Solved Advice on a new Intel build, please

[Mellon Head]

I have an FX-8350 8-core that I'm pretty happy with, but I'm not happy with the memory and hard disk performance of my motherboard, not to mention the graphics lane only being PCIe 2.0. I could replace my mobo, but I really wouldn't gain anything in terms of memory performance as it's a limitation of the CPU. I use my machine for gaming and rendering graphics, and I need some horsepower for that. Recent benchmarks have shown me that an Intel rig runs circles around mine, even with a 10% OC.

So I'm thinking of buying an Intel mobo and CPU, but I don't know where to start. There's a dizzying array of choices out there, so I thought I would ask you guys what you think.

My budget is around $700 CDN and I'd like something around the 3.5 - 4 GHz mark in a quad core, with Hyperthreading. I know nothing about Intel CPUs beyond that. I can do the research myself, but I don't know the merits of a Haswell, Ivy Bridge, or Devil's Canyon CPU, or what I should choose between them all.

Any advice you guys can give would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

How soon do you need to do this?

Intel will be introducing a new CPU line later this year. It's called "Skylake" and will require a new socket 1151 motherboard that is NOT compatible with current CPUs. It will likely use DDR4 RAM. Further details not yet known.

Intel is also introducing a "Broadwell" line, but it appears to be mostly targeted at the mobile segment, not desktops. I think some Broadwell laptops are already available.

For a desktop, you'd most likely want to go with Haswell, Devil's Canyon, or Skylake.

Or the Xeon line. I think all of them support hyperthreading, but I don't know much about them.

Here's some candidates, all i7 hyperthreading quad cores, excluding Xeon and the upcoming Skylakes. All of these would use a socket 1150 motherboard.

Computer Hardware, CPUs / Processors, Processors - Desktops, Intel, LGA 2011, LGA 2011-v3, Quad-Core, LGA 1150, Core i7 - Newegg.com

The 4790K is by far the highest clocked--4.0 without overclocking.

Here's a list of Xeons, between $200 and $400. They use various motherboard sockets.

Computer Hardware, CPUs / Processors, Intel, $300 - $400, $200 - $300, Newegg, xeon - Newegg.com

You want to spend $700 Canadian. I think that's around $550 US, a fairly low budget.

From what Canadian vendor?

How many of these parts will you need to buy with that $700?

Case
CPU
Motherboard
Power supply
Video card
RAM
CPU cooler (the CPU will come with an Intel cooler, but you may want to replace it if overclocking)
HDD
SSD
Operating system
Monitor
Optical disk drive

Lastly: do you have overclocking intentions?

 

[Mellon Head]

How soon do you need to do this?

Within the next 6 months to a year.

You want to spend $700 Canadian. I think that's around $550 US, a fairly low budget.

I'm only planning on replacing the CPU and motherboard for now, unless I require DDR4 RAM, then my budget will go up accordingly. I figured around $400 for the CPU and <$300 for the mobo. If the Canadian dollar strengthens, then my budget buys better components.

From what Canadian vendor?

Newegg.ca or NCIX.com. Possibly Tiger Direct.

How many of these parts will you need to buy with that $700?

I'll only need the CPU and motherboard. I have everything else.

Lastly: do you have overclocking intentions?

I hadn't planned on it, but if the unlocked version of a processor is only a few dollars more than the locked version, then I'll go for it. It would be nice to have the option.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

My first idea would be to get a 4790K if you can't wait for Skylake.

4.0 clockspeed, hyperthreading, overclockable. It will likely be several years before its performance would be surpassed in any significant way.

I'm going to build myself but have decided to wait for Skylake. Right now, it's all speculation as to what the CPU lineup and performance will be, but no one is expecting anything earth-shaking---more of a continued evolution, with performance per clock going up maybe 8 to 12 percent on average when compared to current processors. Probably some new added features on the new chipset.

The standard full power Skylakes should be 95 watt and will be in the "Skylake S" series. There will be lower wattage models as well. It's not clear, but the overclockable K models may not be out until 2016. The latest Intel roadmaps are in dispute.

So, it's mainly a matter of how long you are willing to wait. Even if you do wait, the 4790K would still be highly respectable and I'd think you could do pretty will with $700 Canadian if you only need CPU and motherboard.

Go to NCIX or Newegg Canada and see what you can find for those 2 pieces at that price. You'd need a Z97 socket 1150 motherboard, but not a highly expensive one.

Maybe someone else can comment on the Xeon processors. I know they work very well for some use cases.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I just looked at Newegg Canada.

The 4790K is 395 plus 6 shipping.

