Exploring processor options

[Sidmouth]

Morning everyone,

So four years on from my first purchase its PC upgrade time from scratch.

I've decided on the majority of the spec however this time I'm giving the processor a little more thought than last time. I'm still undecided on going with the quad core again (6700k) or trying out the extreme lineup for the first time. I would say from a brief research the 8 core and 10 core are extreme and pricey unless anyone can point out some benefits.

I'm strongly considering the six core 6800k as it seems like a nice bump from last time out, but not too far as to sling money for the sake of things.

PC usage is as follows: -

1. Typical everyday usage (office etc)
2. Programming
3. Video editing
4. Streaming
5. Gaming
6. Movies/music
7. Photo editing/graphics

Quite rounded usage above, however am I going to benefit from anything beyond 4 cores or is it just chucking cash in the bin?

Thanks in advance for the replies.

 

[mantadog]

Things like photo editing and video editing will typically eat up whatever resources you throw at them, so if you spent a decent amount of time doing those things then it would be worth the 6800k in my opinion.

Gaming and the like does not really benefit from extra cores, they do prefer the higher clock speed so that would be a slight trade off if you went for the 6 core vs the 4 core i7. Thought realistically you wouldn't notice when gaming.

 

[Sidmouth]

Things like photo editing and video editing will typically eat up whatever resources you throw at them, so if you spent a decent amount of time doing those things then it would be worth the 6800k in my opinion.

Gaming and the like does not really benefit from extra cores, they do prefer the higher clock speed so that would be a slight trade off if you went for the 6 core vs the 4 core i7. Thought realistically you wouldn't notice when gaming.

Many thanks for the reply.

After a quick browse it seems the extra cores would be worth it and its only another £200 give or take.

I've also just discovered 'kabylake' is coming out so could be a winner.

Whether its worth waiting I'm not sure.

 

[Sidmouth]

So i've decided on an 'i76850k'.

The spec sheet on intel's site states it supports 2133/2400 RAM can it support higher frequencies than this as the pc specialist site lets you pick ram into the 3000mhz speeds?

I don't need this speed RAM but just curious.

 

[mantadog]

Yes it can support higher speed RAM but you would need to overclock to achieve the faster speeds, generally RAM speed doesn't have too much impact on performance anyway.

 

[Oussebon]

If you're buying an intel Extreme CPU and not overclocking it, you're doing it wrong.

Kidding aside, while Broadwell-E might not OC quite as well as Haswell-E, it still generally OCs higher above its stock frequencies than Skylake afaik. This means that it extends its lead in multi-threaded tasks like video editing quite significantly, while closing the gap that skylake has in terms of where it performs better (such as photo editing and gaming) at least somewhat. With OCing I believe the 6800k can generally reach the same frequencies as the 6850k, but requires more voltage to do so, so there is still some merit in going for the 6850k even fi you're looking at the same frequency.

That said an overclocked i7 6700k will still make pretty short work of whatever you want to throw at it. If you're not video editing / 3d rendering as a pretty serious hobby, you could save yourself the money and stick with Skylake, or wait for Kaby lake and get one of those if they're any good.

I would look at getting 2666MHz DDR4 at least, as it can give a bit of a performance boost there are situations where it really does make a difference (certain games really benefit from it) and the increase in cost isn't much over the cheaper stuff anyway.

 

[Sidmouth]

New upgrade - Few questions inside

The following specification will be used for the following: -

1. Everyday/Work
2. Programming
3. Photo editing
4. Video editing
5. Streaming
6. Gaming
7. Movies/Music

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ AIR 540 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-6850K (3.6GHz) 15MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X99: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s
Memory (RAM)
32GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2133MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Hard Disk
2TB Samsung 850 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD BLACK 3.5" WD2003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (£79)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-D15S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler (£69)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£89)
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Few Questions: -

1. Due to the nature/speed of this system I'm unsure as to whether SATA ssd's would bottleneck the system or whether I'd be better going all out for the PCI-E based storage?

2. Gaming wise I'm aiming for 3440x1440p on the new curved widescreen monitors available, will the GPU stand up to the challenge with regard to hitting top settings in games?

3. In terms of storage again would I be better going for the PCI-E storage for programs/OS and then making the SATA storage my go-to bulk storage for footage/photos etc or stick with the above and go for mechanical as the bulk storage?

thanks

 

[ubuysa]

I've merged your two threads because they appear to relate to the same request. If these are two different computers let me know and I'll un-merge them for you.

 

[Sidmouth]

I've merged your two threads because they appear to relate to the same request. If these are two different computers let me know and I'll un-merge them for you.

No thats fine. No problem at all.

 

[Sidmouth]

If you're buying an intel Extreme CPU and not overclocking it, you're doing it wrong.

This comment did make me think though, and reconsider my processor choice. Would you only overclock if purchasing the 6700k or 6800k series? Otherwise not purchase them at all?

Thanks

 

[Oussebon]

In your position I would consider having any of the CPUs mentioned overclocked. PCS do pre-overclocked systems here if you don't fancy overclocking yourself: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/desktop-pcs/intel-overclocked-computers/ (X99 is Broadwell-E/ 6800k etc, Z170 is Skylake/ 6700k)

Most of the additional cost of overclocking comes from things like high end motherboards, better PSUs, unlocked CPUs (i.e. ones with a -k at the end of them), all of which you're planning to buy anyway. So it could represent a significant performance boost for relatively little extra cost. Spec for spec, I think an overclocked PC is only ~£10 or so more expensive on PCS.

