Did anyone mention the new quads?

[iranu]

Sorry to take this slightly off topic, but am I right in thinking that the next gen quads (nehalem?) won't be socket LGA775 compatible, or if they are, they'll have an integrated memory controller so will need an entirely new motherboard anyway?

to bring it back to the core2 vs quad discussion, my thinking had been to buy a cheap core2 now and then upgrade to a quad when the socket was going out of use. would be helpful to know cash wise when that'll be!

All you need to know about Nehalem. Nehalem (CPU architecture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Yes it will have a new socket and it will have an onboard memory controller. I'm almost tempted to go they cheap way. Buy a E2140 etc and overclock it as far as possible then buy a new processor a month or two after Nehalem comes out. Then again the way things are going I'm wondering if I could just wait for Nehalem and see whether AMD can pull their finger out to give Intel some competition.

If the E8400 does do mad clocks then I'll probably bite the bullet seeing as DDR2 is so cheap atm. A DFI bloodiron board will do 500Mhz FSB for &#163;80 so <&#163;280 for 4ghz+ cpu and 4Gb ram is pretty good value.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

is it worth getting a ddr3 mobo as aposed to a ddr2? whats the difference? will i notice it especialy in games? if i build a q9450 with eitehr a x38/x48 mobo, will i be able to game on that machine for at least 3 years solid playing the latest games on maximum detail provided that i upgrade ONLY the gpu card?

also when is nehalem coming out? is it wise to wait for that or go for a quad core now?

will pci 2.0 be dead before 3 years? in my last pc i build a AGP one and less then a year pci express was the enxt big thing and before you know it, i could not keep up with the latest games due to the AGP interface i carry

[staffsMike]

I don't see PCIe going anywhere for a good while.

Don't bother with DDR3 you won't notice any difference except your pockets feeling significantly lighter.

[Golden Dragoon]

Buy a E2140 etc and overclock it as far as possible then buy a new processor a month or two after Nehalem comes out. Then again the way things are going I'm wondering if I could just wait for Nehalem and see whether AMD can pull their finger out to give Intel some competition.

Kinda what I am doing, got a E4300 running at 3.5ghz, and I know it will do north of 3.6 (100% overclock ) but the heat is a problem with this freezer 7 pro, so that will have to wait a week or so for me to fit this wc loop.
But I switched from being an X2 man to intel C2D and the performance jump has made it worth it, I really hope that AMD can pull something out to beat intel, and heat up the competition, after all the reason cpu prices fell a while ago is that AMD were in the lead, and intel had to lower it's prices, now we just need that to happen again, then in 18-24 months I will see where I stand with regards to my next mobo\cpu.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

I don't see PCIe going anywhere for a good while.

Don't bother with DDR3 you won't notice any difference except your pockets feeling significantly lighter.

ahh i see so as said above, a x38/x48 system can last me at least 3 years running games at its highest provided that i just upgrade my gpu?

[this_is_gav]

Who knows? It's all conjecture. You can look at all the roadmaps you like, but if someone wants to change something, someone will. You should be fine, but it's not set in stone.

[iranu]

I don't think it's possible to buy a machine and expect every component to last 3 years. I've done well out of my machine (see system) for 2 years but I've upgraded harddrive, monitor and graphics card in the last year. And this year, soon hopefully, the mobo, cpu and ram will change. I only upgrade when I can see a clear benefit in my everyday use.

I think that an x38/48 with an overclocked C2D or Quad will last a good while. DDR2 is cheap now whilst DDR3 costs and arm and a leg.

[Wh@l3fish]

I've had mine for nearly five and a half years! Although I did have to upgrade the GFX card, get a bigger HDD and get some more RAM

[staffsMike]

I ran just a laptop for 3 years before I wen't to "my system" which if I don't sell in the near future will be lasting me a fair few years yet.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

yea i know its not possible for all hardware to last over 3 years but i dont mind upgrading the gpu or ram just to keep up with the latest games for another 3 years. my main concern is pci 2.0 express lasting that long or will the next nivida card(10 series not 9 series) be compatible with a pci 2.0 mobo?

my p4 northwood has last be around 3-4 years as well. i built it before the 6800 series cards first came to light.

[jackvdbuk]

PCi-e is backwards compatible.

agent i think said that even PCI-e x16 still does not use all the bandwidth it can use... so its basically like sata1/2

[j.o.s.h.1408]

yes but will pci e be dead in less then 3 years just like agp?

[Wh@l3fish]

yes but will pci e be dead in less then 3 years just like agp?

Who knows? But according to wikipedia, PCI-e 3.0 is due to come out in 2009, so it looks like there is a few years left yet

[iranu]

AGP lasted ages. We still aren't hitting max bandwidth with PCI-E 1.1. 2.0 has only just come out and is backwards compatible with 1.1 and again i don't expect gfx card manufacturers to make use of all that bandwidth before we see PCI-E 3.0 cards which will be backwards compatible too so there's nothing to worry about.

Even if you needed new mobo/gfx/cpu/ram to get PCI-E 3.0 in 3 years time it wouldn't matter. Your Jan 2008 machine will be obsolete by 2011 with regard to games

[j.o.s.h.1408]

AGP lasted ages. We still aren't hitting max bandwidth with PCI-E 1.1. 2.0 has only just come out and is backwards compatible with 1.1 and again i don't expect gfx card manufacturers to make use of all that bandwidth before we see PCI-E 3.0 cards which will be backwards compatible too so there's nothing to worry about.

Even if you needed new mobo/gfx/cpu/ram to get PCI-E 3.0 in 3 years time it wouldn't matter. Your Jan 2008 machine will be obsolete by 2011 with regard to games

yea i wont mind it last at least 3 years playing the latest games on its highest settings as i simply cant afford to upgrade every year. i do hope pci e in general lasts for that long

[Webby]

yea i wont mind it last at least 3 years playing the latest games on its highest settings as i simply cant afford to upgrade every year. i do hope pci e in general lasts for that long

I can say with conviction that unless something really strange happens, (like we all decide 2D is actually the way forward and we go all retro!) a graphics card bought today will not be playing the latest games in 2 years (let alone 3) on the highest detail settings. I mean come on most cards can't run Crysis well at high detail and that is out now!