Building a new machine...eventually

[Bubba Grizz]

I'm starting to plan my next machine that I will probably build around November or December. What I'd like to know is if there are parts that I should wait on. Like is there a new chip coming out that I should wait for so I can get the current top of the line stuff cheaper at that point. Or graphics card. Is there a motherboard that anyone is particurly fond of?

[Aslanna]

LGA 2011 is coming out Q4/Q1. Although it looks like the ~$300 range processor might be be locked. And the chips are huge! Then Ivy Bridge will be next year (March/April).A bit after your target date but it might make sense to wait! I'll probably go ahead and upgrade my i7 930 at that time..

Ivy Bridge continues on the successes of Sandy Bridge by shrinking down to the 22nm level allowing more transistors in a smaller space which equates to more performance and more efficiency. Also, Ivy Bridge is the first platform to make use of Intel’s new “tri-gate” transistor technology. According to Intel’s own metrics, the tri-gate technology will produce performance improvements up to 37% higher than current 32nm hardware. Other joys of Ivy Bridge include PCI Express 3.0×16 interconnect, PCIe x4 controller, USB 3.0 (native), and support for multiple displays.

[Canelek]

That sounds like something worth waiting for, if the price is reasonable.

[Aslanna]

My assumption is that it will basically be the same price point as the Sandy Bridge stuff is now so should be mostly reasonable other than the Extreme ones..

[Aabidano]

Pop in a decent video card and something like this might be workable:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6856101117
Downside to them is you can't just pop in any PS when it eventually fails.

My 5 year old Core2 CPU doesn't get taxed that badly playing Rift, it's all GPU load (I think). I've been considering something like this with an i5 and a 5750 in it.

[Kluden]

Sandy Bridge - E (SB-E, aka Socket 2011), is the "enthusiast" replacement level shit for the x58/socket 1366 level gear that's out now. Is it worth waiting for? If you overclock like a mofo, and run 3 video cards, then yes, absolutely. its also got quad channel memory, so that's kinda fancy.

If you are just a standard PC enthusiast, and OC with one vid card, possibly xfire/sli, then go with P67/Z68 that's out now.

Z68 chipsets are for Sandy Bridge. The motherboard manufacturers have already released bios updates with Ivy Bridge support, so if Ivy Bridge is that much better, you can upgrade to it later.

I know you said december, but I don't think Ivy Bridge is going to be this year, unless AMD pulls a rabbit out of their hat with Bulldozer...which is delayed now until September/October for consumers...and no real benchmarks are out yet...which is usually a pretty good sign of a fucking dud. But who knows?!?!

I'm in the market to upgrade as well, but I want to see what Bulldozer can do before going with Intel again.

[Winnow]

When I upgrade, I look for significant increases in performance.

Ivy Bridge is the next major upgrade. I can't see the need for updating my system until then. When I do, I'll throw together another thread like my previous two (first thread forever lost, 2009 upgrade here ) PC projects with explanations, charts, etc as to why I chose what I did. Usually it includes cost/value and performance comparisons. As you can see from my last thread, It will have served me well for three years at a decent price. No need to go ass-crazy buying the top of the line stuff if you do your research.

I'll probably shoot for around a $1-1,500 price tag, not including a monitor depending on value points.

Couple things:

I use 46" LCD 1920x1080 TV as my main monitor. It's awesome and I can't see myself going smaller ever again. I'm older and it's hella easy on the eyes with a monitor that big and big screen PC gaming rocks. These days you can get a 46" LCD TV dirt cheap (under 1K) with excellent quality.

If I replace my 1920x1200 side monitor, it will be with a Dell or Apple 2560x1440 res screen. I've had the iMac 27" screen a couple years now and it's just another thing I can't go smaller on. They're under 1K now so not that expensive.

My Raid SATA Tower still only has four 2 TB hard drives (2x2TB mirrored sets) with eight HD bays total. I only have good things to say about this setup. Worry free mirrored backups. If I run short on space, I'll get another set of 2 TB Hitachi drives and mirror them...or four more but I don't want to spin drives 24/7 if they're not being used. This is my last non SSD mass storage solution so it's gotta last until SSD is cheap enough (I'd pay 250.00 per TB for a mass SSD solution). Consider USB 3 and Thunderbolt external storage solutions in the future. SATA is fast. That's why I went with it. Plus no Trucrypt mounting issues.

iPads rock. I have 24" PC, 27" iMac and 46" PC screens and I still have an iPad on my desk usually running a stock app or something else. Around the rest of the house, I use both iPads. In bed, I have on iPad typically playing ambience (rain, waterfalls, etc) for sleeping/relaxing. The other iPAd for browsing news (Zite), watching TV shows or Movies (streamed from main PC using Air Video) or Netflix. iPhone still best for IM/SMS stuff and it's my backup alarm clock. I still don't know anyone, even skeptics, that actually own an iPad that don't think it's awesome for multimedia consumption. I'll buy the iPad 3 day one as well if it has the retina display upgrade. Consider buying one a secondary device.

Least used device: iMac. It's great for iTunes and jailbreaking my iOS devices, and watching very hi res/bit rate movies on that awesome screen, but it's not going to be my main PC anytime soon. I do see a lot of benefit now to possibly buying a Mac portable device (Macbook Air, etc) with the new Tiger OSX. The multitouch features and more iOS-ish feel to OSX Tiger work excellent on something with a trackpad. Even so, I'd want to game on my laptop so I'm thinking of pumping out ~$1,750 for a high powered laptop like the ASUS G74 or MSI GT780R-012US to have something for the bedroom. I'll probably wait for IVY mobile solutions though.

My suggestion: wait for tri-gate if you want the foundation for a PC that will perform well for 3+ years as it appears it will offer a significant boost over current systems. Couple it with whatever "upper-middle-class" level video card nVidia releases around that time. RAM is cheap so go for 12 GB. SSD is a must for your OS drive. Find a quiet case. Buy the best LCD you can afford.

Also remember: there's tons of poor people or clueless PC people out there. The Gaming companies can't afford to leave them behind so your PC will always be sufficient if it was purchased within 5 years and wasn't a $300 Wal Mart special. We're heading into the second half of the recession so that's not going to change. Pick a price and research a value build to fit it, picking out the few expensive parts that actually make a big difference in performance.