With the Sandy Bridge processors just around the corner (Jan 9 or so) and the 2600K model apparently being overclock up to 5GHz, I was wondering why so many people are still buying into the 950's? Here in Australia the 950s are still going for $600+, yet the i7 2600K is looking to be around the $350I would have thought that given FSX is so hungry for CPU speed, the 2600K would be ideal for FSX dedicated machines...Where am I going wrong? Thoughts?

Youre not wrong at all: It's just that folks take time to adapt and soak-in new technology. At some point an early adopter will report a Sandy Bridge CPU OC'd to 5 GHz with crazy frame rates in FSX and then the not so early adopters will want that performance too and jump on the bandwagaon. Just wait and see :-)Cheers,- jahman.

Why no talk? They have not been released nor tested. If will be some time before you see a CPU that will OC to 5ghz.But, you shouldn't have to wait too much longer. It will eventually get here.

I personally would prefer a core with zero graphics units. Might be great for some, but useless for us.

I'm holding off on an upgrade currently ... taking a wait-and-see approach on Sandy Bridge but by all reports it might be a good time to jump in. If it manages to get 5Ghz on air for a reasonable cost then I don't think there will be anything holding me back.I am still seeing lots of posts about people upgrading to current gen processors, and it seems like waiting a couple of months is the most prudent approach, but I guess everyone has different priorities.

I'm putting off a 950 build to see what Sandy Bridge and the new crop of motherboards has to offer but the wait is frustrating. I'm hoping for a lot from a 2600K and a Nvidia 570 video card. In any event, the prices of 950s should drop after Sandy Bridge comes out so Plan B will still be pretty attractive. I'll go with whatever is best for FSX.

Same here. Waiting for shipping MB and CPU reviews after the 5th. Until then just speculation, which has been out there for a couple months. Only news seems to be that pricing looks good.scott s..

I'm already gathering parts and buying Sandy Bridge when it comes out. I think the i7 2600 should be about $300 USD and the i7 2600K about $320.If the average benchmark of the 2600K will be close to this, we are in for a real treat.

My most recent product cycle I decided to get the best I could (which I know was way pricier than it needed to be!) and hope that I could skip 2 or 3 iterations of new processors, and so far, it's all working well enough to not quite yet be tempted. I run my X9650 at 3.8 to 4.1Ghz so I am getting this benchmark by this comparison:Intel Core2 Extreme X9650 @ 3.00GHz 4,593; so for me at say 4.00Ghz, I am presumtively getting around 6,000 Passmark CPU mark score. The Intel Core i7-2600K @ 3.40GHz 9,870, or around 12,770 at 4.4Ghz overclock.That is a good solid doubling. In terms of FSX, I don't believe there is a 1:1 porportionality, is there? It's all about the rest of the components and how well they play w/ each other. And then video adapters and their issues. It's tempting, but truly, I'm still having alot of fun on this platform, and performance is anywhere from wonderful to very acceptable, and usually leans towards wonderful. I think this is why the upgrade rush isn't quite as strong, though certainly those folks standing by for an upgrade will jump. I'm thinking of holding pat for the time being, Sandy Bridge or not. If I can wait one more cycle, I'm thinking that will be meaningful!Noel

I think one of the things that makes SB so tempting is that its not the most expensive CPU upgrade we've seen. I mean a current 980x even now, in Australia is over $1300. By all accounts you'll be able to buy 4 2600Ks for that amount and from the reviews I've seen the 2600K when overclocked to close to 5 Ghz is going to perform to a very similar standard.One thing I was thinking about however is RAAM speed. The motherboards for the 2600 serious will run 1333 Mhz RAM, but from what I understand about the overclocking procedure on these chips, the RAM speed won't increase. Any more thoughts,James

Airbumps: are you sure?... because if you are paying 600 bucks for an i7-930 right now you will pay 600 bucks when the sandy bridge cpu comes out. Intel only provides prices for bulk purchase(per 1000 units).. they're not MSRP'd like other electronics.

One thing I was thinking about however is RAAM speed. The motherboards for the 2600 serious will run 1333 Mhz RAM, but from what I understand about the overclocking procedure on these chips, the RAM speed won't increase.

No, the RAM speed won't increase as you up the multiplier, however, there should be options in the BIOS to overclock memory seperately from what I've read. I have my eyes on 8GB of Mushkin Ram, but I'm waiting to buy memory until all the details regarding Sandy Bridge and memory are clarified. Motherboard manufacturers are claiming support for speeds as high as DDR3 2133.

Airbumps: are you sure?... because if you are paying 600 bucks for an i7-930 right now you will pay 600 bucks when the sandy bridge cpu comes out. Intel only provides prices for bulk purchase(per 1000 units).. they're not MSRP'd like other electronics.

I've seen references to the i7 2600K being around the $300-$350 USD mark on a few websites now. And since the Australian $ is pretty much equal to the US $ right now its a good time to buy. There is a link to pricing herehttp://www.overclock...ml#post11442401I am assuming that will be a retail price? In any event, the 980x here in Oz is still over $1300!!

No, the RAM speed won't increase as you up the multiplier, however, there should be options in the BIOS to overclock memory seperately from what I've read. I have my eyes on 8GB of Mushkin Ram, but I'm waiting to buy memory until all the details regarding Sandy Bridge and memory are clarified. Motherboard manufacturers are claiming support for speeds as high as DDR3 2133.

But if you take the 2x4gb you will not use triple channel architecture for the RAM...Also regarding memoery overclock, it is correct that you will not push the ram faster if you overclock using ONLY multiplier...But you ll get better overclocking if you raise the bclk clock instead of multiplier..by increasing the bclk you push also ram and uncore componenets (like L3, IMC etc)....I could nt get my i7 to 4.0 by 191x21 multi, so i settled with 173x23 and i am very happy .....for the time being of course :)))

I am assuming that will be a retail price? In any event, the 980x here in Oz is still over $1300!!

Yeah North America has very effecient distribution so those prices aren't too far off from retail, maybe an additional 10-20% before it gets to the consumer. What I would recommend is asking in the OzX forums, as they may know of more competitive retailers. $1300 seems too high even for Australlia, you could import it cheaper if you don't mind the wait.