I've been thinking that I will get 16Gb of ram anyway. Most people say that is too much, but I'd rather have too much than too little. I went from 2Gb (it was hell!) to 4Gb when I built my last computer and friends said "4Gb is plenty," but I always find myself running low on memory when multitasking.
So I think 4x4 would actually be perfect for what I'm looking for. Now the trouble will be finding a new motherboard to go with a new CPU. Any recs?
I'm right there with you on the more ram is better idea. 4GB is max with a 32-bit version of windows, so that's one reason its such a popular amount to have. One other issue though, even when running a 64-bit OS is that a lot of applications(especially games!) are still 32-bit code and can't address make use of more than 4gb.
I run 8gb in my laptop and desktop and it runs like a champ(both do).
If you want motherboard recommendations, thats a lot harder since they are all brand new with a new chip set so reviews are still trickling in. Also there aren't any real "user" reviews, only the big boys who's opinion sometimes differ from enthusiasts.
If you are looking for nice snappy fast multi-tasking, invest in a solid state system drive. Go for 120gb minimum for the OS and a couple apps that you want loading up quick. A good SSD makes a bigger difference than just about any other upgrade you can do for system responsiveness, boot times, application start times, etc...
As mentioned by Verity, waiting for Ivy Bridge is also an option, it will use the mainstream socket that the regular sandy bridge uses now. After that there's Ivy Bridge E-series. There's always something bigger, better, cheaper just around the corner and makes buying hardware difficult at times. Good luck!
Cool, thanks for the quick and thorough response. I only have a dual core right now... and if the new CPU might cost the same as the 2600k than I might as well just wait. I can play bf3 on ultra settings currently with limited graphics lag, so I should be fine for the wait. Thanks again!
One other thing to keep in mind about the new sandy bridge E-series, is that they use quad channel memory. So instead of buying memory in pairs, you have to buy them in sets of 4, and may be considerably more expensive, the benefit being most boards have 8 memory slots so you can have a lot more total memory.
When new processors in the same market come out, generally the older ones will either go down in price, or a newer faster offering will be offered at the same price point. What i've seen of the sandy bridge E processors though is that the newly released models are all top of the line models, the 2600K is more of a mainstream model. These new ones will make the 990X obsolete(finally) and occupy a much higher price point than the 2600K. In Q1 2012, the 3820 quad-core model will be released and this will likely push the 2600K down in price. I'd either buy now if you can't wait, or wait until maybe February to get the newer model. Keep in mind the sandy bridge E uses a new socket and different motherboard, so you can't upgrade to it later without a major overhaul. For now, the 2600K is still the chip to beat if you are going for the most bang for your buck. Even the cheaper i5-2500K is an awesome deal, and only lacks hyperthreading compared to the i7 2600K, offering even more value, and nearly the same performance.
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I'm right there with you on the more ram is better idea. 4GB is max with a 32-bit version of windows, so that's one reason its such a popular amount to have. One other issue though, even when running a 64-bit OS is that a lot of applications(especially games!) are still 32-bit code and can't address make use of more than 4gb.
I run 8gb in my laptop and desktop and it runs like a champ(both do).
If you want motherboard recommendations, thats a lot harder since they are all brand new with a new chip set so reviews are still trickling in. Also there aren't any real "user" reviews, only the big boys who's opinion sometimes differ from enthusiasts.
If you are looking for nice snappy fast multi-tasking, invest in a solid state system drive. Go for 120gb minimum for the OS and a couple apps that you want loading up quick. A good SSD makes a bigger difference than just about any other upgrade you can do for system responsiveness, boot times, application start times, etc...
As mentioned by Verity, waiting for Ivy Bridge is also an option, it will use the mainstream socket that the regular sandy bridge uses now. After that there's Ivy Bridge E-series. There's always something bigger, better, cheaper just around the corner and makes buying hardware difficult at times. Good luck!
One other thing to keep in mind about the new sandy bridge E-series, is that they use quad channel memory. So instead of buying memory in pairs, you have to buy them in sets of 4, and may be considerably more expensive, the benefit being most boards have 8 memory slots so you can have a lot more total memory.