is LGA 775 future proof?

[Melkorus]

What the topic said. If not..then which socket is....or is there no such thing at the moment?

As a sidequestion, is DDR2 going to be out of style 2 years down the road?

 

[nickbits]

775 is done
ddr2 is the new ddr

 

[SunnyD]

Err... LGA775 and DDR2 have both had their ships sail.

Intel = LGA1156 for consumer and LGA1366 for enthusiast
AMD = Socket AM3 for everything

Memory = DDR3 for all of the above.

LGA775 is still kicking around for the next year, but for all intents should be considered "old". Same with AM2/AM2+.

 

[Melkorus]

Err... LGA775 and DDR2 have both had their ships sail.

Intel = LGA1156 for consumer and LGA1366 for enthusiast
AMD = Socket AM3 for everything

Memory = DDR3 for all of the above.

LGA775 is still kicking around for the next year, but for all intents should be considered "old". Same with AM2/AM2+.

Thanks!! Exactly what I needed to know! Damn, I'm so outdated lol.

 

[GrumpyMan]

I would imagine that 90% of companies out there use LGA775, so it should be around for a couple of years at least. It's so hard, at my company at least, to get new technology approved and in place. Of course for the general public this is not the case.

 

[vailr]

LGA1366 should probably outlast LGA1156. There'll soon be six-core LGA1366 CPU's based on 32 nm circuitry. Current X58 boards would need at least a bios update to support.

 

[pitz]

I don't know anyone in the real world who actually has ever just upgraded a CPU. Usually it makes sense to replace the mobo/CPU/RAM all as one component. Especially at the current prices.

Usually just replacing the CPU itself gives a very small incremental performance benefit -- plus you're left with a perfectly good CPU that you need to end up trying to sell (good luck...) to someone who would have to buy a new mobo/RAM/etc. anyways to run it. May as well just sell them your kit along with the CPU and move on..

With how much mobos cost these days...makes no sense whatsoever to try and 'future-proof' something, because even if you are successful, its hard to see how its economic. IMHO, CPU's may as well be just soldered onto mobos, as that would save the cost of the slot (the slot is one of the most expensive components on a motherboard today), and for speed/signal integrity reasons as well. I suspect that's where eventually we're going anyways. Nevermind the reliability benefits of a) only 1 soldered connection set instead of 2, b) locking morons out of installing their own CPU's, and c) cooling solutions that make use of both sides of the chip, not just one side.

 

[acheron]

I don't know anyone in the real world who actually has ever just upgraded a CPU.

People used to do that all the time. Maybe it's not common anymore, but "ever"?

Usually it makes sense to replace the mobo/CPU/RAM all as one component. Especially at the current prices.

"current" is the key word. In the olden days it was different.

 

[pitz]

People used to do that all the time. Maybe it's not common anymore, but "ever"?

Even in the 'old' days.... Like give me some examples? Usually RAM upgrades, or going to a faster (ie: 7200rpm) hard drive gave better bang for the buck than CPU. In more recent times, better video cards have been the way to go. Rarely did upgrading a CPU on the same motherboard/platform give you much, if any mileage. And if you were the kind of person who had the cash to go b*lls-out, then upgrading the whole unit was the way to go anyways...

"current" is the key word. In the olden days it was different.

I don't remember it being 'different'. CPU upgradeability/flexibility has basically only been a tool for vendors to manage inventory, and *not* as a useful end-user feature. I suspect many billions of $$$ has been needlessly wasted, over the years, on sockets, that, ironically, actually inhibit performance by degrading the quality of the electrical interconnects with the board.

 

[Axon]

Higher end 775 chips still perform admirably, and if you could find one used at a good price, I'd recommend it over certain current options. Otherwise, it's no longer worth paying full price for new 775 components.

My E8500, for example, cannot match my i7 920 in synthetic benches, but it plays the games I play equally as well. I'm sure there is some difference, but I can't see it while I'm playing.

 

[fffblackmage]

I don't know anyone in the real world who actually has ever just upgraded a CPU. Usually it makes sense to replace the mobo/CPU/RAM all as one component. Especially at the current prices.

I kept my DDR2 ram, but upgraded my cpu and mobo. Turns out this is more cost effective than even buying a used Q6600. However, I owe this awesome deal to the fact some X2's can be unlocked to X4's. Otherwise, moving from LGA775 to AMD2+ wouldn't have been worth the trouble and money.

This idea of upgrading cpu+mobo is very situational. I could have dropped in a LGA775 quad core, but my 650i-based mobo just sucked, so it wasn't really worth it. If I had a P45-based mobo and was still using a dual core, maybe it was better to just get a 45nm LGA775 quad core. A move to a new platform doesn't make sense when the mobo is still relevant today.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

I don't know anyone in the real world who actually has ever just upgraded a CPU. Usually it makes sense to replace the mobo/CPU/RAM all as one component. Especially at the current prices.

Usually just replacing the CPU itself gives a very small incremental performance benefit -- plus you're left with a perfectly good CPU that you need to end up trying to sell (good luck...) to someone who would have to buy a new mobo/RAM/etc. anyways to run it. May as well just sell them your kit along with the CPU and move on..

