[faceless007]

Jesus, why is ASUS so fucking convoluted? I mean, just look at this shit: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Int...1155/Intel_Z77 Such a ridiculous number of models with negligible difference between them. Anandtech reviewed the P8Z77-V PRO and DELUXE. I was about to get the PRO, but then I saw that there's just a vanilla P8Z77-V. What's the difference between the P8Z77-V and P8Z77-V PRO? The ASMedia® USB 3.0 controller on the PRO has an extra 2 USB 3.0 ports. That's it. Seriously. Go do a comparison on their web site. There's nothing else different between them! http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Int...t_1155/P8Z77V/ http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Int...55/P8Z77V_PRO/

Agreed, it's pretty ridiculous. Comparing the pics on Newegg, it looks like the Pro has an extra chipset in the bottom left by the PCI slot, an extra header for something at the bottom and an extra white header on the right edge. Apparently those are worth $25. Also the non-Pro has 2 extra connectors over the Pro, TPM and COM, whatever those are. (I think COM are old serial ports? WTF?)

And that doesn't even get into -V LX/-V LK/-V LE. Argh.

This Newegg link should automatically compare the 5.

[Edvardelis]

Jesus, why is ASUS so fucking convoluted? I mean, just look at this shit: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Int...1155/Intel_Z77 Such a ridiculous number of models with negligible difference between them. Anandtech reviewed the P8Z77-V PRO and DELUXE. I was about to get the PRO, but then I saw that there's just a vanilla P8Z77-V. What's the difference between the P8Z77-V and P8Z77-V PRO? The ASMedia® USB 3.0 controller on the PRO has an extra 2 USB 3.0 ports. That's it. Seriously. Go do a comparison on their web site. There's nothing else different between them!

The PRO also has an eSata port. It's not on the board itself, but on a bracket they ship with the board that has the two extra USB ports on it.

You have to go to the image of everything included in the box to see it.

[surly]

Reading that site (and its following pages) just makes it seem like you have to be super careful to not bend the pins when removing the old chip, and be super careful you reinsert the new chip in the correct orientation. I'd think it's on the list of possible solutions. It also says, "You MUST discharge your CMOS before restarting you computer. There is normally a jumper or shorting pads to do this and you will need your motherboard manual to determine where this jumper is and where to move the jumper. Check our FAQ's page if you find no jumper. It is usually called CLCMOS or CLRTC. Failure to do this can corrupt your bios chip requiring a reflash to fix it." Make sure you read up or get some tips before you try it! Things like this I would never think to do.

I decided to contact the retailer who I bought the motherboard from (eBuyer) and they are going to collect the MOBO tomorrow, flash the BIOS to the latest version so it's compatible with Ivy Bridge CPUs, then get it back to me within 3 working days all at their expense, so that's one problem solved anyway.

To the other guys who are in the same boat, try contacting the retailer. I bought the board 7 weeks ago and it's technically not faulty so I thought they may just fob me off, but they were really helpful.

[dbztrk]

Can anyone give me some advise? I was thinking about getting the 3770K specifically because I want to do PS2 emulation but from the reviews, people aren't really able to overclock this cpu by that much. Would it be advisable to go the Ivy Bridge route or should I go with a Sandy Bridge cpu? Also keep in mind that I will also be doing 'regular' gaming as well. So finding that happy medium would be great.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[Hazaro]

Can anyone give me some advise? I was thinking about getting the 3770K specifically because I want to do PS2 emulation but from the reviews, people aren't really able to overclock this cpu by that much. Would it be advisable to go the Ivy Bridge route or should I go with a Sandy Bridge cpu? Also keep in mind that I will also be doing 'regular' gaming as well. So finding that happy medium would be great. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Depending on when you want to put together your PC I wouldn't be too bad to wait a week or two when user reviews and experiences start to roll in.

A 4.4Ghz clock on 1.10V-1.15V isn't bad at all, it's SB standard, but scaling up from there is where it starts hurting. An Ivy 4.4 is more like 4.6Ghz so it's not a bad choice and will do very well for emulation.

If you don't care about new features just save $40 and grab a SB model and Z68 board. Power usage under load seems similar enough after OC to not worry that much?

