I5 4690k vs Xeon E3-1231 V3

[axell]

Hey,
Well I want to upgrade my current CPU ( AMD FX 8320) because It has horrible performance in a lot of MMOs because they're not really optimized for AMD ( looking at you wildstar and neverwinter and TERA and others).By horrible I mean 20-30fps on low settings in Neverwinter. I have an AMD Radeon R9 280 Dual-X OC 3GB graphics card so I know that's not the bottleneck in many of these games so I am looking to upgrade my CPU.

I know the I5 is better for overclocking but I'm not a big overclocking fan so I can do without. What should I choose if i want top notch speed and more future proofing ,especially since I also extensively use my pc for game and level design using Unity and Unreal and even so occasional 3D work.

Also if we are here I would like a good sturdy Mobo for my CPU as well. It shouldn't bee too expensive( around 100-110£) and if i would want to add an Intel Core i7 i7-4790K CPU sometime in the future i should be able to without changing it again.
I also already have an Hyper 212 Evo cooler already so cooling shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks in advance

[Blackmist]

Pretty much identical gaming performance, whether you go 4690K, 4790K or Xeon. Just about all games are limited by single thread performance, and all are about the same on that.

Also, Intel are changing their socket soon, afaik. Just get a cheap motherboard, because to get a meaningful performance upgrade in the future will require replacing it anyway. Once Skylake is here, you won't see any more upgrades on LGA 1150.

[mrgreenthump]

With the Xeon will probably be better if it's always on as it is what it's designed for.. But if you ever overclock 4690k is automaticly better. Would think 4790k or a bigger Xeon is better for what you are doing though(minimal game performance increase compared to 4690k). Also one thing to note is that as Xeon ain't really for overclocking you can go with a H97 board, which is cheaper than Z97. But again if the 4790k is in your head, a Z97 board is probably the only choice.

But as always, it probably makes sense to wait a bit for Skylake and see where the price and performance lands. It's only a month or so now anyways.

[axell]

With the Xeon will probably be better if it's always on as it is what it's designed for.. But if you ever overclock 4690k is automaticly better. Would think 4790k or a bigger Xeon is better for what you are doing though(minimal game performance increase compared to 4690k). Also one thing to note is that as Xeon ain't really for overclocking you can go with a H97 board, which is cheaper than Z97. But again if the 4790k is in your head, a Z97 board is probably the only choice.

But as always, it probably makes sense to wait a bit for Skylake and see where the price and performance lands. It's only a month or so now anyways.

That soon? Hmm then I guess waiting it out would be the smart choice since I could get a new socket mobo as well so it would be way more future proof. Any previews on the models/prices of the new skylake chips?

[fixx]

Xeon is cheapo option, but I wouldn't take it for two reasons. Lack of overclockability and lack of internal GPU. You might not need it now, but you will probably need it some day when your computer is acting up and you need to diagnose shit and can't remove graphics card because you dont have integrated in the CPU.

And yes, Skylake launch is rumored to be next week. Not even next month.

- - - Updated - - -

Any previews on the models/prices of the new skylake chips?

First releases are supposed to be same options as current overclockable models, ie. unlocked quad core (i5-6xxxK) and unlocked quad with HT (i7-6xxxK).

[axell]

Xeon is cheapo option, but I wouldn't take it for two reasons. Lack of overclockability and lack of internal GPU. You might not need it now, but you will probably need it some day when your computer is acting up and you need to diagnose shit and can't remove graphics card because you dont have integrated in the CPU.

And yes, Skylake launch is rumored to be next week. Not even next month.

- - - Updated - - -



First releases are supposed to be same options as current overclockable models, ie. unlocked quad core (i5-6xxxK) and unlocked quad with HT (i7-6xxxK).

Yea I've read it's on august 5th so I'll be waiting until then to make a decision. Thanks for the reply guys anyway

[mrgreenthump]

That soon? Hmm then I guess waiting it out would be the smart choice since I could get a new socket mobo as well so it would be way more future proof. Any previews on the models/prices of the new skylake chips?

The actual performance info is pretty non-existant for now.. Although think we got some MB previews(just showing the boards) earlier this year. Am not sure but think I have the date August 5th in my head somehow, maybe it was the embargo date for the Z170 and the K line.

