Upgrade from Phenom II: Now or later?

[N4g4rok]

I've been runnning a phenom II 980 at 3.9 Ghz for a year now, and i can't decide if it's time to switch just yet. System will be used for software development (Visual Studio, VIseo, 2-3 Office apps, all simultaniously), occaisional graphic design, and a game every now and again.

Are there any benchmarks comparing an Oc'd 2500k vs. and Oc'd 980? The stock benches aren't really helping, since there could be almost a 1.2Ghz bump on the 2500k.

 

[Leyawiin]

If you're into productivity apps wait for Piledriver. Even as it stands with Bulldozer you'd be doing better in many of them vs. SB.

 

[magomago]

I've been runnning a phenom II 980 at 3.9 Ghz for a year now, and i can't decide if it's time to switch just yet. System will be used for software development (Visual Studio, VIseo, 2-3 Office apps, all simultaniously), occaisional graphic design, and a game every now and again.

Are there any benchmarks comparing an Oc'd 2500k vs. and Oc'd 980? The stock benches aren't really helping, since there could be almost a 1.2Ghz bump on the 2500k.

You can't decide when to switch? How is your current PC handling the tasks you do?

You can decide because

(a) PC feels slow, but the new tech is confusing
(b) you aren't acutally sure if you need to upgrade, or if it will be faster in day to day use, but you have an upgrade bug


which is it?

 

[N4g4rok]

which is it?

Oh, it's definitely B. Haha.

I'm currently doing a lot of work with a Java compiler, and there are a couple nights where i'm sitting for 10-15 minutes waiting for my work to finish compiling. I'm doing the same kind of thing over the summer, a few more languages and compilers, but the same thing. I'm trying to decide if ~$200 for a CPU plus however much for the Mobo is really going to save me that much time over the next 6-8 months.

But yes, it would also satisfy that upgrade itch.

 

[Arzachel]

Are the compilers you're running multithreaded? Anyways, I'd suggest to atleast wait until the first Ivy Bridge overclocking reviews pop up.

 

[N4g4rok]

Are the compilers you're running multithreaded?

Most of them are. I would say only one of them isn't but i'm not real sure what the latest gcc is doing.

 

[Arzachel]

Then it's either the 2600k/3770k if you can use those additional HT threads or the 2500k/3570k if you can't (intel, stop changing your naming scheme every gen, that's stupid). Got to wait and see how Ivy fares in reviews, but currently it's looking like SB will be the way to go if you're overclocking.

I feel like I'm stating the obvious, but uhh hopefully I'm atleast a bit of a help

 

[RavenSEAL]

Wait for piledriver! I know I am!

 

[podspi]

If you can find one, a cheap X6 will be a decent upgrade since you can use the threads. If you can't find a cheap X6 (or don't want one, whatever), I'd wait for Piledriver or pick up a 2600K or 3770K.

 

[Arzachel]

Wait for piledriver! I know I am!

He doesn't have an AM3+ board, so I don't think it's worth it. Sounds like Piledriver is going to be great for a laptop chip and more or less decent for desktop.

 

[pelov]

He doesn't have an AM3+ board, so I don't think it's worth it. Sounds like Piledriver is going to be great for a laptop chip and more or less decent for desktop.

I believe you're thinking Trinity, which will give us an indication as to how the Piledriver cores in Vishera, the AM3+ desktop chip, will perform.

But you're right about the mobo. If he's going to upgrade it's going to be a whole platform overhaul.

 

[Puppies04]

If you just have an upgrade itch then all you need to do is decide what your budget is, I would say the smart money is on waiting a few more weeks as while a 2500k/2600k would be an upgrade once you put a reasonable conservative OC (4.4ish) the 3570/3770 will be even more of an upgrade at the same speeds.

Give it a little more time, make sure we aren't going to have another chipset fiasco with IB (unlikely) then pull the trigger once you have the info you need. Keep an eye on the MC deals aswell if you have one close by, that $199 2600k I heard about the other week was an amazing deal and might have been worth pulling the trigger on although I think that has finished now.

 

[Arzachel]

I believe you're thinking Trinity, which will give us an indication as to how the Piledriver cores in Vishera, the AM3+ desktop chip, will perform.

But you're right about the mobo. If he's going to upgrade it's going to be a whole platform overhaul.

Yeah, I'm making an educated guess from Trinity leaks we've seen. Clockspeed advantage and smaller cores are great for laptops and servers, but a lot less meaningful on desktop, especially when overclocking.

