So what is the point of upgrading from SB to the new chips?

[SAWYER]

I thought the SB chips were already kick ass for gaming and performance beasts, if so then why upgrade?

 

[ShintaiDK]

Why would you want to upgrade every year? I wouldnt even upgrade Sandy to Haswell. But maybe to Broadwell.

 

[Lonbjerg]

I thought the SB chips were already kick ass for gaming and performance beasts, if so then why upgrade?

Upgrade itch I guess.
I will upgrade my Nehalem when Haswell comes out.

 

[Smoblikat]

There is no point.

 

[Ferzerp]

Most people skip and architecture or two, and for some reason, people have forgotten SB-->IB is analagous to Nehalem --> Westmere

No one (or very few) tend to make that change. Haswell will be the Nehalem --> SB type architecture change.

 

[IGemini]

For this family, only if/for:

1) Better QuickSync/IGP performance
2) You don't care about maximum overclocking
3) Lower power consumption

All three must apply, in that order. People already using a 2500K+ don't have much reason to upgrade.

My personal approach is to buy a "lower-end" CPU at the start of a new tech line, and then buy high-end when it matures, sell the old to cover most of the difference. Bookended Core 2 with a E6600 -> Q9650 and skipped two architectures in the process. Haswell will be my next build.

 

[Arkaign]

For this family, only if/for:

1) Better QuickSync/IGP performance
2) You don't care about maximum overclocking
3) Lower power consumption

All three must apply, in that order. People already using a 2500K+ don't have much reason to upgrade.

My personal approach is to buy a "lower-end" CPU at the start of a new tech line, and then buy high-end when it matures, sell the old to cover most of the difference. Bookended Core 2 with a E6600 -> Q9650 and skipped two architectures in the process. Haswell will be my next build.

Yep.

 

[Fallengod]

The newer chips overclock worse apparently as well, so anyone with a 2500k has less reason to switch now. I personally dont know why anyone with a Sandy already would bother dumping more money into an upgrade for negligible benefits. I have a 2500k and definitely dont plan to be ditching my new build just purchased in January or whatever it was.

 

[hyrule4927]

Anyone upgrading from Sandy to Ivy just has money to burn I'd imagine. I plan to hold onto my 2600K for at least 3 years. Partially because I'm severely budget constrained, but even if I weren't, I be waiting on Haswell.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

IMO SB to ivy isn't a necessary upgrade but not a problem if money is enuf SB to haswel or nehalem to SB are sorta necessary upgrades IMO

 

[SickBeast]

OP it would be a sidegrade.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

OP it would be a sidegrade.

Nope, a minor upgrade like going from 1900xt to 1950xtx

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Nope, a minor upgrade like going from 1900xt to 1950xtx

Depends on how much you overclock, which on Ivy Bridge means whether you're temperature and voltage constrained or not.

4.6GHz 2600K=4.4GHz 3770K. The avg. overclock for Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge seems very similar, so around 4.5GHz. In that case, it's a very small upgrade. It's when you want to push with air cooling that you can get a couple hundred MHz more out of Sandy Bridge, and by then it's a side-grade.

 

[Don Karnage]

2) You don't care about maximum overclocking

Ivy is an extreme bencher's wet dream. It loves LN2

 

[aaksheytalwar]

In some benches ivy is a lot better and with future apps the true difference will be felt, problem is we might have haswell by then but those apps will run a lot better on ivy than on SB. Think e6600 to e8400 at the same clock

 

[hyrule4927]

Ivy is an extreme bencher's wet dream. It loves LN2

Good luck setting up your PC to run 24/7 on LN2. :whiste:

 

[aaksheytalwar]

A 4.5 ivy is like a 5.0 SB and each ivy hits 4.5+

 

[Ferzerp]

Good luck setting up your PC to run 24/7 on LN2. :whiste:

http://www.elan2.com/product_elan2AT.asp

Automate it to dump the correct volume in to your container when temps start to rise (or something similar).

Practical? No. Doable? Yes.

Or:

http://citizensciencequarterly.com/2011/05/10/liquid-nitrogen-generator/

If your generator is fast enough, you can just flow the liquid (not easy, but doable), and then exhaust the gas outside.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

In some benches ivy is a lot better and with future apps the true difference will be felt, problem is we might have haswell by then but those apps will run a lot better on ivy than on SB. Think e6600 to e8400 at the same clock

???

The biggest difference is just under 8%. I don't think most people will notice that, and since Ivy Bridge doesn't bring with it support for new instruction sets, then in the future the difference will remain the same.

There was a significant clock speed difference going from Conroe to Penryn, so even if the IPC difference was minimal, clock speeds made the avg. difference over 10%. As it stands, SB and IB get the same average overclocks at around 4.5GHz, with SB overclocking some 100-200MHz better if you're pushing for higher overclocks on air.

 

[Don Karnage]

Good luck setting up your PC to run 24/7 on LN2. :whiste:

Guys over at XS will run 5Ghz with a water setup. Some people are just not comfortable with the temps. I myself can care less. If i was hitting 100C i would be concerned but the ONLY times i hit high temps is with IBT.

4.7Ghz @ 1.36v

Idle : 32C
Gaming : 68C
IBT : 89C

Should i really be worried about 68C while gaming? Ofcourse not.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

A 4.5 ivy is like a 5.0 SB and each ivy hits 4.5+

You haven't been doing much reading, then, because the avg. difference is 4%. Simple math:

4.5*1.04=4.68.

Therefore, 4.5GHz IB=4.7GHz SB.

 

[hyrule4927]

http://www.elan2.com/product_elan2AT.asp

Automate it to dump the correct volume in to your container when temps start to rise (or something similar).

Practical? No. Doable? Yes.

Or:

http://citizensciencequarterly.com/2011/05/10/liquid-nitrogen-generator/

If your generator is fast enough, you can just flow the liquid (not easy, but doable), and then exhaust the gas outside.

Yep, definitely a realistic solution for day to day use.

For the money you might as well just start of with a 3960X, but we all know how long Don held onto his . . .

 

[Puppies04]

You haven't been doing much reading, then, because the avg. difference is 4%. Simple math: 4.5*1.04=4.68. Therefore, 4.5GHz IB=4.7GHz SB.

This.

A 4.5 ivy is like a 5.0 SB and each ivy hits 4.5+

Not this.

 

[IGemini]

Ivy is an extreme bencher's wet dream. It loves LN2

Yeah, I keep forgetting this is AT. I should've quantified "with standard retail cooling methods."

 

[Tempered81]

I thought the SB chips were already kick ass for gaming and performance beasts, if so then why upgrade?

It's a "sidegrade" at best.