Advice on a new Intel build, please

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.

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?

ignatzatsonic said:

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.

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

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.

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

essenbe said:

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.

AddRAM said:

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.

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

I would imagine it does, but who knows.

I`m gonna contact Asus on that.