So what's the word on upgrading to Haswell???

[essenbe]

And, just to muddy the waters a little, this will be Interesting to see if it is worthwhile.
AMD Wins Race to 5GHz with FX-9000 Series Processor | Maximum PC

 

[smarteyeball]

For X79, I'm partial to either the ASUS Z9PE-D8-WS, ASUS P9X79-WS or ASUS Rampage IV Extreme


The Sabertooth X79 and P9X79 Pro are a tad more $ friendly. (Yeah they're Asus, but you shouldn't let old model scars put you off.)

The Gigabyte GA-X79S-UP5 and ASRock X79 Extreme9 also look good.

Either way, the board will do the job


Socket 1150 and the 4770K are pretty meh tbh.

 

[Solarstarshines]

And, just to muddy the waters a little, this will be Interesting to see if it is worthwhile.
AMD Wins Race to 5GHz with FX-9000 Series Processor | Maximum PC

I read up on this Steve and I'd rather wait for Steamroller same socket better IPC

These rehashed Vishera are going to put out some serious voltage the TDP for these chips are 220w

I thought we were supposed to be going forward with lower power consumption but they went backward also you need a new board same socket to use this chip because automatic is already 1.5 V-core

I already broke 5 ghz it was fun but I can live with out it all this is now is just Bragging rights

 

[sygnus21]

In the FWIW department, I've had dealings with Asus customer service and you're right, it stinks. But, I found if you stay away from email support and call them on the phone (at your expense) you actually get fairly good support. I had to call them twice about my Maximus V and they provided everything I asked for. I have since learned, I didn't have any problem worth an RMA. They put out a bad bios that had some bugs in it that led you to believe the board was bad. They've fixed the bios now, and it runs like a champ. Of course, I've heard from others that Gigabyte is no better. To be honest, when it comes to Customer service, I don't know anyone who provides good CS, except probably EVGA. I feel the same way about MSI as Sygnus feels about ASUS. If I'm looking for a product, I completely skip MSI. As far as I'm concerned, they don't exist.

For the record, I never deal with customer service/tech support through e-mail unless there is absolutely no choice... as in there is absolutely no phone number to be had - Steam Support. In fact I go out of my way to find a phone number because I HATE dealing with anyone through e-mail.

BTW I now also look to see if a company I'm about to purchase from has phone support. If not, I'm probably not dealing with them.

Anyway my personal experience with Asus customer service isn't good. That even if they make good MB's, I'll be looking elsewhere first. If it comes down that I get the Asus MB, I do like their features, it will be with great apprehension about their CS

And, just to muddy the waters a little, this will be Interesting to see if it is worthwhile.
AMD Wins Race to 5GHz with FX-9000 Series Processor | Maximum PC

For me, AMD is not choice. I've never used an AMD processor, nor do I plan to. Same with NVidia, never used one of their cards. I tend to stay brand loyal at times - Intel CPU's, AMD/ATI GPU's, Western Digital Hard Drives, Antec Power Supplies, Corsair RAM, and Creative Soundcards. Been with these companies for a very long time and never had a problem.

That's me. Your mileage may vary

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Over on Overclock.net, a lot of them are already delidding the Haswells, shaving as much as 18°C from the CPU temps.

Again, I'm glad I decided to go with the P9X79 WS board instead of waiting for Haswell. While the ASUS Z87 Deluxe/Dual was tempting, I would have had trouble keeping the temps down and wouldn't have really gained anything overall. The extra PCIe slot I would have gained would have been offset by the loss of a couple of SATA ports; Wi-Fi (which I may not need someday if I go ethernet to a router) and Bluetooth (which I don't see needing anytime soon, if ever) can come from adapters so no gain there either. It's going to be a long time before I would ever need Thunderbolt, again if ever. Having the onboard video in addition to a GPU card would have been nice, though.

Yep I saw that too LF and I couldn't help noticing the pricing again in sygnus's post from Amazon and I have no clue as to how one judges games but those figures for FPS being that close does that mean good or bad?. Am having some serious rethinking about the Haswell if only for pricing.

Personally I think the race for speed and lower heat etc etc is just making it very hard to decide what to do as one can imagine there is already probably three more generations of core's in the making. I mean where does one stop?

