I7-3770k CPU with Which Motherboard?

Gilgamesh · Nov 28, 2012

Hypothetically speaking which would be the best motherboard to go with this CPU?

I'm trying to ballpark figure what it would cost to update my CPU/MB while keeping my RAM/VC/etc

I did some research on the i7-3770k and it seems the best CPU I could find for under $350.

PatrThom or any of our other tech gurus want to take a small shot at this?

*I realize I asked this question a good while back but I'm wondering if the previous information is still pretty accurate (aka waiting for the haswel architecture or safe to do this update)

PatrThom · Nov 29, 2012

What kind of RAM/VC/etc are you trying to keep? Knowing whether your GPU is PCIe 2.0 or your RAM is DDR2 or something would be helpful to be able to recommend MLBs.

Also keep in mind that the rumor mill is saying that future Intel processors (Those released after Haswell) won't be socketed at all, so you may not have much choice in MLBs after that point.

--Patrick

Gilgamesh · Nov 29, 2012

PatrThom said:
What kind of RAM/VC/etc are you trying to keep? Knowing whether your GPU is PCIe 2.0 or your RAM is DDR2 or something would be helpful to be able to recommend MLBs.

Also keep in mind that the rumor mill is saying that future Intel processors (Those released after Haswell) won't be socketed at all, so you may not have much choice in MLBs after that point.

--Patrick

Thanks for the reply, the RAM is DDR3 and the GPU is PCIe 3.0. Also I know that there's always better hardware in the future but this system is just a little too out of date for my tastes. Even games like Borderlands 2 with medium settings is getting 40-60 fps in alot of areas. I'd like to be back on smooth sailing for at least another 2yrs. I guess I'm just debating whether to wait for the Haswell or upgrade now and get whatever's best in 2yrs.

PatrThom · Nov 29, 2012

The current rumors state that socketed CPUs are going away, and that Haswell will be the last socketed CPU for a long time, if not forever. So if you want to be able to customize your system, it's looking like Haswell will be the end of the line. There is even some question as to whether the enthusiast MLB makers (ASRock, GigaByte, ASUS) will even bother to continue making motherboards for the tweaker crowd, much less stay in business.

So yeah, there's probably going to be a big shift in the DIY market, and the Internet opinion seems to be that this shift will be the collapse of customizability, potentially to the point of OEM or GTFO.

--Patrick

Gilgamesh · Nov 29, 2012

PatrThom said:
The current rumors state that socketed CPUs are going away, and that Haswell will be the last socketed CPU for a long time, if not forever. So if you want to be able to customize your system, it's looking like Haswell will be the end of the line. There is even some question as to whether the enthusiast MLB makers (ASRock, GigaByte, ASUS) will even bother to continue making motherboards for the tweaker crowd, much less stay in business.

So yeah, there's probably going to be a big shift in the DIY market, and the Internet opinion seems to be that this shift will be the collapse of customizability, potentially to the point of OEM or GTFO.

--Patrick

So then basically I can upgrade now, skip the entire Haswell architecture and go socketless next time?

PatrThom · Nov 29, 2012

Gilgamesh said:
So then basically I can upgrade now, skip the entire Haswell architecture and go socketless next time?

...if that's what you want, sure. I just see Haswell as the last customizeable architecture, and preliminary tests put Haswell at up to 30% faster than Ivy Bridge at the same clock speed but at 40% less power. To me, that's like being able to get one of the last V8's before they decide all cars will be I4's from then on, or something. I have no doubt that future CPUs will be faster/better than Haswell, it's just that I see the number of motherboard offerings going from dozens down to just the 6 or so that Intel anoints as its chosen OEM partners.

--Patrick

Gilgamesh · Nov 29, 2012

PatrThom said:
...if that's what you want, sure. I just see Haswell as the last customizeable architecture, and preliminary tests put Haswell at up to 30% faster than Ivy Bridge at the same clock speed but at 40% less power. To me, that's like being able to get one of the last V8's before they decide all cars will be I4's from then on, or something. I have no doubt that future CPUs will be faster/better than Haswell, it's just that I see the number of motherboard offerings going from dozens down to just the 6 or so that Intel anoints as its chosen OEM partners.

--Patrick

Well will the Haswell still be top end in 2yrs when I look to upgrade again or will we be on the socketless by then?

Frank · Nov 29, 2012

PatrThom said:
The current rumors state that socketed CPUs are going away, and that Haswell will be the last socketed CPU for a long time, if not forever. So if you want to be able to customize your system, it's looking like Haswell will be the end of the line. There is even some question as to whether the enthusiast MLB makers (ASRock, GigaByte, ASUS) will even bother to continue making motherboards for the tweaker crowd, much less stay in business.

