TR Forums

Waspinator · Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:04 am

I dropped my idea of buying a processor now.Is the Penryn series really worth,i wanna play crysis at maxed out setting.

2_tyma · Mon Aug 13, 2007 7:11 am

Time will tell if its really really worth it
from the results right now yes it is, but that could always change
if you can really wait till it comes out then go for it
i would personally wait for the penryn test that tech report does.

Game_boy · Mon Aug 13, 2007 7:22 am

It's definetely worth seeing how Barcelona works out too - although this is the Intel Realm, so perhaps not. If Barcelona does work out at 1.25x at the same clock speed to Conroe (In no way am I expecting this, but those simulated benchmarks give us something to hope for), and 3.0GHz is released, it could end up being faster than a 3.33GHz Penryn.

packfan_dave · Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:55 am

Crysis isn't out yet, right (disclaimer: I'm not a PC gamer)?

Once it is, I'm sure your favorite hardware sites will publish some benchmarks, and you'll know how well current hardware handles the game. If that's good enough for you, buy now.

There's always something better around the corner. Decide how much you want to spend, and build the best you can for that amount. Waiting more than a month or two only makes sense if what's coming around the corner is a bigger deal than K10 or Penryn (i.e. K8 or Conroe were big enough to wait for). And it almost never makes sense to hold off more than six months unless you're the kind of compulsive upgrader that builds a new high-end rig every year.

StashTheVampede · Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:00 am

Buy based on needs. Why wait for Penryn? There will be yet another processor in ~6-12 months time that will be even better, right?

maroon1 · Wed Aug 15, 2007 11:57 am

I agree with StashTheVampede

Just get Q6600 now and you will be so happy, it will last you for a long time........

themattman · Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:09 am

maroon1 wrote:
I agree with StashTheVampede

Just get Q6600 now and you will be so happy, it will last you for a long time........

I really wanted to get the q6600, but I've decided to wait and see what AMD and Intel's new processors have to offer. Also I want to wait another few months for the next hardware refresh, so I can buy everything at once. I'm just trying to milk my current system for all that it's worth

2_tyma · Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:27 am

i hope the asus commando supports it without problems it says it does but you never know

Jeffery · Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:04 am

If you absolutely NEED to build a system today, the prices are so absurdly low for AMD and Intel processors alike, that it is becoming increasingly difficult to resist. I paid $300 for my X2 4200+ just over a year ago, and now you can buy a 6000+ for only $196.

Read AnandTech's article on Conroe vs Wolfdale, and you will see some sizable performance increases with Penryn, but nothing earth shattering. Granted, BIOS updates and further tweaking could change this.
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=3069

If you are building an AM2 based system, it is a no brainier to wait; AMD owners are going to be the ones to benefit most from a sorely needed CPU upgrade this winter.

Lastly, if you are simply waiting for Crysis, I would wait until the game is actually released. When HL2 came out, everyone upgraded all their hardware in anticipation, however the game was delayed bumming off allot of people.

Cheers

1970BossMsutang · Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:39 am

i'm thinking about getting a penryn myself. My machine's motherbaord is kinda screwed up where it won't accept 4gb's of ram so i figure if ddr3 prices come down a little when penryn is out then ill get all of that stuff together and sell my current stuff.

marvelous · Wed Aug 22, 2007 9:22 am

That's why I like upgrading parts at a time or when I'm not satisfied with the performance.

Playing the waiting game on old computer is no fun.

It is a great time to buy though. Core 2 duo can be had for just little over $100 and memory is at all time low.

Buying a quad right now is a luxury you can live without. Wait a while for quads and buy a motherboard that is Penryn compatible and then upgrade from there.

ruirod · Wed Aug 22, 2007 10:25 am

I believe you should wait for the 45nm Penryn CPUs.
They will be faster and more power efficient than the current CPUs.

After they are released you should search for reviews that will give you an idea about the performance gain for your favourite game/application. If you are happy with the results then buy it. If you’re not happy with the performance then wait.

Personally I’m waiting for a dual core Penryn (Wolfdale) clocked at 4Ghz to replace my Conroe E6700, mainly for playing Flight Simulator X.

The conditions I’ve set myself for purchasing this processor are the following:

1. It is compatible with my current Motherboard (nVidia 680i chipset).
2. It will boost frame rates by 20% at least.
3. Will not dissipate more heat at idle than my current CPU.
4. It will not cost more than 1000 Euros.

If these conditions are met I don’t wait. Why don’t you try this approach?

All the best to you.

hans · Wed Aug 22, 2007 10:53 am

Will Penryn be compatible with current motherboards? If so, you could get yourself setup now with CPU & MB of your choice. Then once the new chips come out, read the reviews and decide. You'll take a hit selling the old CPU but that's up for you to decide.

zgirl · Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:35 pm

I have this theory. Until something doesn't run well on my AMD X2 4400. Then, and only then will I upgrade.

