X-99 or Z170 ?

[coffeefoot]

I currently have a 3770K with a Z77 asus board and a 980 SC. I've been thinking about an upgrade to go in my next build. Ergo the title of this thread. I have priced out a Intel 5820 cpu, X-99 w/ a Sabertooth m/b and DDR 4 memory vs. 6700K w/ Maximus VIII Formula Z170 w/ the same memory. This will be used mostly for gaming/music recording and mixing. Maybe some lite content creation. What do you guys think about which way to go ? Whichever way I go, i will build a custom loop for it.

 

[AlienALX]

TBH If I were where you are at I probably wouldn't upgrade. I guess that is with you though and if you have your reasons then fair play

I would not spend that sort of money on a X99 board for a 5820k. IMO it kinda defeats the purpose of a 'cheap' X99 CPU to then go and get a top end board. For that you should be thinking 5930k but in many cases the 5930k is completely pointless, as it's only extra lanes and they're not worth that kind of coin IMO.

The 6700k will not touch the 5820k in threaded apps and to be completely honest if you're not running threaded apps you shouldn't be buying a 5820k so I will assume you are/do.

However even without threaded apps the 5820k is still the better CPU for me because as the saying goes "You can add MHZ you can't add cores".

I would personally look down the list for a cheaper board. There really is no need at all to spend that sort of money on one unless you can use every feature it offers and from what I have seen in your post you can't

 

[coffeefoot]

TBH If I were where you are at I probably wouldn't upgrade. I guess that is with you though and if you have your reasons then fair play

I would not spend that sort of money on a X99 board for a 5820k. IMO it kinda defeats the purpose of a 'cheap' X99 CPU to then go and get a top end board. For that you should be thinking 5930k but in many cases the 5930k is completely pointless, as it's only extra lanes and they're not worth that kind of coin IMO.

The 6700k will not touch the 5820k in threaded apps and to be completely honest if you're not running threaded apps you shouldn't be buying a 5820k so I will assume you are/do.

However even without threaded apps the 5820k is still the better CPU for me because as the saying goes "You can add MHZ you can't add cores".

I would personally look down the list for a cheaper board. There really is no need at all to spend that sort of money on one unless you can use every feature it offers and from what I have seen in your post you can't

Thanks AA for responding. You make some good points. However, I must say I do like the looks of the new Formula and I am always looking to build and sell machines. I have met someone who has seen my current rig and is encouraging me to move onto his shop. Maybe I'm just trying to see how good I can make this look and perform.

 

[AlienALX]

There are some stellar mid range boards dude. Literally half the price of the Sabertooth. If memory serves though the Saber wasn't any better (if not worse) than the RVE which is around the same money and the RVE overclocked slightly better.

I have a soft spot for the Asus X99 pro. Really like those white cover parts

 

[coffeefoot]

There are some stellar mid range boards dude. Literally half the price of the Sabertooth. If memory serves though the Saber wasn't any better (if not worse) than the RVE which is around the same money and the RVE overclocked slightly better.

I have a soft spot for the Asus X99 pro. Really like those white cover parts

Ok. the X99 pro looks good except I can't get past the white parts. I'm trying to think ahead on the color scheme. What is RVE ? (Also looking to maybe go SLI in the future). OK> got it. Rampage V Extreme. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
The price for both setups is roughly the same so there is that.

 

[AlienALX]

RVE = Rampage V. All X99 boards are SLI capable, as the lanes are down to the CPU. Well, they could be deliberately derped but just check for SLI support before you go ahead and buy

Sorry about the acronym there fella I just assumed you had looked at everything and were versed up properly on board names

This board is fantastic if you can get your head around the colours.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=x99_motherboard-_-13-157-540-_-Product

If you fancy something a bit different I recommend this also.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=x99_motherboard-_-13-157-596-_-Product

It's a bit of an unsung hero that one, but is amazing. Having said all of that I did not realise that the Sabertooth had actually dropped in price quite a fair bit. When it launched it was the same sort of price as the Rampage (£450 or so) but it seems to have plummeted in price down to $309.

I'm a sucker for Asus boards tbh. Especially their bioses, which I believe are industry leading.

Don't count out Asrock though. That yellow thing is frickin evil lol.

 

[coffeefoot]

RVE = Rampage V. All X99 boards are SLI capable, as the lanes are down to the CPU. Well, they could be deliberately derped but just check for SLI support before you go ahead and buy

Sorry about the acronym there fella I just assumed you had looked at everything and were versed up properly on board names

This board is fantastic if you can get your head around the colours.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=x99_motherboard-_-13-157-540-_-Product

If you fancy something a bit different I recommend this also.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=x99_motherboard-_-13-157-596-_-Product

It's a bit of an unsung hero that one, but is amazing. Having said all of that I did not realise that the Sabertooth had actually dropped in price quite a fair bit. When it launched it was the same sort of price as the Rampage (£450 or so) but it seems to have plummeted in price down to $309.

I'm a sucker for Asus boards tbh. Especially their bioses, which I believe are industry leading.

Don't count out Asrock though. That yellow thing is frickin evil lol.

