Intel to segregate Mainstream and Enthusiast Platforms even more with Sandy Bridge

[RussianSensation]

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2010/04/21/intel-sandy-bridge-details-of-the-next-gen/1

Key details:

- new architectural features such as AVX - Advanced Vector Extensions - and AES - Advanced Encryption Standard
- 2 Sockets for Sandy Bridge - LGA1155 (Mainstream) and LGA2011 (Enthusiast)
- Current 1156 CPUs not compatible with LGA1155, or vice versa
- No native USB 3.0 support for either platform
- Both sockets will have only have a Southbridge, with no Northbridge
- All the chipsets include the Protected Audio/Video Path for outputting Blu-ray content, except for the P67. The P67 specifically still has no flexible display interface


Now to the key differences between mainstream and enthusiast

LGA1155: :thumbsdown:
- Sandy Bridge CPUs will be both dual- and quad-core products (no mention of 6 or 8 core processors, at least not for a while), currently targeting TDPs of 65W and 95W respectively, both with Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost technology.
- All LGA1155 CPUs will have integrated graphics built into the core instead of a separate chip.
- The LGA1155 CPUs will have an integrated dual-channel DDR3 memory controller, using the same 1,333MHz memory currently available.
- The P67 and H67 chipsets will both feature SATA 6Gbps ports, but only a couple will be upgraded
- The PCI Express controller available in the CPU will still only provide 16 lanes, but it will be multi-GPU x8-x8 compatible like current LGA1156 CPUs

LGA2011: :thumbsup:
- The larger socket is to accommodate the new four channel DDR3 memory controller this platform will offer, as well as the first outing for PCI Express 3 - 32 lanes bolted into the CPU itself.
- New Southbridge will house two SATA 3Gbps and ten SATA/SAS 6Gbps ports.
- LGA2011 will launch with quad- and six-core CPUs (with Hyper-Threading so eight and 12 execution units) although another source has stated eight-core CPUs are also on their way.
- LGA2011 won't arrive until Q3, 2011

Looks like LGA1155 will be seriously crippled for anyone wanting to upgrade from 1156/1366 sockets (since you won't be able to upgrade to a 6- or 8-core processor for a while, plus lack of SATA6.0 ports). This means that Bulldozer can once again win the price/performance crown if AMD delivers. :awe:

 

[Ichigo]

Ah, pretty sure that just means anyone on LGA1156 or LGA1366 just won't have anything to upgrade to until Q3, 2011.

 

[RussianSensation]

Ah, pretty sure that just means anyone on LGA1156 or LGA1366 just won't have anything to upgrade to until Q3, 2011.

At least not on the Intel side.

 

[poofyhairguy]

This is AMD's chance:

AMD, we need a six-core CPU attached to a motherboard platform that gives us USB3+Sata6GBs+PCIExpress 3 prior to 2011 for less than $500 for the CPU+Mobo

Do that and maybe the former glory of the X2 days will come back. You already blew your future by not making a decent competitor to the Atom, lets try not to give away forever the desktop market too...

 

[Ares202]

Looks like im keeping my Q6600 for a while longer

Hopefully i can get another 10-15% out of it by overclocking

 

[Daedalus685]

Ugg.. Q3 11?

I guess I'll have to upgrade soon in order for that to fit into an upgrade schedule. lol. (or just wait another year and a half....)

 

[nyker96]

Looks like LGA1155 will be seriously crippled for anyone wanting to upgrade from 1156/1366 sockets (since you won't be able to upgrade to a 6- or 8-core processor for a while, plus lack of SATA6.0 ports). This means that Bulldozer can once again win the price/performance crown if AMD delivers. :awe:

yes, I also have this feeling that this pressure to buy expensive hardware to accommodate enthusiasts needs is getting a little too much, will there be a need for new heatsinks now? I hope AMD can deliver a decent product that doesn't have to win all the benchmarks but just something that is not as feature crippled as the Intel mainstream stuff and they will have a winner for budget conscious overclocker like myself. we need some choices.

 

[Daedalus685]

What i hear with the lack of pcie lanes in the mainstream 1155 is basically "We have realized that you don't need to buy an expensive CPU to game at enthusiast settings and are spending that money on another GPU... You now have to buy an expensive CPU to game."

 

[scooterlibby]

Ugg.. Q3 11?

I guess I'll have to upgrade soon in order for that to fit into an upgrade schedule. lol. (or just wait another year and a half....)

Good God that sucks! I think I may go with Bulldozer if they can get it out earlier. Too many downsides to Intel's Q1 2011 Mainstream socket to make it worthwhile.

 

[yh125d]

Not liking this one bit. Intel is making it easy for AMD. All they'll have to do is make sure BD doesn't suck and is price competitive, 1155 isn't going to be half as lucrative from a budget enthusiast standpoint as 1156 was

 

[happy medium]

This sucks ,looks like I have to wait even longer for a good upgrade.

 

[Apocalypse23]

Good to hear some news about intel's upcoming lineup. Being a LGA 1366 owner, I'm proud and happy with my current setup. But seriously they are milking way too much by introducing platform changes too often, my next future upgrade will probably be AMD though.

 

[Apocalypse23]

This sucks ,looks like I have to wait even longer for a good upgrade.

Well I'd suggest you wait for the AMD Thuban reviews, as I see that you are a q9550 owner, you'd want to probably go 6 core as your next minimum upgrade. I'd wait for the i7 970 to come out and wait for it's price drops (possibly 6 months from now), or I'd be looking at the 1090T BE chip if I were you. Who knows what else will change by the time Q3 2011 hits.

