6+core proc for the avg consumer anytime in the near future?

Mpegger · Mar 24, 2010

With the price of Intels i7-980x so high, and after looking at their processor road map for now till Q1'11, I'm wondering if a 6core (or higher) processor will ever come around that's priced for the average consumer in the near future.

Their road map showed no sign of releasing anything other then Quads for the general consumer into next year, while the 6core will remain a Extreme (priced!) edition. With that exclusivity comes the horrific (imo) price tag that will remain nearly the same till the processors EOL.

Because of this exclusivity to any 6core processor, I'm seriously considering just going ahead and making a i7 920 (or 930) build now because of their plummeting prices, instead of waiting who knows how many years till the 6+core processors are finally priced at something I can justify. At least I could stay somewhat future proof with a 1366 mobo and just drop in a 6+core processor when the prices come down to mere mortal standards.

Thoughts? Comments? Any inside info on when some 6core (or higher [not counting HT]) speed demon will be released at a reasonable ($250'ish range) price?

MIAHALLEN · Mar 24, 2010

Sounds like you're right in line in your thought process as 99% of all the other average users out there :thup:

Nothing official on lower priced hexes ATM, but lots of rumors flying around

920/930's will continue to hold their value very well until next year, so I think it's a safe investment right now

baris_ · Mar 24, 2010

MIAHALLEN said:
Sounds like you're right in line in your thought process as 99% of all the other average users out there

Nothing official on lower priced hexes ATM, but lots of rumors flying around

920/930's will continue to hold their value very well until next year, so I think it's a safe investment right now

Have to agree! I'd try to get myself a 920 D0 if I were you!

JonSimonzi · Mar 24, 2010

Mpegger said:
Thoughts? Comments? Any inside info on when some 6core (or higher [not counting HT]) speed demon will be released at a reasonable ($250'ish range) price?

Aside from AMD's 6 core Thuban processors that are due out soon (with a $200 - $300 price point), I don't think we'll see anything on the Intel side for 6 cores at a consumer price level for quite some time

mzs_biteme · Mar 24, 2010

i7 970 is on the way and it's supposed to be ~$500....
Other than that, $300 Thuban is the ticket...

Evilsizer · Mar 24, 2010

i need a better space heater, i think this will do....

Joeteck · Mar 24, 2010

My understanding is that the 1366 socket is for the elite end user. I have no need to purchase a tri-channel system, nor do I see any real benefit over the 1156 socket. I can play my games just fine on my current RIG! 1366 came out first, then the lower cost 1156 socket, which is more in line for the semi-elite crew, like myself. The only truly affordable 1366 CPU is the 920, and I did not want to go that route. However, the 1156 socket offers a heck of alot more options. Not 6 core, but who the heck needs it when 4 cores are not fully utilized...

Evilsizer · Mar 24, 2010

Joeteck said:
My understanding is that the 1366 socket is for the elite end user. I have no need to purchase a tri-channel system, nor do I see any real benefit over the 1156 socket. I can play my games just fine on my current RIG! 1366 came out first, then the lower cost 1156 socket, which is more in line for the semi-elite crew, like myself. The only truly affordable 1366 CPU is the 920, and I did not want to go that route. However, the 1156 socket offers a heck of alot more options. Not 6 core, but who the heck needs it when 4 cores are not fully utilized...

after seeing somethings, ie the added on SATA III and USB 3.0 on P55. that should just be BANNED, the DMI buss just doesnt have the bandwidth when things get rough. True P55 is still a good option but i would say people really need to think hard about what they want vs need in a mobo. the 920 might be the only low cost LGA1366 cpu but even oc'd to a mear 3.4-3.6ghz it is still faster then yesteryear's Core 2. i cant really still see a need for a oc'd cpu at 4ghz besides bragging rights really. it just seems most that oc dont use all that power still, i mean i run rosie but stopped due to some issues. if you had 6 cores you mean you would use it on FAH or the rosie team or the seti team? 6 cores with HT, thats alot of power for any of those teams. wish i could afford one for that reason. its all about the eye of the beholder, joe.

besides could you image encoding on that thing? :comp:

Audioaficionado · Mar 24, 2010

I'm holding out for an octacore tock Sandybridge dual socket system.

I don't need it, but I want it anyway. :shrug:

Meanwhile an i7 920 is a very affordable ultimate desktop system for most of us.

