Quote Originally Posted by Chickenfeed View Post
I'm really liking the look of the power usage of P55 and a I7 860, substantially less than x58 / 920. Now other than a few specialized workloads I don't see x58 / triple channel as being worth it. My concerns with having only 16 PCIE 2.0 lanes aren't too worrisome as I'll more than likely end up using another dual gpu card ( and since they communicate between each other on board that reduces the bandwidth required over 2 separate pcbs ) Even so I'd be shocked if this upcoming batch of cards (5xxx / GT300 ) will see any tangible benefits with 2x 16 vs 2x 8 let alone the following generation. Honestly the only thing I can see x58 being good for is tri and quad configurations and particular server applications.

Now all this said my only remaining concern is launch pricing. If I can't get a P55 mobo ( I have my eye on the MSI it looks impressive ) a 860 and 8gb of DDR3 for at least $200 less than a 920 / x58 / 6GB setup then I won't bother. I like the 3.46 turbo on the 860 along with its lower platform power usage and I don't intend to overclock this system ( I want a quiet air system using what I have available to me atm ) much if at all, so all this in mind I'm personally leaning towards P55. I'd sooner use the saved money towards a SSD as that will probably do more for overall performance (my real world usage at least ) than x58 and tri channel ever would.

Do you figure my logic is sound or am I insane?
i'm in the same boat as you are and i'm looking build a workstation to run sql server/pentaho. I'm going in for p55 as well, because of power characteristics.
i just dont think it'll be 200 less compared x58 more like 70-100. considering you can just save on the motherboard and hardly anything else.