 

[essenbe]

John, Those FPS on Amazon is rather insignificant. In my opinion, Haswell is going to cost you a new board and CPU for about a 3% gain in efficiency, is going to run hotter than Ivy Bridge, and unless you invest in some very high dollar cooling, won't overclock as well as Ivy. It will overclock as well as Ivy, from everything I've read, but the heat will stop you. personally, I see little advantage in upgrading to Haswell, unless Intel fixes a few things, which they won't. When you asked the question on OCN, the answers about the 1155 socket being a dead socket is true. But, Intel being Intel, when they release a new CPU, there's little doubt in my mind that they will release a new board to go with it. I will keep what I have until they come out with something worth upgrading to.

As far as where the quest ends, that depends a lot on you. Most people build a rig they are happy with and use it until it won't do what they need it to do or want more features that come with a new chipset or their hardware wears out. Then there are enthusiasts like me, and most of the people on OCN. We upgrade because we have a serious illness. If it will go faster and overclock higher, I want it.
Never mind that I don't need it or use it, I just want it. It's an addiction. A real sickness that you really don't want to have. Personally, I'm proud of myself that I have resisted the temptation of Haswell. I'm very happy that it is not measurably better than what I have, and hope no one finds the secret that makes it much better than Ivy Bridge.

 

[kbrady1979]

I've went on record as saying I won't upgrade to Haswell for multiple reasons. I had a goal in mind when I built this system....it was to last me until some NEW hardware standard came out, and I believe it will. If someone has something older than SB and is looking to build a new rig, I probably would go with Haswell......baring that, I would wait until new standards came out to really make it worth your while. I would never recommend anybody with a good SB/IB system to upgrade to Haswell.

 

[sygnus21]

Ok another question....

Ivy or Sandy?

This may sound like a dumb question but I haven't looked at CPU's or MB's since I put my i7-950 together

 

[kbrady1979]

Ok another question....

Ivy or Sandy?

This may sound like a dumb question but I haven't looked at CPU's or MB's since I put my i7-950 together

Ivy Bridge

 

[essenbe]

Sygnus, I think you have pretty much decided on Sandy-E, which is an excellent choice. You probably need it too with your graphics work. I think you'll be amazed at what it will do. If Ivy-E comes out before you build, see what the reviews say about it and make that decision then. As far as just a 3770K or a 2600K, I would go with the Ivy. I have both and the Ivy is stronger and tougher, in my opinion. All of the talk that it won't overclock as high is BS. But, it will get hotter if you are running stress tests, but in normal operation, there is no difference. Plus, Ivy with the Z77 has a few chipset advantages such as USB 3.0 which is part of the chipset and PCIe 3.0, which may not make a big difference right now, but may in another year. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Dude]

Another vote for Ivy

 

[essenbe]

Sygnus, I know you do a lot of graphics work. How much, I don't know. But, the people who do a lot of the heavy duty graphics work claim that Sandy-E will pay for itself rather quickly. From some of the comments I've heard from the heavy graphics people is that sandy-E will do it in extremely time faster than the 2600K or 3770K. And, the CPU you chose will overclock well too, if you need to.

 

[kbrady1979]

I think he is still going to go socket 2011, I'm guessing his SB vs IB question was just academic.

 

[essenbe]

I agree, Kelly. I just think if he does a lot of graphics work he should go 2011. That's what it's made for.

 

[kbrady1979]

I agree, Kelly. I just think if he does a lot of graphics work he should go 2011. That's what it's made for.

Seconded

 

[sygnus21]

Sygnus, I think you have pretty much decided on Sandy-E, which is an excellent choice. You probably need it too with your graphics work. I think you'll be amazed at what it will do. If Ivy-E comes out before you build, see what the reviews say about it and make that decision then. As far as just a 3770K or a 2600K, I would go with the Ivy. I have both and the Ivy is stronger and tougher, in my opinion. All of the talk that it won't overclock as high is BS. But, it will get hotter if you are running stress tests, but in normal operation, there is no difference. Plus, Ivy with the Z77 has a few chipset advantages such as USB 3.0 which is part of the chipset and PCIe 3.0, which may not make a big difference right now, but may in another year. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Wait... I've just looked a few X79 boards with PCIe 3.0 and native USB 3.0 so what am I missing?