With how much mobos cost these days...makes no sense whatsoever to try and 'future-proof' something, because even if you are successful, its hard to see how its economic. IMHO, CPU's may as well be just soldered onto mobos, as that would save the cost of the slot (the slot is one of the most expensive components on a motherboard today), and for speed/signal integrity reasons as well. I suspect that's where eventually we're going anyways. Nevermind the reliability benefits of a) only 1 soldered connection set instead of 2, b) locking morons out of installing their own CPU's, and c) cooling solutions that make use of both sides of the chip, not just one side.

uhhhh, no. people upgrade just their cpu's ALL the time. especially on a s775 platform which had a rather lengthy lifespan.
personally i went from an e5200 to e7200 to q9400 all on the same p45 motherboard.

i sold my e5200 in the forums in under an hour for a few bucks less than i bought it for, after using it for a couple of months.
if i still had it now, i'm sure i could sell it for roughly the same price.

 

[pitz]

uhhhh, no. people upgrade just their cpu's ALL the time. especially on a s775 platform which had a rather lengthy lifespan.

Yeah, maybe forum monkeys do that. But for 99% of everyone else, its usually not too hard to find a better upgrade for their machine than a CPU.

Your E5200 was pretty low-end when you bought it, so if it was sold at a typical computer shop or as part of a build or bundle, it would've come with a slow hard drive, maybe 1 or 2gb of RAM, and a junky video card. Those would've been upgraded first. Heck, I would've thrown a SSD at your machine well before moving to a Quad-Core processor, lol, in most cases.

And to whomever you're selling your chips -- they have to go out and buy motherboards to support them. Why not just sell the whole thing and get a fresh motherboard for yourself?

i sold my e5200 in the forums in under an hour for a few bucks less than i bought it for, after using it for a couple of months.
if i still had it now, i'm sure i could sell it for roughly the same price.

Congratulations, but CPU's are generally items that lose half their value the minute the shrink-wrap is removed. Basing an upgrade strategy on finding someone foolish enough to pay full price for your old CPU, after your grubby, overclocking hands have touched it, makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[SunnyD]

I don't know anyone in the real world who actually has ever just upgraded a CPU.

Sempron 64 --> Athlon 64 x2 3800+ --> Athlon 64 x2 4400+ --> Phenom II 940BE.

To be honest though there were two different motherboards in the mix too, but that didn't happen at the same time as any of the CPU upgrades. None of the other components changed at the same time as any of the CPUs either.

 

[ibex333]

Despite what some people might say, I'd say that LGA 775 IS future proof at least for another year, and possibly more depending on your needs. I remember when people were touting quad cores for general processing and gaming as a "must". YEARS have passed since then and none of this turned out to be true. Quad cores were, and still are unnecessary for an average joe who uses microsoft word, internet, and plays Crisis on his PC. A good video card would be a much better investement. This immediately makes i7 CPUs a toy for the rich, or a neccessity for those few that actually need it. This leave us with the i5 and i3 which are hardly better or faster than the high end LGA775 CPUs. My e5200 is going strong at 3.0GHz with no end in sight anytime soon. It powers through any PC game easily coupled with my Radeon 4890, and happens to be a complete overkill for general everyday computing. I cant see this changing any time soon, or at least until a game comes out that literally REQUIRES one of the new socket CPUs to run well. Something like this is not even on the horizon.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Yeah, maybe forum monkeys do that. But for 99% of everyone else, its usually not too hard to find a better upgrade for their machine than a CPU.

Your E5200 was pretty low-end when you bought it, so if it was sold at a typical computer shop or as part of a build or bundle, it would've come with a slow hard drive, maybe 1 or 2gb of RAM, and a junky video card. Those would've been upgraded first. Heck, I would've thrown a SSD at your machine well before moving to a Quad-Core processor, lol, in most cases.

And to whomever you're selling your chips -- they have to go out and buy motherboards to support them. Why not just sell the whole thing and get a fresh motherboard for yourself?


Congratulations, but CPU's are generally items that lose half their value the minute the shrink-wrap is removed. Basing an upgrade strategy on finding someone foolish enough to pay full price for your old CPU, after your grubby, overclocking hands have touched it, makes no sense whatsoever.

i believe that's what us guys here are... "forum monkeys". and yes it happens very frequently here and other tech-centric forums.

check out the FS/FT forum. most people prefer to buy individual components, not a whole system, or a mb/cpu/ram combo.
the buyer of my cpu already has a mb and ram. maybe he's upgrading. maybe his cpu died. whatever the reason, there will be demand for a s775 chip.

you couldn't be more wrong. CPU's actually have excellent resale value. esp for those who don't live near a fry's or MC.
i got my q9550 for $160 a year ago. i'm pretty sure i can sell that for $150 within a day if i post it FS here.

 

[loginmytech]

you couldn't be more wrong. CPU's actually have excellent resale value. esp for those who don't live near a fry's or MC.
i got my q9550 for $160 a year ago. i'm pretty sure i can sell that for $150 within a day if i post it FS here.

