New PC Features Worth Waiting For?

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SOLID_LIFTERS
New PC Features Worth Waiting For


1.) SandForce SSD Processor

SATA 3 drives capable of parallel read and write speeds of 500MB/s

Unequaled IOPS of 60k at sustained 4k transfer level

Equal 60k IOPS for BOTH read and write speeds

SSD Toolbox available for manufacturers to include with SSDs;

RAISE technology that now allows full recovery of information as high as the block level should a failure occur

DuraWrite technology which allows the Processor to optimize mlc in high IO environments so that it lasts longer which enables mlc to be used more commonly at the

enterprise level

SAS-bridge support for non-512 byte sectors which allows for the SF-2000 chips to optimize SAS drive performance

Increase from AES-128 encryption to AES-256 – double encryption

Full support of ONFi2 speeds creating a 4 times faster flash bus

Enhanced ECC (error correction) on the fly which is now supported at full speeds

Hardware control at the enterprise/business level which allows adjustment of power/performance ratio (throttling) based on their specific needs


2.) Universal Serial Bus 3.0 (USB 3)

Already here

400mb/s a second data transfer vs. 60mb/s for USB 2

Currently ignored by Intel Corp for in vavor of their 'Power Light'

3.) SATA III

Already here

6 Gbit/s bandwith

500 MB/s data transfer speed (read/write)


4.) Light Peak

Proprietary fibre optical cable interface developed and supported by Intel

Connects devices in a peripheral bus

High bandwith at 10Gbit/s

Potential to reach 100Gbit/s in future

Develope as a single universal replacement for current busses such as SCSI, SATA, USB, FireWire and PCI Express

Problem is not supported by anybody else and wont be introduced until after 'Copper Peak'


5.) Copper Peak

A non fibre optic version of Light Peak that uses copper

Speeds at or just over SATA III and USB 3, but no numbers are available

Will hit the market first before Light Peak


6.) DDR4 Memory

Developed by Samsung Electronics

Uses 30nm class process technology

1.2v 2GB DDR4 unbuffered dual in-line memory modules (UDIMM)

DDR4 will be able to run at up to 3.2Gbps compared to 1.6Gpbs for DDR3 and 800Mbps for DDR2

Data transfer rates of 2.133Gbps at 1.2v compared to 1.35 and 1.5v DDR3 DRAM with speeds up to 1.6Gbps

Laptop/Notebook DDR4 modules reduce power consumption by 40 percent compared to DDR3

Uses Pseudo Open Drain (POD) technology which allows DDR4 DRAM to consume half the electric current of DDR3 when reading or writing data

DDR4 will be able to run at up to 3.2Gbps compared to 1.6Gpbs for DDR3 and 800Mbps for DDR2


7.) PCI Express 3.0

Doubles transfer rate of PCI Express 2.0/2.1

8 GT/s bit rate

Specs released November 18, 2010

Video cards and motherboards by manufactures are currently in development


8.)Bulldozer

AMD hot new lineup of CPU

8 Core

Rumored to be 50 percent faster than Core i7 950 4 Core CPU



I'd love to build a new system, but there are more than a few new PC features that appear to be worth waiting for. Problem is, I don't have a clue what I should wait for, for my needs!

I want a machine for storing videos that I made myself. TV shows, movies, songs, etc. I will be using the latest video production software and audio production software for video and audio encoding. I'm not much of a gamer, but will do so from time-to-time. I want to be as 'future-proof' as possible, within reason.

I really like the new SB Intels, but I've been a AMD fan for over 10 years. Bulldozer is worth the wait. But, what about the other features? What's going to be best for me?
 
You should make use of DDR4(bound to be very fast ram), SATA III(who would not make use of this if they can?), and maybe that SandForce(I'd wait for reviews. You can easily make use of an SSD as your boot drive and then separate HDD's(with the SATA III spec) for storage.

I believe you can skip PCI Express 3.0 since the date has not been established. I say wait for bulldozer and skip over the light peak and copper peak. I mean, the prices are gonna be high(we don't even know a release date or what kind of stuff we need it for) for such a new technology, which light peak and copper peak are. If you can get a motherboard with USB 3.0 then it worth it since it does work with usb 2.0 and usb 1.0.
 
I don't know about Item 1, but Item 2 and 3 are more or less here. Items 4 through 7, I wouldn't really hold my breath for. Light peak was first talked about a couple of years ago, and theoretically Intel says it's ready, but I really don't see it being offered for a long time, even to the bleeding-edge computer enthusiasts.

Also, the earlier DDR4 RAM modules will not necessarily be any faster than DDR3. It's only when DDR4 starts maturing and getting faster speeds will it beat DDR3. Good DDR3 should last you plenty long time.
 
