Quote:
Originally Posted by kendo65
I got the info from a magazine - Custom PC (UK) that did a fairly extensive test of the Core i5-2500K and the i7-2600K in their current issue.
I don't have the magazine to hand (in work currently), but the gist was that in all but very highly multi-threaded applications the Sandy Bridge processors are on a par or even beating the 980.
For gaming their recommendation was the i5-2500K. For video editing the i7-2600K was better. The i5-2500K was roughly on a par with the 980 in gaming (1fps lower in Crysis in their test, better in some other games).
As for being a "rip-off" they're actually very good value - gaming performance comparable to a 980 for a quarter of the price. (I take your point though that the 980 probably STILL is the ultimate processor for those wanting the maximum flexibility or for dealing with heavily multi-threaded apps, but for practical gaming and general purposes I think the Sandy Bridge are a great deal)
Others can make up their own minds but personally I can settle for a 1 fps difference if I'm saving 600 notes 
(By the way the 'K' versions of the new processors are massively overclockable too) |
Yep, the 980 is not at all a good choice for cost v performance unless you want to have it for a long long time (as I intend to use it for 4+ years).
The main thing I was trying to say is the sandbridge CPU is in fact no better then the 40nm i7 range, all you need to do is OC the i7 and they are about the same power, except SB cpu's are more expensive and contain a inbuilt gpu which is completely uneeded.
Basically current SB are glorified laptop cpus
(there is some talk I believe of the late 2011 SB cpus being 1366 socket. But get a decent mobo so you can upgrade later, it will save you $ in the long run.