[jonremedy]

Agreed, it's pretty ridiculous. Comparing the pics on Newegg, it looks like the Pro has an extra chipset in the bottom left by the PCI slot, an extra header for something at the bottom and an extra white header on the right edge. Apparently those are worth $25. Also the non-Pro has 2 extra connectors over the Pro, TPM and COM, whatever those are. (I think COM are old serial ports? WTF?) And that doesn't even get into -V LX/-V LK/-V LE. Argh. This Newegg link should automatically compare the 5.

I just bought the non-Pro P8Z77-V. No reason for me to go either Pro, Deluxe, Maximus Gene or Sabertooth. The regular -V was expensive enough as it is.

[phosphor112]

I want one =/

[mkenyon]

@expensive mobo hate

It's not just about features, as Haz pointed out there's a difference with more/better VRM/caps/voltage regs/etc. You're absolutely right if you are a baseline user, there's really no reason at all to go for something else. But if you want to have heavy sustained overclocks, there's every reason in the world. Achieving a 5.0Ghz stable OC on a 2500K can be vastly different in terms of voltage required between motherboards. Something like the Gene-Z can pull it off anywhere in the 1.38-1.45 area, whereas a baseline model might not even be able to do it. With better power management and a board designed to work with more power, you also have the benefit of a longer lifespan.

It's like the difference between an engine with heavy duty internals. That can withstand higher compression/forced induction a lot more than a consumer engine, even if on the surface it might be really similar.

[Shambles]

Thanks :) Main points: 4.4Ghz on ~1.10V seems to be norm, any higher is hard or gets super hot and draws tons of power. Much worse than SB. About 5% faster roughly for easy numbers No idle wattage savings, ok load savings *Useful:

Hrm, doesn't look like the clock for clock advantages of Ivy Bridge doesn't quite offset the loss in overclock potential but it is pretty close. I'm currently leaning towards IVB since the performance after overclocking is going to be almost the same, perhaps a little less. Where the other advantages of the new chip and process do hold other advantages. I'm still waiting to see a few overclocking articles of SNB vs IVB overclock performance on air cooling.

[BigTnaples]

So whats the verdict?

I am upgrading from a q6600 on the 30th.

SB 2700k or IB 3770k?

IB right...?

[MrBig]

So whats the verdict? I am upgrading from a q6600 on the 30th. SB 2700k or IV 3770k? IB right...?

IB, yes. It's just the SB people that IB doesn't really offer anything tangible for.
I'm coming from a C2D P8600 and going to a 3570K myself.

[Sethos]

So whats the verdict? I am upgrading from a q6600 on the 30th. SB 2700k or IV 3770k? IB right...?

Personally I'd get a 'cheap' SB and wait until they've ironed out IB, right now it's very unimpressive for the added cost.

[mkenyon]

So whats the verdict? I am upgrading from a q6600 on the 30th. SB 2700k or IV 3770k? IB right...?

Depends on how high you overclock. Probably IB though.

[Lactose_Intolerant]

Looks like if you are into really pushing the overclocking, SB is better. If not, Ivy is. So no point really in upgrading.

[rhfb]

wrong thread, sorry.

edit: While I'm in here though, going to get a new card as soon as the 670 comes out to go with a new case, and if my Q9550 doesn't hold up I'll just jump on the 3770k like I was planning on before the not so stellar reviews came out.

[BigTnaples]

I wouldnt mind a decent OC but I wont be going nuts with it. IB it is I guess, good to know.


Any recommended MB?

[mkenyon]

I wouldnt mind a decent OC but I wont be going nuts with it. IB it is I guess, good to know. Any recommended MB?

ASUS because they do some nifty stuff with memory that others don't right now. Plus they *always* have fewer issues.

Anything above the "LX" is going to be totally fine, just depends on your specific needs.

[ParityBit]

Well my GPU is shipping from Amazon which means my build is complete except for the IB CPU. Do we think that there will be a rush/low supply like the GTX 680?

[Kamaji]

A leading swedish PC-forum called Sweclockers have reviewed 3770K and 3570K. The review is in swedish but there are many diagrams and such (3d mark, cinebench, pcmark, game tests etc.) which I believe anyone can grasp.

http://www.sweclockers.com/recension...-core-i5-3570k

[brotkasten]

A leading swedish PC-forum called Sweclockers have reviewed 3770K and 3570K. The review is in swedish but there are many diagrams and such (3d mark, cinebench, pcmark, game tests etc.) which I believe anyone can grasp. http://www.sweclockers.com/recension...-core-i5-3570k

So overclocking is about the same as SB (+1 GHz on air), but IB gets a good bit hotter than SB.