Unless you plan on waiting a good while, the only thing worth waiting for is USB 3.0 and SATA III. They are both supported now and the benefits are here now, whereas the other ones will take a while to even come out and even longer to mature to the point of being worth the extra expense. The only thing you should take pause for is for proliferation on motherboards to increase a bit more.
At the other end of the spectrum, Light Peak (and especially Copper Peak) has taken so long to get to market (and it still likely isn't coming out anytime soon, as Crash852 alluded to) that it is already looking like a technological also-ran before it even comes out.
 
nick09
You should make use of DDR4(bound to be very fast ram), SATA III(who would not make use of this if they can?), and maybe that SandForce(I'd wait for reviews. You can easily make use of an SSD as your boot drive and then separate HDD's(with the SATA III spec) for storage.
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I don't plan to wait for DDR4, TBH. It's not going to be that great from the start, so why wait? It's at least a year away, plus another year for modules to kick ass and not cost me mine. Nope, I'm not waiting for it.

I believe you can skip PCI Express 3.0 since the date has not been established. I say wait for bulldozer and skip over the light peak and copper peak. I mean, the prices are gonna be high(we don't even know a release date or what kind of stuff we need it for) for such a new technology, which light peak and copper peak are. If you can get a motherboard with USB 3.0 then it worth it since it does work with usb 2.0 and usb 1.0.
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PCI-E 3.0 I might wait for. I don't know. I'm using my PC mostly for movies and TV. So, a good video card is needed. But, is PCI-E 3 really needed? I don't think so. Not planning on waiting for it. However, if there's a date close to when I want my new PC, I'll wait for it.

I am waiting for Bulldozer. I'm an AMD fan. It's a no-brainer.

Light Peak sounds awesome, but it's Intel. They have a thang of doing things, great or stupid things, half-assed. Not waiting for it at all. I even think it'll never happen, since it's Intel. Same goes for Copper Peak.

Submerged
How long are you willing to wait?
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Q3. Maybe Q4, but I doubt that.

Crash852
I don't know about Item 1, but Item 2 and 3 are more or less here. Items 4 through 7, I wouldn't really hold my breath for. Light peak was first talked about a couple of years ago, and theoretically Intel says it's ready, but I really don't see it being offered for a long time, even to the bleeding-edge computer enthusiasts.

Also, the earlier DDR4 RAM modules will not necessarily be any faster than DDR3. It's only when DDR4 starts maturing and getting faster speeds will it beat DDR3. Good DDR3 should last you plenty long time.
Click to expand...

I agree almost 100% with you. But, item 1.) is important to me. I want that much higher read/write speed for my SSD. Right now, the speed is half what it could be. SSDs can be so much faster and better with the new SandForce drives. I'm waiting for it for sure!

Toronado
Unless you plan on waiting a good while, the only thing worth waiting for is USB 3.0 and SATA III. They are both supported now and the benefits are here now, whereas the other ones will take a while to even come out and even longer to mature to the point of being worth the extra expense. The only thing you should take pause for is for proliferation on motherboards to increase a bit more.
At the other end of the spectrum, Light Peak (and especially Copper Peak) has taken so long to get to market (and it still likely isn't coming out anytime soon, as Crash852 alluded to) that it is already looking like a technological also-ran before it even comes out.
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SATA III and USB 3 is a must have, and I've made sure to research boards that have both. If not, I pass it over. I will purchase a capture device that uses USB3 and drives that use SATA III, so that's why they're must haves.

I've said my peace on Light Peak, and it looks like we have similar opinions.

Casio
Light peak will be amazing.
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It sounds like it, but knowing Intel like I do they wont make it happen. I'm not holding my breath on it.

Thanks for the feedback, everybody. I appreciate it.

No doubt, SATA III, USB 3, SandForce and Bulldozer are going to happen. DDR4 would be nice as would PCI-E 3, but they're both not critical to my needs. I would not wait for them if they both don't happen in the next 8 months.
 
SATA3 is nice but with very few devices can take advantage of the extra bandwidth, 90% of SSDs still aren't saturating SATA2. Same with PCI-E3. USB3 is much more useful in the real world and will be probably the most standard new interface over the next year or so, as you can get significant real life benefits using traditional devices like mechanical harddrives.

I think Lightpeak will happen, it has too many benefits and Intel will just force it on every board. I'd like to think it would be as significant as USB was in the late 90s/early 00's, in simplifying connections. One cable for data transfer, networking, video, peripherals, which can be daisy chained. Where do I sign?
 
I think you already came to this conclusion; but the big thing to wait for is your CPU. We are in the middle of a pretty big CPU change on both the Intel and AMD front. I'd wait until the new chips are released, and hopefully bugs are worked out, before building. Because you will be doing a lot of video encoding, CPU is going to be the most important aspect of your system.

