CPU Prices are stagnanting

[cr0ssfire]

there are no compelling products out right now anyways. Anyone who has a conroe/wolfdale should seriously just skip the cycle and wait till the next one.

+1 to this. I honestly can't think of many compelling reasons to upgrade right now from my e6400. It still plays my games well and that's enough for me. Bulldozer should hopefully be out by around this time next year, so Intel will have a run for its money, and I'm willing to bet that SSDs, USB 3.0, and SATA 6Gbps will more widespread and affordable as well. Who knows? Maybe RAM prices will come back down as well.

 

[Skott]

Increasing RAM prices shouldn't surprise anyone who has been keeping up with things. It was said as early as last Summer the prices were expected to increase through the rest of the year and well into 2010. As for CPUs pricing we're in a flux at the moment it seems. Intel is all over the place with CPU choices and pricing tiers. Its looking rather messy IMO. Too much overlapping and glut. AMD he sticking to the lower cost CPUs it seems so Intel commands the upper performance areas. I'd love to see AMD come up with a high end CPU that would kick Intel's ass and make them price nicer but I don't see that happening.

 

[cbn]

AMD is owning the price/performance category right now and, given the economy, that makes them a very attractive alternative.

Yes, but the price of RAM and Operating systems can make cheap AMD CPU/Mainboards less attractive.

(Mainly I am thinking of those blow deals at Fry's where a person can buy a Athlon II 240/MSI mainboard for $50 total)

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

AMD cannot compete with Intel on performance, so Intel is effectively in a position where they can dictate the prices for the x86 CPU market.

People don't realize how true this is. I've heard this before but the first time I really seen it is when the 4870 came out and 90% of the top end Nvidia cards on New Egg were advertised as "see price in cart" and of course out of curiosity i looked to find some crazy deals on those top dog cards that literally made me laugh out loud.

 

[toyota]

e5200

the e5200 had at least one if not two price drops in the last 14 months.

 

[13Gigatons]

the e5200 had at least one if not two price drops in the last 14 months.

Somebody should tell the stores then so they lower the price...

 

[macd7]

good point, improvements for cpu's do seem to be at a snails pace. GPU's aren't much better, it seems like for about the last 2 years the best GPU at a low price point like $100 has been the 9600GT. Never seen a video card lead a price point for so long.

 

[soccerballtux]

.. at which point a new build will likely be desired anyway, making it moot.

People that bought the Athlon64 4000+ said the same thing, look what happened to them: Oblivion.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

I just bought parts for a new build. I was on a VERY limited buget but I insisted on a quad core.

So I bought an AMD Athlon II x4 620 for effectively $75 (part of a cpu/mobo combo deal for $149). What Intel quad core cpu would be "very much in the ballpark" with that? I honestly looked and did not see one.

Not until very recently was there competition from Intel. I actually bought the same Athlon II X4 as you but RMA'd the set (board/CPU/RAM) and went with i3 530 / P55A-UD4P / DDR3 1600 because it has a more promising future. The i3 is virtually 4 cores (2 with hyper-threading) and then the board has USB 3.0 and SATA 6GB/s. It is a little more expensive than the $200 for a nice 785G board and CPU, but $100 more is acceptable for most budgets, plus then a $35 video card is better than a HD4200 IGP. The i3 is competitive with the Athlon II X4 and if you get an H55 board you have video and a lower cost board. I will most likely upgrade to an i7 860 in a few months, so getting the Intel setup was a wiser choice because of the upgrade ability.

 

[Hey Zeus]

Not until very recently was there competition from Intel. I actually bought the same Athlon II X4 as you but RMA'd the set (board/CPU/RAM) and went with i3 530 / P55A-UD4P / DDR3 1600 because it has a more promising future. The i3 is virtually 4 cores (2 with hyper-threading) and then the board has USB 3.0 and SATA 6GB/s. It is a little more expensive than the $200 for a nice 785G board and CPU, but $100 more is acceptable for most budgets, plus then a $35 video card is better than a HD4200 IGP. The i3 is competitive with the Athlon II X4 and if you get an H55 board you have video and a lower cost board. I will most likely upgrade to an i7 860 in a few months, so getting the Intel setup was a wiser choice because of the upgrade ability.

Overclocked the I3 is competitive with the X4 Phenom II

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

Overclocked the I3 is competitive with the X4 Phenom II

Sweet! I am going to OC it a bit. I only have a 92mm Noctua HSF though right now but the new 32nm die might only need that much cooling.

 

[Hey Zeus]

Sweet! I am going to OC it a bit. I only have a 92mm Noctua HSF though right now but the new 32nm die might only need that much cooling.

I have a mega shadow till my water gets installed but it keeps it nice and cool. You should be able to hit 3.6Ghz on 1.0v

 

[RussianSensation]

Overclocked the I3 is competitive with the X4 Phenom II

I think the performance is there but the problem with the i3 is the price.