[Sethos]

So overclocking is about the same as SB (+1 GHz on air), but IB gets a good bit hotter than SB.

The conclusion of IB in almost every review is the advances on the technology side, 22nm, native USB 3.0, 'true' PCI Express Gen 3 etc. and not so much about performance. Right now, it's not really a desirable upgrade if you're going for sheer performance as the performance increase is minuscule, even less in games and that is all negated when you add in overclocking.

I'm sure it'll improve as they refine 22nm and learn to harness it but this first batch is really underwhelming. Some people just seem to want it because 'it's new' and they'll never really use what it offers. I'd still suggest a solid SB and overclock that thing to 4.5 or if you have the money, get LGA 2011 and then you're ready for IB-E which I'm sure is will be a lot more impressive. Plus you can still get PCI Express 3.0, USB 3.0 etc. on more refined motherboards.

But that's just my opinion.

[brotkasten]

The conclusion of IB in almost every review is the advances on the technology side, 22nm, native USB 3.0, 'true' PCI Express Gen 3 etc. and not so much about performance. Right now, it's not really a desirable upgrade if you're going for sheer performance as the performance increase is minuscule, even less in games and that is all negated when you add in overclocking. I'm sure it'll improve as they refine 22nm and learn to harness it but this first batch is really underwhelming. Some people just seem to want it because 'it's new' and they'll never really use what it offers. I'd still suggest a solid SB and overclock that thing to 4.5 or if you have the money, get LGA 2011 and then you're ready for IB-E which I'm sure is will be a lot more impressive. Plus you can still get PCI Express 3.0, USB 3.0 etc. on more refined motherboards. But that's just my opinion.

Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but you actually need an IB CPU to use PCIe 3.0 on Z68/77 motherboards, because it has the PCIe controller. USB 3.0 seems to be part of Z77.

[Telaso]

I've been out of the game for the last year or so, so I haven't kept up much, but have a question about performance with this.

Currently have a i5-2500k, with an ASROCK board that claims PCIE 3.0 possible.

If I buy a GTX680 for PCIE 3.0, will I get a huge difference going from the SB i5 to a IB i7? and not just a i5 to i7 difference, but something to make the PCIE 3.0 worth it?

[Mr Swine]

Correct, IB has PCI Express 3 and USB 3 natively on the CPU while all the other SB doesn't. That means that you need to buy a MB that has a 3:rd part chip to support PCI-E3 and USB 3.

I've been out of the game for the last year or so, so I haven't kept up much, but have a question about performance with this. Currently have a i5-2500k, with an ASROCK board that claims PCIE 3.0 possible. If I buy a GTX680 for PCIE 3.0, will I get a huge difference going from the SB i5 to a IB i7? and not just a i5 to i7 difference, but something to make the PCIE 3.0 worth it?

Nope, if you have 3-4 GTx680 I think you would get a bigger performance boost than with just one card

[Sethos]

Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but you actually need an IB CPU to use PCIe 3.0 on Z68/77 motherboards, because it has the PCIe controller. USB 3.0 seems to be part of Z77.

For native support but a lot of SB motherboards has software support for USB 3.0 that also works. PCI 3.0 just requires it to be certified by AMD / Nvidia, so without certification not even Z77 boards will do 3.0 from my understanding. Lot of the 2011 boards will be supporting 3.0.

[RukusProvider]

I've been out of the game for the last year or so, so I haven't kept up much, but have a question about performance with this. Currently have a i5-2500k, with an ASROCK board that claims PCIE 3.0 possible. If I buy a GTX680 for PCIE 3.0, will I get a huge difference going from the SB i5 to a IB i7? and not just a i5 to i7 difference, but something to make the PCIE 3.0 worth it?

You will get 0 performance gains from PCI 3.0 even if you get an IB chip.

[Telaso]

Nope, if you have 3-4 GTx680 I think you would get a bigger performance boost than with just one card

You will get 0 performance gains from PCI 3.0 even if you get an IB chip.

Cool, thanks guys :)

[Jubbly]

Are there any 1:1 benchmarks showing performance versus the i7-2600K, and the same thing showing overclocking and overclocking temperatures?

