Intel's new Sandy Bridge procs are SHAWEEEET!

[Rson]

Remember young Jedi's Computer Builders.....your system is only as fast as the slowest link. What drives do you have to go with a screaming processor? 6 gb/s Sata? SSD?

[j1mmyj4m]

Partially true. If you have more than enough memory, it helps alleviate a slower drive if you toss out the swap file. I do however have a 6gb/s sata with 8gb of ram.

This might be the last machine I build (built countless), because parts are being made cheaper and cheaper and the rate of failure is getting worse. The RMA process isn't worth tons of my time.

[contributor_M]

Yeah, I'm keeping my eye on those. I'm actually putting together specs to build a new hackintosh system.

[Rson]

Mmmmm Hackintosh...that is high on my list after I converted my work laptop to a Mac.

[contributor_M]

Originally Posted by Rson

Mmmmm Hackintosh...that is high on my list after I converted my work laptop to a Mac.

I swear after I built my first one, I've been hooked ever since. Really easy to do, and the money I saved goes towards camera gear.

[BigEasy]

It's a sweet system for anyone not using Nikon's Capture NX2 for Post. Lightroom, PS, and most of the other editing software work nice, BUT if you use Capture NX2, it has a major bug and is unusable on many I7 chip boxes.

I have been waiting for an update to address this from Nikon for over 6 months, before upgrading to the I7 ...

[stephenpinn]

Just remember Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge are internal Intel code names, our marketing department feels that i7-2600K is much sexier :)

However, I love mine regardless of the name

[Rson]

Here is a good link

Code name - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Rson]

Intel ships Sandy Bridge chipsets again, but should you buy one? | Crave - CNET

[Balderdash]

Okay, here's the straight scoop from a Sandy Bridge owner. Don't touch it until Intel has only problem free chip/sets in the pipe line. I ordered a custom build and have had it almost a month. Great system (I can now make mistakes really fast) but the pain of boxing it up and returning the the vendor in Ohio is not something I'm looking forward to. I expect they will need to do a clean install of the OS which means I'll have to load all my stuff. . . again. . . If I'd known all this a month ago I would have waited until April. The old box was slow but I could have nursed it along that long. . .

[Sonny]

Can you give us some details about your problems?

Which processor did you buy? And list the rest of your specs?

What OS?

[Balderdash]

Hi Sonny,

Thanks for 'shaking' my tree. In re-reading my post I must admit I sounded somewhat like 'Chiken Little'. No the sky isn't falling and the PC runs GREAT! I'll put the 'tone' of my response to the hour of the morning (past my bed time). My problem (real or imagined) concerned the Intel recall of their Sandy Bridge chip/set. Googling will find the latest information on that. It seems that 15% of these builds may have a comunication failure (hard drive to motherboard) at some point down the road (sounded like a potential time bomb). The problem has been identified as the motherboards SATA2 ports. When I first heard of the problem and contacted the vendor and they had just learned of it also so the plan for a 'fix' was still being formulated. I recontacted the vendor this morning and determined that my mother board has four SATA2 ports and two SATA3 ports. We also concluded that my hard drive is connected to one of the SATA3 ports, so under this configuration, I'm good. I do appreciate that Intel identified this problem quickly and seem to have done all they can to resolve it. I also appreciate the vendor, computerlx.com. They have been very 'reachable' during all of this and took much time to answer any questions and concerns I had. 15% may sound like 'not much' to worry about. . . but with my luck it would be a sure bet. To be sure, any new offering may have problems shake out after it's initial release. Thanks to your rattling my cage, I now have current information on a rapidly moving target.

Oh, as for my build:
*Intel Core i7 Pocessor i7-2600K 3.4GHz 8MB Quad Core
*Asus P8P67 LAG1155/ Intel P67/ DDR3/ Quad -CrossFireX/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard
*8GB (2x4GB) 240-pin DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel RAM
*WD 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB CASHE SATA 6.0GB/s
*22X DUAL LAYER DVD-RW W/LIGHTSCRIBE
*nVidia GeForce GTS450 video card
*THERMAL TAKE 700 WATT SLI/CROSSFIRE Power Supply
*LIAN LI Lancool PC-K7B ATX Mid Tower case
*Extra FIREWIRE (800mb) & USB 3.0 ports and other small goodies
*OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

As an aside. . . I got the Win7 upgrade because of reading (hearing) that I could use XP Mode to run older apps that might not operate in Win7. Alas, that won't work with the above Motherboard. There is no BIOS controller which can be enabled for 'visualation'. This is needed so as to allow XP Mode to run as a 'vurtual pc'. That's OK, I need to update my 12 year old flatbed scanner and 8 year old film scanner anyway.

I do hope my previous 'shooting from the hip' responce caused no undue consternation for any in the group.

[Sonny]

Thank you Bob for the update. I was interested to hear about your experience because I am going to build a similar system in the next month or so.

Do you know if the problems exist with all Sandy Bridge processors or i7?

No worries about your previous post.

[Balderdash]

Sonny, as I understand it. . . the problem is not with the processor, but the motherborad. I've been told (read) that Intel stopped shipping the problem chip/sets and recalled any that might be in the pipe line or in dealer's stock. Sorces are indicating that chip/sets with fixed motherboards could be back in the pipe line between late February and early April. Check on availably though newegg.com. While I have not done that, I suspect you will find a problem with availability at the moment. If I were building right now I would do it again! It makes a 'bad boy' PC. . . I'm loving mine. . . so will you.