 

[RavenSEAL]

He doesn't have an AM3+ board, so I don't think it's worth it. Sounds like Piledriver is going to be great for a laptop chip and more or less decent for desktop.

I see :hmm:

I would definitely then suggest jumping on the IB bandwagon...

 

[N4g4rok]

I would definitely then suggest jumping on the IB bandwagon...

I've always been a personal fan of AMD and never really paid attention to what was going on with Intel. Just general whispers from here, mostly.

Expectations seem sort of mixed. As if I would be almost just as well off going with Sandy Bridge. Is that the case?

 

[RavenSEAL]

I've always been a personal fan of AMD and never really paid attention to what was going on with Intel. Just general whispers from here, mostly.

Expectations seem sort of mixed. As if I would be almost just as well off going with Sandy Bridge. Is that the case?

Well, the main differences between IB over SB right now are:

-Obviously a new process, 22nm
-5-12% better IPC
-Increased heat
-Slightly better OCing capabilities.

Even as a fan of AMD myself, it'll certainly be a worthy upgrade in your case, IMO.

 

[Arzachel]

Well, the main differences between IB over SB right now are:

-Obviously a new process, 22nm
-5-12% better IPC
-Increased heat
-Slightly better OCing capabilities.

Even as a fan of AMD myself, it'll certainly be a worthy upgrade in your case, IMO.

Actually, due to the heat it seems that Ivy has less overclocking capabilities. That is why I would advise to wait for some overclocking reviews, Ivy might end up being inferior to Sandy when overclocking heavily.

 

[pelov]

Yeah, I'm making an educated guess from Trinity leaks we've seen. Clockspeed advantage and smaller cores are great for laptops and servers, but a lot less meaningful on desktop, especially when overclocking.

say what?

If the gains we've seen from Trinity are true then Vishera is shaping up to be pretty damn good once we throw in the L3 cache. As far as clock speeds and overclocking goes, that's not something you can determine by clockspeeds alone, especially because the Trinity chips are APUs and carry a metric buttload of graphics transistors. Hell, look at how well Ivy is fairing past 4.5ghz People were heralding 22nm Tri-gate as the overclockers dream and thus far it's been a boon.

 

[Arzachel]

say what?

If the gains we've seen from Trinity are true then Vishera is shaping up to be pretty damn good once we throw in the L3 cache. As far as clock speeds and overclocking goes, that's not something you can determine by clockspeeds alone, especially because the Trinity chips are APUs and carry a metric buttload of graphics transistors. Hell, look at how well Ivy is fairing past 4.5ghz People were heralding 22nm Tri-gate as the overclockers dream and thus far it's been a boon.

Laptops and servers run at relativily low clocks, so tweaking the arch for clockspeed does much more there than for desktop.

To repeat what I said a year ago, an eight core CPU with IPC on par with Nehalem running at around 3.6ghz would be great. Lets see if Vishera can hit what I expected from Zambezi.

 

[pelov]

clockspeed != performance and what does core count have to do with laptops?

I understand the server argument, but that was the intention with BD in the first place as it was a server first processor; check out all that slow cache.

The IPC should be within a stone's throw of the Llano which should mean that any clock speed gain over Llano should directly translate into a performance increase. If Trinity performs well we can expect Vishera to bring to the table what Bulldozer promised: a 25% increase over Nehalem. BD in its current form is about equal to the Thuban.

 

[N4g4rok]

Actually, due to the heat it seems that Ivy has less overclocking capabilities. That is why I would advise to wait for some overclocking reviews, Ivy might end up being inferior to Sandy when overclocking heavily.

How does an H60 do for SB?

 

[Arzachel]

How does an H60 do for SB?

Not really an expert on cooling, but if I remember correctly, It does worse than custom water loops and high end air coolers, but it's less of a hassle to set up compared to custom water loop.

 

[pauldun170]

I've been runnning a phenom II 980 at 3.9 Ghz for a year now, and i can't decide if it's time to switch just yet. System will be used for software development (Visual Studio, VIseo, 2-3 Office apps, all simultaniously), occaisional graphic design, and a game every now and again.

Are there any benchmarks comparing an Oc'd 2500k vs. and Oc'd 980? The stock benches aren't really helping, since there could be almost a 1.2Ghz bump on the 2500k.

Based on what say you need it for
Skip bulldozer, you'd see more benefit by going with Phenom II x6
Skip 2500K, for what you are doing with it you'll want more than 4 cores. spend the bucks and get the i7. Just a plain old i7-2600 would rock more than an over clocked i5.
If you cant swing the i7, get a Phenom II x6.


HOWEVER...if you have no real complaints about your current set-up wait it out.