Anyone use the Gigabyte SOC or G1 PLX Boards?

[Mattr89]

So I have a guy I am helping with a build. He was dead set on the 5930 and x99 boards due to x16/x16 SLI. He wants to squeeze every last frame out of 4K.

I recommended him to get the z170 like I have been building with a Asus extreme and run GTX 980Ti in SLI.

So I figured I would get some opinions and see if the PLX boards will be worth it for him for just 2-way SLI.

Like I said he wants to squeeze every last frame.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

If he has the budget, go X99. Z170 boards with a PLX cheap are expensive at best.

Also, the PLX chip does add an (extremely minor) layer of latency to the PCIe slots due to how it functions.

 

[Mattr89]

If he has the budget, go X99. Z170 boards with a PLX cheap are expensive at best.

Also, the PLX chip does add an (extremely minor) layer of latency to the PCIe slots due to how it functions.

I was telling him that the ddr4 will only do xmp 3200 at best where as the z170 DDR4 will do 3600+.

What fps should he see? 980gtx Ti x2? Z170 vs x99 difference?

Would the PLX chip latency cause loss of FPS? Cost for the board seems to be around $475 for gigabyte, which is in his budget as well.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

I was telling him that the ddr4 will only do xmp 3200 at best where as the z170 DDR4 will do 3600+.

What fps should he see? 980gtx Ti x2? Z170 vs x99 difference?

Would the PLX chip latency cause loss of FPS? Cost for the board seems to be around $475 for gigabyte, which is in his budget as well.

Not a big deal on the RAM speed, 2800-3200 is the sweet spot on DDR4. Also remember the X99 is quad channel instead of dual channel.

A few percent, depending on the game. Some are starting to use more than four threads.

Yes, it would. A couple percent. I would rather buy a $500 CPU and $200 board than a $300 CPU and $500 board.

 

[Mattr89]

Not a big deal on the RAM speed, 2800-3200 is the sweet spot on DDR4. Also remember the X99 is quad channel instead of dual channel.

A few percent, depending on the game. Some are starting to use more than four threads.

Yes, it would. A couple percent. I would rather buy a $500 CPU and $200 board than a $300 CPU and $500 board.

At the end of the day what would fps difference be between the three setups below.

#1.6700k Skylake 4.7ghz
16gb ddr4(8gbx2) 3600mhz
Asus extreme
GTX 980Ti SLI x8/x8

#2.6700k Skylake 4.7ghz
16gb ddr4(8gbx2) 3600mhz
Gigabyte SOC or G1 PLX
GTX 980Ti SLI x16/x16

#3.5930k 4.2ghz
16gb ddr4(4gbx4) 3200mhz
Asus Rampage Extreme or MSi gaming 9
GTX 980Ti SLI x16/x16

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Not sure why you're buying so much board for a gaming machine except where the PLX is a requirement...

Also not sure why you're putting RAM speed so high, just wasting money buying 3600 for a gamer.

Each step is probably a 2-3% jump in gaming performance, though.
Changing to cheaper boards won't impact this, dropping to 3000 CL15 on the RAM would possibly drop you 1% overall, might not even impact it.

 

[Mattr89]

Not sure why you're buying so much board for a gaming machine except where the PLX is a requirement...

Also not sure why you're putting RAM speed so high, just wasting money buying 3600 for a gamer.

Each step is probably a 2-3% jump in gaming performance, though.
Changing to cheaper boards won't impact this, dropping to 3000 CL15 on the RAM would possibly drop you 1% overall, might not even impact it.

I have had bad experiences with lower and boards. Probably just bad luck at the time. So you're saying that the PLX gigabyte board will definitely net more frames per second then the Asus extreme?

Also in your opinion what ram, and x99 board would be best for Overclocking the 5930k? If I have to go that route.

 

[wingman99]

I would go with GIGABYTE GA-X99P-SLI (rev. 1.0) LGA 2011-v3 Intel X99 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard. Or GIGABYTE GA-X99-UD3P (rev. 1.0) LGA 2011-v3 Intel X99 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

I have had bad experiences with lower and boards. Probably just bad luck at the time. So you're saying that the PLX gigabyte board will definitely net more frames per second then the Asus extreme?

Also in your opinion what ram, and x99 board would be best for Overclocking the 5930k? If I have to go that route.

To the tune of a couple percent, yes, assuming the game is GPU limited.

I'd go for the ASRock X99 Extreme4 and this RAM.

 

[Mattr89]

To the tune of a couple percent, yes, assuming the game is GPU limited.

I'd go for the ASRock X99 Extreme4 and this RAM.

With Asus extreme, Skylake clocked at 4.7ghz, 16gb ddr4, ssd, 2x 980gtx ti. This system is only getting 45fps in 4K in the division. Would the PLX gigabyte board be able to squeeze to 50-55fps? Or the x99?

