Intel i3-3220 Processor $100, i5-3570K $200 +shipping

Quote from elecrobento : Maybe so, maybe not, but there certainly is a very big difference in energy usage, which I consider "real world usage" since I pay the electricity bill every month.

APUs use even less.

Quote from pen360guin : FYI Microcenter always is located near NO ONE.

I'm in NY and the NJ location is maybe a half hour away

Quote from AGpennypacker : this makes no sense to me. ivy bridge has it's usual 20-30% increase from generation to generation. and haswell will too. the socket is "dead" but anyone planning on replacing a $200 cpu in one year for 30% increase probably isn't on slickdeals. lga2011 is going to the ivybridge-e anyways, and there is still no guarantee that the lga 2011 socket will work with the new ib-e. same with am3+. just because it's an am3+ socket doesnt mean it will take any am3+ mobo. long story short, ivy bridge is tried and a good chip. there is nothing wrong with lga2011 or am3+, but if you're purchasing on "upgradeability" you're essentially gambling.

#1 Ivy is a tock. Same arch new process. 30% gains are bollocks claims --the only real changes were PCIe 3 and HD4000.

#2 Ivy EP and EX will be LGA 2011. It would be VERY stupid for Intel to deviate from their tick tock model. It's their only legitimate enterprise advantage. AMD's releases are unpredictable, and that's a very bad thing.

#3 990FX will work for at least two more years according to AMD last week.

#4 It's a safe assumption, unless either of these companies deviates from decades long patterns --which isn't likely.

Quote from Dillweed : I'm sitting here typing on a machine with a 19w QUAD CORE. Intel doesn't make a Quad Core under 45w (maybe 35w now if they've got their shit slightly more together). I also have a computational workstation running simulations across the room with higher core density in a single tower than I could fit in this entire room with Intel+Nividia setups.

19w quad core? You mean a ULV?

Quote from elecrobento : 19w quad core? You mean a ULV?

a8 4550m.

BTW AMD's z series is their ULV stuff. It's in the 7w range.

Quote from Dillweed : a8 4550m.

Intel's most powerful ULV operates at 17w, fyi. Maybe not quad core, but it's wayyy more powerful than the A8-4550m.

Quote from elecrobento : ...says the guy who obviously hasn't seen the benchmarks... This lowest-tier i3 demolishes any AMD processor in the price range, even disregarding special discounts like this.

Demolish is a very strong word, been down this path before. I can get an FX6300 with a MB from microcenter for $119. Very much looking at this combo and the I3 doesn't even get me interested at $99. Probably go with the Asus MB combo for $175 though.

Ah the good ol intel vs amd debates. We each have our reasons for selecting what we select. I've built several 965BE, an i3 ivy, and several i5 sandy/ivy. All I can say is, each has its benefits - it all depends on the user's budget and what they plan to do with it.

A good deal is a good deal based on it's normal price and its current sale price. I would never buy a $130 i3 over a $85 965BE, or vice versa.

And yes I realize these deals aren't comparable to MC, but really...can we all chill with the microcenter arguments? Its long been established that their deals are awesome, but for the large number of us who do not live near an MC, we find the deals that we can. That is all.

Quote from pen360guin : FYI Microcenter always is located near NO ONE.

was just there yesterday..great prices even with tax..

Quote from Dillweed : #1 Ivy is a tock. Same arch new process. 30% gains are bollocks claims --the only real changes were PCIe 3 and HD4000. #2 Ivy EP and EX will be LGA 2011. It would be VERY stupid for Intel to deviate from their tick tock model. It's their only legitimate enterprise advantage. AMD's releases are unpredictable, and that's a very bad thing. #3 990FX will work for at least two more years according to AMD last week. #4 It's a safe assumption, unless either of these companies deviates from decades long patterns --which isn't likely.

1.i was being generous, for the sake of showing the max improvement going from ib to haswell.

2. i'm sure the majority of sb-e mobo's will "work" but to the full potential of ib-e? no one knows. not to mention we're comparing an "enthusiast" class i7, to an i5-i3.

3. that's on the top end of consumer amd mobo chipset's, and the cheapest one is $120. i would rather just get a good overclocking amd mobo and overclock for 10%, instead of buying a new cpu. but i hadn't heard that news, so that is at least somewhat good to hear.

4. best case scenario it works or just needs a bios flash on the mobo for one maybe 2 next gen cpu's, worst case scenario it just flat out won't work. that's the track record i'm familiar with.

Quote from elecrobento : Maybe so, maybe not, but there certainly is a very big difference in energy usage, which I consider "real world usage" since I pay the electricity bill every month.

Do you really run 100% CPU load 24/7? Put the two side by side in "real world usage" and let me know how many pennies you save a month.

Quote from elecrobento : Intel's most powerful ULV operates at 17w, fyi.

AMD rates the whole board. That makes the chip significantly lower.

Quote from elecrobento : Maybe not quad core, but it's wayyy more powerful than the A8-4550m.

No it's not, but I doubt you know why. Few people actually run just one application at a time --and reviewers are too stupid to bother installing CAPs or configure a machine properly...

Quote from AGpennypacker : 1.i was being generous, for the sake of showing the max improvement going from ib to haswell.

Haswell should finally get it right --kinda. Intel is still stuck on Dennard scaling, for some stupid reason.

Quote from AGpennypacker : 2. i'm sure the majority of sb-e mobo's will "work" but to the full potential of ib-e? no one knows. not to mention we're comparing an "enthusiast" class i7, to an i5-i3.

The 2011 motherboards will upgrade every bit as well as the 1366 motherboards did. As in: nearly flawlessly.

A 3820 can be had for $200.

Quote from AGpennypacker : 3. that's on the top end of consumer amd mobo chipset's, and the cheapest one is $120. i would rather just get a good overclocking amd mobo and overclock for 10%, instead of buying a new cpu. but i hadn't heard that news, so that is at least somewhat good to hear.

Ivy isn't as clocker friendly as Sandy was. Intel cheaped out on the construction. Sandy, Dozer and Driver however, ALL clock like mad.

Ivy is plagued by CPU temps whereas Sandy was plagued by chipset failures. The more stable solution for Intel based setups is a Sandy CPU with an Ivy chipset.

Quote from AGpennypacker : 4. best case scenario it works or just needs a bios flash on the mobo for one maybe 2 next gen cpu's, worst case scenario it just flat out won't work. that's the track record i'm familiar with.

Buy better motherboards. Frankly, the MOBO matters as much as the CPU.

Quote from Dillweed : #1 Ivy is a tock. Same arch new process. 30% gains are bollocks claims --the only real changes were PCIe 3 and HD4000. #2 Ivy EP and EX will be LGA 2011. It would be VERY stupid for Intel to deviate from their tick tock model. It's their only legitimate enterprise advantage. AMD's releases are unpredictable, and that's a very bad thing. #3 990FX will work for at least two more years according to AMD last week. #4 It's a safe assumption, unless either of these companies deviates from decades long patterns --which isn't likely.

Ivy is a tick. Die shrinks are always ticks.

Quote from batotman : Ivy is a tick. Die shrinks are always ticks.

Thanks, I had my terminology exactly backwards. You are correct on this.