 

[Sidmouth]

It does make sense, I could afford to drop back to the 6800k save money and the clock speed is back beyond 4ghz which was my reasoning for picking the 6850k. In which case thanks for the follow up info.

 

[Sidmouth]

Yes I wouldn't consider doing the overclocking myself.

Will the overclocking reduce the lifespan of the system as I imagine other components need to match the increased speed of the cpu, aswell as the overall lifespan of the chip itself?

Or are the PC specialist overclocks quite conservative to avoid that scenario?

 

[Rakk]

Will the overclocking reduce the lifespan of the system as I imagine other components need to match the increased speed of the cpu, aswell as the overall lifespan of the chip itself?

Overclocking does reduce the lifespan of the CPU, however given that these CPUs can last well in excess of 10 years, even if you lose a few years, it's well past obsolete when that happens anyways - note: unless you're doing some crazy overcloking

 

[Scott]

I overclocked my current CPU the day I got it and it's still running strong. I think I would need to prime 95 it 24/7 for a year to get it to even hiccup

As suggested, pre-overclocked systems are where it's at. You get to have your warranty intact with the overclock too, which you won't have if you do it yourself (thems the breaks).

IMO you have already made the best choice with the 6850k. If I had a budget like that and I was in the market for a new desktop that's most definitely the route I would go down. Sure it will fall behind the 6700k marginally when gaming, it won't be noticeable though and it will blow it out the water with multi core applications.

This is what I would suggest. I'm not sure if you really need 32GB or not but I've selected it anyway as per your previous build. Notice the increase in frequency for not a lot more cash

Also, the CPU will only be 300mhz off of the 6700k overclocked so you won't be missing out on much at all.

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ AIR 540 GAMING CASE
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Six Core i7-6850K (3.6GHz @ MAX 4.3GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® X99-E: ATX, Broadwell-E CPU, USB 3.0, SATA 6 GB/s
Memory (RAM)
32GB HyperX SAVAGE DDR4 3000MHz (4 x 8GB Kit)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Hard Disk
2TB WD BLACK 3.5" WD2003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SAMSUNG SM951 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 2150MB/R, 1550MB/W)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (£79)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-D15S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler (£69)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£89)
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £2,407.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-x99-overclocked/60savNHT8G/

 

[Sidmouth]

Love the recommendation comes in at a great price and bumps the speeds elsewhere aswell thank you!

one question: -

1. Would changing the 2TB drive back to an ssd be spending the money just for the sake of spending, as I know once content has loaded its done and dusted. Im guessing its just down to loading times.

 

[Sidmouth]

Just thought of another question.

Were the m.2 drives brought about purely for OS boot drives more than anything or storage also obviously not as much due to cost?

thanks

 

[Scott]

Love the recommendation comes in at a great price and bumps the speeds elsewhere aswell thank you!

one question: -

1. Would changing the 2TB drive back to an ssd be spending the money just for the sake of spending, as I know once content has loaded its done and dusted. Im guessing its just down to loading times.

I'm not sure if you noticed that I selected an M2 drive in the above build? That would act as your OS with the 2TB WD Black drive as your storage drive. The WD Black is a REALLY fast mechanical drive, as good as it gets really. Replacing it with a smaller SSD would be a bit of a waste IMO as you're not really going to need SSD speeds with your storage media. The 512GB M2 drive will be an absolute flying machine. You could create an additional work partition in it if you wanted a "third" drive.

Just thought of another question.

Were the m.2 drives brought about purely for OS boot drives more than anything or storage also obviously not as much due to cost?

thanks

They are just SSD drives. The only difference is the connection. The M2 drives use the PCI-e slots which have much higher bandwidth than SATA hence why they operate much faster.

You will not really notice any operational difference between a M2 drive and a conventional SSD drive.

 

[Sidmouth]

I'm not sure if you noticed that I selected an M2 drive in the above build? That would act as your OS with the 2TB WD Black drive as your storage drive. The WD Black is a REALLY fast mechanical drive, as good as it gets really. Replacing it with a smaller SSD would be a bit of a waste IMO as you're not really going to need SSD speeds with your storage media. The 512GB M2 drive will be an absolute flying machine. You could create an additional work partition in it if you wanted a "third" drive.



They are just SSD drives. The only difference is the connection. The M2 drives use the PCI-e slots which have much higher bandwidth than SATA hence why they operate much faster.

You will not really notice any operational difference between a M2 drive and a conventional SSD drive.

I did yes, it seems to make sense. Plus by the looks of things it is an extra £400 just for a 2tb samsung ssd which is a bit steep just to say you can load programs a bit faster.

And the m.2 is booting and running the OS so should be snappy like you said. I think I've pretty much narrowed down every sub section now.

I changed the motherboard to the strix again as it has built in wifi.

I think other than that its spot on.

 

[Scott]

Programs will normally be installed on the M2 as well though so they will still open snappy. 512GB should be plenty for all your programs and games