Kepler, PCIe3 and Ivy Bridge

Arbegust

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I believe I read somewhere that Ivy Bridge CPUs were estimated to only bring a 10% to 15% power increase over Sandy Bridge. How are intergrated graphics and PCIe3 figured into that? Also isn't it true that PCIe3 graphic cards like the gtx 680 won't be bottlenecked by PCIe2 because it isn't nearly saturated yet? I also heard that PCIe3 is, at this point, a framework to build up to SATA 3. If this is true, could someone please explain? I'm a little fuzzy on what that means exactly. Finally, and more to the point, will the genesis of Ivy Bridge render Sandy Bridge and PCIe2 into obscurity? Please pardon the jumbled questions and thanks for any help in answering them!
 

FtsArTek

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Sandy Bridge won't be obscure for a while. PCI-e 2.0 is still very fast and like you said, the closest you get to saturating is the 590/ 6990 so I dunno why 3.0 is such a big thing. As for SATA3, it's been around for a while now and isn't advantageous over Sata2 really.
 
The Ivy Bridge cpu is the second installment of the Intel releases and the intent is to be more energy efficient and not a power increase or a new cpu but rather a different version of the Sandy Bridge. It's not the same thing as when they went from the 1366 socket of the Gulftown cpu to the 1155 socket of the Sandy Bridge. As a matter of fact the Ivy Bridge is the same socket (1155). The Ivy Bridge will support the Pci-e 3.0 and we have just started the Kepler releases so we shall see what happens in the months to come with other cards coming out , where the Pci-e 3.0 comes onto play.
 

voodooking

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Well, you can sit through this if you want.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ER3nv7NTwbs

I have been trying to answer the same questions that you have. Let me tell what I have found. PCI-e 3.0 is just a "check-box" item right now. No one is capable of using it. YET. Just like SATA 3, No one could use it until the fastest SSD's came out. Now they just barely push through to using it.

As for Ivy Bridge + Kepler, the rep from invidia referenced that there is something that is geared torward IB in the new Kepler cards. I have no idea what that could mean. The bottom line is that I am holding off on getting everything I have been thinking about getting until the IB processors come out and are tested together. Because the rep gave a "no-comment" speaks volumes. The reason being is that he doesn't want to give anyone a reason for not going out and getting the new card today. That no-comment is a reason. They have something up their brewing.
 
PCIe v3:
- not necessary. won't bottleneck the GTX680
- I WOULD recommend getting it though for future graphics cards.

Ivy Bridge:
- faster, and cooler (22nm)
- 1155 Sandy Bridge might be a much better DEAL though unless you wait for prices to drop on Ivy Bridge motherboards AND Ivy Bridge 22nm CPU's.
- Asus has an 1155 Sandy Bridge motherboard that supports PCIe v3 so it might be the best deal (saw one at NCIX)

SATA3:
Definitely get at least one SATA3 on the motherboard for SSD's. The latest SSD's already MAX this out (i.e OCZ Vertex 3). My motherboard is two years old and has SATA3.

USB3:
Not necessary but I recommend one with FRONT PANEL connectors. You MUST get a case that supports USB3 front panel or you'll end up with problems for the high-speed USB3 devices.

What to buy?
Get either Ivy or Sandy Bridge. However, look at the PRICE of a similar motherboard AND CPU. You might find a Sandy Bridge that has PCIe v3, SATA3, USB3 and eSATA plus a 2600K Intel CPU might be the best value.
 

pezonator

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PCI-E v3 - recommended
Ivy Bridge - Why not wait, I am
USB3 - Good for future proofing

SATA3 - A must for SSD's... doing the maths... As we know:

Sata1 = 1.5Gb/s
Sata2 = 3Gb/s
Sata3 = 6Gb/s

We know there are 8 bits in a byte... So a drive that can do 500MB/s read and writes will use 4000Mb/s which = 4Gb/s. So I hope that person who said SATA3 is not useful will do their research first in future.

Get a board with all these things, you will not regret it later on. SATA3 is already being used, USB3 is just a matter of time and PCI-E v3 would be very handy (cheap 1155 socket board with 16 lanes, SLI or xFire so both are at x8, you would want pci-e v3 in a couple years when you upgrade graphics cards...)
 

Joe_R

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You're ignoring that Sandybridge does not support PCI Express 3.0. Do not believe what the motherboard tells you, it literally will not work unless you put in an Ivybridge CPU. It's a function of the processor, not of the motherboard. By the same token, you could get a Z77 mobo and it won't give you dual x16s because Sandybridge only has 20 lanes total. The new boards do support USB 3.0 from intel instead of from third party jury rigs and will give you about a 50% increase in performance -- though I'm not sure if, again, this is a function of the processor.

That said, dual x16s PCIe 3.0 are generally overkill for pretty much any decently priced build you'd make right now, and Ivy Bridge will only really be lower power consumption instead of better benchmarks -- unless you're overclocking, then all power to you. Likewise, going 2600K instead of 2500K will give you a negligible difference in framerate for most games, and you'd be better off sinking that $100 into a better graphics card or better cooling.

And for the love of god, don't use Arctic Silver 5. Formula 7 or bust.
 


Sandybridge 1155 does have true PCIe v3.0 motherboards:
http://ca.asus.com/en/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68V_PROGEN3/

To be clear:
- the 1155 motherboards have the PCIe v3 controller on the motherboard
- the Ivy Bridge motherboards have the PCIe v3 controller in the CPU
- Choosing one over the other comes down to PRICE for the motherboard AND the CPU.

You can often find that the newest boards and CPU's offer just a little more performance but can cost a lot more. If you can wait, I recommend waiting for the price to drop and buy Ivy Bridge, especially with the new 22nm CPU's which will run quite cool.
 

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