Intel's 6th gen processors rock – but won't revive PC markets

Re: Too many processors will confuse the market

"Offering just the fastest processor and the lowest power processor in each i3,i5,i7 sector is all we need."

But as you point out these are just selected bins so what would they do with the rest ?

Re: Too many processors will confuse the market

I thought the whole idea of the names was to confuse the market and get buyers to make decisions based on i3/i5/i7 and maybe a performance sticker.

In most retail settings, there will be multiple processor generations and getting what you want without referring to Intel ARK is challenging.

Re: Too many processors will confuse the market

Indeed. What is the difference between an Atom C2xxxx chip, a Pentium, a Core i3, and a Xeon E3?

well I guess Harry Hill beat me to it.

I use my phone on the nightstand at night to light me from the lightswitch to the bed.

> complex Visio diagrams

LOL. Carry on.

Re: "Weak Windows 10 apps"

And I heard it left a knife in the fork tray of his cutlery drawer.

Re: I'd be happy to upgrade

There are workstation laptop options for sale, though. If you get an ultrabook, then yes, you'd better throttle it for the noise of the fan, and you're limited to the two screens. However, one 1TB SSD is not bad and an i7-5600U at 90% clock is noticeably faster and way more silent than my T420s (i7-2640M).

Re: Gamers always benefit from refreshed hardware?

Fully agree. Besides, naming anything LGA 1151 as gaming or enthusiast is a travesty.

LGA 2011 - X99 still reign supreme. Octacore @3.5 GHz with 20MB cache? Thank you very much :)

Re: Gamers always benefit from refreshed hardware?

CPU refreshes do not always benefit gamers.

You obviously don't play Arma

Re: Thinner devices with longer battery life

How about lighter < 1Kg easily achievable.

13" to 14" Matt Display, Full HD and < 1Kg with 4+ hour battery life at < £400 == a purchase for me.

Not a lot to ask for really but the manufacturers simply don't get it (low res glossy tat is mostly all they can be bothered to produce).

Re: Thinner devices with longer battery life

You'd think people would prefer them bigger. Like grapefruits. Or watermelons.

Re: Thinner devices with longer battery life

Exactly!

I don't want some "Thin & Light" that got that way by depriving me of all the useful ports I need to Get Shit Done, I want a thick n' chunky machine that has it all where it counts. (Can I say that I like my women this way as well? *Cough*)

Anyway, I went looking for a 6th gen I5 with 8Gb RAM or more, a 120Gb SSD or larger, with all the ports I need (multiple USB, RJ45 Gigabit LAN, SD reader, DVD DL writer, etc) and the only way I could GET it that way was to go for the "Workstation" class machines starting at ~2K dollars. And that *still* didn't guarantee me the ports, merely the ability to pay for a chassis that supported adding them BACK IN at additional cost.

What the hell? I'm willing to carry a heavier laptop for a larger battery & all the ports, but if I have to buy a bag load of dongles to add back the functions it lost in the "thin & light diet" then that's a machine I won't be buying.

So I picked up an Off Lease Dell Latitude E64xx with 4Gigs RAM & 60Gig HDD for less than the cost of *shipping* on a brand new machine, and even after paying to improve the RAM to max & swap to a 120Gig SSD, I'll have paid less than the base, crappy, "new & improved!" model that doesn't have even HALF the ports of the "old n' crappy" model.

Do you hear that Intel & Manufacturers? You just lost a sale because you can't be arsed to build a machine with a decent battery, the ports I need to Get Shit Done, at a price that doesn't make me wonder if you've packed your crack pipe with extra-potent toxic waste.

Sure it's a 2010 era used laptop for $300 (after all the upgrades), but if that doesn't require me to buy a pack full of dongles to replace the ports your "new n' shiny!" machine lacks, then the new n shiny will gather dust until you Get A Fekkin Clue.

I've got too much work to do to waste all my time hunting down dongles to add this or that, or setting up a Docking Station at every desk I might visit, just so I can plug in the DVD burner, the external NAS, a real keyboard, a Gigabit LAN cable, blah blah blah...

Oh look! My "new" laptop has all the ports! 4x USB, RJ45, SD card reader, DVD burner, and if I need more the seller threw in a docking station for free, which added another EIGHT USB ports, two RJ45, video ports out the wazoo, and the ability to charge a second battery...

It's like someone at Dell Knew What The Hell They Were Doing!

*Pretends to faint in shock*

Get a clue. I want a 6th gen super duper laptop, but damned if I want to pay premium prices for a machine that doesn't bother to include the stuff I need, and tries to charge me even MORE to put those functions back in.

*Rude thumbs in ears, spittle blowing, disgusting raspberry gesture*

Re: New machine for a new CPU? What a waste of $!

" With the video card(s) doing most of the work there, just upgrade that component."

Unfortunately PCIe 2.0 can be a limiting factor for upgrading otherwise perfectly capable Core i7 870 or 920 systems. The latest GPU boards need PCIe 3.0 if they are to perform at their best.

Re: New machine for a new CPU? What a waste of $!

"Time to boot Windows 7 on the mechanical drive: more than 90 seconds (on the same drive, booting Linux is less than half this)."

The upgrade you need is a solid state drive, that will make much more of a difference than a new CPU.

"In the late-90s and early 00s, I bought a new computer every time Intel doubled the CPU speed. Every 18-20 months."

In the noughties I was spending about £8k a year keeping everyone's IT up to speed - and there always seemed to be a rebuild on the bench.

For about the last five years they have not needed to be replaced - since the refurb with W7 and Core i7 920/870. Even upgrades have been limited to fitting end-of-line Nvidia GPUs that don't need PCIe 3.0. The only alumnus who might complain is not in a financial position to fund for himself the gaming PC his expensive tastes would like.

Unlike extreme gamers, mainstream gamers still see value in a decent i5 and a middle-of-the-road GPU that still supports PCIe 3.0, which BTW still runs laps around any console on the market today. Also makes a nice home theater unit that can handle even H.265 with ease. Plus, since i5's have hardware AES support, we get a security bonus as well.

Re: Metrognome

What you're saying there confuses me. Some of the 1151's look ok to me. eg:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3xs-overclocked-bundle-z170-oc15-intel-core-i7-6700k-skylake-46ghz-asus-z170-pro-gaming-8gb-corsair-