X79, real deal? or big whoop?

[Beastylemon]

I have a z68 chipset right now, 2600k.
Whats the difference really, its the same CPU architecture right?
Quad channel ddr3 i dont care about

What makes this SO awesome?

Is it worth me upgrading??

[Eldonko]

Personally I wouldnt upgrade from SB unless you have the $$ to spare but you will see the differences for yourself when the reviews drop.

[Bohrman]

I second that, the difference between SB and the x79s shouldn't exactly be night and day. They'll be better for sure, otherwise why would intel bother in the first place? But just not really worth spending all the money for the upgrade.... unless you want the latest and greatest .

Myself, I'm skipping x79 in favor of ivy bridge and panther point next year

[Soultribunal]

End of the day, unless you have money to burn its not really going to be worth it at launch prices.
I didn't get X58 until a year after launch. For good prices too.
I'll probably do the same with this.

Helps save the pocket book.

ST

[dandelioneater]

no point in upgrading from SB. Better to wait for IVY.

[keto]

Yup, you said it all when you said 4ch RAM is no big deal - it's one of the 'essential' features of the new chipset, that and the overall internal system bandwidth. CPU's will be the same architecture as your 2600K, maybe a bit faster clock at stock. More cores (and more heat), so multithreaded app users will benefit.

Oh, and probably $1000 just for cpu and motherboard, if you go for the mid-level + overclockable cpu @ $600 or just shy of.

I'll probably be all 'OOOH! SHINY!!' when it's released, and gnawing at my fingers to not make a purchase, but really it would be a not worthwhile upgrade for a system that is used mostly surfing and gaming. A video card upgrade would be much more beneficial/cost effective for me, as opposed to the same card in a new system.