Technical > PC Hardware Discussion/Reviews > Is Haswell the Last Interchangeable Intel Client Processor?

Is Haswell the Last Interchangeable Intel Client Processor?

quote:

---

The processor-motherboard combination as PC enthusiasts know it could end, with Intel LGA1150 processors under the "Haswell" micro-architecture, likely to becoming the last client processors to ship in the retail channel (processor-in-box). Future Intel client processors, codenamed "Broadwell" could ship only in BGA (ball-grid array) packages, with existing motherboard vendors selling their products with processors permanently soldered onto them. The information comes from Japanese PC Watch, which cites sources in the PC industry.

---

This can get very messy with all the different SKUs from Intel and the mainboard manufacturers. There can be a lot of subSKUs for a single mainboard model. Would make sense if Intel were to reduce the number of SKUs to say 1 or 2 processors for the i3, i5 and i7.

On the bright side, no more bent pins. You have no idea how many bent pin cases we have to deal with.

reply to Octavean
This sucks. It will force people to buy high end processors with high end boards, instead of having an upgrade path. This is like MS's bone headed moves with Win8.

This reminds me a little of the Intel Next Unit of Computing (NUC) approach.

»www.legitreviews.com/article/2083/1/

To be perfectly honest I don’t much like the idea of it but people had to know that changes were abound when the industry started to trend towards mobile computing. Before long we may be lucky to have any desktop options at all or will have to pay handsomely for it.

The last few systems I built for myself were based on new motherboard and CPU combos. It didn’t bother me that Intel kept changing the number of pins for the socket because I always bought the pair (motherboard / CPU). Not one of my recent systems have had a CPU upgrade ranging from Core 2 Quad Q6600, Core i7 920, Core i7 860, Core i5 2500K and Core i7 3930K.

I would have a little less of a problem with it if it were like the K series whereby you pay a little more to get the “option”. In this case the option would be of having the CPU and motherboard separate.

I don't see the point in bringing Windows 8 in this because it seems totally unrelated to me other then possibly the trend to mobile computing,.....

I can tell you this though, I wanted to see the industry continue in a CPU megahertz race (initially) rather then adding more cores / threads. AMD won me over with their Athlon 64 X2 series though. The industry doesn’t always go in the direction we would like to see it go in but that doesn’t necessarily mean we wont be pleased with the outcome over time.

reply to Octavean
Intel can do that, but will the mobo manufacturer go along with it?

I wonder if Intel will move to take over motherboards like they did chipsets.

reply to me1212

reply to Octavean
Friend of mine gave me this news item as well:

»semiaccurate.com/2012/11/26/inte···with-it/

reply to Octavean
On the one hand, I can't say I am surprised but on the other -- there is a definite market for people looking for people wanting to build their own systems, I guess its just not a big enough for Intel to really care about at the end of the day.

I guess AMD could try and make a come back by filling that void. Either that or maybe we'll see enthusiasts move lock stock and barrel to ARM processors.

reply to CylonRed
True, but if enough do it intel may think twice. But I think I recall seeing that the highend stuff will still remain the same for a while.

Honestly as long as they dont remove overclocking I wont be too bothered. Still, really makes me consider AMD.

reply to Octavean
This came up in the Gaming Tech thread as well; looks like some of it got lost in translation:

»hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1···39357539

In a nutshell; broadwell is going to be notebook/tablet only and higher clocked Haswells are coming during the Broadwell era.

Not really sure who to believe at this point.
--
Support Bacteria -- It's the Only Culture Some People Have

Oh, is that all? I guess thats not so bad. Broadwell is just the die shrink for haswell, so no big loss IF thats really all it is.

Me too. Really I'm not surprised. With as little was improved from sandy > ivy(other than pcie 3.0) if haswell > broadwell is like that(I expect it to be even less, plus both with have pcie 3.0) then yeah desktops not getting broadwell is not big deal.

Plus maybe amd will finally do something right in 2014, a pipe dream I know.

reply to Octavean
Well I have to say, my case is a bit of a challenge. When I build a system, I do what we often advise people to NOT do, and that is build piecemeal as I get the case to do so. I have NEVER bought a complete system's worth of parts for myself, ever. I've always bought the CPU at a different time from the mainboard. Just reality, and because I go from crises to crises (some involving my loved ones), and simply cannot save up, I can only spend like a French hooker, when I've got it before I lose it... Mind you, I'm still on a Phenom II whereas many of you have nice Intel setups. Please don't take this as me complaining, because quite frankly, my system does most of what I need it to. Really for me, more power would simply be good as far as BOINC and F@H. I just hope that this doesn't mean overall higher prices.

OTOH, troubleshooting will be much simpler, if it ain't RAM or SMPS, send the board in!

The companies that make the equipment to repair system boards will profit from this move.
--
Join Teams Helix and Discovery. Rest in Peace, Leonard David Smith, my best friend, you are missed badly! Rest in peace, Pop, glad our last years were good. Please pray for Colin, he has ependymoma, a brain cancer, donate to a children's Hospital.

reply to El Quintron

reply to Octavean
There are sockets out there that can handle BGA packages, although they are *really* expensive.

Will be interesting to see how it plays out though....

That would really suck. While CPU upgrade may not be as common as it used to be, the last new system I bought from Dell came with a cheap dual core Pentium (D925?) while the optional core 2 quad would've more than doubled the price. Just looked on eBay, and the Q6600/6700 CPUs are priced very reasonably, and one of them should roughly double the performance of that system. (SC440)
--
Wacky Races 2012!

reply to Octavean
Having thought about this for a while, my reaction is "nice try, AMD."

reply to Octavean

quote:

---

Intel to Provide Socketed CPUs for "The Foreseeable Future"

Provided Intel's idea of the "foreseeable future" doesn't end at 2014, PC enthusiasts can breathe a sigh of relief as it came out with a statement saying it is committed to socketed CPU platforms. "Intel remains committed to the growing desktop enthusiast and channel markets, and will continue to offer socketed parts in the LGA package for the foreseeable future for our customers and the Enthusiast DIY market," said Intel spokesperson Daniel Snyder, adding "However, Intel cannot comment on specific long-term product roadmap plans at this time, but will disclose more details later per our normal communication process."

---