Primarily Gaming Purposes - z97 or x99 ?

Primarily Gaming Purposes - z97 or x99 ?

  • Z97

  • x99


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sidrockrulz

Member
Sep 26, 2014
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Hello All,

I'm looking to build a primarily gaming PC at a pretty good budget..

Is the x99 platform better than the z97 for this purpose ?

Does it justify the price difference on components as the x99 will need DDR4, a 5 series CPU.. all of which are more expensive.

I'm also planning to keep it for about 4 years ! So, is the Hexacore a worthy investment ?

PS: There will be OC involved, watercooled loops, 2 way SLI for sure, Maybe 3 in the future...
 
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biostud

Lifer
Feb 27, 2003
18,251
4,765
136
Since you have the money to spend I would go for the x99. But if you look on gaming the z97 would get the same results as the x99. If that will change during the next four years is pure speculation.

I chose the x99 over the z97 because I wanted the top platform.
 

schmuckley

Platinum Member
Aug 18, 2011
2,335
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z97 all the way.Mucho higher IPC
Take it for what it is;I'm about to get banned for a bit.
But I ain't lyin'
For any kind of gaming.
 

mindbomb

Senior member
May 30, 2013
363
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It really depends on how significant the price difference is. A 4790k is about the same price as a 5820k. Some of the high end z97 boards cost about as much as entry level x99 boards. Really high end ddr3 can cost only a little less than some of the most affordable ddr4. It's plausible that someone could go z97 to save money and not even save that much.
 

sidrockrulz

Member
Sep 26, 2014
103
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Since you have the money to spend I would go for the x99. But if you look on gaming the z97 would get the same results as the x99. If that will change during the next four years is pure speculation.

I chose the x99 over the z97 because I wanted the top platform.

Considering it ;)

I'm still speculating on pricing of components/future upgradablity n stuff..
 

sidrockrulz

Member
Sep 26, 2014
103
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It really depends on how significant the price difference is. A 4790k is about the same price as a 5820k. Some of the high end z97 boards cost about as much as entry level x99 boards. Really high end ddr3 can cost only a little less than some of the most affordable ddr4. It's plausible that someone could go z97 to save money and not even save that much.

Sure...

But based on upgradability, looksl like the Broadwell K will be socket 1150. And it currently looks like the z97 platform is geared more towards gamers, no ?
 

Flapdrol1337

Golden Member
May 21, 2014
1,677
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Depends on your disposable income.

Overclocking an i5 is the sensible thing. If you want a better cpu than the i5 I'd get a 5820K, motherboard and memory will be a bit more expensive, but hey, could get by with a dualchannel ddr4 kit right? it'll still outperform ddr3 :), ddr4 price will drop eventually.
 

biostud

Lifer
Feb 27, 2003
18,251
4,765
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A must have review for sure,, But it performs lesser than the 4970k in almost every aspect of gaming ?

Are you trying to say " Buy the 4790k for gaming.." ?

Basically they're equally good for gaming. You get extra CPU power in the 5820K, but no games really takes advantage of it ATM. And the platform costs a bit more than z97.
 

sidrockrulz

Member
Sep 26, 2014
103
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Depends on your disposable income.

Overclocking an i5 is the sensible thing. If you want a better cpu than the i5 I'd get a 5820K, motherboard and memory will be a bit more expensive, but hey, could get by with a dualchannel ddr4 kit right? it'll still outperform ddr3 :), ddr4 price will drop eventually.

Hmmm... Should i be considering the possibility of upgrading to a Broadwell-K on the Socket 1150 later soon or just get the 5820k and keep it for 4 years ?
 

biostud

Lifer
Feb 27, 2003
18,251
4,765
136
Dont games like Crysis 3 and BF4 use all cores ?

maybe, but the video cards are still the limiting factor.

The reason I went with 5820K:
16x/8x SLI/CF + 4xPCIe 3.0 lanes
40-50% extra CPU power i multit-hreaded software
not so much more than a 4790K platform if you look at total system cost
 
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sidrockrulz

Member
Sep 26, 2014
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maybe, but the video cards are still the limiting factor.