This is the game this guy is building for. He wants division 4K 60fps.

 

[wingman99]

I would just go with G-sync that will handle FPS dip to 30FPS smooth as butter no lag or stuttering. The Asus extreme motherboard is not holding the 2X 980Ti's back, you will not benefit one bit with a PLX gigabyte board.

Edit: There is a lot more 8X bandwidth than the 980 Ti's can use, also PLX chips cause lag.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

With Asus extreme, Skylake clocked at 4.7ghz, 16gb ddr4, ssd, 2x 980gtx ti. This system is only getting 45fps in 4K in the division. Would the PLX gigabyte board be able to squeeze to 50-55fps? Or the x99?

This is the game this guy is building for. He wants division 4K 60fps.

You'd likely see 46, maybe 47fps if you went to something utilizing a PLX chip.
Better off with a G-Sync monitor as wingman99 mentioned.

 

[wingman99]

There is a lot more 8X bandwidth than the 980 Ti's can use, also PLX chips cause lag.

X99 PCI-E SLI video all you need or want to know.

 

[KharmaKazi]

I have had bad experiences with lower and boards

just because you pay a lot more for a premium board doesn't mean your not going to have problems.

i bought a Gigabyte Z170x Gaming G1 thinking exactly that, this thing has gotta be the worst mobo iv'e ever used !
it has given me nothing but problems, mainly their software issues. "won't go into it here"
just pulled it all down again last night for it to go to RMA/REFUND "again"

 

[Mattr89]

Thanks for all the help guys. After speaking with him further I have to decide what is better for gaming, for this person.

I will either:

go with Asus extreme z170 set up identical to mine with GTX 980 TI cards, 4.7 GHz 6700k.

Or

Get the X99 5930, GTX 980 TI cards in SLI

Would run 16 GB of RAM either way. However with the X 99 it's best to run 4 x 4 gigabyte rather than 2 x 8 GB Right?

The X99 set up is definitely more expensive, which he doesn't mind spending however there would have to be legit justification.

I am getting 45 frames per second in the division, and 60 frames per second in fallout 4. If he can't beat me by a decent margin then he will be unsatisfied.

X 99 give him the margin he desires?

 

[wingman99]

The X99 in the future will do better with DirectX 12 in a couple of years you will be able to use 6 cores. For now with 2 GTX 980Ti you will have the same performance as i7 6700k compared i7 5930k in most games, the main performance improvement will be clock speed also it being skylake.

X99 PCI-E SLI video all you need or want to know.

 

[Mattr89]

The X99 in the future will do better with DirectX 12 in a couple of years you will be able to use 6 cores. For now with 2 GTX 980Ti you will have the same performance as i7 6700k compared i7 5930k in most games, the main performance improvement will be clock speed also it being skylake.

X99 PCI-E SLI video all you need or want to know.

Thanks so much for your help. So what I've gathered from this conversation is that for the next year or two maybe a little more the Skylake set up is going to be equal to or slightly better due to the fact of clock speed and the lack of six core support in games right?

 

[wingman99]

Skylake= i7 6700k is a performance improvement now that is what you will have to tell him, in two years if he goes with X99 i7 5930k he should be able to use 6 cores on a lot of games.

Did you watch the video that I have in my post for you? If you have any questions about the video just ask.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Thanks for all the help guys. After speaking with him further I have to decide what is better for gaming, for this person.

I will either:

go with Asus extreme z170 set up identical to mine with GTX 980 TI cards, 4.7 GHz 6700k.

Or

Get the X99 5930, GTX 980 TI cards in SLI

Would run 16 GB of RAM either way. However with the X 99 it's best to run 4 x 4 gigabyte rather than 2 x 8 GB Right?

The X99 set up is definitely more expensive, which he doesn't mind spending however there would have to be legit justification.

I am getting 45 frames per second in the division, and 60 frames per second in fallout 4. If he can't beat me by a decent margin then he will be unsatisfied.

X 99 give him the margin he desires?

Again I'll ask, why the Extreme? You're wasting money on a board designed for LN2 in a gaming rig.

Yes, you want four sticks on X99.

As I've said through the whole thread, you won't see massive gains unless you go for a faster GPU arrangement.

 

[Mattr89]

From the video, it seems x16 speeds have practically zero benefit. The real benefit of 5820/5930 & X99 was over z97 & DDR3.

Since z170 is ultra fast DDR4 3400-3600mhz, and faster quad core then z97 and runs PCIE 3.0 x8/x8 that would mean Skylake has the advantage because it's "single core" performance is much higher than any 6-core. So from what I gathered Skylake dual SLI X8/x8 is the better way to go and cheaper. The only remaining question would be, would a 3rd gpu help gaming? What would x8/x8/x8 benefit over x8/x8? In games like division?