Upgrade choice

[Knytestorme]

Currently rolling with an i7-930 and 12Gb RAM but feel the urge to change things up after tax return (will be replacing the 460's with 3Gb 580's)

Choices are to keep current mobo and get an i7-970 and 24Gb RAM or to switch to a 2600K with new mobo + 16Gb RAM. Both options will cost pretty much the same so it's more about getting the most effective option for the next 2 years.

Main uses are development (Vis Studio/Dreamweaver/SQL Server for app and web dev), VM's for servers/testing, audio work (DAW), online poker and WoW.

My current thinking is that more cores + ram is likely better for my situation then extra speed but I haven't had a chance to play with Sandy Bridge yet so not sure if it will actually bring more to the table then just a faster clock speed.

[Ughmahedhurtz]

Personally, I'd go with the 2600K option. Fenril's testing has shown that this CPU is a beast for boxing applications. You can always add more RAM later.

[Sajuuk]

Dump both options, go with a dual-hex setup with 48GB ram.

least that's my plan when I return to the states.

[Noids]

Wait for the sandy bridge e release. The current 2600k is a great chip but the chipsets are not as powerful as the X58 currently. The update for this is due end of this year. Will have quad channel memory instead of tri channel with up to 40 PCI Express lanes for multi GPU goodness (I am assuming from the plural of 460s that you are looking at MultiGPU). If you really want something now then I would say go the 2600k direction as you mention the most effective option fo the next few years and hopefully the sandy bridge chipsets will accept a CPU upgrade or two if you so choose.

[Kekkerer]

I'd go with a i7 980/990 and keep the triple channel memory that you have, no point downgrading to a sandy bridge chip.

[MiRai]

Dump both options, go with a dual-hex setup with 48GB ram.

least that's my plan when I return to the states.

Sam can help you build that.

Wait for the sandy bridge e release. The current 2600k is a great chip but the chipsets are not as powerful as the X58 currently. The update for this is due end of this year. Will have quad channel memory instead of tri channel with up to 40 PCI Express lanes for multi GPU goodness (I am assuming from the plural of 460s that you are looking at MultiGPU).

What makes you say that 1155 is not as powerful as X58? I'm also curious as to what benefits more PCIe lanes
and quad channel memory will provide to people over what we currently have. Real world benefits not the idea
that more is better.

I'd go with a i7 980/990 and keep the triple channel memory that you have, no point downgrading to a sandy bridge chip.

I do believe you need to look at a few benchmarks before you tell someone to upgrade to an outdated
processor which costs $1,000.

[Noids]

What makes you say that 1155 is not as powerful as X58? I'm also curious as to what benefits more PCIe lanes
and quad channel memory will provide to people over what we currently have. Real world benefits not the idea
that more is better.

Yeah poor choice of words with the sandy bridge/X58 comparison. The point I was trying to make was that the various Sandy Bridge chipsets offer no significant advantages over X58 other than being able to utilise the new generation CPUs which are definitely superior.

With regards to the potential (who actually knows until we can test the gear) benefits of the sandy bridge e chip/platforms, I would suggest they may be similar to the benefits seen upgrading from the OPs current system to a 2600k.

I am not generally one to recommend waiting for new technology before upgrading but in the OPs case he has what is a pretty amazing system to start with. The upgrades he is considering are probably only slightly more than side grades and I think in this particular case it would be better to wait another 6 months for a new generation of hardware before investing in it.

Saying that if you absolutely want to upgrade now, knyte, definitely go sandy bridge as I mentioned initially and seems to be the general consensus of this thread. On a sidenote, I have absolutely no idea how talk of DDR2 memory got started considering none of the platforms we are discussing support it...

[Umbaalo]

Agreeing with Fenril, I have the 980x chip... Wish I would have waited a lil longer for the 2600k. The benchmarks say it all, and now I'm stuck with a $1k chip until my next upgrade/build in a couple years.

[MiRai]

Agreeing with Fenril, I have the 980x chip... Wish I would have waited a lil longer for the 2600k. The benchmarks say it all, and now I'm stuck with a $1k chip until my next upgrade/build in a couple years.

The 980/990 is definitely a nice chip and I'm not knocking it, but to recommend it at this stage of the X58 and
1155 chipsets is slightly amiss. I almost went the 980X route back in November but decided not to and see
what Sandy Bridge had to offer. I actually was trying to hold out for LGA2011 but after seeing Sandy Bridge
benchmarks I just couldn't wait any longer.

[Kekkerer]

6 physical cores are ideal for multiboxing 5 accounts because there is a high level of parallelisation and significant memory access.

The OP, already has a 1366 motherboard and DDR3 ram therefore getting a new motherboard, cpu and memory may not even be cheaper.

Edit: a lot of benchmarks are not designed to take into account multithreaded jobs which is what multiboxing is. Multiboxing has a similar load distribution to video editing, though this is my opinion.