Since BDW-K is a bust, go with Devil's Canyon or move up to X99?

[JM Popaleetus]

I built the system in my signature last October, assuming Broadwell-K was going to happen. Up until that, I was happily running an X58 system, so I got a solid ~4.5 years out of it (and that's my usual barebones upgrade cycle). In two years I'll get a new SSD and Video Card.

Assuming I can sell my current barebones for ~$300, I can move up to X99 + 5820k + 16GB DDR4 for about $500. Or I could just buy a 4790k for ~$279 (I luckily have a Micro Center near me).

The dilemma in my head is that I could possibly get a lot more mileage from X99 for only ~$250 more. Thoughts? Or should I just stick with Devil's Canyon and be happy (which I'm more than capable of) :\.

The other option is, going with Devil's Canyon, and instead of a ~5 year cycle, upgrade to Cannonlake in two years...especially if Skylake truly turns out to be the next "Prescott to Conroe".

 

[Phynaz]

Where did you hear this? BW-K is still a thing as of now.

 

[JM Popaleetus]

Where did you hear this? BW-K is still a thing as of now.

Yes, a 65W Iris showcase. The top tier part is going to be the Core i7-5775C. Base clock of 3.3GHz, turbo clock of 3.7GHz. Four cores, eight threads and 6MB cache along with Iris Pro Graphics 6200.

While anything is possible, Devil's Canyon's true replacement is pretty much dead. Check either of the Broadwell threads: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2394938 or http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2423431

 

[ehume]

I'd spend the $280 on a Devil's Canyon, and wait 2 or 3 years. Or put your money in your pocket and wait a few years.

 

[JM Popaleetus]

I'd spend the $280 on a Devil's Canyon, and wait 2 or 3 years.

That's what I'm leaning towards. Especially if Intel is truly going to make some big changes within the next couple years. I was just curious as to if I was actually missing out on anything by not going with X99 (4 Channel DDR4, USB 3.1, etc.).

 

[podspi]

Don't forget about that huge cache you get w/ Iris. Depending on your workload, it can speed things up quite a bit, yes?

Unless you need something right now I'd sit and wait to see how 5775C turns out.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Well, Broadwell K is overclockable. Maybe you can get 4ghz out of it. But at this point I think I would wait for Skylake. Hopefully it will be out in the fall. OTOH, couldn't you just drop DK into the motherboard that you have?

 

[wrangler]

If you didn't already have a Z97 setup, I'd say 5820K but...

Supposedly there IS still going to be a Broadwell-E.

14nm with 40 pci-e lanes even on the entry level part.

I see you like to run SLI. Any chance your also going to want to run some PCI-e based NVMe SSD's as well?

 

[Phynaz]

Yes, a 65W Iris showcase. The top tier part is going to be the Core i7-5775C. Base clock of 3.3GHz, turbo clock of 3.7GHz. Four cores, eight threads and 6MB cache along with Iris Pro Graphics 6200.

While anything is possible, Devil's Canyon's true replacement is pretty much dead. Check either of the Broadwell threads: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2394938 or http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2423431

Disable the IGP and overrclock the crap out of it.

 

[crashtech]

The 4790K is where the best bang for the buck (for most things) is if you factor the entire system cost. X99 is way into the area of diminishing returns right now, despite what some of the hardcore CPU freaks will tell you.

 

[frozentundra123456]

If you were starting from scratch, you could make a case for Haswell E, but since you have a motherboard and ram, 4790K definitely makes sense.

 

[JM Popaleetus]

If you were starting from scratch, you could make a case for Haswell E, but since you have a motherboard and ram, 4790K definitely makes sense.

I agree.

After reading these comments and looking back at benchmarks, I don't see an additional $250 worth of value moving to X99 and DDR4. Anyone disagree? I'm primarily coding and gaming. That $250 would probably go father with more RAM for a ramdisk and/or a NVMe M.2 SSD.

I will wait to see how the 65W C part turns out, just in case it's an overclocking monster.

 

[escrow4]

Games want more and more threads. An i5 is now the baseline. And an extra $250 over the life of a system is nothing.

 

[alcoholbob]

Better to stick with Devil's Canyon. Even the worst chip will easily hit 4.6GHz on a stock cooler.

Overclocking a 5820K is a lot more of a hail mary. I've seen plenty barely hit 4GHz so it's a real chip lottery with those. A 5820K in a small handful of games is maybe 5-8% faster than an equally clocked Devil's Canyon. Point is unless you hit the lottery you aren't even going to hit equal clocks so the extra cores is worthless for gaming in practice.

 

[tenks]

I'm building a x99 5820k from scratch (minus 1 SSD).

