So, this is the chip I've been waiting for to upgrade. I don't know that I will until I see the benchmarks, but it's getting close to time to move on from this i7 970.  The prices are steep, but not out of the realm of reason if the performance proves to be what is expected.

 

http://www.techspot.com/news/53447-enthusiast-class-ivy-bridge-e-cpus-get-priced-ahead-of-launch.html

Nice.  I'd say I want to buy your old CPU, but not having a regular enough income again kind of messes that up at the moment.  I still have that plan to fully upgrade, so I'd at least need to buy a new motherboard and tower too.

Well, I'm still a bit out from that anyway.  It will be a full upgrade when I do it, CPU, mobo, and RAM.

What you already better than my i7 950. I haven't had a need for a new processor yet as everything I've used it so far for has given reasonable performance.

Your old processor would even be tempting for me. lol

Well, it's not so much a performance upgrade on the processor end as it is on the motherboard end.  This thing has issues with S3 sleep. It just flat out doesn't work with my current setup.  I don't really have a need to upgrade otherwise. Well, that and power consumption for the performance.

Yeah... Motherboard and CPU upgrades usually go hand in hand. Might as well shop for the best of both that will be rather future-proof.

From a gaming standpoint CPUs are already way ahead of the curve. I truly have no reason to upgrade to a new system other than I want to.  I will go all out when I do though. Maybe this next CPU can last me another 5 or 6 years.