Windows 7: LGA 1366 or LGA 2011 or LGA 1155

I'm not sure where to post this as there is no specific hardware talk forum without involving Windows 7.

What's bugging me right now is the release of Intels new LGA1155 and it's future LGA2011 with and X68 chipset.

LGA1366 is defnitly the way to go if you are an enthusiast. TRI-SLI (X58 chipset x16, x16, x4 PCIe 2.0), supurb overclocking features and alot of harcore motherboards! Alot of resources on the web. Not to mention Intel and nVidia finally agreed upon having SLI capabilities on Intels chipset now giving you the choice between SLI and CF! Big step in gaming!



On the other hand, LGA 1155 supports the new iCore7 Sandy Bridge 2600K cpu. They are amazing to overclock (5Ghz easy!) and perform extremely well due to it's new microarchitecture! Most motherboards are reasonable but the P67 Chipset does not support full 2x16 PCIe 2.0. Not ideal for SLI or CF but one 570GTX or more would definitely be more then enough to run todays games and very high settings. Also to note ,some boards have a faulty Southbridge regarding SATA IIRC! Don't forget native USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0Gb/sec capabilities!

Now for the overkill! There are no dates yet, but most people presume LGA 2011 is going to be a desktop board sporting the new X68 chipset of which details have not yet been released. Who knows, this board might supply full 3x16 PCEi 3.0! Blazing fast, super effeicent CPUS! Most likely going to be Intels Ivy Bridge made with Intels 22nm process combined with Quad-Channel DDR3 RAM!

So do I,

Optn 1: Go for the LGA 1366, upgrade in the future with pure RAW power to get up to date (SLI 580GTX and fastest RAM in the future to keep my game up).

Optn 2: Go for the LGA 1155 with the crazy 2600K CPU and a nice 580GTX and coast smootly for the next couple of years not being able to upgrade as much down the line since it uses a P67 chipset? A pretty new but already old LGA 1155 design that IMO want be going for very long if they have there eyes set on LGA 2011 already. The mainstream chipset is what bugs me the most! ;(

Optn 3: Wait and pray for LGA 2011, X68 chipset, 22nm CPUs and crazy retarded GFX with Quad-Channel DDR3 that will future proof me for years to come!

What do guys??

As a moderate gamer, I think that SLI is overrated, so it's always 1 video card for me. I don't really like to wait and purchase what's coming around the corner, but would rather use what I know is here and now. Without a doubt, if I assembled another personal machines today, it would be a socket 1155 with a Sandy Bridge CPU.

Thanks for the input. Although I fell like, and most likely, 1366 and 1155 are coming to an end. I just hope that LGA 2011 will be like LGA 775 in a way that it was great and lasted for a long time! (Pentium 4 Prescott, Pentium D Presler, Pentium Dual-Core Conroe, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad etc.) It had huge support and was a good future proof! It already been 5 years! You could still easily manage to get a great gaming experience with a Core 2 Quad Oced to 4Ghz and it still gets support from the latest and greatest GFX Card along with DDR3. I hoping LGA 2011 will be that turning point that will ensure future upgrade capabilities like the LGA 775.

I've been through way too many Intel sockets to even concern myself anymore with upgradeability. And that doesn't bother me at all, because I have NEVER upgraded a CPU on a motherboard. Every new CPU came with a new mobo, new ram, new case, new power supply, new video card, etc. I think buying anything these days with the intention of upgrading down the road is a fools errand, at best.

Honestly, the first ever complete system I had ever had from a one big buy was a Pentium3. And I have always upgraded from that! Change the mobo and cpu, but keep the RAM, PSU and HDD w/ CD drives. Then upgrade those, then go back to upgrading to mobo and CPU. Now put a GFX, now change the CPU, add more RAM etc. And I have always continued to upgrade slowly! Believe it or not, everything I have know is in the same SAME PC tower from the P3, crazy eh? Long live ATX form factor.

Well, I can tell you are apparently an Intel person, but don't leave out the new AMD chip that is supposed to be released soon. While few really know, it is said to be 50% faster than the current AMD X6 chips and at least 25% faster than the current i7's. I am in the same boat as you. But if AMD doesn't put the release off too long, I would like to see what they bring to the table. I'm not a fanboy of either side, I just want the best peformance for my money.

The way I understand it and have read it is that LGA 1366 will be phased out in favor of LGA 2011 as the high-end/server/enthusiast CPU socket of choice. LGA 1155 is supposed to be replacing both LGA 1156 and finally allowing the full phase out of LGA 775. LGA 1155 is supposed to be here for a while side by side with LGA 2011 as the budget and mainstream CPU socket choice.

In terms of waiting though, you can wait forever if you want to be ahead because you'll never be up to date for very long. If you really want to upgrade right now and don't care about some of the limitations, I'd pick up an LGA 1155 motherboard with a Sandy Bridge CPU. If however you want to have full unlocked everything and a very powerful CPU, I'd wait for Ivy Bridge unless you really have a need to upgrade right now, in which case 1366 would be the way to go.

You would assume correct. Going to a whole other family tree of CPUs is like learning a new language. You won't understand much until you really spend time reading a lot of stuff since it differs from what you currently know. Overclocking would be the biggest learning curve. Don't me wrong, I'm well rounded when it comes to tech knowledge. Bulldozers seems to amazing but AMD and ATI never seem to have that "edge". ATI having a Dual GPU card to be branded fastest GFX card is more of a cheap cheat then an advancement :/


True about LGA 1155. What I should of said was that 1155 maybe the new high tech at this moment, but will be ruled out shortly by the appearance of LGA 2011 taking the tech leap. I want to upgrade to be on pare with the tech, not to upgrade while still renaming 2 generations behind. If that made sense.

And thats the other reason, I don't have to upgrade now, it's not a priority. Upgrading CAMs on my car is one though Just that a tech upgrade is well needed also I just feel stuck in the middle ;(

My understanding was that the new AMD chips were supposed to be 50% faster than current offerings, but only matching what Intel already has available. I've never hear that it's going to be 25% faster.

I faced the same dilemma about 14 months ago and went the 1366 route with an i7. Now I hear that there may be another batch of chips at the end of the year but that the socket is going to be phased out.
I thought I was pretty future proof but evidently not.
If I had about £500 to throw around I'd get a LG 1155 mobo and a Sandybridge CPU.
But it would be just throwing it around because I don't feel the need to upgrade. Nothing is frustrating me about the rig I have.
I reckon that this time next year I might start finding the need but I agree with Darician earlier. There is never a right time to upgrade so you might as well go for the best bang for your buck now