Socket 1366 vs. 1156

[Skippman]

I'm trying to pick out a new motherboard but I'm very confused about the diffrences between the 1366 socket and the 1156 socket. I know the 1366 socket is the i7 socket style which will support multi 16x PCIe. Apparently from what I've read 1156 based proc's don't support this feature. Am I right in thinking this?

[InspectahACE]

I think that's one of the differences..the only other difference I know of is that 1156 only does dual channel memory where 1366 does triple channel..

[ViPeR.Ja]

also socket 1366 will support the upcoming intel gulftown processors which will core i9 and have 6 cores

[SAMSAMHA]

not is not true about the multip X16 PCIe. The PCIE for the 1156 is built into the processor so if you run multiple GPU, it will default to the two x8 when it's paired with P55 chipset. However, tehre are boards out tehre that has additional chip (NF200) that allows you to have more channel for the PCIE, which can have full X16 lanes when you install multiple cards.

In reality, x8 and x16 really won't make a huge performance differences, so I don't think it matters too much when it comes to CPU selection.

I think the biggest thing is probably about long term usage. 1336 will in theory support the upcoming core i9 but it depends on the mobo manufacture's bios release (and whethr or not it's fully compatible is yet to be comfirmed). 1366 also is triple channle while th e1156 is dula channel. However, 1156 has faster turbo boost than 1366, so in practical usage, I think 1156 actually performs slightly faster at the same clockspeed with most apps due to the fact not many apps are yet to fully use the 4 cores.

If you plan to use your system for like 2-3 years without upgrade, then 1156 is a good platform, but if you think that you may upgrade the cpu for the i9, then 1366 maybe a better investment.