Just looking now, the Broadwell I7 is about as expensive as the Skylake so I don't see why I should consider Broadwell. Sure it can come with 6 cores, but that's almost $600 which is totally out of my price range for a CPU. When comparing the quad core versions, the I7-4790K Devil's Canyon is close to the price of the Skylake.
Depends on which one you look at and most impotently where
i7 5820k 6 core is 320.us + tax of course
http://www.microcenter.com/product/4...Tray_Processor
6700k is 350.us
Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz LGA 1151 Boxed Processor BX80662I76700K - Micro Center
Of course those don't do me much good when it's available in-store only as I don't even have a Microcenter in my state. They also don't have any Skylake I7s online - in-store only.
That 6-core is interesting but it's 3.3GHz vs 4.0 for the Skylake I was looking at. At 4.0 I wouldn't even have to mess around with overclocking. It's only a $30-$40 difference. Which chip tends to run cooler - The Skylake or the broadwell? My apartment can get very hot in the summer and add an extra challenge to keeping the PC cool.
$1000 should get you your dream PC. Don't give up.
And if it gets hot in your place, get an AC too.
How many is "very limited"?
I see Skylake boards under $200 with 7 or 8 USB 3.0 ports and an additional 4 to 6 USB 2.0.
You should chase down benchmarks, which may reveal to you whether or not more than 4 cores is any advantage to you FOR YOUR USE CASE. The CPUs with more than 4 cores may have poorer single thread performance due to a lower clock speed.
I have no idea at all whether you will be taking advantage of the 5th or 6th core 8% or 80% of the time. Maybe you will be doing single threaded stuff 2 percent of the time. Or 92%.
The last I read, that Skylake CPU cooler issue didn't amount to much, but I don't recall the details. I'd think you can come to a decision on how important it is to your use case in 30 minutes.
On the other hand, you could get bogged down in indecision and avoid all current CPUs. Just wait for Kaby Lake, by which time something else will be "only 6 more months wait" and you can wallow in indecision some more.
Can somebody point me to a couple motherboards then with 7 or 8 USB 3.0 ports (that are around $200)? I've been looking at some ASUS and Gigabyte and all I see for rear USB 3.0 ports are 4 or 5. That's why I asked for help here - I'm having a hard time narrowing this stuff down.
As I mentioned earlier, part of the reason I'm looking at the I7 is because it handles hyperthreading, whereas the I5 doesn't. I do a lot of archiving to .rar files, as a way to back up my files, and I also create par repair files to keep them safe. Both of those programs use hyperthreading and that can help shave time off the process. I also do some video encoding now and then, but not too often. I also game when I get the chance, FPS, racing, etc.
All of these boards have internal usb2 ports on them
You just need possibly a front bay to add them
They also probably have 2 usb3 internal ports so you can add a couple more of those too or instead
My x99 has 2 internal usb3 ports one of which is connected to the usb3 ports on front of the case.
Kind of the price you pay for on board graphic's on the z170 fewer usb ports on the back
Any usb2 or 3 bridge or hub can be used here's just 1 on a quick search
Amazon.com: Plugable 7-Port USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Hub with 25W Power Adapter and Two Ports with BC 1.2 Charging Support for Android, Apple iOS, and Windows Mobile Devices: Computers & Accessories
Okay, that's interesting - but this isn't really what I'm looking for.
I have a lot of external USB storage devices - hard drive enclosures, gaming controllers, UPS, scanner, etc. that all need USB - all my HDD storage enclosures use 3.0. My current PC came with 8 rear USB 2.0 ports, plus another connection internally for front USB like you linked to.
I'm looking at many Z170 ASUS and Gigabyte motherboards and they have 2 or 3 USB 3.0 rear ports and maybe another 2 USB 2.0 rear ports total (I'm talking rear only). I have lots of USB components and I don't want them al hanging out the front of my PC. That's why I want a motherboard with lots of rear ports.
ASUS Z170-A ($154.99): 2 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Type A
ASUS Z170-PRO (194.99): 2 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 type A
ASUS Z170-DELUXE ($299.99): 1 x USB 3.0, 5 x USB 3.1 Type A
ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING ($154.99): 4 x USB 3.0/2.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Type A
ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII HERO ($229.99): 2 x USB 3.0, 4 x USB 2.0, 2 x USB 3.1 type A
ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII HERO ALPHA ($288.99): 2 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 type A
ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII RANGER ($199.99): 2 x USB 3.0, 4 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 type A
ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII FORMULA ($399.99): 8 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 3.1 type A
ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT ($238.99): 4 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 3.1 type A
ASUS SABERTOOTH Z170 ($209.99): 2 x USB 3.0, 4 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 type A
ASUS SABERTOOTH Z170 MARK 1 ($229.99): 2 x USB 3.0, 4 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Type A
ASUS Z170-PREMIUM ($389.99): 2 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 2 x USB 3.1 Type A
GIGABYTE G1 Gaming GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 ($209.99): 5 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Type A
GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-UD5 ($179.99): 3 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 type A
GIGABYTE GA-Z170XP-SLI (rev. 1.0) ($135.99): 3 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 type A
GIGABYTE G1 Gaming GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 ($419.99): 7 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 type A
GIGABYTE G1 Gaming GA-Z170X-Gaming 5 ($166.99): 3 x USB 3.0, 4 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 type A
GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-Gaming 6 ($189.99): 3 x USB 3.0, 4 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Type A
GIGABYTE G1 Gaming GA-Z170X-Gaming 3 ($119.99): 3 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 type A
GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-SOC FORCE ($379.99): 5 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 type A
Many of these motherboards listed above have no more than 5 or 6 USB ports total, with half or less than half being high-speed. When I bought my 5-year-old motherboard I didn't spend much more than $200 and it came with 8 USB 2.0 ports. Of course back then I wasn't expecting or needing 3.0, but I'm amazed these days so many boards still include only a few 3.0 ports. Plus I'm losing Esata. It looks like for the majority of boards I need to spend close to $400 before I get a good amount of 3.0 ports. The Gigabyte cards seem to offer more USB ports in general, and more 3.0 ports. The first Gigabyte Gaming 7 motherboard I listed looks like a pretty good option actually - only 6 versus the 8 I have now, but all 6 are high-speed and looks like a quality motherboard - I'll have to read some reviews on that one, though a review on a similar Gigabyte Gaming GT says it throttles his 6700 CPU at anything over 4.0 so I'll have to look into that a bit and see if the Gaming 7 has any issues like that. It might just be his configuration of course. The Gaming 7 seems to give some people issues with audio too, so I'm not sure if that's something to worry about.
I'm just surprised that so many years later and 3.0 ports still seem to be at a premium. I though by now all USB ports would be 3.0 standard since they're backwards compatible and I have devices from years ago that are 3.0. Instead they're giving us built-in graphics that I don't need and taking away useful high-speed USB ports.
Last edited by tgfyhre; 29 Feb 2016 at 18:06.
Quote
