It seems like we've been covering Nehalem forever (which we kind of have been), but it's finally right around the corner, with a 'leaked' launch of the week of November 16. My question to you guys is... who's excited enough about the new processor to upgrade almost immediately? The next six months? Not interested in upgrading at all?
The unfortunate thing about Nehalem will of course be the cost of entry. If the rumors are to be believed, then the motherboards are going to cost more than the smallest processor available, the Core i7 920, at 2.66GHz. I'm confident that more affordable motherboards will hit the market at the same time, but I'm not so sure we'll see many under the $300 mark, if any. I hope i'm wrong.
The CPU's range between $284 and $999, in quantities of 1,000. That means the cost at an e-tailer will be closer to $330 - $1,100. In truth, the processor prices are quite reasonable. The 2.66GHz Core 2 Quad Q9450 currently retails for around the same price that the Core i7 920 will, so it's hard to complain there. It's the motherboards that are going to be hard to stomach.
Then there is the memory issue. To keep things simple, I think most will just choose to pick up a new kit, and that's what I personally recommend. Nehalem has a completely revamped memory controller, so there's absolutely no guarantee that your current kit of DDR3 is going to work without some work. The SPD is going to cause some conflict on most performance kits, and that's just not going to be an issue worth dealing with. Unless you happen to have an 8GB low-latency kit installed, you'll want a new one, designed specifically with X58 in mind.
At launch, the most popular kit to be offered will be either 3GB or 6GB DDR3-1066. Some will feature CL6, others will feature CL7... we'll not see it go higher (unless some company wants to look awkward). Performance kits will also be available in speeds of DDR3-1600 CL7/8, which will appeal to the diehard enthusiasts who want to push as much performance out of their machine as possible. How memory benefits Nehalem will be a topic of discussion later, but sadly we're unable to talk much about it right now.
Let's say you want to go budget, but not too budget. At this point in the game, there is no sense of going with only 3GB of RAM, especially if you are a hardcore gamer, so 6GB it's most likely going to be. I estimate that a decent 6GB 'tri kit' will run around $250, although it could be as high as $300 or ever a little higher, given it will be more of a premium product right off the production line.
Then we have the motherboard, which we can estimate will run around $350 (hopefully). Pair those together with a Core i7 920 and a new CPU cooler (unless you can work out with the manufacturer of your current cooler for a new bracket), a Nehalem upgrade will run you around $975. There's no question about it... that's a healthy sum.
I wouldn't expect prices of the processors to go down for quite a while, but the memory and motherboards will be a different story. I'd estimate that the same setup could be had for closer to $800 two months after launch, or even a bit lower, but it's really impossible to predict. All my assumptions could be way off, really, I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that the Nehalem launch is going to be a fun one to watch.
The unfortunate thing about Nehalem will of course be the cost of entry. If the rumors are to be believed, then the motherboards are going to cost more than the smallest processor available, the Core i7 920, at 2.66GHz. I'm confident that more affordable motherboards will hit the market at the same time, but I'm not so sure we'll see many under the $300 mark, if any. I hope i'm wrong.
The CPU's range between $284 and $999, in quantities of 1,000. That means the cost at an e-tailer will be closer to $330 - $1,100. In truth, the processor prices are quite reasonable. The 2.66GHz Core 2 Quad Q9450 currently retails for around the same price that the Core i7 920 will, so it's hard to complain there. It's the motherboards that are going to be hard to stomach.
Then there is the memory issue. To keep things simple, I think most will just choose to pick up a new kit, and that's what I personally recommend. Nehalem has a completely revamped memory controller, so there's absolutely no guarantee that your current kit of DDR3 is going to work without some work. The SPD is going to cause some conflict on most performance kits, and that's just not going to be an issue worth dealing with. Unless you happen to have an 8GB low-latency kit installed, you'll want a new one, designed specifically with X58 in mind.
At launch, the most popular kit to be offered will be either 3GB or 6GB DDR3-1066. Some will feature CL6, others will feature CL7... we'll not see it go higher (unless some company wants to look awkward). Performance kits will also be available in speeds of DDR3-1600 CL7/8, which will appeal to the diehard enthusiasts who want to push as much performance out of their machine as possible. How memory benefits Nehalem will be a topic of discussion later, but sadly we're unable to talk much about it right now.
Let's say you want to go budget, but not too budget. At this point in the game, there is no sense of going with only 3GB of RAM, especially if you are a hardcore gamer, so 6GB it's most likely going to be. I estimate that a decent 6GB 'tri kit' will run around $250, although it could be as high as $300 or ever a little higher, given it will be more of a premium product right off the production line.
Then we have the motherboard, which we can estimate will run around $350 (hopefully). Pair those together with a Core i7 920 and a new CPU cooler (unless you can work out with the manufacturer of your current cooler for a new bracket), a Nehalem upgrade will run you around $975. There's no question about it... that's a healthy sum.
I wouldn't expect prices of the processors to go down for quite a while, but the memory and motherboards will be a different story. I'd estimate that the same setup could be had for closer to $800 two months after launch, or even a bit lower, but it's really impossible to predict. All my assumptions could be way off, really, I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that the Nehalem launch is going to be a fun one to watch.
Some of those features I am seeing are downright sweet too... such as ASUS's voltage monitoring points for almost everything you would want. And those huge buttons... ah, it was the ASUS Rampage II Extreme. If it was actually going to be affordable, I might get it over the DQ6 or DS4. 