At that point in time, I will buy where the price/performance of value is at. Regardless of company.

Nitrodist · Wed Aug 22, 2007 4:12 pm

hans wrote:
Will Penryn be compatible with current motherboards? If so, you could get yourself setup now with CPU & MB of your choice. Then once the new chips come out, read the reviews and decide. You'll take a hit selling the old CPU but that's up for you to decide.

Depends on the mobo.

Kunikos · Wed Aug 22, 2007 5:37 pm

At a meager 5% increase for the Penryn, it hardly seems worth waiting unless game developers in the future really jump on SSE4.

tfp · Wed Aug 22, 2007 5:42 pm

You might as well wait until Crysis is out and see what is best then. Even if nothing changes an you go Conroe you might get the same HW you would buy now for less.

Buying before you need to do so is a waist.

themattman · Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:44 pm

Right now I have a fairly firm budget of $300 for a new processor. I want to wait it out just a few months more just to see how these new processors perform and what their initial prices are.

Fighterpilot · Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:52 pm

Personally I’m waiting for a dual core Penryn (Wolfdale) clocked at 4Ghz to replace my Conroe E6700, mainly for playing Flight Simulator X.

The conditions I’ve set myself for purchasing this processor are the following:

1. It is compatible with my current Motherboard (nVidia 680i chipset).
2. It will boost frame rates by 20% at least.
3. Will not dissipate more heat at idle than my current CPU.
4. It will not cost more than 1000 Euros.
A 4GHz Penryn thats cooler than your current Conroe?
I suggest you don't hold your breath :roll:

ruirod · Thu Aug 23, 2007 11:18 am

Fighterpilot

Cooler at idle than my current Conroe! Yes, because the lowest power state with Penryn is lower than with Conroe.

At full load I don't really care about heat and noise because the sound of the game will muffle the noise of the ventilators.

jp3e0kk · Thu Aug 23, 2007 6:33 pm

I've played the wait and see game for awhile now...

I'm still using an Opteron 150, with 4gigs of DDR400 RAM. My video card is the only thing that resembles advancement: a 7800GTX.

hans · Thu Aug 23, 2007 8:08 pm

Opteron 165 with 2 gigs and a 7600 GT. And I'd probably be ok with just reinstalling windows but I hate my motherboard: A8R-MVP.

LoneWolf15 · Fri Aug 24, 2007 6:26 pm

My Athlon 64 X2 4800+ system did everything I wanted when I went to Core2, and I loved the system board I had (MSI K8N Neo 4 Platinum), which made it a hard call.

The reason I really did wasn't the CPU change --it was that I wanted to take advantage of the rock-bottom DDR2 prices, and getting two 2GB kits of Crucial Ballistix DDR2800 for $70 a kit (after MIR) was too good to pass up. At the same time, I did it while I'd lose as little as possible from the sale of 2GB of high-end PC-4000 DDR from my old system. If I'd waited a little, I'd have saved some more money on my Core2 processor, but the savings on RAM really did it for me.

If you're running a DDR system, DDR2 is already rising again --best to get a good deal on DDR2 RAM while you can (DDR3 is insanely priced, and probably won't be worth it for another year). Consider at least buying the RAM now, and then holding onto it until the rest of your components shake out. As for Penryn, early samples look promising, but across the board it's still only a 5-10% increase on average. Wait if it will save you money, or if your existing system can do everything you need. Buy now if your system is struggling to perform the tasks you want/need it to, and don't worry that you didn't get Penryn.

mafropetee · Fri Aug 24, 2007 6:30 pm

z-man wrote:
I have this theory. Until something doesn't run well on my AMD X2 4400. Then, and only then will I upgrade.

At that point in time, I will buy where the price/performance of value is at. Regardless of company.

same with my P4 670 3.8GHz w/ HT. handles everything i throw at it.

maroon1 · Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:53 am

http://www.dailytech.com/Quick+and+Dirt ... le8585.htm

According to dailytech, Yorkfield is about 8% faster clock for clock than Kentsfield.

But the all benchmarks tested don't contain SSE4 optimizations.
Programs that contain use SSE4 perform up to 2x the speed with Yorkfield

oldDummy · Sat Aug 25, 2007 5:43 pm

maroon1 wrote:
http://www.dailytech.com/Quick+and+Dirty+QuadCore+Penryn+Benchmarks/article8585.htm

According to dailytech, Yorkfield is about 8% faster clock for clock than Kentsfield.

But the all benchmarks tested don't contain SSE4 optimizations.
Programs that contain use SSE4 perform up to 2x the speed with Yorkfield

I don't remember seeing any power usage in that article...Thats what I'm really interested in now....Quads run HOT.

OD

TR Forums

Is it worth to wait for Penryn

Is it worth to wait for Penryn

Who is online