Most people on here seem gaming/OC centric, so they will obviously not reccmoned x99. But it depends on what you're doing. I myself shoot and edit video for a living. And the amount of 4k footage Im starting to push around is increasing every month. I actually need the benefits of more cores/cache/memory bandwidth etc. DDR4 prices are dropping fast btw, and if you're as close as you say you are to microcenter, you can get a 5820K for $299. And Newegg as the MSI X99S SLI Plus for $150. That's a FRICKIN steal.

just my 2 cents

 

[Shmee]

Since you already have the Z97, I would go with a 4790k and a NVMe PCIE SSD if possible.

 

[nenforcer]

DDR4 prices are dropping fast btw, and if you're as close as you say you are to microcenter, you can get a 5820K for $299. And Newegg as the MSI X99S SLI Plus for $150. That's a FRICKIN steal.
just my 2 cents

DDR4 prices aren't dropping as quickly as they will once Skylake comes end of 2Q 2015 which takes it mainstream.

TS should really wait for both Broadwell-K AND Skylake before making a decision on whether to go with Broadwell-K Z97 or Haswell-E X99.

Of course if you want to make a change today, as others have suggested, then the 4690 / 4790 Devils Canyon Haswell Refresh is the way to go.

 

[JM Popaleetus]

Thank you all again for the input. My Pentium Anniversary is a great toy, but I'm not going to be able to game on it past this year.

So, I'm going to continue to wait and see how Broadwell-K/C and Skylake turns out. But as suggested, I'm leaning towards an 4790K. Seems to make the most sense to get the most out of my Z97 setup and let DDR4, USB3.1, and the SATA wars (M.2, Express, etc.) mature.

EDIT: Not to mention, a lesser upgrade now makes more sense with VR about to take off.

 

[sxr7171]

I built the system in my signature last October, assuming Broadwell-K was going to happen. Up until that, I was happily running an X58 system, so I got a solid ~4.5 years out of it (and that's my usual barebones upgrade cycle). In two years I'll get a new SSD and Video Card.

Assuming I can sell my current barebones for ~$300, I can move up to X99 + 5820k + 16GB DDR4 for about $500. Or I could just buy a 4790k for ~$279 (I luckily have a Micro Center near me).

The dilemma in my head is that I could possibly get a lot more mileage from X99 for only ~$250 more. Thoughts? Or should I just stick with Devil's Canyon and be happy (which I'm more than capable of) :\.

The other option is, going with Devil's Canyon, and instead of a ~5 year cycle, upgrade to Cannonlake in two years...especially if Skylake truly turns out to be the next "Prescott to Conroe".

I like your last sentence.

 

[tenks]

DDR4 prices aren't dropping as quickly as they will once Skylake comes end of 2Q 2015 which takes it mainstream.

the sky is blue

 

[JM Popaleetus]

I like your last sentence.

Words of the rumor mill, not me.

 

[RussianSensation]

I agree.

After reading these comments and looking back at benchmarks, I don't see an additional $250 worth of value moving to X99 and DDR4. Anyone disagree? I'm primarily coding and gaming. That $250 would probably go father with more RAM for a ramdisk and/or a NVMe M.2 SSD.

I will wait to see how the 65W C part turns out, just in case it's an overclocking monster.

I am pretty confused.

4790K is $280 + tax
5820K is $300 + tax at MC

Option 1: sell 3258 for $50 and get the 4790K for ~$300 after tax => costs you about $250 out of pocket.

Option 2: Sell CPU+mobo+DDR3 for $300. Now Asrock X99 Extreme 4 + 5820K is $477 after 6% tax. 16GB (4x4GB) sticks is $160.

What we have then is $477 + $160 - $300 = $337 USD for an X99 board that has more features than most Z97 boards. Sounds to me like only a $90 premium over going with a 4790K. If you keep your CPUs/platform for 4-5 years, as you described in the OP, extra $90-100 for an X99 6-core CPU is a no brainer. I am not entirely sure where you are getting the $250 of additional premium if you go X99.

 

[JM Popaleetus]

I am pretty confused.

The additional $100 was from going with an ASUS X99-Pro (2015 revision with USB 3.1).

While I am sure the ASRock is a solid board, I've personally have always gone with ASUS and Gigabyte...plus the onboard Wi-Fi will be of use to me.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Better to stick with Devil's Canyon. Even the worst chip will easily hit 4.6GHz on a stock cooler.

Overclocking a 5820K is a lot more of a hail mary. I've seen plenty barely hit 4GHz so it's a real chip lottery with those. A 5820K in a small handful of games is maybe 5-8% faster than an equally clocked Devil's Canyon. Point is unless you hit the lottery you aren't even going to hit equal clocks so the extra cores is worthless for gaming in practice.

I think you will be *lucky* to get a 4790k that will do 4.6 on all cores with the stock cooler. I think it is a reasonable expectation with a good aftermarket air cooler, but not on the stock one.

 

[crashtech]

NOT higher IPC. IPC is the same. Higher clocks on average, so higher ST and higher throughput overall up to a certain number of maxxed out threads.