Haswell

[John P. Myers]

Actually getting some conflicting info on the release date. Looking like first half of 2013 around the same time that IB was released, which i thought was much more likely. Waiting til the end of 2013 or Q1 2014 would violate Moore's law i would think Plus since they already have some in testing, though they're the Xeons, doesn't make sense that it would take that much longer. So i figure June next year at the latest.

You will need a new mobo for Haswell/Broadwell. It'll use socket 1150.

Also as i mentioned it'll use DDR4 which will be available later this year, though probably not for sale since nothing will exist right away that it can be used for.
For saving power, DDR4 uses lower voltage than DDR3: 1.2V or less, compared to ~1.5V. Also, DDR4 data transfer rates will range from 2133 to 4266 MT/s according to JEDEC specs. DDR3 only achieves 800 to 2133 MT/s. RAM per stick should easily reach 32GB in 2013.

[Slicker]

This is a very imformative thread, but it raises a couple questions. Why wouldn't Intel also use DDR5? You would think that with all the GPUs using DDR5 already, it would be cheaper for Intel to just go to DDR5. Makes sense, right? Nope. After doing some research, I found the GPUs actually use GDDR which is not the same as DDR and while GPUs use GDDR5, PC DDR5 doesn't yet exist making DDR4, which is new this year, the latest and greatest PC memory.

I also assume the CPUs will use less power once they shrink the die size which could potentially get them back down to where they are now. I wonder how long it will be before a person needs a 1500W power supply and has to dedicate a 15A circuit for a single computer?

[John P. Myers]

I also assume the CPUs will use less power once they shrink the die size which could potentially get them back down to where they are now. I wonder how long it will be before a person needs a 1500W power supply and has to dedicate a 15A circuit for a single computer?

It may come down but only a little. Depends on how successful Intel is with their SoC attempt. By the release of Broadwell, they're hoping to do away with the NorthBridge and PCH completely and integrate everything on-die. If they do that on Broadwell and not Haswell, then i don't see how any Haswell mobo could be compatible with Broadwell, but i do see where they'll find the extra space for the 2nd CPU chip. Maybe even have the space to add a PLX chip (cheaper than a Lucid Hydra) to increase PCIe lanes.

On a side note, Intel got it's 14nm fabrication working back in december so there should be no holdup by the time Broadwell is due.