Z68 GEN3 or current GEN2??

[xynidexxx]

Intel is creating much of a mess here and this is really fast...in the usa, gen3 mobo's are fast replacing the current gen2's as pcie3 components are soon to be released if not later and the 22nm ivy bridges are on intel's menu already.

All this being said, the gen3 mobo's are up for sale in india but have bios issues too

I just finalised my build and then this gen3 bshit came up..i know the current z68's will get bios updates for using ivy but is gen3 really the deal for now or should i go with gen2's??(because then pcie3 components later won't work with pcie2 boards)

PS:beware as pcie 3 mobos are only compatible with pcie 2 and not 2.1

 

[d6bmg]

Gen2 is enough for next 1-2 years.

 

[varunb]

If you dont want to buy any new board for quite some time after this purchase then I would suggest you to add some more funds if you can & go for the Gen3 board. There's a big misconception regarding the Gen2 board & the bios update.

If the board gets bios-updated then it doesn't means that it will support PCIe 3.0 completely. This means that it will support only PCIE 3.0 8x..not 16x. It will only operate at half the bandwidth. GEN3 boards are PCIe3.0 16x ready but Gen2 will only be 8x after the bios update. Also the PCI3.0 will come into play when you install a 22nm Ivy bridge CPU irrespective of the fact that you may have a PCI3.0 compatible graphic card.

The Ivy bridge cpus are debuting early this year according to the reports & the first PCI3.0 gfx card AMD 7970 is releasing early this month so I guess the time for PCIe 3.0 is not that far.

The choice is yours.

 

[max_snyper]

Look here buddy its simple as that
1.if you have finalized your system i mean bought your system minus the board...then its little late to go for gen3 boards...because if you have bought 2500k/2600k then go for normal board as gen3 boards are not beneficial in any way for SNB.
gen3 is just the specification update for pci-e 3.0 .....double b/w against pci-e 2.0 slot...but no card is using that much b/w up till now...not even the fastest single card hd7970!!!!

2.If u havent purchased anything up till now and ready to wait for say 2~4 months then directly go for ivy bridge chipset...it will be little future proof for next 2 years

Intel has the projected chart for upcoming chipsets so any way SNB & Ivy will be outdated in 2014 may be before that.

MARK IT: "A GEN3 board is nothing better than a GEN2(current) board unless you plug a IB cpu in it......it will function normally when SNB is in it "

Even if you put a SNB in a gen3 board will you change the cpu as soon as the IB(ivy bridge) releases or later ?
Buying a system now or waiting for ivy to release its your choice...!

 

[xynidexxx]

Thankyou all so much for the replies and btw, happy new year(if its not that late)

No, i had just finalised all the components and haven't bought them as of yet coz i really was in a state of confusion(anybody i guess would be 'aight).

Yes, i think after hearing from yol guys, i will better give it a time off till ivy shows up but i was so wanting for a new build and sadly will have to wait a few more months nevermind though as i will get a better out of it eh?

Thankgod i am on this forum and thankyou guys again

 

[skeletor]

A Gen 3 board is pseudo futureproofing. Nothing wrong in going for it, nothing wrong in going for Gen 2.

It really adds no value. You can wait for Ivy Bridge if you want to. And for all practical purposes, if you get Sandy Bridge now or you need a PC, it makes no difference.

PCIe 2.0 X8 is not even close to be maximised. Let alone X16.

Even if you run a graphic card on PCIe 2.0 X4, you only see a 20% performance loss from X8 at the most.

Here's a comparison of PCIe 2.0 X4, X8 and X16.

*media.bestofmicro.com/6/6/284046/original/image007.png

So, PCIe "Gen 3" is pseudo futureproofing at the best. If you need a system now, there is nothing wrong in going with Sandy Bridge.

 

[xynidexxx]

@ico: Thankyou so much
I am very much as open to buying now and gen3 really isn't going to help in performance as per the records

I would still wait for the ivy but as it will also be a 1155 socket, i don't see a major performance boost from it ..maybe it will oc a bit efficiently at lower temps or coz of its 22nm process it may have a less TDP..i am giving ivy build a second thought .