Which one should I get because I heard that the Sandy Bridge had some problems and I'm not sure what the Sandy Bridge really is so which one would be the best one to get i7 2600K Boxed Processor 2nd Generation Sandy Bridge CPU or i7 960 Processor
Sandy Bridge without a doubt. The Sandy Bridge issue is not with the CPU itself, but rather with the chipsets on the motherboard that run the sandy bridge chip. The good news is that mfg's got the problem corrected and are just starting to ship out mobos to OEM's. Expect sites like NewEgg and such to have machines in about 2-3 weeks time.
The Sandy Bridge processor is fine. The motherboards had a flawed chipset dealing with the SATA ports.
If you can wait until until April, possibly before then for the new revised motherboards to hit the selves, then go with the Sandy Bridge. The i7 2600K beats practically every chip it's paired against.
Sandy Bridge CPUs in general are much cheaper than the upper levels of the i7-900 series. They are a considerably better bang for the buck.
You might consider avoiding the Sandy Bridge processors with the K suffix if you are not overclocking. They are designed for overclockers and you pay a bit extra for the privilege.
The 2600 is considerably more expensive than the 2500 and you might consider saving that money and applying it to something else--an SSD, a better monitor, etc.
I think Intel will be releasing more Sandy Bridge processors shortly--some of them designed to use very little power.
I upgraded to a 2500 a month ago with no regrets. The graphics capability is built into the processor and works well for my purposes (WEI graphics score of 5.1; gaming graphics 5.8; but I don't game). Power consumption at idle is 80 watts, down from 115 on my previous Core 2 Duo E6600.
I am planning a new build myself and planning to use the i7 2600K but like everyone else I have to wait until the new un-flawed mobos are shipped. By that time the new Sata III SSD drives should also be closer to market release.
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