The BIG questions

[ThatNewGuyKeenToLearn]

31/10/2012 21:57

Hello tomshardware community! This seems the very best place to ask technologicly related questions so i'll get straight to it!

I'm new to terms such as z77, x79, haswell, Ivy-bridge e, etc etc... but I do feel that i'm getting the jist of it now!

So, we know haswell is out Q2 2013, and ivy-bridge e Q3 2013. Let me be clear, I'm looking for the best gaming performance possible, lets ignore cost for such components, and focus on getting the very best for my future PC!

First question, simply put, with the knowledge we know at this stage, what will be the better processor type for gaming next year, haswell or Ivy-bridge e?

2. What will the IB-e socket type be? If 2011, should a x79 motherboard be bought now or will a, for example, Rampage V come out nearer the time with significant improvements?

3. Being a Nvidia fan (they just do it better guys! :L) I want the possibility of being able to run SLI with perhaps a few or more GPU's , will PCI 3.0 (certified or whatever, see, the subject is pritty hazy and confusing, but anyway!) will I be able to perform quad sli on a new 2013 release motherboard perfectly? as in all lanes work x16, or atleast as they should without reducing these figures?

4.Last one! I'm not looking to be a hardcore overclocker, but i will want to push my clock speeds to a certain standard, especially since I would have water cooling. Will overclocking be an issue for Ivy-Bridge-e or indeed haswell (if we think it will be better for gaming)


Thank you for your time! Any replies are greatly appreciated

 

[mocchan]

Throw away the idea of Haswell or Ivy Bridge-E for now and just concentrate on Z77+i5 3570k.

The i5 3570k is by far the BEST gaming CPU on the market. Period. The i7's Hyperthreading have NO benefit to the experience of gaming as of now and considering most games still only utilise 2-3 cores, the i5 is where it's at. You can get an i7 3960X if you wished, however, the i5 3570k will be able to keep up in gaming.

Ivy Bridge-E will most likely be LGA2011 and most likely, you will be able to plop it right into any existing X79 motherboard with just a simple BIOS update.

Depending on which Nvidia GPU you choose, you will not be able to run Quad-SLI. The only GPU's available to be Quad-SLI'd at the moment are the GTX680 or GTX690. Anything below that will be limited to 3-way or 2-way SLI configurations.

As far as future overclocking performance goes, we have no way to tell. Ivy Bridge CPU's use a different material between the silicon and the IHS which SEVERLY crippled the thermal performance of the chips compared to Sandy Bridge (SB used Fluxless solder while IB uses run-of-the-mill Thermal Compound).

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

Not being psychic I have no idea.... and we sell top of the range gaming machines....

But plan on spending £3000 to £5000 PLUS...

All the best Brett

 

[nekulturny]

Howdy,

. Let me be clear, I'm looking for the best gaming performance possible, lets ignore cost for such components, and focus on getting the very best for my future PC!

You can't entirely ignore the cost of components. Sure you can say go with LGA2011 w/ an i7 Extreme, the problem is, its massive overkill. Even with gaming in mind. HyperThreading (which is the only thing all i7s have that i5s lack) bring little to nothing to the table for gaming performance. No game is coded really to know what a HyperThread is, much less how to make use of them. While HyperThreading can have an indirect impact on gaming performance (since it can reduce the workload for background programs), its something ridiculous like 1-2% for hundreds more in cost.

LGA2011 platform for gaming is like buying a whole bushel of apples for one person. They'll go rotten before you'll ever be able to eat them all. Sort of litereally, since computer components go outdated so fast. Rather than overbuying on parts today with the intention of trying to "future proof" the system for 10 years, you'd be much better off both performancewise and cost just to spend less and buy a system that can meet your needs and rebuild in 3-4 years. There is absolutely no game on the market that an i5-3570K cannot max out when paired with a high power video card.

3. Being a Nvidia fan (they just do it better guys!

Highly debatable lol.... but you'll be happy with either way you go if you get a decent one.

I want the possibility of being able to run SLI with perhaps a few or more GPU's , will PCI 3.0 (certified or whatever, see, the subject is pritty hazy and confusing, but anyway!) will I be able to perform quad sli on a new 2013 release motherboard perfectly? as in all lanes work x16, or atleast as they should without reducing these figures?

I'd forget about that. A single, stronger video card is almost always the best solution. I'd also direct you to this video, you can learn a lot in 10 minutes from this rather attractive fellow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK4ip08auGg

4.Last one! I'm not looking to be a hardcore overclocker, but i will want to push my clock speeds to a certain standard, especially since I would have water cooling. Will overclocking be an issue for Ivy-Bridge-e or indeed haswell (if we think it will be better for gaming)

A strong air cooler like a 212 Evo can be had for about $30 USD, and its more than sufficient to get a strong overclock out of any CPU it sits on.