(Apologies, I haven't gone through the other posts)

[ParityBit]

Well my GPU is shipping from Amazon which means my build is complete except for the IB CPU. Do we think that there will be a rush/low supply like the GTX 680?

Also I have seen both Sunday and Monday release dates. Any ideas out there? I am wondering if I need to stalk newegg/Amazon!

[Hazaro]

Are there any 1:1 benchmarks showing performance versus the i7-2600K, and the same thing showing overclocking and overclocking temperatures? (Apologies, I haven't gone through the other posts)

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5763/u...-on-ivy-bridge

and

[BackdoorBeauty]

ASUS because they do some nifty stuff with memory that others don't right now. Plus they *always* have fewer issues. Anything above the "LX" is going to be totally fine, just depends on your specific needs.

I just ordered the LX model, I couldn't see a compelling difference up to the $199 straight V model.

Going to feed a 2500K i5, GTX 550Ti, and my Lynx L22 card.

The only thing I would have liked are the heat-sinks on the voltage regulators, on the V model. I have no plans to overclock, and the only game this system will be playing is Diablo 3. Did I need something higher than the LX motherboard?

[mhayze]

Personally I'd get a 'cheap' SB and wait until they've ironed out IB, right now it's very unimpressive for the added cost.

"Ironed out SB"? What are you expecting them to change? New hardware revision?

[faceless007]

Possible reason for the higher temps: they're using thermal paste under the head spreader instead of fluxless solder.

[Loofy]

Noob question. I have an old case from a custom computer that I had prebuilt. If I get a new motherboard with usb 3.0.. do the usb slots on the front and back of my case become usb 3.0? Im not really sure how everything connects.

[·feist·]

Thanks to everyone who posted reviews while I was away. I'll add them to the OP later.

Noob question. I have an old case from a custom computer that I had prebuilt. If I get a new motherboard with usb 3.0.. do the usb slots on the front and back of my case become usb 3.0? Im not really sure how everything connects.

Unfortunately, no. On the back of your case you should have USB 3.0 ports from whichever current motherboard you choose, but the front I/O would plug into the motherboard's USB 2.0 ports.

Some boards come with a front and/or rear panel USB 3.0 solution bundled in. Otherwise, you can try something like these.

[·feist·]

This is what I come back to?

Let's recap:

dr. apocalipsis Post #1: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...&postcount=130

Reply #1: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...&postcount=143

dr. apocalipsis Post #2: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...&postcount=144

Reply #2: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...&postcount=145

dr. apocalipsis Post #3: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...&postcount=148

Reply #3: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...&postcount=151

dr. apocalipsis Post #4: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...&postcount=218

Reply #4:

Seriously, I can't understad your point at all.

That would be the second time you've said something along those lines.

I'm not parsing words, or arguing semantics here. Again, you made a broad brush statement, which was inaccurate.

My point now is as simple as it was when I first replied to your initial post:

Not true, my sir. Second generation of Core 2, Yorkfield, still have higher IPC than any AMD processor, including Phenom II, Bulldozer or Llano. 4 years after their release. Thuban x6 can compete due to extra cores, but thats it. Per thread performance, power consumption or OC headroom still behind Q9000 series. This is incorrect. You may want to re-run some benchmarks, readings, and OCs to refresh your memory. Barring access to the parts you mentioned, have a look at reviews.

Again, those are three areas of stated futility; performance, power consumption, and overclock capability.

I'm not debating performance, yet you continue to bring it up, even though I've already made my stance on that point clear, more than once. Still, your claim of Phenom IIs only being able to "compete due to extra cores, but thats it", is also flawed. I've addressed why, along with the posted links. Of the three claims, power consumption, and overclocking are the most problematic. As I've said earlier. The power consumption claim, is not a 100% black, and white matter. Ivy Bridge, and Bulldozer results (among others) should tell you that. Even then, Phenom IIs have gone against LGA 775, LGA 1156, and LGA 1366 45nm parts. I grabbed five random power consumption charts, out of the dozen or so reviews at that Phenom II X4 920/940 link. Instead of acknowledging the range of results, you've overlooked the charts clearly showing the AMDs being roughly equal to (or lower than) the Intels, bringing up performance-per-watt, and comparing the X4 940 to an ~340MHz lower clocked Q9400. That's how you arrived at a "4-1" tally?

