice a difference waiting for Sandy Bridge so long as I was using high end GPU solutions?

 

[xander25]

The problem is in the boards, not the chip, right? The SATA 3gb ports malfunctioning?

Wasn't it only an issue with a small percentage of boards?

There is a Saberooth P67 board on ebay...if mine did junk out I don't imagine ASUS would warranty or otherwise RMA a board that was bought on ebay even brand new?

 

[xander25]

The only issue with SB is the Sata II ports. The Sabertooth has 4 Sata III ports. Asus warranty is attached to the serial number. If you buy it from ebay and register it there will be no issues.

Sir, you are a gentleman, a scholar, and my hero for the day. Thank you!

 

[fazers_on_stun]

The problem is in the boards, not the chip, right? The SATA 3gb ports malfunctioning?

Wasn't it only an issue with a small percentage of boards?

There is a Saberooth P67 board on ebay...if mine did junk out I don't imagine ASUS would warranty or otherwise RMA a board that was bought on ebay even brand new?

From what I've read, it's a bad transistor in the clock generator (PLL circuit) on the chipset SATA 2 ports. And it only affects some 5 - 15% of chipsets, and not right away - maybe 2-3 years down the road. The SATA 3 ports are not affected.

If you wanna go through the hassle I'd look for a vendor that will sell you a current board and then let you RMA it back for the fix. Dunno of any in the USA but there's at least one in the UK, according to some other threads here.

IIRC the new chipsets are promised late this month, and fixed boards sometime in March, which is a bit more optimistic than the April timeframe.

 

[fazers_on_stun]

Thats what i'm here for. To dispel all the bs floating around the forums about SB.

Hope you brought a snow shovel .