If the display and game and motherboard should support it and not bottleneck, why would it be so ?

The reason I went with 5820K:
16x/8x SLI/CF + 4xPCIe 3.0 lanes
40-50% extra CPU power i multit-hreaded software
not so much more than a 4790K platform if you look at total system cost

Just curious , what motherboard did you go for ?
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,352
10,050
126
z97 all the way.Mucho higher IPC
Take it for what it is;I'm about to get banned for a bit.
But I ain't lyin'
For any kind of gaming.

I don't see how the IPC can be higher, they are both the same Haswell core, and IPC is dependent on core architecture primarily.

It may overclock higher (Z97 platform), that's why people suggest sticking with 1150, and it's of course cheaper.
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
15,727
1,456
126
I don't see how the IPC can be higher, they are both the same Haswell core, and IPC is dependent on core architecture primarily.

It may overclock higher (Z97 platform), that's why people suggest sticking with 1150, and it's of course cheaper.

But the limits for the 4790K seem fairly stark, unless the indications I've seen lately are coming from noobies. We're also looking at "sheer Ghz" comparisons. Of course, some games only require so many threads, and the X99 shines more for specific types of applications that could take advantage of the horse-power.

Between the two, I'm not definitely sure either way . . . That's why I'm holding on to my money a little longer. I definitely have "a plan," though . . . Or -- I'm working on a plan, anyway . . .
 

sidrockrulz

Member
Sep 26, 2014
103
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But the limits for the 4790K seem fairly stark, unless the indications I've seen lately are coming from noobies. We're also looking at "sheer Ghz" comparisons. Of course, some games only require so many threads, and the X99 shines more for specific types of applications that could take advantage of the horse-power.

Between the two, I'm not definitely sure either way . . . That's why I'm holding on to my money a little longer. I definitely have "a plan," though . . . Or -- I'm working on a plan, anyway . . .

Oh sure.. But my primary use of this rig will be to play games... So..

Other than that.. act as a HTPC.. and other than that a little Photoshop and lightroom !
 

crashtech

Lifer
Jan 4, 2013
10,524
2,111
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Oh sure.. But my primary use of this rig will be to play games... So..

Other than that.. act as a HTPC.. and other than that a little Photoshop and lightroom !
Given your usage, there is little reason to doubt that a 4790K will be plenty for the next several years. Sandy Bridge CPUs like the i7-2600K and 2700K are still holding up very well nearly four years later, overclocked examples of which are still in the running compared to Ivy Bridge and Haswell. There's no reason to believe CPU development is going to accelerate, quite the opposite in fact.
 
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sidrockrulz

Member
Sep 26, 2014
103
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Given your usage, there is little reason to doubt that a 4790K will be plenty for the next several years. Sandy Bridge CPUs like the i7-2600K and 2700K are still holding up very well nearly four years later, overclocked examples of which are still in the running compared to Ivy Bridge and Haswell. There's no reason to believe CPU development is going to accelerate, quite the opposite in fact.

Yessir... I may get the BroadwellK when it comes out... But im thinking i do not really need the skylake or the x99 platform now...
 

sidrockrulz

Member
Sep 26, 2014
103
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The only hangup is your desire to use 3 GPUs.

Why so ?

MOBO with a PLX Chip ?

Also, the reason i am thinking about it is that, when Broadwell K comes out, it may support 3GPU... And it is going to work on the Z97, 1150 Socket.. And it would be a bummer to not be able to put in a third card when it supports it and if i want to ! :(
 

crashtech

Lifer
Jan 4, 2013
10,524
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It's personal preference, but if I was speccing out a system that was for sure going to get 3 GPUs, I would automatically go to the system that supports that natively, and that is X99.

Having been the SLI route in the past, and knowing how well today's high-end GPUs perform, I would just not want to deal with multi-GPU anymore unless it was an absolute necessity. It doesn't always work, and it doesn't seem to improve minimum frame rates too much anyway.