Newegg:
Core i3 540 = $145
Core i5 750 = $199

For an extra $54 you get 2 extra cores. At $100-115, the i3 will begin to make a lot more sense.

 

[Hey Zeus]

I think the performance is there but the problem with the i3 is the price.

Newegg:
Core i3 540 = $145
Core i5 750 = $199

For an extra $54 you get 2 extra cores. At $100-115, the i3 will begin to make a lot more sense.

Totally agreed russian. IMO the G6950 should be 49.99, The 530 79.99 and the 540 99.99. Intel couldn't price them there tho because of the C2D's. If they did no one would buy a C2D ever again

 

[victorm]

heard a rumor that Intel is still reining in large players through ads subsidies - they probably think there is still steam in the current line of products

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

I think the performance is there but the problem with the i3 is the price.

Newegg:
Core i3 540 = $145
Core i5 750 = $199

For an extra $54 you get 2 extra cores. At $100-115, the i3 will begin to make a lot more sense.

Hey, you forgot the i3 530 which I just paid $125 for but then got $10 off the combo with some OCZ DDR3 1600 i7 RAM which was already $10 off and lower than anywhere else. That sounds complicated... ewiz.com has them for $115 after coupon.

You can just OC the 530 past the 540 speeds if you get good RAM.

 

[RussianSensation]

ChaiBabbaChai, the i3 530 is probably the best 32nm Clarkdale out this round

Overclock that bad boy and see how close to Hey Zeus's speeds you can get.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

ChaiBabbaChai, the i3 530 is probably the best 32nm Clarkdale out this round

Overclock that bad boy and see how close to Hey Zeus's speeds you can get.

I wanted an i7 920, but I need a new car, but anyways I got a good board so I'll get an i7 860 or something in a few months.

I don't think I can compete with a 92mm HSF. When I get an i7 I'll buy an IFX-14.

 

[nyker96]

I wanted an i7 920, but I need a new car, but anyways I got a good board so I'll get an i7 860 or something in a few months.

I don't think I can compete with a 92mm HSF. When I get an i7 I'll buy an IFX-14.

look also at Noctua D14, another super cooler although some dispute how much better it is over IFX14.

 

[SoggyPopcorn]

the e5200 had at least one if not two price drops in the last 14 months.

Well, the everyday retail prices are pretty meh, but I got mine for like $50 bucks around black friday, and given the overclocking potential, turned out to be a way better value than going for an AMD build + ram and all that crap.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

look also at Noctua D14, another super cooler although some dispute how much better it is over IFX14.

YA!! D14's are badass coolers as well. It will come down to what fits and has the best mounts I guess but the IFX-14 looks sweet with the flame shaped fins.

 

[RussianSensation]

Ya the problem is IFX-14 comes with no fans and no mounting for socket 1156. So once you factor in those, the Noctua for $79.99 comes in as a better "value" cooler. But I am sure that even Cooler Master Hyper 212 for $30 will do a great job on a dual core.

 

[zsdersw]

People that bought the Athlon64 4000+ said the same thing, look what happened to them: Oblivion.

The exception to the rule. Deciding a mobo/platform purchase based on "CPU upgradeability" is foolish for a couple of main reasons:

1. Newer chipsets/mobos often yield better increases in performance than CPU upgrades, especially if the IGP is used.

2. Newer chipsets/mobos offer more desirable features or feature improvements that matter to enthusiasts.

 

[Axon]

I got this combo as a back-up rig recently, and it has paid dividends:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.320287

My ASROCK Extreme board went down like a stone in water and I was forced to RMA. For gaming, this has been as good or better. I just got my RMA back on Friday and it's running smooth again, but I didn't miss a beat with the AMD. I don't know if this is the best deal, but for my needs, this sub $300 backup rig performed admirably. I'll bring her up again when I get a sexy use for SATA 3.0.

However, I agree with most of what's being said here: there simply are no compelling products out there right now. I have an i7 920, and I don't think we'll ever seen another chip like it on the 1366. The 1156 i7s and the i5 750 were nice, but weren't quite the leap the 1366 socket was (if you can even call it that). And the new i3 and i5s do nothing for me. And to be honest, I simply don't need any more performance than what I currently have; there is nothing I want my PC to do that it can't already do. Anything I buy will be arbitrary...

 

[quadomatic]

Once AMD can compete with Intel performance (bang for buck line...i5?) maybe we'll see lower prices, but I doubt it. Intel has always seemed to be comfortable with charging such prices for their higher end processors.

I was waiting on seeing some derivatives though (like the Pentium E2xxx series was to the E6xxx series), but instead I'm shifting over to AMD. Waiting on my Athlon X2 5000+ and keeping my fingers crossed for a successful 4 core unlock to Phenom II status.

if that doesn't work, the processor only cost me $65. I'll ditch it and pick up a Phenom II X2 550BE and oc it...or just skip straight to the tri-core. It's only $110 now.