Brutal-Force · Mar 24, 2010

Evilsizer said:
after seeing somethings, ie the added on SATA III and USB 3.0 on P55. that should just be BANNED, the DMI buss just doesnt have the bandwidth when things get rough. True P55 is still a good option but i would say people really need to think hard about what they want vs need in a mobo. the 920 might be the only low cost LGA1366 cpu but even oc'd to a mear 3.4-3.6ghz it is still faster then yesteryear's Core 2. i cant really still see a need for a oc'd cpu at 4ghz besides bragging rights really. it just seems most that oc dont use all that power still, i mean i run rosie but stopped due to some issues. if you had 6 cores you mean you would use it on FAH or the rosie team or the seti team? 6 cores with HT, thats alot of power for any of those teams. wish i could afford one for that reason. its all about the eye of the beholder, joe. besides could you image encoding on that thing?

Since this post started out for the "Average" user. He is not out of line in his thinking. There is no evidence to back up that the S1156 i7 860 is not on par with the S1366 i7 920. It is as I have been saying about everyone's hype for "future upgrade ability", not everyone will be able to afford the 6-core. Taking that into consideration, IF you can't afford a 6 core and tri channel memory is not really a selling point, then that only leaves the issues of 2 X16 PCIe SLI. If you take away that most do not even like to use SLI or Xfire because of scalability, then as far as I am concerned there is no longer a valid argument 1366 over 1156. The only way I would buy 1366 in this case is if I can find the same quality of motherboard for the same price. Even then the S1156 has 10 "affordable" CPUs, and the S1366 has 6 CPUs, two being affordable.

To me saying a 1366 is better than a 1156 is akin to saying a Dual-Proc Xenon S771 board is better than a S775. They were different animals. Very few needed a server board at home. This may be changing, but I still don't see the need, especially when keeping even a P4 or Dual Core as a back up is more than enough for general web surfing.

Audioaficionado · Mar 24, 2010

My top machine is running with a Q6600 and it is still more than enough for me. It will probably still be able to run Windows 10 when it comes out LOL.

The P55 does have more bells and whistles than the P58 for most users.

Evilsizer · Mar 24, 2010

Brutal-Force said:
Since this post started out for the "Average" user. He is not out of line in his thinking. There is no evidence to back up that the S1156 i7 860 is not on par with the S1366 i7 920. It is as I have been saying about everyone's hype for "future upgrade ability", not everyone will be able to afford the 6-core. Taking that into consideration, IF you can't afford a 6 core and tri channel memory is not really a selling point, then that only leaves the issues of 2 X16 PCIe SLI. If you take away that most do not even like to use SLI or Xfire because of scalability, then as far as I am concerned there is no longer a valid argument 1366 over 1156. The only way I would buy 1366 in this case is if I can find the same quality of motherboard for the same price. Even then the S1156 has 10 "affordable" CPUs, and the S1366 has 6 CPUs, two being affordable.

i never said anything about future proofing or knocking any lga1156 cpu. if you look at the P55 boards being equiped with SATA III and USB 3.0 controllers, there performance is being hindered. as in the SATA III and USB 3.0. as i pointed out its due to the DMI buss and being 2GB/s vs LGA1336 QPI buss(being faster) is a advantage. regardless of cost analysis if you want the most performance right now from those two standards with it being equipped on the boards LGA1366 has that advantage. which was my main point in that post and secondary being everything has a place. to me it just seems you missed that....

Brutal-Force said:
To me saying a 1366 is better than a 1156 is akin to saying a Dual-Proc Xenon S771 board is better than a S775. They were different animals. Very few needed a server board at home. This may be changing, but I still don't see the need, especially when keeping even a P4 or Dual Core as a back up is more than enough for general web surfing.

that is just not true, 1136 and 1156 are two different animals yes. s771 vs 775 are the same animal, no way you can split that up, just cause one supports dual cpus. everyone has there choice for which animal to get, i own both. with have to say for non-limiting performance side LGA1336 has it due to the QPI buss. unless intel gives us a much higher bandwidth on the DMI buss. The DMI buss is going to be the biggest limiting factor going for 1156. LGA1366 has a 4.8GT/s vs LGA1156 at 2.5GT/s, a very big pipe. When you take into account of things being added willy nilly to a P55/H55 PCH via add-on chips(aka SATA III/USB 3.0). Need to look at the whole picture not just the part you want to look at. :thup:

