Hardware Intel Sandy Bridge E Review

If I'm desperate for a hexacore, I'll see if I can find an i7 970/980 'cheap'...

Otherwise, looks like my 920 can still do all I need it to.

 

Tottaly agree, if SB had been roughly where we expected it to be performance wise (before we knew just how quick it was) then apart from the cost, we would all be calling this another win for intel.

 

So SB-E is a pointless waste of money for all unless you want tri-sli or tri-fire, or you are into encoding and rendering. Hmmmmm....

If I was a X58 owner I'd be scanning ebay for cheap gulftowns :3

 

As a gamer, and also a heavy user of n-threaded applications, this is the ideal chip for me. It's gaming and consumer application performance is incredibly similar to 1155 SB, yet I have have the memory bandwidth and 12 threads for rendering, encoding and imaging work.

I was hoping for more I'll be honest, and yes, I'm still tempted with a very high end 1155 rig, if it wasn't for the fact that when I was waiting for it to chew through 2 hours of 1080P footage I know I'd regret not getting the 2011.

One question that will seal the deal for me: Will there be a Ivy Bridge E chip for LGA2011? If so, there will be a upgrade path.

 

Meh, my i7 920 is still rocking - got it about 3 years ago! I can't see any point in upgrading - software just isn't pushing it that much (thanks to this console generation).

I like the longetivity of this hardware cycle!

 

To be fair it was never going to be aimed as an uber gaming chip. I agree it's going to be a specific consumer base that is going to go for it though.

 

Nice review as ever bit-tech. Would love to go 6 core, and was hoping that SB-E would be worth upgrading to, but from the review it appears not - particularly disappointing is the overclocking performance. Was hoping for 5ghz o/c's on 6 core chips - that would have been sweet

 

I was worried I was going to get hardware envy and want the very best because it really was the very best. However, with that power draw, the heat and most importantly the cost I'm starting to feel a little smug with my little 2500K. Overclocks well, runs cool, performs like a monster with everything I need it for and overall feels like a more sensible choice.

I thought the performance was going to be a but better. AMD's FX power draw looks a tiny bit less ridiculous now, but the performance still looks pathetic.

 

Nah, another Intel launch produces a 'nice to have' CPU, but nothing that makes me want one.

Still happy with my little 920.

Anyone on 1155, looking to upgrade to SB-E, should be dragged outside and slapped silly.

 

Mighty fine review. Nice to see you guys still got it when it counts.

 

Judging by this review and other reviews I've read, I'd say "Excessive" is a better adjective.

 

Total disappointment

Was expecting much better results for this new socket but with no competition from AMD looks like Intel have not pushed themselves too far. No octo-core processors (until Xeon SB-E come out) ,no native USB3 and SAS connections dumped.

Can't see many rushing to buy one - I have the i7 970 - so was hoping for an early crimo present but not splashing the cash for these processors.

 

Good performance for a single CPU setup but very disappointed on the lack of USB3 and SATA 6gbs ports.

Looks like I'll just be buying an add on SATA6/USB3 card for my i7 920 setup....

 

wow.... there's still alot of 920 owners. XD i'll probably buy the 7970 anyway and ponder what to do with 6970.

now what to do with the extra cash...hmmm. will use it for Ivy Bridge E then. Till that time I will try and hog a few 2/3TB drives before they become scarce and of course an SSD.

 

Will Ivy Bridge E be LGA2011?

 

Its decided then. I will hold out for Ivy Bridge.

I can see this being popular for extreme enthusiasts. The fact that the heat seemed to hold back the overclock looks good for LN2 overclocking. No doubt this will become the competitive overclocking platform of choice.

 

Possibly. After that, Haswell i think, the voltage is controlled differently, so the pins will have to change function, even if there are the same number of them.

 

Plenty 920 owners still out there.

C0 stepping at 3.8 Ghz since launch. Somehow the 1366 bandwagon just felt right to jump on when released. Never regretted it for a single day. (Ok D0 may have annoyed me a little but hey it happens)

There is nothing here that I have seen that makes me think its time to upgrade. Already got 12 gig of ram which is more than enough for my needs.

This may be the first time ever I've had one processor see 3 different graphics card generations and still be going strong! I also suspect I am not the only 920 owner who will be able to say that either.

 

Nope.. had mine for 3 years, and to be honest, if I didn't do so much bandwidth intensive stuff I'd be more than happy to keep this 920. Or at least build a 1155. Like you Ive gone through 3 GPUs with this chip. The 920 has got to be the greatest chip of all time.

 

+1
My thoughts exactly!

Finally Intel made a move that will clarify everyone about the whole range.
Want htpc or low to medium pc's? Go for i3
Want a medium-high spec pc for gaming and some pounding? Go for i5 (the i7-2600k it's useless, the 2500K can do the same for this market share)
Want a professional rig where thread power is important? Go for i7 (All the LGA2011 range)

I see them this way and the LGA1155 i5-2500k it's the sweet spot for an hardcore gaming rig.

About the X79, which bothers me is the fact that Intel is going "La-la-la-la" about SATA 6Gbps not being fully implementend as well with the USB3. Unfortunately, AMD boards have SATA 6Gbps across all of the SATA ports and USB3 but the new processors don't have the power to shake Intel.

All things considered, we have AMD with a future-proof and well rounded chipset but lacking in the cpu department. On the other side, we have Intel with its full might on cpu's and the chipset not being so much future-proof on new technologies.