3930k Better in the Long Run?

[Sederien]

This is a somewhat hard question to phrase correctly from my perspective, but I'm going to make an attempt to ground the discussion:

My current system is an aging machine that hasn't been upgraded since late '07. It includes an Intel Q6600, nVidia 8800 GTS 512, and a few other components in my sig that were great back in the day but have slowly eroded in performance as the years have gone on. I mention this for two reasons:

• I don't typically spend time (primary) or money (secondary) to upgrade my machine once it's built.
• I have a need to upgrade within the next month because my current system simply will not run the latest games/programs at a reasonable speed anymore (regardless of current prices/upcoming tech).

-------

That having been stated, I see two possible paths for a new system:

1. Build on the 1155 socket with a 2500/2600k, a cheap motherboard and cheap ram with an upgrade to Ivy Bridge in 6-12 months (which will mean a replacement CPU, mobo, and ram).
2. Build on the 2011 socket with a 3930k, a best-in-class motherboard including PCIe/USB/other bandwidth and feature improvements, and memory to match.

In either case, I expect to be getting a mid-range graphics card to run things at 1920x1200 until the newest release of the next gen expected in the first half of 2012 (which is why the socket 2011 mobos are tempting and also why I'd need to replace for Ivy Bridge in option 1)... then I'll purchase two of the best performance/price and put them in SLI/Crossfire and upgrade to a 27/30inch or two screens.

Now, assuming price is not a concern, I'm having a lot of trouble deciding on which would be a better build for gaming / OCing / and general media/work performance as I expect that the programs I will run will be CPU-limited more-so than GPU limited (even though gaming is the focus, that doesn't necessarily mean that every game/program will run as I'd like under a 2500/2600k).

Pluses of the 3930k build seems to be better potential compatibility for new gen graphics with the least hassle, headroom on the CPU for the few games and programs that take advantage of hexicores efficiently, and the ability to use watercooling vs. air as the main components won't be shifting. Only con is the uncertainty of IB performance to come.

Pluses of the SB build is slightly less uncertainty in terms of upcoming performance with a switch to IB, but I'm not expecting at this time IB to -significantly- outperform an SB-E... and even if it does, IB-E is also a 2011 socket.

I'd appreciate any thoughts (and the reasoning behind those thoughts!) to help me decide and perhaps help some others in a similar situation.

 

[EarthDog]

IB-E????

Personally, I would wait to see what SB-E offers reportedly within a couple of weeks and make your decision then.

 

[Sederien]

IB-E????

Personally, I would wait to see what SB-E offers reportedly within a couple of weeks and make your decision then.

IB-E... I'm assuming the SB-E isn't going to be the only chip to use the LGA2011 socket within the next 1/2 years. So I just used IB-E to say there's likely to be a version of the Ivy Bridge for the enthusiast/workstation boards as well. This is an unfounded assumption, though, and shouldn't really factor into which socket to buy. Sorry. ><

Also, yes, I'm just trying to collect my thoughts at the moment with no real SB-E benchmarks (outside of the leaked ones on the Chinese forum, unless my memories off) until (hopefully) next week.

 

[MattNo5ss]

For games, I'd go LGA1155 with 2500K. When IB does land next year, you won't need a board upgrade and you won't need a RAM upgrade, just a CPU replacement. AFAIK, there's nothing, gaming-wise that LGA1155 won't handle easily. Not to mention SB-E will be a lot more expensive than SB/IB, if past platforms are any indication of price.

 

[johan851]

For games, I'd go LGA1155 with 2500K. When IB does land next year, you won't need a board upgrade and you won't need a RAM upgrade, just a CPU replacement. AFAIK, there's nothing, gaming-wise that LGA1155 won't handle easily. Not to mention SB-E will be a lot more expensive than SB/IB, if past platforms are any indication of price.

This is the route I just went down, although I cheaped out even more and got a $50 Pentium G620. Overclocking cred down the toilet and an extra $150 in my pocket.

 

[Sederien]

I just want to note that I really appreciate the replies thus far!

For games, I'd go LGA1155 with 2500K. When IB does land next year, you won't need a board upgrade and you won't need a RAM upgrade, just a CPU replacement. AFAIK, there's nothing, gaming-wise that LGA1155 won't handle easily. Not to mention SB-E will be a lot more expensive than SB/IB, if past platforms are any indication of price.

The sticking point for me seems to be the lack of PCIe 3.0 slots on current 1055 motherboards. Kepler / the 7000 series may (big MAY) end up bottlenecking current boards...

