Am I wasting my money on a 4790k?

[Robwan]

Hey,

I do a lot of 3D visualisation/animation + some video editing, all which involves a lot cpu rendering, animation in particular.

Recently I thought about upgrading to a 4790k from my i7 920. This would set me back about £330 (£260 for the cpu and about £70 for a respectable motherboard) this is about my budget really.

However while browsing ebay I've noticed used W3680/W3690's being sold for about £130. These are compatible with my current EX58-UD3R (rev 1.0) mobo according the website. They also get similar scores in cinebench r15 to the 4790k (all stock speed)

W3680 cinebench r15 2013 Mac Pro 6-Core vs 2010 Mac Pro 6-core
4790k cincebench r15 Intel Core i7-4790K (Devil's Canyon) Review - R11.5, R15 and Power Consumption | bit-tech.net


So I guess my question is, what extra will the 4790k give me and is it worth another £200?

• 
  3d viz will be the main priority of my rig, but I would like the opportunity to play the latests coming out too with half decent settings, will a W3680/90 have any problems here? surely this is down to gpu mostly?

• 
  Is there any downside to using a older cpu for another 3-4 years in regards to compatibility of certain software or games?

• 
  Lastly do W3680/90's overclock? I've seen a couple people doing it on forums, but how do I know if the one I'm buying is unlocked? I've heard of ES versions, are they the unlocked ones?

Thanks for any advice

 

[Solarstarshines]

Why not get a 5820k for 299.00 not a whole much more in price and it's a Hexcore

or why not wait till 5th Generation offerings ?


http://www.microcenter.com/product/437203/Core_i7-5820k_33_GHz_LGA_2011_V3_Tray_Processor

 

[Robwan]

Only problem with the 5820k is that I have to get a x99 mobo which are at least £150, plus I'll need to buy new ddr4 ram as the 5820k won't work with ddr3 unless I'm mistaken? I did think about it and it's one hell of a cpu but doesn't quite fit my budget.

 

[Pixeldust]

It will be a huge difference compared to the one you are having right now, since there is an entire 1Ghz difference between the two products, basically you wont even have to overclock since its already at 4Ghz with a max of 4.4... There is new architecture employed and next to the improved speed it will also consume less electricity, somewhere around 50% less. Besides that, in single threaded apps you will see a BIG improvement and since you are mentioning that you do alot of 3D visualisation/animation + video editing and also want to play decent games, i'd say go for it! because at this point games are starting to ask more and more from your CPU and loving more threads.

There sure is a downside in using a older cpu for 4 more years if you are planning to go along with time and like i mentioned before, games and programs will keep asking more and more from the CPU in the future.

 

[Robwan]

I guess I was just a bit curious because I have never had any noticeable draw backs or slow downs in games or any software with my current set up. But I know that my renders will be quicker if I get a better cpu, in particular the ones which score well in the mulit cpu cinibench r15.

I guess there is the reason to make something future proof if I am going to get new stuff though. I might even try getting a used 5820k in this case.

 

[Solarstarshines]

I guess I was just a bit curious because I have never had any noticeable draw backs or slow downs in games or any software with my current set up. But I know that my renders will be quicker if I get a better cpu, in particular the ones which score well in the mulit cpu cinibench r15.

I guess there is the reason to make something future proof if I am going to get new stuff though. I might even try getting a used 5820k in this case.

Try newegg i have seen them just sell the cpu with out a heatsink and cooler


This comes as a Combo package MB is garbage though i think MSI X99 Intel Core i7 5820K 6 Core CPU MSI SLI X99S LGA 2011 V3 ATX Motherboard Bundle | eBay

 

[Robwan]

Try newegg i have seen them just sell the cpu with out a heatsink and cooler

I'm in UK sadly, so anything I buy on newegg will be hit with high delivery and tax I think. I got excited when I looked at stuff on there before until I realised this . Unless I get used stuff, the cheapest I can get it for here is about 460 (£300-310 for the 5820k and about £150 for the cheapest x99 mobo). It just means increasing my budget and deciding whether It will be worth it. Thanks anyway

 

[badcrc]

re: 3D rendering

You don't say what 3D software you're using - some packages support rendering across several machines. I use Maxon Cinema 4D, and when I build a new pc, it is not a replacement but just adds to the pool. See pic of my little render farm - 6 * i7's



My main design machine (an o/c 2600K) has a good graphics card for viewport performance, but the 'headless' render pc's just run 'as is', and I access them via remote desktop when necessary.