 

[ThatNewGuyKeenToLearn]

Thank you all above for your responses!
I'll try cover everything that has been said best I can!

i5, beast processor yes!

Yes that's fine, i just want the option to use SLI, and yes understandably having just one good card is certianly the better option !

"Highly debatable!" aye ofcourse but, just from my perspective, being introduced to both companies, nvidia seem to be in the lead as far as gaming graphics go! but aye i'm no hating on AMD or anything

So, is the 2011 socket reserved for enthusiasts? in a way?

And isn't the whole,"lets release Haswell which has new technology, but at the same time, enhance older technology to be even better" considered quite confusing!? Im just saying Intels way of doing things aint exactly simple!

But anyway, enough ranting!
At this point I'm leaning towards having the option to upgrade to IB-e

IS IT WORTH waiting waiting to buy a Rampage V motherboard, with all its itsy bitsy SoundFX exclusiveness ?

Infact a better question, what will you guys do? BIOS update your rampage IV (or equivalent) or squander the cash and get a next gen motherboard that suits IB-e perfectly?

 

[monkeymonk]

Ok Socket 2011 is literally a enthusiast socket Sandy bridge, ivy bridge and haswell are all mainstream options.

That being said the way that games and CPUs are these days there is almost literally NO point in buying into the enthusiast platform (ivy-e and sandy-e).

If you want better sound buy a sound card it will always be better than the one on the mobo.

PCI 3.0 is not really utilized yet because we don't need that bandwith with today's cards.

Having tons of cards in SLI is kinda pointless IMO unless you are just doing it for the epeen A single 690 is much better than a 680 SLI setup IMO and you wont even need that much power unless you are running a high res monitor anyways.

Any other terms I missed or you have questions on?

 

[nekulturny]

Thank you all above for your responses!
I'll try cover everything that has been said best I can!

i5, beast processor yes!

Yea, they are rather nice. My ex had one of the lower end Sandy Bridges, (i5-2300), My Phenom II overclocked actually slightly outperforms it, as long as you stay away from those ones, you're good to go. It just had a pathetic clock speed (2.8GHZ), Intel didn't make many of em I don't think. You're looking at much better ones, i5-2400 and up, the Phenom IIs can't touch em.

Yes that's fine, i just want the option to use SLI, and yes understandably having just one good card is certianly the better option

Keeping the option open is fine. I have a motherboard that supports 2 way Crossfire/SLI in x16 as well for the same reason.

"Highly debatable!" aye ofcourse but, just from my perspective, being introduced to both companies, nvidia seem to be in the lead as far as gaming graphics go! but aye i'm no hating on AMD or anything

I've almost always bought Nvidia myself over the past 10 years. I always had the idea in mind that ATI/Radeon was second rate. AMD has been pretty aggressive in cutting prices to burn up Nvidia's market in the past couple years, and its been quite effective, you may find that a better deal could be had with AMD. But if you're deadset on Nvidia, I can't fault you for it. I bought my 7870 GHZ edition just as a "Try something new", plus its pretty close to the performance of the new 660 TI and was $70 cheaper.

So, is the 2011 socket reserved for enthusiasts? in a way?

I would say with 2011 you're getting into industrial strength, small server. I'm not really sure to be honest what niche Intel really intended for those platforms to fill, there are a few guys on the forums that have em. If they have the money for em, eh, you gotta pay to play. I just don't really see the point myself in investing in something that extreme that has a finite life cycle as computer technology evolves so rapidly. Computers are more or less throwaway items. Its not like a new Honda you buy and expect it to run til the wheels fall off at 400k miles, ya know?

And isn't the whole,"lets release Haswell which has new technology, but at the same time, enhance older technology to be even better" considered quite confusing!? Im just saying Intels way of doing things aint exactly simple!

It rarely is simple. All the hoopla aside, advances in computer hardware is done in baby steps. Don't expect Haswell to be a huge leap in performance from Ivy Bridge. Based on decades of CPU history, under the best of circumstances Haswell might be a 15% improvement over Ivy on average. Although Intel was shooting for 20% with Ivy over Sandy, and they got about 6-9% on average. They did do pretty well with video encoding, with their "QuickSync" feature, Ivys can encode media 30% faster than equivalent Sandy Bridges.

IS IT WORTH waiting waiting to buy a Rampage V motherboard, with all its itsy bitsy SoundFX exclusiveness ?

I have what I consider to be a fairly expensive motherboard, my Sabertooth was about $175. I really can't see the benefit of paying more than that for a motherboard. Many would argue I paid to much. Honestly, I kinda did. They do make Sabertooths for Intel in the Z77 chipset, but they're like $240.. Thats pretty pricey, thats probably as high as I'd justify going. The Sabertooths have a better warranty than the Rampages anyway. (5 year vs 3 year)

If you want an "extreme board", I'd try to catch one of these on sale:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131821&Tpk=sabertooth%20z77