I've already asked if you were taking "into account the different states of Intel and AMD's 45nm maturity." You didn't respond to that. Instead, you again claimed that:

Phenom II x4 tops at 4ghz OC talking about 24/7 in x64 2x2Gb or more setups, you can see Q9650 over 4,4Ghz.

That's factually inaccurate.

For whatever reason, you've brushed-off the overclocking results I posted.

I made it abundantly clear that not only is the X4 980 not a magical chip, the results posted were the very first five results from Google, posted in order, just in case anyone might assume they were in any way cherry-picked. I also posted quotes showing at least two of the reviews mentioned the lower end X4 975 (like many other X4 SKUs) also clocked higher than 4.0GHz, with one reviewer stating: "We have seen most C3 Deneb cores pass 4 GHz maximum clock." You follow with:

I was talking all the time about 24/7 OC's. You posted even suicide shots there: 1,620 Vcore! So you got the very last release of the Phenom II family, 980BE, peak of AMD's 45nm, released in 2011 with the ultimate revision of the chip, and you try to tell me they are on par with first revision of Intel 45nm tech released in 2008, when that AMD chip can only OC 400~600 mhz (Tops at 16%) under extreme voltages. Seriously, I can't understad your point at all. It's so easy to find better Q9650 OC's: Have a look at Vcore. http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/5507/4905od4.jpg http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...ALL-AIR-4.9GHz On air OC with high Vcore. http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/2113/syspp9.jpg http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...0-3870-all-air http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=423924 5 ghz on air. Suicide shot for sure since Vcore is not shown.

First, you'll find C3 stepping reviews from 2009, not that long after E0 stepping surfaced. Notice the difference in each company's process roadmap? Or, the irony in effectively claiming that the C3 stepping results I posted were not particularly valid, while posting E0 Q9650 OCs? Surely, E0s weren't the first revision of that line, any more than C3s, correct? Again, refer to the reviewer's comment about having "seen most C3 Deneb cores pass 4 GHz maximum clock." Or, reread my remark about how "overall, a large number of 45nm Phenom II/i5 7xx/i7 8xx/i7 9xx tend to fall within the 3.8-4.2GHz range for standard 24/7." Your Q9650 shots don't change that at all.

Without spending anymore time on this, or looking elsewhere, I'll stick to the source you've used. If you frequent that forum, then you should easily be able to find other examples of 24/7 4GHz+ X4s, across different steppings, that don't need extreme cooling.


Three quick random links, more if you follow the links in their sigs, replies in the threads, or the internet:



Phenom II Air/Water CPU-Z Validation Thread:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...idation-Thread

Phenom 965 4.4ghz superpi 1m
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...ghz-superpi-1m

New 955 BE first tests, 5 GHz on air
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...-5-GHz-on-air&



If you aren't familiar with Phenom II voltage tolerances, or the voltage range you often find many top end 24/7 clocks, that's fine, but being incredulous, and then attempting to make direct comparisons to contemporary Intels, isn't.

Percentage of overclock is another thing you continue to bring up. What bearing does that ultimately have when you can get similar results from overclocking 2.66GHz i7 920s, and 3.2GHz i7 960s, or any number of closely comparable parts (even factoring in higher order binning, multiplier limitations, and so on)?

I feel we are wasting time here.

Agreed, though I wasn't the one stating misinformation, and presenting it as if it were in some way absolute. And, no, neither are my counterpoints. That's also clear.

I've posted several links disputing your remarks, and you've chosen to disavow them, make claims of suicide runs, and added qualifiers that have nothing to do with your initial three-point claim, and the fact that it was flawed. It wasn't even necessary to venture into Bulldozer air/water clocks, or extreme cooling of different Intel/AMD CPU generations to show that.

Trying to later on modify things with points such as percentage of overclock, or performance per watt, doesn't change your original blanket statement, or my reply to it.

[BlindSwordsmanZ]

What the fuck did I just walk into...

[dreamfall]

Does anyone know when these actually go on sale? With reports of under production, it seems like it's going to be crazy to try to nab one. Monday maybe? Should I be refreshing Newegg?! I'm joining you Master Race! Call me a dreamer, but you guys are awesome!