Sorry man. I had to put on my shades after looking at those boards. I did look at those particular ones before though. I'm trying to balance performance, options and looks. I really like the looks of the formula and I like the water cooling parts however for the money the Sabertooth is probably a better deal if I want to go x99 No ? And yes, I am an Asus fan also.

 

[AlienALX]

Sorry man. I had to put on my shades after looking at those boards. I did look at those particular ones before though. I'm trying to balance performance, options and looks. I really like the looks of the formula and I like the water cooling parts however for the money the Sabertooth is probably a better deal if I want to go x99 No ? And yes, I am an Asus fan also.

Dude at that price I would take the Sabertooth yeah. As I said, when it launched it was like £5 less than the RVE and not as good. That's why I've not really recommended it since.

At $309 though it's a bit of a no brainer.

It's a shame that the Asrock board is yellow. IIRC it's also treated so fully water proof. Asrock did a video of running a tap down it hahaha. Why they chose yellow is a mystery lost on me though !

Make sure you post up a log so we can see it being built dude

 

[coffeefoot]

Dude at that price I would take the Sabertooth yeah. As I said, when it launched it was like £5 less than the RVE and not as good. That's why I've not really recommended it since.

At $309 though it's a bit of a no brainer.

It's a shame that the Asrock board is yellow. IIRC it's also treated so fully water proof. Asrock did a video of running a tap down it hahaha. Why they chose yellow is a mystery lost on me though !

Make sure you post up a log so we can see it being built dude

I just realized I can get a Gold 1050 watt psu or a Platinum 850 for the same money. Both by Seasonic.

 

[AlienALX]

Hmm I have heard conflicting things about Seasonic PSUs and coil whine/fan noise dude.

Not sure what your budget was but I would either go with EVGA or Superflower.

Jonny Guru liked this one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=1000w_power_supply-_-17-438-010-_-Product

Though I personally would get this, especially as it's only $20 more after discount code.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=1000w_power_supply-_-17-194-097-_-Product

I've used many power supplies over the years but the best I ever had was the Revolution 85+ 1250w. I held onto it for a while, but it wasn't fully modular like the revised Platimax so wouldn't really work in my Alienware. Tom saved my life with a fully braided Corsair AX1200 as I was skint.

But yeah, over the years the best PSUs I've had have all been Enermax.

Edit. Seems the Platimax is not fully modular so I guess it all depends on which case you are going for and how well you could hide the cables.

Edit 2. Didn't see how cheap the EVGA was after rebate.. Dang, that's hard to beat.

 

[coffeefoot]

Hmm I have heard conflicting things about Seasonic PSUs and coil whine/fan noise dude.

Not sure what your budget was but I would either go with EVGA or Superflower.

Jonny Guru liked this one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=1000w_power_supply-_-17-438-010-_-Product

Though I personally would get this, especially as it's only $20 more after discount code.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=1000w_power_supply-_-17-194-097-_-Product

I've used many power supplies over the years but the best I ever had was the Revolution 85+ 1250w. I held onto it for a while, but it wasn't fully modular like the revised Platimax so wouldn't really work in my Alienware. Tom saved my life with a fully braided Corsair AX1200 as I was skint.

But yeah, over the years the best PSUs I've had have all been Enermax.

Edit. Seems the Platimax is not fully modular so I guess it all depends on which case you are going for and how well you could hide the cables.

Edit 2. Didn't see how cheap the EVGA was after rebate.. Dang, that's hard to beat.

I did look at the Evga. I definitely want fully modular. Plus I think I'll go for custom cables (Cable Mods). Yea, Evga it is.

 

[Tolemac]

Seeing as EVGA's OEM is Superflower on certain PSU's good call

 

[Dicehunter]

X99.

/thread ^_^

 

[coffeefoot]

X99.

/thread ^_^

Duly noted. You are with the majority. (Close to election time here.lol).

 

[barnsley]

X99 gets my vote. You've got a great upgrade path cpu wise for many years to come on it.

 

[JR23]

If you've got unlimited budget you must move forwards with new shiny things and do a mad watercooling setup then X99. There's still plenty of fun to be had on Z77 and if your looking to get the most performance possible for a set budget stick with that and throw some mad graphics cards at it.

Going forwards I would personally avoid Seasonic, I have their flagship 1200XP3 and the fan noise is unbearably loud whenever it spins, and it spins during what i'd consider idle browsing. If your going to get into custom sleeving i'm sure you would appreciate a Silverstone. EVGA are great all round.

JR

 

[coffeefoot]

If you've got unlimited budget you must move forwards with new shiny things and do a mad watercooling setup then X99. There's still plenty of fun to be had on Z77 and if your looking to get the most performance possible for a set budget stick with that and throw some mad graphics cards at it.

Going forwards I would personally avoid Seasonic, I have their flagship 1200XP3 and the fan noise is unbearably loud whenever it spins, and it spins during what i'd consider idle browsing. If your going to get into custom sleeving i'm sure you would appreciate a Silverstone. EVGA are great all round.

JR

Good point Mr. J. I could just get another 980 and upgrade the motherboard and psu. Plus do the loop.