Also, though I may do some slight overclocking, it isn't really the make or break deal for me. Which is also another reason I backed down from the ASUS Rampage IV Extreme.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong but from what I gather... the real brute of the CPU's and power users are the Sandy Bridge-E's on a X79 boards?

And one other question: are the Z77 (Ivy Bridge) motherboards better than the X79 motherboards.

I'm doing some research but I'd like to get further feedback.

Thanks.

 

[sygnus21]

I think he is still going to go socket 2011, I'm guessing his SB vs IB question was just academic.

No, it wasn't.

Since I haven't been keeping up with the tech, I'd like to get as much information as possible before I make a final decision.

To be honest I picked the Sandy Bridge chip out of blindness. I now need some light shined on the subject. The fact that a few here think I made the right choice is good, but I'd like to get a better feel for what's out there, and what I'm passing up before making the final decision.

I normally do my research in private, but I'm asking you guys for opinions to fill in what I missed by not keeping up on the subject. In short, my knowledge on this matter is limited right now.

Thanks.

 

[kbrady1979]

@ kbrady1979, if you look through this thread I started, I said I wanted a X79 system, but wanted to know if I should consider Haswell. Seems X79 may be the way to go.

That is what I was going by when I said you had already decided on Sandy Bridge-Extreme. I'm going to bow out of this as I'm just becoming confused.

 

[essenbe]

I'm not sure you are missing anything. I've just looked at some and I believe I was wrong about the PCIe 3.0, it seems they do have that. But, I think I was right about the native USB3.0. A lot of boards come with USB 3.0 but they are add ons. From the Asus Rampage IV Extreme, they use ASMedia USB 3.0 controllers. The Z77 boards, as I understand it, were the first boards out that Intel made USB 3.0 as part of the chipset. That was what I meant by native (part of the chipset and not an add in). They come with 2 sata III ports and 4 sataII ports as part of the chipsets. To increase the number of ports, most use add ons such as asus uses ASMedia, I believe, others use marvell. The X79 boards have 40 lanes of traffic available where the Z77 boards have 24, I think. That helps a lot for multiple GPU or add on cards. I believe I am correct in saying that any add ons are never as good as features supported natively by the chipset. The Haswell chipset comes with 6 SATA III ports native to the board, which can be a big plus if you run multiple SSDs.

The 2011 boards and CPU are enterprise versions and typically have better features than the Z77 boards. Keep in mind, I don't own a 2011 board so am telling you what I 'think' I know about them. Lady Fitzgerald has one and is very up on the feature set. But, i also believe I am correct in saying that the Sandy Bridge-E CPU's are the 'beast' right now.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...The X79 boards have 40 lanes of traffic available where the Z77 boards have 24, I think...

The Z77 boards natively have only 24 lanes (some MOBOs may use a chip to add lanes). According to JJ on a Newegg YouTube video, the Z87 boards have the same number of PCIe lanes as the Z77. The only reason I could get away with a Z77 board with fewer lanes is I wouldn't need an x8 HBA card to get the number of SATA ports I wanted (even then, I would lose two ports over what I have now). Also, the Z87 boards have on board graphics that will support up to three monitors and some even have one or two Thunderbolt ports and built in Wi-Fi and blue tooth.

As nice as the new features are, I don't really need them now that I have my present rig. I don't see Thunderbolt taking off anytime soon (if ever; unless prices for Thunderbolt peripherals come way down, I suspect it may go the way of firewire). I can get ACC Wi-Fi with USB adapters when I eventually need it (by then, they should have some decent USB 3.0 versions out; the present ones are a bit iffy). I don't need Bluetooth. Onboard graphics are nice (especially since, at least with the ASUS MOBOs, the onboard graphics can also be run with a GPU card) but wouldn't be enough to do what I want (two or three monitors and stream to a TV) so I would've needed a GPU card anyways. One good GPU card by itself should be plenty for what I want to do anyways (X79 MOBOs don't have onboard graphics). Then there is the issue of the Haswells running hot. I have enough trouble cooling my i7-3930 in the tiny case I have (upgrading to a larger case is not an option due to space concerns so please don't go there). A hotter CPU I don't need.