I'd really like to see a high clock speed 8-core for reasonable cost that isn't insanely high wattage. Many cores really helps a LOT for video encoding. I'm getting by with 4 cores at 3.2Ghz at the moment (Intel), but am really looking forward to more. I've thought about buying dual CPU motherboards, but they are just crazy expensive -- as are the CPUs that are compatible (Xeon).

I hope Bulldozer is great, because I think Intel kind of went mainstream with their Sandy Bridge. I wish Intel would dump the built in GPU and DRM stuff and build an 8-core.
 
Don't bother waiting unless we are talking about something being released in the next month.

The problem with the 'just around the corner' approach is there is always something due as technologies are not synchronised. If you hang fire for a memory tech change, then when that comes a cpu advancement isn't far of, and then a disk one, and then a gpu and so on. This is why I never build a bleeding edge system. You get far more life out of the upper mid range segment. Plus as all the Sandy Bridge early adopters have found out, and the original Phenom buyers, it's best the let the bugs come to light before jumping on board.
 
BigYoSpeck
Don't bother waiting unless we are talking about something being released in the next month.

The problem with the 'just around the corner' approach is there is always something due as technologies are not synchronised. If you hang fire for a memory tech change, then when that comes a cpu advancement isn't far of, and then a disk one, and then a gpu and so on. This is why I never build a bleeding edge system. You get far more life out of the upper mid range segment. Plus as all the Sandy Bridge early adopters have found out, and the original Phenom buyers, it's best the let the bugs come to light before jumping on board.
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This is probably why I keep putting off buying a new PC. :lol:
 
What abilities does the PS3 have when using Linux operating system with keyboard etc.
Must be useful for something. You can turn them into supercomputers after all.
 
...You supposely cannot make the PS3 have a Linux operating system any more.

I am sure that there are ways around it, like jailbreaking an iPhone, but in comparison to when you first got the PS3, its not as easy.

Anyway a PC (personal computer) is something that is for the individual to get, they can choose the parts themselves and customise it to his or her needs. A PS3 doesn't. Its the same, no matter what you use it for. More of a jack of all trades, master of none.

Solid kinda wants a more specific computer that will do literally everything he requires of it, at a fast, efficient and highly productive rate.

(to turn a PS3 into super computers would require daisy-chaining quite a few PS3 together in the first place which would far exceed the cost that any sane person would be willing to spend for a normal computer!)
 
blaaah
What abilities does the PS3 have when using Linux operating system with keyboard etc.
Must be useful for something. You can turn them into supercomputers after all.
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The Cell is perfect for massively parallel super computer type work but the 256mb of main memory and the lack of GPU acceleration makes it pretty weak as a general purpose computer.

To put that small amount of memory into perspective my current Firefox process is using 344mb of ram and another 22mb for it's plug in container.
 
Well, I will eat my words. I said that Light Peak will not be offered for a long time, but Intel officially introduced it today, and on the same day, Light Peak is being offered as "Thunderbolt" on the revised Apple MacBook Pros that came out today. However, this is only the copper implementation, and I don't know when the optical implementation will be available.

Blogs say that Apple has a headstart on Light Peak, and it'll probably take a few months for it to appear on all laptops, but I guess it's closer than I had thought.
 
Some people are saying that Thunderbolt is the death of USB 3.0 before its even gotten off the ground and I tend to agree. With Apple's hold on the market these days anything they adopt tends to become the accepted standard (although 00's Apple didnt really get firewire popular). It has also been annouced that Apple have it exclusively for a year, so its not going appear on other things in the next few months. Maybe the iPad 2 will get a port?

The optical implementation sounds really cool to me but if it can't power connected devices its wont be all that useful. Also I have conserns about the logo, although it looks cool some people are so going to confuse it with a power cable logo!

Robin.
 
Crash852
Well, I will eat my words. I said that Light Peak will not be offered for a long time, but Intel officially introduced it today, and on the same day, Light Peak is being offered as "Thunderbolt" on the revised Apple MacBook Pros that came out today. However, this is only the copper implementation, and I don't know when the optical implementation will be available.

Blogs say that Apple has a headstart on Light Peak, and it'll probably take a few months for it to appear on all laptops, but I guess it's closer than I had thought.
Click to expand...

I knew copper peak was going to arrive first, but not this soon. It's a good sign. Still can take 8-10 months or more. Now that I have a laptop, I can wait another year-and-a-half for everything listed above to come out in some sort of capacity.

Any new info on Bulldozer?
 
Nope, not much new info on that I think. I think AMD showed off some new Bulldozer details at a conference a few days ago, otherwise it's still scheduled for later this year.

I'll ask my industry-insider friend about this and see what he thinks.
 

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