Choosing a high-performance Intel chipset

[TurboJ]

Right now the cost is practically equal for all the following mobo + cpu combinations:

1. Z77 mobo + 3770k CPU
2. Z87 mobo + 4770k CPU
3. X79 mobo + 4820k CPU

...the price differences are actually zero where I live, but of course depend on which actual mobo you are going for. Furthermore, the price difference, at the lowest, is only about 80 euros compared to a Z87 + 4670k combo.

So which one of those options would be the wisest buy? How does that go with different uses that you might have for your PC?

 

[Woomack]

There will be almost no difference for 24/7 use. If you won't need many PCIe lines what X79 provides then I would get Z87.
Z77 and Z87 are nearly the same. The main difference is CPU. Haswell is bringing faster cache and additional instructions what will give you up to 10% higher performance at the same clock as 3770k/4820k.
X79 offers quad channel memory but I don't think you will actually see any performance gain if it won't run server software with many users.

 

[EarthDog]

#2 would be my option...

#1 is 'last gen'. And while performance is fine, its last gen with no upgrade path.

#3 is a waste of money to get a quad core on the X79 platform. That CPU is as fast as the CPU in #1.

As far as how things go with 'uses', it would helpful if you listed how you use your PC... Seeing as how they are all quad cores, in most cases, the difference between them will be negligible with the 4770k being the fastest.

 

[petteyg359]

I would go with the 4820k for VT-d support. That's very subjective, though

 

[TurboJ]

I'm curious about the Z87 having more upgrade room. Isn't the next gen Intel going to require another, new chipset?
Also for future upgrades, would not the X79 allow 6-core CPUs to be used in the future when a 4-core is no longer enough?

As for the use, gaming (high end) mostly, and also some 3D modelling.

...petteyg, what would be the benefit of VT-d? I haven't seen that acronym before.

 

[EarthDog]

There will be a drop in upgrade for Haswell on this platform that will likely just require a bios update (think P67 and Ivybridge).

By the time 6 cores are "required" that platform will be long in the tooth IMO and a modern platform will likely be similar in performance.

Vt-d has to do with virtualization. If you run VM's than this is a good point, if not, it makes no sense whatsoever to consider.

 

[TurboJ]

It has been mentioned that the x79 architecture would help with multiple GPUs - would there be benefit when gaming with 2-way or 3-way SLI for example?

How about the Haswell's heat problems and generally 'bad press' for overclocking?
I have seen some nice Haswell deals, but I'm still wondering which CPU would be best when seriously overclocked (I'll be running a custom water loop in any case).

 

[EarthDog]

1% gain at most with multiple gpus over z87.

Unless you can use the hex cores on x79, I wouldn't go that route. Haswell is overkill for most already. 4.5ghz overclock or not.

 

[Woomack]

How about the Haswell's heat problems and generally 'bad press' for overclocking?

Heat is still much lower than for AMD FX CPUs and lot of people are buying them
You can compare ~4.2-4.3GHz haswell to 4.5GHz IB in voltage requirements and general performance. Even though average OC is lower it doesn't mean it's worse platform.
All depends for what you need it but if you want to play games then even stock clocks are fast enough for every title ( and probably will be for next 2-3 years for 95% games ).
Go back in time and look how i7 9xx/x58 were acting. Average of about 4GHz and heat like haswell but noone was complaining. Now at the same clock you have 20-30% higher performance.