 

[faxon]

looks like im gonna be waiting on BD or saving up now for dual sandy quads lol. i for one have to agree with the statement about "gamers needz to getz teh ub3r cpuz to play their gamez!" that intel seems to love spouting off. the only thing that makes me weary of looking at the AMD platform is the fact that, at least right now, AMDs stuff doesnt OC nearly as well as intel's does. i was planning on moving to a board with more PCI-E lanes, but intel is probably gonna charge an arm and a leg for that kind of a platform anyway. guess we will have to see what pricing for the chips and boards looks like eh?

 

[Allio]

Wow 1155 sounds awful. Sandy Bridge is a tock cycle, right? Performance will have to be outstanding to generate any excitement. I'm sure it will be, that's Intel's strength and they haven't made many mis-steps since Core 2 came out... but AMD is definitely positioning themselves as a more attractive provider of features and value for money when it comes to their platforms.

 

[Vesku]

This is AMD's chance:

AMD, we need a six-core CPU attached to a motherboard platform that gives us USB3+Sata6GBs+PCIExpress 3 prior to 2011 for less than $500 for the CPU+Mobo

Do that and maybe the former glory of the X2 days will come back. You already blew your future by not making a decent competitor to the Atom, lets try not to give away forever the desktop market too...

AMD should be releasing it's netbook-ish solution early next year, http://tech.icrontic.com/news/amd-samples-llano-to-vendors-tests-ontario/. Ontario is their Atom competitor, Llano is their notebook and entry-level office PC solution. Keep in mind AMD has a fraction of the resources that Intel does. It's a shame they weren't better able to leverage Intel's P4 missteps. I hope they have a good year 2011.

 

[pjkenned]

AMD, we need a six-core CPU attached to a motherboard platform that gives us USB3+Sata6GBs+PCIExpress 3 prior to 2011 for less than $500 for the CPU+Mobo

I bought a Phenom II X4 955 + MSI GX-890-G65 for under $190 last weekend including tax. No PCIe 3.0... but it isn't really needed today.

I'm inclined to return the setup since the power consumption is so much higher than my i3/i5, the performance isn't quite what I see from my i7's (x264 enconding + lots of VM's), and although you can get ECC memory support with AMD, you can't get a decent/ $200-340 Supermicro motherboard to run it in a server. Sure, you could use a consumer board, but no IPMI 2.0 :-/

On the LGA1366 upgrade cycle time... I purchased my first i7 in Q3 2008. If it lasts me until Q3 2011, that is the retail box CPU warranty timeframe and all I'd be looking to keep a system for anyway.

And for the record, I not only bought a Phenom II X4 this weekend, but I also built a Sempron machine in a Corsair memory box this weekend: http://www.servethehome.com/amd-sempron-140-sargas-whs-review/

 

[MagickMan]

This sucks ,looks like I have to wait even longer for a good upgrade.

Yeah, WTF? I don't want to sit on this C2Q for another 1.5 years. Looks like 1366 is it, OC the shit out of it and wait for LGA2011.

 

[KingstonU]

Looks like Bulldozer has been given a chance. Now I have to see if by mid 2011, if I even NEED an upgrade for my Q9550 (C1) at 3.5, that will be another question, likely not, but I may upgrade just cause I have the itch.

 

[RussianSensation]

I suppose on the positive side, current Core i7 users wishing to upgrade to 6- or 8-core Sandry Bridge processors won't have to worry about the upgrade bug for a while.

Perhaps SSD/GPU markets will bring some new and exciting innovations/performance improvements/price drops from now until Q3 2011 (or say until Bulldozer launches).

 

[pjkenned]

Perhaps SSD/GPU markets will bring some new and exciting innovations/performance improvements/price drops from now until Q3 2011 (or say until Bulldozer launches).

You also have an i7... I've managed to stop my itch for building new machines by just "building" new VM's and re-allocating resources on the various i7's around. Today my WHS has 2 cores. Tomorrow I may downgrade to 1 and over the weekend go to 4. Maybe allocate it an extra GB of ram to it...

 

[ElFenix]

AMD should be releasing it's netbook-ish solution early next year, http://tech.icrontic.com/news/amd-samples-llano-to-vendors-tests-ontario/. Ontario is their Atom competitor, Llano is their notebook and entry-level office PC solution. Keep in mind AMD has a fraction of the resources that Intel does. It's a shame they weren't better able to leverage Intel's P4 missteps. I hope they have a good year 2011.

intel paid them a billion dollars for their part in amd's inability to leverage P4's craptasticness.

 

[ilkhan]

X58 will have been king from November 2008 through Q3 2011. Who says intel is shifting platforms too quickly?

I for one, think its rather the opposite. CPU upgrades are slowing down. Drastically. Of course, they're also needed less than ever before. I think my Q8200 is gonna last through to a LGA1155 chip. Now if only I could afford an arrandale laptop (that satisfies my dock requirement) Id be on schedule.

 

[mv2devnull]

Isn't there already a clear segregation on the Intel processors released this year?

 

[LoneNinja]

Isn't there already a clear segregation on the Intel processors released this year?

Yeah, Intel is still selling a large majority of socket 775 processors, along with 1156 and 1366. With Intel you basically choose a processor socket and upgrade path based on your budget, and next year seems all new sockets will be out to accompany their current sockets which are bound to still be available in retail channels for some time. I can just imagine 2011, users posting on forums for new Intel processors when the egg and other locations are carrying parts for 5 different Intel sockets spanning 3 different architectures. lol