Intel prepping new CPU socket for fall 2011?

[Matthew DeCarlo]

According to sources cited by Bit-tech, Intel plans to introduce a new high-end processor socket in the third quarter of next year. If true, the new platform would effectively replace LGA1366 and will be incompatible with sockets that are currently available.

The Taiwanese tipsters go on to say that the new platform's chipset -- presumably X68 -- will tout four DDR3 DIMM channels, with support for only one DIMM per channel. This will reportedly maximize memory bandwidth, but will also make it harder to attain high densities since there will be two less RAM slots (four versus six on x58 boards). The new chipset is also rumored to support more PCI Express lanes.

There are no specifics on socket size or pin count but it's said that the first processor(s) will have a native eight-core, 16-thread design based on the forthcoming Sandy Bridge architecture.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/38557-intel-prepping-new-cpu-socket-for-fall-2011.html

 

[Vrmithrax]

Wow, another new completely incompatible socket design... At least they have the "force users to spend buttloads of money on upgrades other than just our CPUs" marketing scheme down pat!

Seriously, though, the added specs on the back side of this socket sound promising for throughput.

 

[KG363]

Another socket? Can't they just make up their mind??

 

[nazartp]

If there's a new socket, I'm switching back to AMD. Every upgrade becomes a $500 minimum switch of motherboard and the processor. Ridiculous.

 

[Armanian]

Great another one, i dont really see many people other than those who like an ego boost buying this as not much software has been developed to even take advantage of huge multi-core processors. I can only see this processor been used to show off benchmark systems, and nothing else. Even games these days still aren't capable of using all a processors cores to the maximum.

 

[zillion]

totally agree on u there Nazartp, im switching back aswell then, ever since the i5 and i7 came out i have been thinking of switching and on top of that, they was supposed to make it easier for common users to find heads and tale in the cpu market......i5 - 6 and 7 series + i7 - 8 and 9 series i mean WTF!

 

[Guest]

It figures that the AMD fanboys would start crying. I guess Intel should have stayed with LGA775 so AMD could compete. What about progress?

 

[gwailo247]

Looks like the 1366 is going to be an evolutionary dead end. I went down this road with RAMBUS.

Oh well. I'll probably pick up one of those $1000 six core chips in 2013 for under a hundred and have a nice setup.

 

[9Nails]

And what will I get out of this new socket? Another 5% performance increase?

Just once I'd like to be able to replace my CPU with a faster one like when I had my 486 SX and moved up to DX4. What is Intel thinking?! I wonder if they'll put some extra pins / future proofing into the new socket so that this design can last a few years?

 

[vipervoid1]

Oh....
I think maybe I change after fall 2011..
if I change today, I needed to change it again...
OH , Just Suck MaN...

Then I change my GPU, that ok already...
I think my CPU, is enough for today game...

 

[dividebyzero]

Just once I'd like to be able to replace my CPU with a faster one like when I had my 486 SX and moved up to DX4.

Aaah, The Good Old Days®
Yes it's a pity that you cannot replace your Core 2 Duo Conroe 65nm with a faster CPU. I'm still hoping that Intel bring out Core 2 Duo Penryn 45nm and Core 2 Quad Yorkfield 45nm for the LGA775 platform. I hear they are faster than the Conroe's....well, we'll just to wait to find out!

And what will I get out of this new socket? Another 5% performance increase?

Whoa there! Five percent is a pretty big ask. I'd settle for better efficiency,thermal performance and overclocking.

What is Intel thinking?

Who knows? Why not ask them ?

I wonder if they'll put some extra pins / future proofing into the new socket so that this design can last a few years?

So the CPU socket is future-proofed but the motherboard that houses the CPU would need to be replaced instead? Since obviously a CPU set to handle tri or quad channel memory isn't going to work very well with a dual-channel board.
I suppose you could ask Intel to keep an antiquated CPU architecture going long after it's sell-by date. It would certainly keep down R&D costs and make for cheaper CPU's.

 

[LinkedKube]

And what will I get out of this new socket? Another 5% performance increase?

Just once I'd like to be able to replace my CPU with a faster one like when I had my 486 SX and moved up to DX4. What is Intel thinking?! I wonder if they'll put some extra pins / future proofing into the new socket so that this design can last a few years?

You can probably expect a 30% increase in performance from 1366, just like we saw from 775 to 1366. Not saying I will buy into it when it drops, but that's how the tick tock goes.

 

[Guest]

This is actually good news from Intel, at least they've bothered to let everyone know when they will be releasing their next architecture. AMD are still living in the past with the washed up K10-10.5 or whatever it's called and they seem to have no clue when bulldozer will be released.
Is bulldozer officially AM3 compatible? Still no official confirmation. Will it be released next year or will it slip into 2012? Again no official confirmation. Compounding their incompetance the damn thing was supposed to be released last year! Im concerned AMD might have another Phenom debacle on their hands and are scrambling to fix it. Imagine if you ran a company like that, you'd go out of business.

 

[BlindObject]

Damn it, I was about to buy a 1366 mobo for a i7. Maybe I'm going to wait..

 

[dividebyzero]

...Is bulldozer officially AM3 compatible? Still no official confirmation..

Still no confirmation officially as per AMD's usual modus operandi, but from AMD people on forums it sounds like Bulldozer will be on four different sockets.
Socket G34 (quad channel memory-server) - replacement for Magny-Cours
Socket C32 (dual channel memory-server) - replacement for Lisbon
Socket S1 rev.4 (6?) - laptop - will not be compatible with existing S1
and....
Socket AM3+ / AM3 revision 2- desktop- sounds like some AM3 boards will/may be compatible (with BIOS update) but AM2 and AM2+ boards will not be compatible, since the new socket/cpu is DDR3 only.

Will it be released next year or will it slip into 2012?

I doubt even AMD can answer that.

 

[Guest]

Two Thumbs UP!

 

[ET3D]

I think it's reasonable to expect a new socket. It makes more sense on the high end than on the low end. The high end socket (which is a rather new concept) only makes sense to people who want to have the best and fastest rig. And when upgrading to a new high end CPU there's not much reason to stick it in an old MB that doesn't have the latest features and will limit its performance. Anyone who wants something which isn't insanely fast and cutting edge has the 1156, which will hopefully last longer, and has great performing CPU's.

Frankly, I was pretty sure this was going to happen. Fall 2011 is even later than I expected.

 

[Guest]

Maybe by the time this new socket is released, Intel will have boards ready featuring light peak.

 

[Badfinger]

I'm a generation behind and couldn't careless, I'm running everything I want as it is.
E8400/P35/5850

 

[Docnoq]

Badfinger said:
I'm a generation behind and couldn't careless, I'm running everything I want as it is.
E8400/P35/5850

Haha, I'm in the same boat as you man. Maybe even more behind than you.
E6400/P35, 2gb DD2, and an 8800GTS. I haven't touched my comp in a few years, but it still runs the new games so I have no reason to really.

 

[CMH]

Most people don't replace their processors with every new generation.

Even if they did, you would be considered going into the cutting edge of computing, and with anyone who keeps up to the cutting edge, they'd be used to forking out buttloads of cash to stay there.

Which usually means not only a processor upgrade, but RAM, graphics card, periodic HDD upgrade (especially with the new SSDs), so why not a motherboard upgrade to go with that?

 

[arkantos]

great! technology never stops.

I'll enjoy the i5 at the moment.