*i know i repeated stuff but i wanted to make sure my points drove home this time around.*

Mpegger · Mar 24, 2010

Brutal-Force said:
Since this post started out for the "Average" user. He is not out of line in his thinking. There is no evidence to back up that the S1156 i7 860 is not on par with the S1366 i7 920. It is as I have been saying about everyone's hype for "future upgrade ability", not everyone will be able to afford the 6-core. Taking that into consideration, IF you can't afford a 6 core and tri channel memory is not really a selling point, then that only leaves the issues of 2 X16 PCIe SLI. If you take away that most do not even like to use SLI or Xfire because of scalability, then as far as I am concerned there is no longer a valid argument 1366 over 1156. The only way I would buy 1366 in this case is if I can find the same quality of motherboard for the same price. Even then the S1156 has 10 "affordable" CPUs, and the S1366 has 6 CPUs, two being affordable.

To me saying a 1366 is better than a 1156 is akin to saying a Dual-Proc Xenon S771 board is better than a S775. They were different animals. Very few needed a server board at home. This may be changing, but I still don't see the need, especially when keeping even a P4 or Dual Core as a back up is more than enough for general web surfing.

I see your points about the 1156.

Although I do plan on running 2 video cards, it shouldn't be bad in my situation if one runs in 16x and the other 4x since I don't plan on SLI, just a dedicated main video card + a dedicated CUDA/PhysX card. And even though the i7-860 is about $20 more then the i7-920, the price of the motherboards for the 1156 and dual channel DDR3 (and a new PSU to power it all), would drive the price much lower then a 1366 build. I also thought the 1156 platform didn't have any processor that had HT as well, something I would be putting to use often enough (which is also why I was looking forward to the 6+core processors with HT in the future).

I'll look into both a 1366 and 1156 builds and see what price figures I come up with. Thanks for the input.

[edit] I should have also added, that my worry of "future proof", is that if/when a affordable 6core or higher processor with HT comes out in the future, that it wouldn't require a new motherboard, as this build would have to last me at least 2 years, just like my C2D has. [/edit]

TimoneX · Mar 24, 2010

Evilsizer summed up the "trouble" with s1156 for me perfectly. Yes there are more CPU options and yes it does tend to come out a little bit cheaper...but not that much for equal performance. Not enough of a discount IMO given the compromises when compared to s1366. I too am hoping for an affordable s1366 6 pack cpu THIS year. Come on Intel...

Joeteck · Mar 24, 2010

Evilsizer said:
i never said anything about future proofing or knocking any lga1156 cpu. if you look at the P55 boards being equiped with SATA III and USB 3.0 controllers, there performance is being hindered. as in the SATA III and USB 3.0. as i pointed out its due to the DMI buss and being 2GB/s vs LGA1336 QPI buss(being faster) is a advantage. regardless of cost analysis if you want the most performance right now from those two standards with it being equipped on the boards LGA1366 has that advantage. which was my main point in that post and secondary being everything has a place. to me it just seems you missed that....

that is just not true, 1136 and 1156 are two different animals yes. s771 vs 775 are the same animal, no way you can split that up, just cause one supports dual cpus. everyone has there choice for which animal to get, i own both. with have to say for non-limiting performance side LGA1336 has it due to the QPI buss. unless intel gives us a much higher bandwidth on the DMI buss. The DMI buss is going to be the biggest limiting factor going for 1156. LGA1366 has a 4.8GT/s vs LGA1156 at 2.5GT/s, a very big pipe. When you take into account of things being added willy nilly to a P55/H55 PCH via add-on chips(aka SATA III/USB 3.0). Need to look at the whole picture not just the part you want to look at.

*i know i repeated stuff but i wanted to make sure my points drove home this time around.*

If your deciding factor if for the USB 3 and sata 3 option, asus has an add-in card U3S6 I'm currently reviewing. Works fine.