Here's the Xeon list, beginning at $260. All are socket 1150 and quad core:

Computer Hardware, CPUs / Processors, Processors - Servers, LGA 1150, xeon processor - Newegg.ca

Here's their list of 23 different Z97 socket 1150 motherboards from Asus, Asrock, and Gigabyte; all ATX or micro ATX. All priced between 200 and 300 to keep you at no more than 700 total:

Computer Hardware, Motherboards, Intel Motherboards, GIGABYTE, ASRock, ASUS, LGA 1150, Intel Z97, ATX, Micro ATX, $200 - $300 - Newegg.ca

 

[Mellon Head]

Thanks for the info. I'm starting to fill my piggy bank.

 

[essenbe]

ignatzatsonic has given some great advice. I think it depends on how much video editing you do. If you only do a little, I would go with the 4790K or wait for Skylake, preferably the latter. If you do a lot of editing and rendering I would look at the 2011-3 CPUs. They will make a big difference in video editing. I just went with a 5930K and the only thing that will use all the cores is Handbrake. But it will render a video in less than half the time of my 3770K at 5 GHz. But, I don't think you will touch one for $700. So, it just depends on what you are using it for. A 4790K will do a good job and do anything my 5930K will do. It just won't do it as fast. But, you will have the pleasure of paying for that speed.

 

[AddRAM]

My suggestion

Motherboards - SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK 1 - ASUS

or the Mark 2

Motherboards - SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK 2 - ASUS

and

Intel Core i7-4790K Haswell Refresh Quad-Core 4.0GHz LGA 1150 Desktop Processor BX80646I74790K - Newegg.com - Newegg.com

ASUS SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK1 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

 

[Mellon Head]

ignatzatsonic has given some great advice. I think it depends on how much video editing you do. If you only do a little, I would go with the 4790K or wait for Skylake, preferably the latter. If you do a lot of editing and rendering I would look at the 2011-3 CPUs. They will make a big difference in video editing. I just went with a 5930K and the only thing that will use all the cores is Handbrake. But it will render a video in less than half the time of my 3770K at 5 GHz. But, I don't think you will touch one for $700. So, it just depends on what you are using it for. A 4790K will do a good job and do anything my 5930K will do. It just won't do it as fast. But, you will have the pleasure of paying for that speed.

I'm currently saving up some cash for the purchase, and if Skylake CPUs come out before I'm done, I'll get one of those. Otherwise it will be the 4790K. I don't do a lot of video editing, but when I do it, it's nice to have some power to get it done quickly. The bottom line is that my AMD isn't cutting it, and I have to look for a better solution.

My suggestion

Motherboards - SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK 1 - ASUS

or the Mark 2

Motherboards - SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK 2 - ASUS

and

Intel Core i7-4790K Haswell Refresh Quad-Core 4.0GHz LGA 1150 Desktop Processor BX80646I74790K - Newegg.com - Newegg.com

ASUS SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK1 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

I like those Sabertooth motherboards. The only problem with them, and a lot of the Z97 mobos is that the PCIe x16 slots only work in x8x8 when you plug two video cards in. I may want to Crossfire a pair of cards in the future and I would like the full speed and bus of x16 in both slots.

I've been looking specifically at this one:

ASUS Z97-PRO LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.ca

It seems to do everything I'm looking for.

 

[AddRAM]

Good point, I hope it`s true. But the specs at Asus don`t actually say dual x16.

Motherboards - Z97-PRO - ASUS

Does it having a bearing on FPS :huh:

I would imagine it does, but who knows.

I`m gonna contact Asus on that.

 

[Solarstarshines]

Good point, I hope it`s true. But the specs at Asus don`t actually say dual x16.

Motherboards - Z97-PRO - ASUS

Does it having a bearing on FPS :huh:

I would imagine it does, but who knows.

I`m gonna contact Asus on that.

Well ,I hate to say it but AMD CPU's are at best I5 performance I have proven this recently not a bad thing but AMD really should consider tweaking their MB to at least offer comparable GPU performance i mean for Christ sakes they make GPU'S for 3.0 Bus it's like really ?

The Logic behind all of this is baffling they could be doing so much better but i feel it's something else behind AMD lagging behind it might be on Purpose for all we know

 

[Solarstarshines]

ignatzatsonic has given some great advice. I think it depends on how much video editing you do. If you only do a little, I would go with the 4790K or wait for Skylake, preferably the latter. If you do a lot of editing and rendering I would look at the 2011-3 CPUs. They will make a big difference in video editing. I just went with a 5930K and the only thing that will use all the cores is Handbrake. But it will render a video in less than half the time of my 3770K at 5 GHz. But, I don't think you will touch one for $700. So, it just depends on what you are using it for. A 4790K will do a good job and do anything my 5930K will do. It just won't do it as fast. But, you will have the pleasure of paying for that speed.