Wikipedia has some info on what Skylake will do, but before we get the first CPU on our hands with actual benchmarks, the only thing we can take for now is that we get DDR4 support and a few handy upgrades.


Wikilink

[fixx]

Few weeks ago there was interesting rumor about Skylake performance, with 5.2GHz overclocking on air cooler. If that is true it will be really interesting release for the readers of this forum.

[mrgreenthump]

Few weeks ago there was interesting rumor about Skylake performance, with 5.2GHz overclocking on air cooler. If that is true it will be really interesting release for the readers of this forum.

"Air cooler" can mean anything. It possibly means Noctua D15 or comparable, but who knows. But I agree it should be pretty damn interesting if they manage this with the first iteration of 1151 socket.

[axell]

Once these new cpus are released it's natural for the older ones to drop in price right? Because If that i7 drops from 250£ to around 220 then i'll probably get that instead and be done with.

[fixx]

Once these new cpus are released it's natural for the older ones to drop in price right? Because If that i7 drops from 250£ to around 220 then i'll probably get that instead and be done with.

Maybe. Depends on how big stock your local store has and how desperately they want to dump the old stock.

Going with old stuff is dead-end for upgrade because the new motherboards are again incompatible with old processors so you cant ever upgrade without swapping mobo also from what you buy now. Also depending on how big the performance difference is (or is not) there might not be any point in buying current and soon to be old stuff.

You'll know the answer to both questions in few months if you're willing to wait that long.

[axell]

Maybe. Depends on how big stock your local store has and how desperately they want to dump the old stock.

Going with old stuff is dead-end for upgrade because the new motherboards are again incompatible with old processors so you cant ever upgrade without swapping mobo also from what you buy now. Also depending on how big the performance difference is (or is not) there might not be any point in buying current and soon to be old stuff.

You'll know the answer to both questions in few months if you're willing to wait that long.

Not really. I've put it off as much as I could but it is time to upgrade since it's becoming more of a hassle than needed. I will wait for a few weeks to see the new CPUs in action and see possible price drops but a few months is not worth it. Anyway I will wait until to see the unveiling the next week and will wait for the benchmarks and pricing. But from the previews i've seen the differences will not be huge in performance in order to justify the increase price.

[mrgreenthump]

Once these new cpus are released it's natural for the older ones to drop in price right? Because If that i7 drops from 250£ to around 220 then i'll probably get that instead and be done with.

Maybe, maybe not.. Intel usually just increases the price of the next CPU. When they release the cheaper non-K models, then we might see price drops, but if you look at their price curve, something like a 750 cost was 196 USD, 2500k was 216, 3570k was 225, 4690k was 242 and 6600k should be 242 as well. So 6600k is the first time we see no price increase. Maybe we will see price drop for the 4690k and 4790k, but it might be small compared to what retailers will do if they decide to purge their warehouses.

What we might see for real is DDR3 and MBs getting cheaper. At least at the biggest retailers.. There just won't be much point keeping a large stock of 1150 related stuff anymore. It's already happening where local stores no longer hold 1150 stock, you have to order them if you want it.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

"Air cooler" can mean anything. It possibly means Noctua D15 or comparable, but who knows. But I agree it should be pretty damn interesting if they manage this with the first iteration of 1151 socket.

* Liquid Nitrogen cooled air.

[mrgreenthump]

* Liquid Nitrogen cooled air.

Technically water cooling loops are still air cooled, the air cooled surface area is just way way bigger :P

[Lathais]

Technically water cooling loops are still air cooled, the air cooled surface area is just way way bigger :P

I dunno, my NH-D14 looks like it has more surface area that some radiators out there.

[Remilia]

Don't forget that water is a terrible thermal conductor but has a gigantic thermal capacity.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

Don't forget that water is a terrible thermal conductor but has a gigantic thermal capacity.

Bring on the mercury loop. Sure, it's a bit extremely poisonous, but what isn't these days?

[Remilia]

Bring on the mercury loop. Sure, it's a bit extremely poisonous, but what isn't these days?

Wonder how expensive that'll be. Probably very.

[Akainakali]

Don't forget that water is a terrible thermal conductor but has a gigantic thermal capacity.

It's a vastly better thermal conductor than air is, even if it sucks compared to a metal.