The new Intel LGA1155 chips have started to hit retailer shelves and if you are currently deciding to upgrade your computer the choice just got much more difficult.
The first thing that you should realize about this new offering is that the incomparable chip pin orientation will also require an upgrade of your motherboard. The strange thing is instead of adding more pins which is getting kind of insane at the + 1000 pin count the new chips actually have ONE less pin.
One less pin … hmmm makes you wonder if it was just a positioning pin that was not used on the old chips … deleted so it won’t fit in the old motherboards but that would be skeptical to think HAHAH…
The new chips come in a variety of flavors. The most attractive for many system builders will be the lower power consumption models that start off at about 35 watts for the i3. The low power options in the i5 and i7 are really not that much of a savings unless you are running a colo or a building full of computers they come in at about 65 watts vs the standard 95 watts.
Look close when you make your purchase and you will realize that the lower power cpus perform a little slower then their standard versions.
Yes thats right they have standard version chips that still perform at full 95 watts and provide just about the same performance as their older siblings.
The advantage that the newer standard 95watt chips have is the video processing core runs slightly faster. … and by slightly we mean slightly… you can expect about a 15% increase in video processing which translates into a real world not noticeable speed increase.
On Chip Video is available across a wider range of chips now which is interesting for someone building a i7 server who does not want to add a card but probably not relevant to i7 users who are gamers.
CACHE IS SMALLER
You will also notice that the standard 8MB of L3 cache has now dropped to 6MB on some of the chips.
So, is it worth buying one of these new chips?
If you have a relatively new mother board which you outfitted with a i5 and want to upgrade to a i7 then I would suggest that you try to find one of the chips that fits your board.
If you are building a totally new system then there is no big difference in selecting the 1155 over the 1156 chip designs other then the fact you will extend the life of your system a year or two as the older chip designs become difficult to find.
If you want an unlocked processor and are into Gaming then make sure you get the right new chip and your life will be much simpler when you start testing your overclocking skills.
Final Note
Remember these new chips come in at least 3 flavors… it is important that you read the specs and get the exact chip that you think you are buying. Some are low voltage low performers and others are suitable for gaming… you just have to read the specs and get what you need.
As for price … expect to pay about the same dollar for dollar when similar speeds are compared.