I'm currently saving up some cash for the purchase, and if Skylake CPUs come out before I'm done, I'll get one of those. Otherwise it will be the 4790K. I don't do a lot of video editing, but when I do it, it's nice to have some power to get it done quickly. The bottom line is that my AMD isn't cutting it, and I have to look for a better solution.

My suggestion

Motherboards - SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK 1 - ASUS

or the Mark 2

Motherboards - SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK 2 - ASUS

and

Intel Core i7-4790K Haswell Refresh Quad-Core 4.0GHz LGA 1150 Desktop Processor BX80646I74790K - Newegg.com - Newegg.com

ASUS SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK1 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

I like those Sabertooth motherboards. The only problem with them, and a lot of the Z97 mobos is that the PCIe x16 slots only work in x8x8 when you plug two video cards in. I may want to Crossfire a pair of cards in the future and I would like the full speed and bus of x16 in both slots.

I've been looking specifically at this one:

ASUS Z97-PRO LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.ca

It seems to do everything I'm looking for.

I Sadly regreat both GPU's will be 8x due to them sharing lanes when in Sli or Xfire there has never been 2x cards running that way it's not possible yet

Reason why One GPU is at 100% and the second can go from 25% to 50% use at best that is why it is a waste of money these days for Sli or Xfire unless you are running 3 monitors but again DSR is making it possible to play games in 2k with one card and optimized so ........ Honestly one GPU is the standard unless your going for bragging rights

 

[Mellon Head]

I Sadly regreat both GPU's will be 8x due to them sharing lanes when in Sli or Xfire there has never been 2x cards running that way it's not possible yet

Reason why One GPU is at 100% and the second can go from 25% to 50% use at best that is why it is a waste of money these days for Sli or Xfire unless you are running 3 monitors but again DSR is making it possible to play games in 2k with one card and optimized so ........ Honestly one GPU is the standard unless your going for bragging rights

That's good to know. I was under the impression that 2x16 was possible. I won't bother trying to Crossfire then. I'll just stick with the one card, which I'm perfectly happy with.

Do you think I'll get any boost in frame rates going from PCIe 2.0 to 3.0, using the Intel build?

 

[essenbe]

The X99's will if you have the 5960X or the 5930K CPU. They have 40 pcie lanes. I'm not sure about the 4930K's.

I think you can get a boost in frame rates with pcie 3.0, probably not a whole lot, but you will get a boost in most everything else. But, pcie 3.0 X8 is the same as pcie 2.0 X16. It just depends on how fast your card is. How many and which cards are faster than pcie 2.0, I don't know, but I think not many.

 

[AddRAM]

So..... there is no such thing on that board as 2 x16 lanes with 2 cards running, correct ? (the Asus Z97 Pro)

They will run at x8 just like any other board, correct ?

None of us with 2 cards are missing anything, correct ?


"The X99's will if you have the 5960X or the 5930K CPU. They have 40 pcie lanes. I'm not sure about the 4930K's."

What do you mean by this Steve ? The X99 will what ?

 

[essenbe]

Will run SLI/CFX at X16, X16

 

[AddRAM]

This board will ? With the correct CPU ?

Motherboards - X99-DELUXE - ASUS


40-Lane CPU-
5 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16, x16/x16, x16/x16/x8, x8/x8/x16/x8, x8/x8/x8/x8/x8 mode) *1
1 x PCIe 2.0 x4 (max at x4 mode)

 

[essenbe]

Yes, and most, if not all, of the X99 Motherboards will. It is a limitation of the PCIe lanes that makes you run X8 X8. The top 2 E series CPUs have 40 lanes of PCIe rather than the normal 28. The 5960X and the 5930K have 40 lanes. The 5820K has only 28 lanes. Intel did that to 'encourage' you to buy the more expensive chips. Otherwise they are the same chips. The 5930 and 5820 also have 2 cores blocked off.

 

[AddRAM]

Well, there you go Tommy, you`ll have to get an X99 board and a super chip

Good Luck

Motherboards - X99-DELUXE - ASUS

Intel Core i7-5960X Haswell-E 8-Core 3.0GHz LGA 2011-v3 140W BX80648I75960X Desktop Processor - Newegg.com

ASUS X99-DELUXE/U3.1 LGA 2011-v3 Intel X99 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com


I know, you`re waiting on that Skylake-E

 

[essenbe]

No, I don't think so. I think it would be X16, X16, X8. The spacing of the slots would kill that off. Plus I think some of the lanes are dedicated to M.2 and pcie express SSds and possibly to some sata ports, but I'm not real sure about the sata ports. I know that the M.2 SSD or the Sata express run off of PCIe lanes rather than the sta bus. They are X4 lanes, and that is how they are supposedly capable of 32GB/S speed. I just know of no SSD that is capable of that speed, but they claim the board is.