Build or wait?

[Nole7]

I need to build a PC soon and am wondering whether to hold off for the 45nm Intel CPUs to come out or to just go with a Q6600 and call it a day. From what I've read about the QX9850, it looks very impressive, so I'm suspecting that a lower-end 45nm quad would be equally impressive at its price point.

What do you guys think?

Also, since these CPUs will all be running at 1333MHz FSB, what speed RAM would be advisable?

 

[MegaVovaN]

I said it before, will say it again:

The waiting game never ends.

By time these cool CPUs come out (and price settles down to reasonable level - market supply will be low for some time), some better CPUs will be just around the corner!

 

[DSF]

The quads have been delayed. A Q6600 should do just about anything you ask of it, so you ought to seriously consider building now. (Unless of course your current computer already handles all of your applications, in which case you ought to just save your money anyway.)

As far as RAM, DDR2-667 will run synchronized with a 1333 FSB CPU. You may as well just buy DDR2-800 since the price difference is generally low at this point. If you find a killer deal on 667 though, it will work fine. However, it may not have much headroom for overclocking, if you're considering that route.

 

[Nole7]

Thank you, guys. I know that the waiting game never ends but I was under the impression that these new CPUs were being released within January and I was hoping that I might be able to get the successor the Q6600.
What do you guys think about the E6850? Decent bang for the buck?

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Nole7
Thank you, guys. I know that the waiting game never ends but I was under the impression that these new CPUs were being released within January and I was hoping that I might be able to get the successor the Q6600.
What do you guys think about the E6850? Decent bang for the buck?

Actually, the E6850 is terrible bang for the buck for several reasons.

1) Most of the time, you're not going to notice a difference between a C2D running at 3GHz and one running at 2.66GHz or even 2.4GHz.
2) Just about any Core2Duo will overclock to 3GHz, making it pointless to pay for performance that you can get for free.
3) The new 45nm dual-cores are supposed to be out in two weeks, meaning a chip that performs as well as the E6850 but runs cooler will be out at a lower price. The quad-core 45nm chips have been delayed, but the dual-cores have not.

Anyway, what exactly are you doing with this computer? For most users, four cores are a waste of money.

 

[Nole7]

Good to know. Thank you. Where do you read up on processor happenings?

 

[MegaVovaN]

#1 and #2 from personal experience or observation of others.
#3 from these very boards or some tech news web sites, example:
http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/section/chips/

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Nole7
Good to know. Thank you. Where do you read up on processor happenings?

I read the CPU forums here, and the front page of places like AnandTech, xbitlabs, arstechnica, etc.

 

[Nole7]

Thanks, guys. I haven't had much time to stay on top of the news.

 

[jdkick]

What will you be using the machine for?

I'm building a new machine right now and opted for a motherboard/memory that will give me room to grow but paired it with an entry level CPU for the time being (E2200).