Ivy Bridge or wait for Haswell

[Shephard]

I have a q6600 CPU and I am a gamer.

Last year I was told to wait for Ivy Bridge to came out. Then everyone complained that it couldn't clock as high as Sandy Bridge.

But then on the other end, people said it doesn't matter if it can't clock as high because it's still faster at stock or overclocked.

So too many mixed opinions so I decided against it.

Now I hear the Black Friday sale is coming and there are good deals for computer parts. I have never bought anything on this event before. I am living in Canada now.

So do I buy Ivy Bridge 3570k if there is a super good special, or do I wait another 6 months to see if Haswell is even good?

I have Q6600 with stock fan and can't overclock.

I got 4 gigs of ddr2 ram.

I have a 9800 gt graphics card.

On my 1680x1050 monitor I can run most newer games on medium like Skyrim. Some settings are low.

Metro 2033 It defaults to high but in reality fps is between 10-15 in firefights which makes it difficult and not fun.

I want to play all the new games with above 30 fps so it's smooth. On the ultra settings to.

what do you suggest and thank you.

[aaksheytalwar]

Haswell will be a lot better. If you plan to keep your rig for 3 years or so then wait. If it is a sub 2 years upgrade then go for it now,

[MisterMac]

Depends on your budget.


You won't really get THAT much out of a pure mobo\ram\cpu upgrade without following with a GPU upgrade.

If you can do the whole shebang - i'd go with black friday sales.
especially for the GPU side.


if not - maybe i'd wait for the 700\8000 series and haswell.

[2is]

You would be WELL served with IB, particularly if you're stuck at 2.4GHz on that Q. As above though, you're video card is quite dated these days.

[AtenRa]

I would upgrade the GPU first , get a HD78xx or GTX660/Ti (or better)
+ a CPU Cooler to OC the Q6600 to 3GHz

[frozentundra123456]

Originally Posted by MisterMac

Depends on your budget.


You won't really get THAT much out of a pure mobo\ram\cpu upgrade without following with a GPU upgrade.

If you can do the whole shebang - i'd go with black friday sales.
especially for the GPU side.


if not - maybe i'd wait for the 700\8000 series and haswell.

If you can get a really good deal on Black Friday for cpu,mb,ram, I would use the money saved to get a better GPU upgrade, something at least on the order of a HD7850 or higher.

Do you live near a Microcenter? If so they have really good deals on CPUs and motherboards.

Haswell may be a decent improvement over IB, but an intel 3570K will be more than enough cpu power for a few years for gaming. Waiting for Haswell might be more important for productivity apps, but for gaming IB should be sufficient. Getting the right GPU will be more important than the ~10% improvement you will probably get in CPU performance from IB to Haswell.

[tynopik]

there's no reason to wait, haswell won't be THAT much better for gaming

there's always something coming up, you could end up waiting forever

if you are having trouble running stuff now, get something now

[OBLAMA2009]

wif only 2 mumfs imma say wait. but they is gonna be lotta temptin' deals fa da holidays....

[kleinkinstein]

Why wait? That argument is short sighted and illogical! Here is the logic. You can pick up a 3570k and AsRock Pro4 bundle for $230 at MicroCenter. Then next year, when and if and how Haswell is released and it proves to eat, shit and sleep over IB then just toss the bundle on ebay and recoup an easy $200 guaranteed. In the meantime, you'll be rolling and frolicking in all the z77 bliss and a 4.7 OC on air, 5.1 on water...for a grand sum of $30, maybe less.

Those who suggest to wait, are curmudgeons who just haven't run the the #'s, don't understand the economics or can't for what ever reason upgrade. Today's procs are disposable and ebay is the receptacle.

[nitromullet]

+1 for a new video card before a cpu upgrade. Even with a stock Q6600 ~$200 towards a modern video card will be a game changer.

[Shephard]

ok thanks for replies.

I don't live by microcenters I don't think they exist in Canada.

My friend said Q6600 won't work well with new video cards because the processor is too slow and will hold it back.

I looked at AMD Radeon 7950, 7870, and 7850. I heard best out of the 3 for the price was XFX 7870. My friend said even that card I won't be able to play games on ultra.

I have had my Q6600 since it came out. I can't upgrade though because my board is a micro version.

[2is]

A stock Q6600 certainly will hold newer video cards back, that doesn't mean you won't see a significant benefit though. It just means you won't see as much of a benefit as you could.

The same is true with a CPU upgrade though, that's why you really need both for a balanced system. A lot also depends on the game. Games like Metro 2033 and Crysis will see a huge gain from a new GPU and not much at all from a CPU where games like BF3 need both, and games like WoW benefit mostly from a CPU.

[Shephard]

Is there a way I can tell how much the CPU will hold me back before buying the card? Did anyone do benchmarks for something like an old processor?

Like would Metro get 10 more fps or 20 more fps?

Is my friend right XFX 7870 is best price?

I don't got a lot money so I need your all expert opinion on what is a good deal for my goal.

thanks all

[ShintaiDK]

Originally Posted by Shephard

Is there a way I can tell how much the CPU will hold me back before buying the card? Did anyone do benchmarks for something like an old processor?

Like would Metro get 10 more fps or 20 more fps?