Is there a current or upcoming 1155 board that would solve this concern vs. the X79s that seem to have PCIe 3.0 slots out the wazoo (ASUS ROG Rampage IV Extreme, MSI Big Bang XPower II X79, etc.)? A couple show up in a quick newegg search, but I have trouble thinking they're targeted towards gamers/enthusiasts with their sparse layouts/features.

Note: I'm also planning on a sound card, so I'll need enough slots for 2xGPU and sound at least.

 

[johan851]

Actually, the gamers/enthusiastics boards are usually over-featured rather than underfeatured. Do you want multiple PCI-E 3.0 slots?

 

[Sederien]

Actually, the gamers/enthusiastics boards are usually over-featured rather than underfeatured. Do you want multiple PCI-E 3.0 slots?

Agreed. I'm not going to take advantage of the LN2 switches that cost however much to put on the Rampage IV, for example... but yes would be the preference in answer to the latter question. Also, I don't mind paying a bit more for over-featured as long as it's the board that carries all the features I do want vs. under-featured for my needs but X less expensive. Ideal is always want you want and none of what you don't need, of course.

I expect, much as I did with the 8800 GTS 512s on the last build, that I'm going to stretch the budget and go for all out GPU processing power in SLI. This time on a bigger screen, though (either 2x1920x1200 or a 30in resolution... no 3D modes needed, though).

 

[johan851]

ASRock has a couple of Z68 boards (Extreme3 Gen3 and Extreme4 Gen3) that seem pretty decent. Asus also has some Gen3 boards coming out right now in their P8Z68-V series. Those sould all be sub-$200, and I would assume they have PCI-E 3.0 on all of the PCI-E slots.

 

[MattNo5ss]

The difference in native x16 and x8 PCIe 2.0 on high-end GPUs is only like 3-4%. So, GPUs would need to be ~46% faster than current high-end GPUs before being limited by PCIe 2.0. By the time PCIe 3.0 is needed for GPUs, there will be better platforms out than SB or SB-E. So, I don't see a need to get a 1155/2011 board specifically for PCIe 3.0.

There are both 1155 and 2011 boards with PCIe 3.0 though, if you really want it. You'll have to have IB or "IB-E" to make use of PCIe 3.0.

 

[Sederien]

There are both 1155 and 2011 boards with PCIe 3.0 though, if you really want it. You'll have to have IB or "IB-E" to make use of PCIe 3.0.

Yeah... that's a bit disappointing, actually. As I am reading up on the specifications for the SB-E and PCIe 3.0 (in parallel), it would seem that Intel dropped PCIe 3.0 from the SB-E chips in order to hit their shipping date.

Granted, the Kepler GPUs on nVidia's side may very well go over the limits of 16x PCIe 2.0 if that presentation slide out there:



is to be believed.

 

[mikeyw]

What does DP stand for in this y-axis? I'm very interested in using CUDA but I have no idea how to specifically program for it.

 

[Sederien]

What does DP stand for in this y-axis? I'm very interested in using CUDA but I have no idea how to specifically program for it.

Double Precision, apparently. I have no idea what that means in terms of the technology, but it looks exciting, doesn't it? ^^

As for the topic at hand... ARGHHH!

Apparently with the SB-E not supporting PCIe 3.0 out of the gate, one of the main reasons for potentially considering the platform turns out to be smoke and mirrors. Therefore, no matter what, it would seem I'm forced to upgrade to IB (or IB-E) in order to take advantage of next gen graphics.

And I think the best decision in that case is to -not- assume that a current gen motherboard is going to have the features or "future-proofiness" that I may want/need to ensure that I can get as much out of the next graphics upgrade with as few bottlenecks as possible...

What a terrible time to have to be building something new.

I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for Black Friday deals, because I actually did the price calculation before starting this thread... and upgrading mid-2012 to IB vs. buying a full price SB-E is going to end up costing the same in the long-run. AND I'll be locked out of going the WC-route (primarily because I don't want to go through the trouble of setting up WCing twice. ><).

Please excuse me. I'm going to go in the corner now.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

get the AS Rock Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 and a i5-2500K. It will be plenty for any game for at least 2-3 years.

the SB-Es will be 180W chips, and some early reports suggest 250W at full throttle is possible. They will be MONSTER heat users.

Tom's had a preview a couple months ago:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-3960x-x79-performance,3026.html

We can’t ignore the value still so apparent in the mainstream Sandy Bridge-based chips, though. Core i7-2600K holds its own against our pre-production Sandy Bridge-E sample, tying it in single-threaded apps, and trailing it in more threaded titles. That chip, along with the cheaper Core i5-2500K, remains a winner for budget-conscious power users and gamers alike.