I am looking to build a new rig that I won't be overclocking as the emphasis is on keeping things nice and quiet, but still having a decent rig to play the latest games for the next 3/4 years. I already have a GTX 270 so most other components do not seem to be of major concern regarding new technology in the near future. The only stumbling block is Ivy Bridge, will it be worth the potential June wait for what I'm aiming towards (A quiet rig that will boot nice and quickly and be good for the next 3/4 years) or should I go with Sandy Bridge and get building this week? Thanks, iKiX
Ivy Bridge is expected to hit retail late next month. Most reports suggest that, clock for clock, it will perform abour 10% better on average than Sandy Bridge. It will use less power as well, the TDP is about 20% less than Sandy Bridge so at stock and with a mild overclock an average chip should use roughly 20% less power. Whether or not you upgrade now depends how important the power/performance ratio is to compared to having the system now
Stock speeds arent expected to be much better than SB, but its power consumption that the new process is really going to show its muscle. If you overclock or worry about using a few less watts, IB might be the better choice. SB is a great overclocker and great at low power as well though, and motherboards are cheaper for it.
Yeah I meant a 570 sorry. Will the new chipset features of the Ivy Bridge motherboards be of much benefit?
You might notice a very small performance boost, but for most users that and the reduced power usage of Ivy processors is probably all you'll see.