+1 pitz you're pretty off here

 

[oslama]

I have been steadly downgrading s775 cpus since the i7 core was released last year. I am a bit wary of the different iCore cpus (i3,i5,i7) and sockets configurations (LGA 1156/1366), ditched i7 860 set up (best performance) and invested in AMD AM2/AM3 system (best value) so i can get more use out of my components.

2008 to recent:

Q6850 > Q9350 > Q8200 > E5200

Previous years 2006-2008:

Q6700 > E6600 > E4300

s775 has about @ 2 yrs left.

 

[StrangerGuy]

http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/AMD-Athlon-6...QQptZUK_Motherboards_CPUs?hash=item4cedf0ed95

A 5 year old CPU with US$180 bid and its 3 days from closing. This is more than excellent resale value!

Although who can be that dumb to pay so much for a obsolete platform.

 

[Zap]

What the topic said. If not..then which socket is....or is there no such thing at the moment?

As a sidequestion, is DDR2 going to be out of style 2 years down the road?

What the heck do you mean by "future proof?" If you mean "still has used CPUs available for sale" then that can go on quite some time. If you mean "still has NEW CPUs available for sale" then that might be another year or so depending on Intel's EOL plans. If you mean "still top end platform supporting all technologies" then Elvis has already left the building.

Let's put it this way...

If you need to buy a new motherboard/RAM/CPU, then go with socket AM3, socket 1156 or socket 1366 and go with DDR3.

If you already have the CPU, then buy socket 775 motherboard that supports DDR3.

If you already have DDR2, then buy one of those combo socket AM2+/AM3 motherboards that still support DDR2, so you can at least go with latest CPU.

If you already have the motherboard, then sure, get the CPU and RAM for it.

I don't know anyone in the real world who actually has ever just upgraded a CPU.

You're stretching it a bit there, but I get what you are saying.

Personally I almost always upgrade the motherboard at the same time that I upgrade the CPU. Why? Because motherboard technology and features change over time. I would rather get a new motherboard than have to use a bunch of adapters. For instance, what if you have an 8 year old motherboard that magically can take a current CPU? Obviously this is an imaginary motherboard, but I'm just using this to illustrate how much change there has been. With this imaginary 8 year old motherboard you will:

-Be using AGP video cards.
-Be using a PCI USB 2.0 card.
-Be using a PCI gigabit ethernet card.
-Be using a PCI sound card to get 5.1/7.1 sound.
-Be using a PCI card or adapters to support SATA drives

Obviously this is just an extreme imaginary instance, but think about it. Right now is when we are just seeing USB 3 and SATA 6Gbps. The upcoming AMD chipset is just integrating SATA 6Gbps into the chipset. Intel will probably be at least a year away from chipset support. Boards that have these features now are rare and expensive, and have to resort to using third party chipsets for functionality with added cost.

I'd rather buy whatever I need now and when I'm ready to upgrade the processor in a year or two, I'll get a new motherboard with it. By then it will have native (to the chipset) USB 3 and SATA 6Gbps, and who knows maybe even the next PCIe version?

I have been steadly downgrading s775 cpus since the i7 core was released last year.

LOL, I'm kind of similar. I built a Core i7 gaming rig for LAN parties, but then sold it off and went back to using my Xeon E3110 (Core 2 Duo E8400) that I bought when it first came out. With the same graphics card, I can't tell a performance difference in the games I play.

http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/AMD-Athlon-6...QQptZUK_Motherboards_CPUs?hash=item4cedf0ed95

A 5 year old CPU with US$180 bid and its 3 days from closing. This is more than excellent resale value!

Although who can be that dumb to pay so much for a obsolete platform.

It's from people desperate to keep using their old motherboards.

 

[zerocool84]

My 9550 is still a great processor. In real world games the difference between an i7 and a top of the line 9xxx processor isn't that big to warrant an upgrade. I'm waiting until next year.

 

[nitromullet]

I definitely see the sense in upgrading motherboard along with the cpu, however, I know I haven't always done it. For instance, I went from a C2D E6600 in my P35 motherboard, to the E6600 in a 780i board, which I then upgraded to a Q9450 after a few months.

The reason for this is cost. If you buy $100-150 motherboards it's easy to upgrade both, but I tend to drop closer to $250-300 on a solid motherboard. Also, a cpu upgrade may also entail a new cooler, which again I don't skimp on. What I don't do is buy components that I can't use yet until I make another upgrade (i.e. cpu I don't have a motherboard for yet). Tech hardware is not wine, and never ages well.

...Anyway, back the original topic. Easy answer: LGA 775 is no more future proof than any other socket, and has had its day. That being said, you can still build a viable LGA 775 based rig, and you can do it for pretty cheap.

As a general rule, I say build what you need now for the best price. Of course, don't be an idiot about it. Do some research. If a major manufacturer (Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, or ATI) is launching a new line in a very short time, maybe wait. Chances are the price of the components you are currently looking at will drop, and a system previously out of reach may all of a sudden become obtainable. Don't wait too long though, or you can wait forever.