Is my friend right XFX 7870 is best price?

I don't got a lot money so I need your all expert opinion on what is a good deal for my goal.

thanks all

Just play the game(s) you like and see GPU and CPU loads. If your CPU load sits at say 95% and your GPU load sits at 75%. Then you are CPU limited.

[Shephard]

ok so some mix opinions some of you say wait others Black Friday specials.

Is the Black Friday computer deals only 1 day? Things could go out of stock fast I bet they do.

If I see XFX 7870 on special but no 3570k cpu should I only buy GPU? Or are new AMD Radeon HD cards coming soon?

Everything changes so fast but I don't want to wait to long right my CPU is so old.

[Ajay]

Maybe you should look at a used mobo/cpu/ram. You might find a decent i5/i7 out there (check the classifieds and ebay). You could also buy and used GFX card (maybe gtx 560 ti, if you want to stay with nVidia).

[2is]

Originally Posted by ShintaiDK

Just play the game(s) you like and see GPU and CPU loads. If your CPU load sits at say 95% and your GPU load sits at 75%. Then you are CPU limited.

Not really accurate. He is running on a quad core CPU, so task manager could be showing 25 or 50% and he'd still be CPU limited if the game is only using one or two cores

[Shephard]

Originally Posted by Ajay

Maybe you should look at a used mobo/cpu/ram. You might find a decent i5/i7 out there (check the classifieds and ebay). You could also buy and used GFX card (maybe gtx 560 ti, if you want to stay with nVidia).

no I bought use before and don't trust it.

I got a powercolor ati radeon a long time ago and it was artifacting. the guy refuse to refund my money.

also bought a geforce 250 by zotac used and it died in 4 months.

maybe some used is good and some trustworthy people, but I did some online and some local and it was overpriced duds.

[lopri]

I would get rid of the POS (IMO) Q6600 first but even the venerable G92 (your 9800 GT) is also getting very long in the tooth.

I suppose it's logical to upgrade the video card first, since it takes/costs much less than whole system overhaul. A video card is also more portable than a CPU, meaning you can keep it in case you do a CPU/platform upgrade, so you risk less as well.

Either way, I wouldn't bring Haswell into consideration.

[Shephard]

Originally Posted by lopri

I would get rid of the POS (IMO) Q6600 first but even the venerable G92 (your 9800 GT) is also getting very long in the tooth.

I suppose it's logical to upgrade the video card first, since it takes/costs much less than whole system overhaul. A video card is also more portable than a CPU, meaning you can keep it in case you do a CPU/platform upgrade, so you risk less as well.

Either way, I wouldn't bring Haswell into consideration.

well I see Haswell mentioned on so many computer forums. 6 months is a long time though and then you have to wait for reviews on the good motherboards so it could be longer.

I just want to spend my money well. I have never had a computer than can play all the new games on ultra.

i will be getting a new monitor to 1920x1080 so I need good video card.

is Black Friday only one day?

XFX 7870 is the best choice do you all have no argument there?

[lopri]

Originally Posted by Shephard

i will be getting a new monitor to 1920x1080 so I need good video card.

Yes! That probably should take priority over of new CPU or GPU. Your productivity or entertainment value will see an increase, almost immediately. Your eyes will be pleased as well.

Well, in that case get a display first. Then upgrade your video card. If you're satisfied, then you're set and can wait and see for Haswell.

Not sure when/where you could get the best deals on hardware. You may want to check out your local stores (if there are), or Hot Deals forums. If you are talking about the prices at a higher level of generality, then no I don't expect Haswell will achieve the kind of a performance leap Sandy Bridge did. And if it did there would be price premium.

[cytg111]

Originally Posted by AtenRa

I would upgrade the GPU first , get a HD78xx or GTX660/Ti (or better)
+ a CPU Cooler to OC the Q6600 to 3GHz

This.

Yes, what limits what, wheres the bottleneck, valid points.
But an IVB with a 9800gt is borderline comedy too..

Upgrade the card, hands down. Later you can take that card to IVB or Haswell and still be happy.

[Shephard]

Originally Posted by lopri

Yes! That probably should take priority over of new CPU or GPU. Your productivity or entertainment value will see an increase, almost immediately. Your eyes will be pleased as well.

Well, in that case get a display first. Then upgrade your video card. If you're satisfied, then you're set and can wait and see for Haswell.

Not sure when/where you could get the best deals on hardware. You may want to check out your local stores (if there are), or Hot Deals forums. If you are talking about the prices at a higher level of generality, then no I don't expect Haswell will achieve the kind of a performance leap Sandy Bridge did. And if it did there would be price premium.

well I don't think local is good an AMD Radeon 7850 HD is $400 I think it's much cheaper online.

I will be getting new monitor but I don't make that priority right now. I have 22 inch 1680x1050 which is really nice.

I just mention a new one right now because I know the more pixels, the better video card I will need.

what card do you suggest all.

[superccs]

A good rule I use for upgrades is:
If you game then spend as much on the cpu, mobo, and ram as you do on the GPU.

[lopri]

Can't really suggest a card because my two configurations are way different from yours. I have a HD 7950 and a GTX 650, and while I am happy with both they serve different purposes. Maybe someone else could give a better insight there.