3930k where does it sit these days ?

[Annisman*]

Built my current pc back in 2012 and rarely follow info on the cpus launched since then, though I do keep close watch on GPU releases.

With the launch of skylake I (think) it has now been 3 generations released since my build. I was disappointed to see that skylake doesn't even have a six core variant. Don't like the idea of dropping down to a quad.

So the simple question is am I missing out on anything yet with my 3930k in gaming ? Was considering doing a platform refresh in the next year or so, pointless or not ?

 

[Arachnotronic]

Probably a good idea to wait until 1H 2017 for Skylake-E. 3930K should be good until them, esp. if you're overclocked.

 

[scannall]

Built my current pc back in 2012 and rarely follow info on the cpus launched since then, though I do keep close watch on GPU releases.

With the launch of skylake I (think) it has now been 3 generations released since my build. I was disappointed to see that skylake doesn't even have a six core variant. Don't like the idea of dropping down to a quad.

So the simple question is am I missing out on anything yet with my 3930k in gaming ? Was considering doing a platform refresh in the next year or so, pointless or not ?

If you want another six core, just wait on it. You won't notice any perceptible difference in games anyway.

 

[YBS1]

Do you overclock the 3930K, and if so what do you run it at? I wouldn't trade my 3930K for any quad core unless my absolute top priority was single threaded performance. Even then a 3930K at ~4.5 or thereabouts isn't giving up too much performance. Unless you just enjoy new hardware (my weakness) I'd say you're still good for now.

 

[Annisman*]

Mines at 4.4Ghz, rock solid for 3 years now.

 

[NTMBK]

If you've got a recent GPU and a big, fast SSD, you're sorted.

 

[UnholyCarcass]

I don't think that you will see significant gaming gains moving towards skylake. If you are looking to upgrade have you considered upgrading your GPU? I feel that may give you a greater performance boost in gaming than switching platforms.

 

[frozentundra123456]

3930k at 4.4 should be good for the foreseeable future. Even Skylake E probably wont bring you more than 20 to 30 % gain. Only reason I would see to upgrade would be for the platform features or to go to 8 cores if you have apps that can use them (not games).

 

[Boze]

Gotta agree with frozen here, I don't think you should even consider upgrading until at least 7930K or 8930K.

We're just not seeing the massive performance increases we used to see that make upgrading a compelling reason to drop a load of cash. Hard to justify $1000 - $1300 for a guts upgrade (CPU / RAM / MB) when you see only around 10 - 18% performance increase, even if you could sell your i7 3930k / X79 mb / RAM for $500 - $800.

The performance per dollar just doesn't seem to be there.

 

[Arachnotronic]

3930k at 4.4 should be good for the foreseeable future. Even Skylake E probably wont bring you more than 20 to 30 % gain. Only reason I would see to upgrade would be for the platform features or to go to 8 cores if you have apps that can use them (not games).

This is a fair assessment, but with one caveat: Skylake-E should bring significantly more cores at the high end (10 for the $999 SKU) and could even see 8 cores at the $570 price point.

That, coupled with new platform features, might make for a compelling upgrade.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I hope you are right, but I have serious doubts.

 

[PPB]

It sits in the awkward, "less performance, but more multitasking than current intel 4c/8t" crowd.

In gaming it is definetely worse than the 4790k/6700k, because of ipc and clockspeeds, on the games 6 cores are better utilized, you are probably getting really high framerates with both already.

On productivity software, it might have a chance, but then again, those software really digs the 2 more execution ports introduced on haswell and later. Vray for example has the 4770k with a practical tie against the 4930k, which is already faster that the 3930k.

I would sell that platform asap while it still retains value in the used market and go with a mainstream 4c 8t personally.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

A six core 6930k will be at least 40-60% faster than a six core 3930k. At the very least.

 

[Arachnotronic]

It sits in the awkward, "less performance, but more multitasking than current intel 4c/8t" crowd.

In gaming it is definetely worse than the 4790k/6700k, because of ipc and clockspeeds, on the games 6 cores are better utilized, you are probably getting really high framerates with both already.

On productivity software, it might have a chance, but then again, those software really digs the 2 more execution ports introduced on haswell and later. Vray for example has the 4770k with a practical tie against the 4930k, which is already faster that the 3930k.

I would sell that platform asap while it still retains value in the used market and go with a mainstream 4c 8t personally.

This is a good point, but I think that the 3930K offers enough performance @ 4.4GHz that the OP can comfortably wait for either a much improved HEDT platform (i.e. Skylake-E) or wait for a future mainstream platform (i.e. Icelake mainstream).

Those Sandy Bridge chips really packed a lot of punch.

 

[Boze]

A six core 6930k will be at least 40-60% faster than a six core 3930k. At the very least.

How are you extrapolating these numbers?

 

[Arachnotronic]

How are you extrapolating these numbers?

I think they are a bit too optimistic.

Perf/clock improvements by generation:

SNB -> IVB ~ 5%
IVB -> HSW ~ 10%
HSW -> SKL ~ 10%

Perf/clock gain in going from SNB -> SKL is 27%.

To get to the low-end of that range(40%), Intel would need to boost clocks by 10% relative to the 3930K. This would imply ~3.5GHz base/4.2GHz max single-core turbo.

This seems too aggressive as 4.2GHz single-core turbo would be a big jump from the 3.7GHz max turbo that we saw in 5930K.

 

[moonbogg]

OP, I had a choice to make since I had limited funds. I was upgrade time for my rig, so I did my GPU's and monitor first and then contemplated a new platform upgrade. I could have bought a haswell-E platform, but decided to spend at least that much money on a whole new case and pretty hard core water cooling loop with water blocks for both GPU's and CPU.
It was the right call for me personally and don't regret it since I find no platform compelling at the moment, especially with a 3930K @ 4.6. I look forward to Skylake-E since that's the only thing that I feel would be a legit upgrade. When that platform drops, I'll jump on it. Maybe We'll be comparing benchmarks in those early adopter days.

 

[Annisman*]

OP, I had a choice to make since I had limited funds. I was upgrade time for my rig, so I did my GPU's and monitor first and then contemplated a new platform upgrade. I could have bought a haswell-E platform, but decided to spend at least that much money on a whole new case and pretty hard core water cooling loop with water blocks for both GPU's and CPU.
It was the right call for me personally and don't regret it since I find no platform compelling at the moment, especially with a 3930K @ 4.6. I look forward to Skylake-E since that's the only thing that I feel would be a legit upgrade. When that platform drops, I'll jump on it. Maybe We'll be comparing benchmarks in those early adopter days.

I'll meet you there buddy, gonna wait another generation for sure.