[SuicideUZI]

Diablo3 turned out to play very well on my Q9300/HD5770 system, so now I'm stuck asking myself whether there's any reason to upgrade. Guess the biggest gain would be reduced idle power consumption, but a ~50w savings is going to cost me ~300-400 for CPU/Mobo/RAM. At this point it might almost be worth waiting for Haswell...

Seems like for once hardware has outpaced gaming. I have a core i7-860 / radeon hd6950 and can pretty much play any game ive tried at 60fps on highest settings with the exception of having AA on in a few games, so from a gaming standpoint it's a waste of money to upgrade until games actually start pushing the envelope again, which probably won't happen until games start using next gen engines like UE4

[Black_Stride]

I really wanted to get something with Hyperthreading, but now im not really impressed by the performance gains from 2500K @ 4.8+ to a 3770K.
Damn i think ill hold out till Haswell drops.

Looks like i can save for a Kepler Card.
Hopefully the GTX670 is worthwhile.

[specialguy]

Does anyone know when these actually go on sale? With reports of under production, it seems like it's going to be crazy to try to nab one. Monday maybe? Should I be refreshing Newegg?! I'm joining you Master Race! Call me a dreamer, but you guys are awesome!

I think it's supposed to be the 29th.

[Edvardelis]

I think it's supposed to be the 29th.

Despite being two days away there isn't a peep from any of the retailers.

I'm thinking of going to the local MicroCenter on Sunday but I have no idea if they'll even have any in stock or if they'd sell out by the time I got there...

[Sethos]

"Ironed out SB"? What are you expecting them to change? New hardware revision?

Already explained that point a few times :) But yes, there are CPU revisions / steppings, plus it's a new process for them.

Oh and it's ironed out IB, not SB.

[ParityBit]

Does anyone know when these actually go on sale? With reports of under production, it seems like it's going to be crazy to try to nab one. Monday maybe? Should I be refreshing Newegg?! I'm joining you Master Race! Call me a dreamer, but you guys are awesome!

I plan on getting online around noon EST to browse Newegg and Amazon. There is a newegg forum post (including an Intel rep) that has been dropping hints for Sunday being the day that the sale NDA drops. So I am guessing as soon as it drops we MAY see it sold. People also posted in that post that they called local stores and those stores are planning Sunday sales.

Is this all true? no idea. All I know is the Intel rep is legit and verified by Newegg.

EDIT: Here is the link http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/814081.aspx

[mkenyon]

From Overclockers.com

Why is Ivy Bridge so hot? Ask that question in any forum currently, and you are likely to receive one of two different popular (but not entirely correct) answers that everyone has been parroting: “Power density is greater on Ivy Bridge than Sandy Bridge” “Intel has problems with tri-gate/22nm” The first answer is correct, but wrong at the same time – power density is greater, but it isn’t what is causing temperatures to be as much as 20 °C higher on Ivy Bridge compared to Sandy Bridge when overclocked. The second answer is jumping to conclusions without sufficient evidence. If you aren’t in the loop, there’s evidence of a considerable temperature difference nearly everywhere you look – we confirmed it by mirroring settings in our Ivy Bridge review, and we have read similar reports in solid testing at Anandtech as well as from other sites.

So based on what evidence we could find from our own investigation, as well as what experience has taught us, Ivy Bridge is running hot when overclocked because of TIM paste between the IHS compared to solder attach used on Sandy Bridge. Why Intel made this choice we aren’t yet sure. We also aren’t sure if they will continue using TIM paste on the Ivy Bridge line, or if this will only be seen on the Engineering Samples like the units sent out for review. However, we’ve put word out again to Intel and are waiting to hear back if they have any further insight or comment to offer. If nothing else, we can hope their reply will again be in good humor… “Secret Sauce” did give us a laugh!

[Zombie James]

Video of someone removing the IHS (skip to 5:10 to see the paste): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMzzUuvKWPM

[ParityBit]

You guys sure know how to put the fear of God into people looking to purchase an IB.

[Infinite Justice]

And now the obvious question: I'm making PC build currently so should i get a IB setup or a SB setup?

[mkenyon]

And now the obvious question: I'm making PC build currently so should i get a IB setup or a SB setup?

Depends on how much you overclock. People pushing for the 4.8-5.0 range should stick to SB.

[Fallout-NL]

You guys sure know how to put the fear of God into people looking to purchase an IB.

Yeah, doesn't look so hot.