Help with new build to replace SB, Xeon or Skylake?

[simas]

Thank you for reading - my early 2011 SB system (2600K +Asus P8p67) continue to show instability (failing to come up, shutdowns) and I am thinking of replacing it.

wants
- a mix of light workstation/gaming. workstation would be video editing (kids videos) and gaming is in strategy/RPG areas. no shooters.
- for CPU/MB combination, something I can keep for 3+ years (I will reuse my 760GT at the start and then swap GPUs as needed over time)
- budget desired is ~$600 for MB+CPU+RAM

few other things
I live pretty close to Microcenter so that is an option.
I will not fiddle with overclocking unless it is dead simple

Questions
1) Is there anything in AMD worth looking at this point of time? Comparable or better than 2600K that I am leaving
2) Assuming Intel route, should I go for latest skylake (6700) or go with Xeon (i.e. 2620 E3) type of build? I looked at more threads vs higher clocked thread
3) are there good reasons to wait (incoming new chipset releases in the next 6 months, etc) that I may not be thinking about

thank you

 

[Arachnotronic]

1) Is there anything in AMD worth looking at this point of time? Comparable or better than 2600K that I am leaving

No.

2) Assuming Intel route, should I go for latest skylake (6700) or go with Xeon (i.e. 2620 E3) type of build? I looked at more threads vs higher clocked thread

The E3 chips are essentially the same as the i7 chips; are you referring to the E5? In that case, if you want high core count at the expense of single-thread performance you can go with Xeon E5 v3.

3) are there good reasons to wait (incoming new chipset releases in the next 6 months, etc) that I may not be thinking about

If you are going with the Skylake i7/Xeon E3 route, no. This is a great time to buy. If you want more cores, then wait for Broadwell-E/EP which will launch in Q1 2016 and be compatible with the current LGA 2011-v3 motherboards.

 

[simas]

Thank you Arachnotronic !

for Xeons, you are right I am looking at this as an option. 6/12T , 15 MB cache , 2.4 Ghz base clock.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/442349/Xeon_E5_2620V3_24GHz_LGA_2011-V3_Boxed_Processor

 

[Arachnotronic]

Thank you Arachnotronic !

for Xeons, you are right I am looking at this as an option. 6/12T , 15 MB cache , 2.4 Ghz base clock.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/442349/Xeon_E5_2620V3_24GHz_LGA_2011-V3_Boxed_Processor

It might be worth it to just pay a little more and get an i7 5820K. Base clock is much higher so total performance out of the box is much better, and if you overclock you can get some serious performance uplift over the Xeon.

 

[zir_blazer]

Check the full list here. The Xeon E5 1xxxV3 line has two models that are near identical to the Core i7s 5930K and 5960X (Except for the Unlocked Multiplier, so you can't overclock them) and are at the same price, E5-1650V3 and E5-1660V3. The E5 2xxx usually has more Cores and much lower Frequencies at around the same price, plus you can use them in a Dual Processor system, but for anything that doesn't scale with Threads they offer lower performance than the Single Socket parts, which is why they aren't popular for Desktop replacements.
An extremely interesing model is the Xeon E5-1620V3, it is only a humble Quad Core, but cost around 300 U$D, and is comparable to Xeon E3-1231V3 since it is around the same Frequency and has no IGP. Plus it has all 40 PCIe Lanes instead of Ci7 5820K 28.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I think Microcenter bundles for Skylake are still expensive relative to Haswell. I would still seriously consider 4790k if able to purchase it from MC.

 

[simas]

Thank you all, I would admit this is a little confusing.
When I look at Microcenter pricing there seem to be at least 4 choices at the same 300-340 price level locally in Chicago, all from multiple generations
4790K (300), 5820K (320), 6700K (320), E5 2620 V3 (340). there is also a cheaper $240 E3 1246V3 which is my understanding 4790 equivalent (without overclock).

 

[frozentundra123456]

Interesting. 6700k microcenter prices seem to have come down. Last time I checked my local store it was something like 360.00. Now it is showing the same prices as you.

If you look at the cpu/mb bundles though, you can save 80.00 by going with the 4790k.

 

[Headfoot]

I dont see any reason to buy a 2011-3 Xeon with 6 or 8 cores if your clock speed is in the 2 ghz range. That's just pokey. 5820k is the good buy IMO now, you can overclock them pretty high too now, 4.4+ is not too tough.