Sandy Bridge E

[IntelUser2000]

http://www.tcmagazine.com/tcm/news/...eals-three-sandy-bridge-e-cpus-set-q4-arrival

(Thanks to BoozeCompany for posting it first: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2159428)

 

[ElFenix]

wasn't this posted in a different thread last week?

 

[IntelUser2000]

Ah, it was from a motherboard thread. Might as well merge.

 

[Timmah!]

I read about this on local HW site and the journo wrote: "there are not going to be expected 8-cores".
LOL. I wonder, who expected 8-cores, when there was no single 6-core under 500 yet? There is already 3rd or 4th generation of Quads out there, but Intel will magically make only 6-core line (Gulftown) and then jump right onto 8-cores? I do not think so.
Not to mention Gulftown is already 130W TDP at 32nm, while SB might be even more power efficient, i do not think they are capable of adding 2 more cores without crossing that border on current process. Therefore IMHO 8-cores not until 22nm Ivy Bridge (and maybe not even then, depends on the performance of Bulldozer).

 

[IntelUser2000]

Well, there was quite a few that thought there would be a 8 core version, but when Anand revealed there would be only up to 6 cores, I stopped wondering. What's better confirmation than from a reputable site, other than Intel?

This wouldn't really change competitive landscape much if going to 8 cores resulted in lower clock speeds compared to a 6 core version.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Is there any definite pricing for these chips, or is the article accurate and $600 is the lowest going for a fully unlocked proc?

 

[Timmah!]

I am inclined to believe there is not going to be cheaper model than the 600 dollar one.
IMHO not until there are high-end quads (2600k alike) sold for less than 300, which is not going to happen at least until Ivy Bridge, when maybe quads will replace duals at low-end, six-cores will become mid-end (under 500) and 8-cores will be new High-end. If they priced the upcoming SB 6-cores at 300, it would mean 2600k at 150 and dualcores will have to be given for free
We all know, this is not going to happen, not when the name of company is Intel. Theyre not going to sell their stuff cheaper than they can just to please few enthusiasts.

 

[Edrick]

SB-E 6C is going to be so far superior to the 990X that it will not matter that no 8 cores will be released. I personally can not wait for these to be on the market.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I'm waiting for the 6 cores so I can pick up a cheap used sandy bridge 4c setup.

 

[Acanthus]

Yup, this news made me jump on a 2600K, since Intel is being stingy with the cores and giving us integrated graphics the enthusiasts don't want instead.

I won't spend more than ~$350 on a proc.

 

[Edrick]

I'm waiting for the 6 cores so I can pick up a cheap used sandy bridge 4c setup.

You can buy mine when SB-E comes out.

Some people fail to realize (not you OilFieldTrash), that there are other important features on a platform than just core count/core speed. The x79 platform with the SB-E cpus will be a nice upgrade over the current p67 platform, even if you are limited to 4/6 cores.

 

[Acanthus]

You can buy mine when SB-E comes out.

Some people fail to realize (not you OilFieldTrash), that there are other important features on a platform than just core count/core speed. The x79 platform with the SB-E cpus will be a nice upgrade over the current p67 platform, even if you are limited to 4/6 cores.

I'm a bang for buck kind of guy though, and I don't see a motherboard giving me tangible gains, and it will certainly cost double that of the decent P67 boards.

 

[Edrick]

I'm a bang for buck kind of guy though, and I don't see a motherboard giving me tangible gains, and it will certainly cost double that of the decent P67 boards.

x58 did not cost double a p55 board. Sure it was more, and in some cases a lot more, but I do not think it was double. I expect the same price points with x79 and z68.

As for the gains, it depends on the user. In my case the gains are worth the money. when I start looking at what I gain, then it becomes less about core count than it does about total system performance.

z68/LGA1155.........vs.....x79/LGA2011
16 PCIe 2.0 lanes...........32+ PCIe (3.0?) lanes
dual channel RAM...........quad channel RAM
1.5MB/2.0MB L3/core......2.5MB L3/core
2 SATA III ports.............Up to 10 SATA III ports (SAS possible)
IGP..............................No IGP
3.4Ghz Base clock..........3.5Ghz+ Base clock
No BLCK overclock..........Possible BLCK overclock
4 cores max..................6 cores with 8 possible with IB

 

[Timmah!]

SB-E 6C is going to be so far superior to the 990X that it will not matter that no 8 cores will be released. I personally can not wait for these to be on the market.

They will be as superior to 990x as is 2600k to 975x...if you want to describe this performance boost as "so far superior,that lack of 8-cores will be no-issue", fair enough.

Personally i see it more as an evolution, but then again i may be biased, as i own 980x but frankly i do not see this to be good enough to convince me to upgrade, even if i had money for that. This Gulftown is 4x faster than my previous C2D, which was 4x faster than previous Athlon64, which was 4-5x faster than my original Duron 700. Difference between Gulftown and SB-E will be 30 percent top (going with the 2600k/i7 900 comparison), which is certainly not enough to shell another 1000 bucks.
In your place with 2600k i would overclock the shit out of it and wait for the 8-core Ivy Bridge. BTW what do you do, when you say, you get money from it? Just curious, i bought 980x for doing archviz.

