How long before Nehalem is available and affordable?

Hello guys, I've been using my prescott since 2003, and its going good, still, I'd like to upgrade my computer to Nehalem which would last me at least another 7 years, so when is this beast coming out? Is the first batch for only high end consumers? I heard that first cpu's are gonna be $1,000 range, is that true? and if yes, then how long do I have to wait before it becomes affordable?

When should I expect to get this cpu at around $300 range? I know its still speculations, still I'd like to get an idea of when I should plan to buy my system, as its no point in purchasing now since everything is just about to change anyways, or do you guys recommend that I get a present core of CPU?

Is wait worth it? especially if its long term purchase?

indca said:

Hello guys, I've been using my prescott since 2003, and its going good, still, I'd like to upgrade my computer to Nehalem which would last me at least another 7 years, so when is this beast coming out? Is the first batch for only high end consumers? I heard that first cpu's are gonna be $1,000 range, is that true? and if yes, then how long do I have to wait before it becomes affordable?

When should I expect to get this cpu at around $300 range? I know its still speculations, still I'd like to get an idea of when I should plan to buy my system, as its no point in purchasing now since everything is just about to change anyways, or do you guys recommend that I get a present core of CPU?

Is wait worth it? especially if its long term purchase?

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I would not wait it's not worth it there will be a small inmprovemt in applications for 7 years

Available - Q4 this year, probably towards december

Affordable? Well not sure about that one. The *cheapest* opening processor is going to be ~316$. But the mother boards are going to be super expensive and they will require 3 sticks of DDR3 memory for tri-channel, which is also hella expensive.

Awesome site for any further questions about it - http://www.nehalemnews.com/

Wingman also has a point, because Nehalem CPU's will have 8 threads / 4 cores. Almost no programs are able to fully utilize 4 threads, let alone 8. A lot of it's cpu power will be bottlenecked / wasted on lagging software.

Penryn is still amazing atm and very affordable, I wouldn't get Nehalem when it first comes out. My 2 cents.

To the OP: Mainstream Desktop chips are due out Q1 2009 with lynnfield and Q2 2009 with Havendale (Nehalemnews.com).

I am in the similar situation as you; I want to upgrade in a few months, and want it to be as future proof as I can. These Nehalem chips are going to be using a new socket type, so buying a new motherboard now won't support these new chips when they come out.

Unfortunately, Shiggity is correct and it seems that there are no decent motherboards being tested in the media, so it may be a bit after they are released before a good motherboard will be out and it may be pretty expensive. DDR3 is required with these chips, but Wikipedia states that the Lynnfield and Havendale versions will have a dual-channel controller. Running in tri-channel or dual-channel is not required so one stick should be fine until DDR3 prices drop some more. They are not terribly expensive now, and will drop.

Software will not be able to utilize all of Nehalem's power right away, but it was the same when 64-bit and multi-core processors came out. If you plan on using this processor for seven years, then this might not be a big issue for you in the long run.

I, personally, will be fine with my current computer and maybe a few upgrades until Nehalem is out and has good supporting hardware.

What's Nahalem? I thought that was the invention of eight cores because a member posted once3 that eight cores in one chip would be done when Intel focused on Nahalem.

Not quite. They are quad-core, but hyperthreading is re-introduced. So, each core acts like a dual-core more or less under certain conditions. It does appear as 8 cores to windows.

Also, aside from many other improvements, Intel is implementing a memory controller on the chip (something AMD has been doing for years, but this is the first for Intel), and this controller is supposed to be superb.

You'll be able to get cheaper Penryns and AMD offerings until Neha's been out for a while.

isnt the nahelem kinda like a phenom just intel what makes the intel core 2 duos so superb to the amd x2s even in the benches i run they are better why?

tonadoocing said:

isnt the nahelem kinda like a phenom just intel what makes the intel core 2 duos so superb to the amd x2s even in the benches i run they are better why?

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Can you rephrase this question please.

isnt the nehalem 4 seperate cores but so is the phenom
what makes the core 2 duos so supreme to the x2's

Nehalem will be native quad core like the Phenom is yes, this has little to do with performance though and more of a design decesion. Sticking 2 duals together is better for yields where as native quads can share cache together for instance.

tonadoocing said:

isnt the nehalem 4 seperate cores but so is the phenom
what makes the core 2 duos so supreme to the x2's

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They overclock better and are made on a better process (45nm as opposed to 65nm)

The overclocking is the main point, x2's just cannot hit the clockspeeds Intels can.

According to fud, no neha till next year. Anyone want to bounce that off the bullometer?
I say Feb next year MGF.

Boo urns

AlabamaCajun said:

According to fud

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That's where I stopped reading.

AlabamaCajun said:

According to fud ...

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Shiggity said:

That's where I stopped reading.

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According to my crystal balls ( I use two for accuracy) , no neha till next year.

So how's the 45nm AMD (Daneb) gonna compete with intel ? It's supposed to be out soon...

To be honest , until after they are out and we see some real world results by real people like us , it's all just supposition and marketing Hype , unfortunately.
It might fly like an Eagle , it might waddle like a Duck

Let me tell you mate.....Nothing will Last you 7 Years.....Buy an awsome PC now ..and since prices will be soon dropping it will be an even better incentive.

Also the arguement that the first generation is always inferior and over priced...so you would be really gettin a better system Price/performance if you bought a 45nm intel based computer

reznik said:

Let me tell you mate.....Nothing will Last you 7 Years.....Buy an awsome PC now ..and since prices will be soon dropping it will be an even better incentive.

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That completely depends on what you use it for. You don't get a system like what you or I have for browsing the internet or doing email, you get it for gaming. I know quite a few people that use hardware older than 7 years on a daily basis.