So yeah, there's probably going to be a big shift in the DIY market, and the Internet opinion seems to be that this shift will be the collapse of customizability, potentially to the point of OEM or GTFO.

--Patrick

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH

Is about all I can muster reading that.

strawman · Nov 29, 2012

Intel makes a good bit of cash off the tweakers. I'm pretty sure Asus, gagabyte, and others will find a way to appeal to them. While intel wants to keep prices high, they also need to sell a ton of chips, so they aren't going to be extraordinarily picky about their customers.

PatrThom · Nov 29, 2012

Gilgamesh said:
Well will the Haswell still be top end in 2yrs when I look to upgrade again or will we be on the socketless by then?

Rumors are saying we will be socketless by 2014, possibly by Q4 2o13.

Granted, it's still rumors, but not encouraging.

--Patrick

Gilgamesh · Nov 29, 2012

PatrThom said:
Rumors are saying we will be socketless by 2014, possibly by Q4 2o13.

Granted, it's still rumors, but not encouraging.

--Patrick

Uuuugh you're making this so hard. So basically I should wait another 6 months for Haswell to release and be affordable?

Ravenpoe · Nov 29, 2012

Gilgamesh said:
Uuuugh you're making this so hard. So basically I should wait another 6 months for Haswell to release and be affordable?

I'm in the same boat. I'm chomping at the bit to replace my cpu, it's the bottleneck of my rig.

PatrThom · Nov 29, 2012

In my personal (and unprofessional) opinion, you should only be looking to go Ivy Bridge if you fit one of two cases:
1) Your current system/socket can handle Ivy Bridge, and the CPU will be the only component you are replacing.
(basically your system "was going to be Ivy Bridge all along" but they just hadn't come out with it yet)
2) Your current system is older than 2010 (ie, your Intel CPU model is pre-i3/i5/i7 branding).
If you do not fit into one of the two above special cases, you will probably see the biggest benefit by waiting the extra 6 months.
If you can't wait the 6 months, that's ok. It's not a dumb purchase and your system will still see an improvement over your current one by going to Ivy Bridge (either in speed or lower power/heat). But you will probably kick yourself later.*

I'm in a different boat. I finally replaced my dual 1.4GHz Pentium III with a more modern 6-core 3.2GHz CPU, so I haven't started feeling slow yet.

Here's a YouTube video comparing the highest-end Ivy Bridge integrated (!) graphics against the unreleased highest-end Haswell integrated graphics. Don't worry, it's actually in English.

...but in answer to your original question, Gilgamesh , I would make sure whatever board I purchased for a 3770k CPU is based around the Z77 chipset. If you're a gamer, you want to go Z77 instead of H77 (H77 does not allow overclocking).

--Patrick
*assuming all the leaks are true. Integrated USB 3.0, Thunderbolt connectivity, native PCIe 3.0, all 6xSATA are 6Gb/s, all of which sound tasty.

Gilgamesh · Nov 30, 2012

PatrThom said:
In my personal (and unprofessional) opinion, you should only be looking to go Ivy Bridge if you fit one of two cases:
1) Your current system/socket can handle Ivy Bridge, and the CPU will be the only component you are replacing.
(basically your system "was going to be Ivy Bridge all along" but they just hadn't come out with it yet)
2) Your current system is older than 2010 (ie, your Intel CPU model is pre-i3/i5/i7 branding).
If you do not fit into one of the two above special cases, you will probably see the biggest benefit by waiting the extra 6 months.
If you can't wait the 6 months, that's ok. It's not a dumb purchase and your system will still see an improvement over your current one by going to Ivy Bridge (either in speed or lower power/heat). But you will probably kick yourself later.*

I'm in a different boat. I finally replaced my dual 1.4GHz Pentium III with a more modern 6-core 3.2GHz CPU, so I haven't started feeling slow yet.

Here's a YouTube video comparing the highest-end Ivy Bridge integrated (!) graphics against the unreleased highest-end Haswell integrated graphics. Don't worry, it's actually in English.

...but in answer to your original question, Gilgamesh , I would make sure whatever board I purchased for a 3770k CPU is based around the Z77 chipset. If you're a gamer, you want to go Z77 instead of H77 (H77 does not allow overclocking).

--Patrick
*assuming all the leaks are true. Integrated USB 3.0, Thunderbolt connectivity, native PCIe 3.0, all 6xSATA are 6Gb/s, all of which sound tasty.

My current CPU/MB:

http://ark.intel.com/products/37148/Intel-Core-i7-940-Processor-8M-Cache-2_93-GHz-4_80-GTs-Intel-QPI
http://www.msi.com/product/mb/Eclipse-SLI.html

Another 6 months with this framerate is hard to swallow, and it'll probably be longer because I'm pretty sure I won't be able to afford a Haswell system as soon as they come out.