Evilsizer · Mar 24, 2010

Joeteck said:
If your deciding factor if for the USB 3 and sata 3 option, asus has an add-in card U3S6 I'm currently reviewing. Works fine.

i know you are, i posted in that thread remember.

if you look a newer P55 boards they have onboard SATA III and USB 3.0. that is attached via the PCIE 1.0 lanes on the PCH. the addin card your running can be plugged into the second (if there is one) x16 slot on the motherboard. since it would be likly tied to the cpu's PCIE 2.0 lanes, that would solve the performance of SATA III and USB 3.0. that then unless done differently sets the GPU to 8x speed instead of 16x speed(even if the card is 4x). the 4x might be up in the air as it isnt made clear how the cpu will split the lanes if a 4x device is plugged in. just going on intels chart, its either 16x or 8x/8x. im just trying to make sure people keep a open mind about things. making sure they can live with the purchase choice they make by giving them all the possibilities that they may/will run into. It is all i have every tried to do for people here on OCF. :soda:

Brutal-Force · Mar 24, 2010

TimoneX said:
Evilsizer summed up the "trouble" with s1156 for me perfectly. Yes there are more CPU options and yes it does tend to come out a little bit cheaper...but not that much for equal performance. Not enough of a discount IMO given the compromises when compared to s1366. I too am hoping for an affordable s1366 6 pack cpu THIS year. Come on Intel...

There is no argument towards the 1366's performance. I am not a naysayer and blind to the fact that the X58 is faster. But the OP used the word AVERAGE in his title.

To me this changes the terms of what qualifies as a average computer. To me the average Joe looks to spend about 400-600 on his entire computer minus the Monitor. You can hardly put together a i7 920 system for that because just the CPU, MOBO and 6GB of RAM are going to cost you that IF you find good deals and can utilize the MC B&M.

If money was not an object, it is clear I would buy the very best of everything, but in computing what we need for our basic AVERAGE computing needs, the X58 is too expensive. Coupled with the 6 Core, there is no way an average computer builder can afford or even needs that kind of computing power.

What kinds of software does Joe Average use on his computer? I dare say the "Average User" spends a large portion of his computing on either the Internet or on Games. Maybe 25% of average users do Encoding, Music Mixing and Photo editing. A handful of people crunch big numbers, but not usually on their own home computers.

Again, I will state the OP said AVERAGE User to the the 6 core and I believe the average user can neither fully utilize or afford it, nor can he utilize the full power of a i7 920 on X58. So for the AVERAGE user its a mute point even with money and futureproofness aside.

TimoneX · Mar 24, 2010

I see your point, however I would remind you that the op inquired about 6 core processors. I am unaware of any 6 core processors planned for socket 1156. Yes s1366 is a bit more, but making a choice now that limits your options in the future can be much more costly than spending a few dollars now. I am also quite certain I can build a very impressive s1366 system for $400-600 probably built around the excellent sub $200 Gigabyte EX58-UD3R or even the $210 EX58a-UD3R. Such a system would allow full bandwidth crossfire or SLI, six core processors, and in the case of the EX58a SATA III & USB 3.0.

Mpegger · Mar 24, 2010

I think I'll add that I should have used a different word then "average", since I'm probably above average in my computer usage and needs compared to the "average" Joe. "Price Conscience", "Penny Pincher", or even "Best Bang for the Buck" probably would have been better.

Plunking down $1k just for a processor, to me, is just ludicrous, no matter how good it might be. Although I have lots of patience to wait out for when prices drop on hardware, I see no indications of there being any 6core i7 priced right for the "Price Conscience/Penny Pincher/Best Bang for the Buck" crowd at all in the foreseeable future.

BUT, if indeed Intel finally decides to make a 6core priced for the masses, again, I'd like to be able to simply upgrade to it by just purchasing a new processor and dropping it in, instead of having to purchase a new motherboard along with it. $250ish for a new proc in a year or so is much better then $250ish+$180ish for a new proc and mobo.

Brutal-Force · Mar 24, 2010

You aree right. If he specifically wants 6 cores, then the only way is either a 6 core X58 or a 6 core AMD. The AMD would be more affordable. I know that intel has said the S1156 will not be seeing 6 cores, although you never know what will happen. I don't know all of the intricacies as to where it would even be possible to create a 6 core for the S1156, so that makes this whole discussion obsolete.

If you want 6 cores, buy a X58 and pay the price tag now, or buy an AMD and save a little cash. Otherwise you have to wait up to see what the market will bare. If I was a betting man.... I think we will see a 6 core (probably without HT) on the S1156 boards.

6+core proc for the avg consumer anytime in the *near* future?

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6+core proc for the avg consumer anytime in the near future?