 

[Lepton87]

SB-E 6C is going to be so far superior to the 990X that it will not matter that no 8 cores will be released. I personally can not wait for these to be on the market.

SB has about 15% better IPC than gulftown, and since they are both mode on the same process and have the same number of cores and clock very similarly, all that remains in favor of SB-E is that 15% improvement in IPC. Is 15% really that much?

 

[Edrick]

SB has about 15% better IPC than gulftown, and since they are both mode on the same process and have the same number of cores and clock very similarly, all that remains in favor of SB-E is that 15% improvement in IPC. Is 15% really that much?

I believe (I may be wrong) that SB-E 6C will be more than 15% faster than the 990X. I expect upwards of 20%. But we will have to wait and see. Adding 2 more cores to the 990X would be around the same performance increase (for certain multithreaded apps).

Time will tell I suppose.

Also, I see no reason why the x79 boards would not be compatable with IB. So you would have an upgrade path to possible IB 8C chips.

 

[Acanthus]

x58 did not cost double a p55 board. Sure it was more, and in some cases a lot more, but I do not think it was double. I expect the same price points with x79 and z68.

As for the gains, it depends on the user. In my case the gains are worth the money. when I start looking at what I gain, then it becomes less about core count than it does about total system performance.

z68/LGA1155.........vs.....x79/LGA2011
16 PCIe 2.0 lanes...........32+ PCIe (3.0?) lanes
dual channel RAM...........quad channel RAM
1.5MB/2.0MB L3/core......2.5MB L3/core
2 SATA III ports.............Up to 10 SATA III ports (SAS possible)
IGP..............................No IGP
3.4Ghz Base clock..........3.5Ghz+ Base clock
No BLCK overclock..........Possible BLCK overclock
4 cores max..................6 cores with 8 possible with IB

Your comparison only has tangible gains in the cores and clockspeed department...

PCI-E isn't saturated, no gains there. Quad channel ram will be nice for WinRAR and Sisoft Sandra (memory isn't saturated either). More L3 is a whopping 0-5%.

Gigabyte X58 @ Newegg $180. Asus P55 $109.

You are correct sir, "only" 65% more (and it was a lot worse when the 1156 launched).

 

[Acanthus]

I believe (I may be wrong) that SB-E 6C will be more than 15% faster than the 990X. I expect upwards of 20%. But we will have to wait and see. Adding 2 more cores to the 990X would be around the same performance increase (for certain multithreaded apps).

Time will tell I suppose.

Also, I see no reason why the x79 boards would not be compatable with IB. So you would have an upgrade path to possible IB 8C chips.

If history repeats... they'll make it so the VRMs don't support IB's voltage/current.

 

[Edrick]

If history repeats... they'll make it so the VRMs don't support IB's voltage/current.

If that turns out to be true, then I would be one very upset customer.

 

[Timmah!]

Surely they will be compatible. It will be like with x58 and gulftown. If not, theyre genuinely retarded

 

[tweakboy]

Ya I made a post previously on this.

 

[StinkyPinky]

x58 did not cost double a p55 board. Sure it was more, and in some cases a lot more, but I do not think it was double. I expect the same price points with x79 and z68.

As for the gains, it depends on the user. In my case the gains are worth the money. when I start looking at what I gain, then it becomes less about core count than it does about total system performance.

z68/LGA1155.........vs.....x79/LGA2011
16 PCIe 2.0 lanes...........32+ PCIe (3.0?) lanes
dual channel RAM...........quad channel RAM
1.5MB/2.0MB L3/core......2.5MB L3/core
2 SATA III ports.............Up to 10 SATA III ports (SAS possible)
IGP..............................No IGP
3.4Ghz Base clock..........3.5Ghz+ Base clock
No BLCK overclock..........Possible BLCK overclock
4 cores max..................6 cores with 8 possible with IB

How do you know LGA1155 will be 4 cores max? I expect the highest end LGA1155 i7 Ivy's to be 6 cores. Or have you heard something different?

Anyway if Bulldozer hits a home run I would expect Intel to suddenly "find" more cores on their CPU's

 

[poohbear]

can these new 6 cores be dropped into a z68/LGA1155 or will they require an entirely new mobo/socket?

 

[bunnyfubbles]

can these new 6 cores be dropped into a z68/LGA1155 or will they require an entirely new mobo/socket?

these are LGA2011 products

don't expect more than 4 cores for 1155 until Ivy Bridge, and even then don't get your hopes up

 

[PlasmaBomb]

these are LGA2011 products

don't expect more than 4 cores for 1155 until Ivy Bridge, and even then don't get your hopes up

Yeah you will probably need bulldozer to be competitive to guarantee it...