Exploring processor options

[Sidmouth]

Before I purchase the new build I've been reading reviews on the processor (i7 6850k) and it seems others are recommending to only get the 6800k if you intend on only 1 gpu as you don't require the 40 pci lanes of the higher model is this the case?

28 on the 6800 and 40 on the 6850 I imagine 28 is enough for 1 gpu plus everything else in the system. Would there be any benefit of the higher model at any point or going forward?

I thought I'd ask as this is getting down to a technical level I don't normally explore. But might aswell buy it right first time 😄

Thanks

 

[Wozza63]

Before I purchase the new build I've been reading reviews on the processor (i7 6850k) and it seems others are recommending to only get the 6800k if you intend on only 1 gpu as you don't require the 40 pci lanes of the higher model is this the case?

28 on the 6800 and 40 on the 6850 I imagine 28 is enough for 1 gpu plus everything else in the system. Would there be any benefit of the higher model at any point or going forward?

I thought I'd ask as this is getting down to a technical level I don't normally explore. But might aswell buy it right first time ��

Thanks

Nope, the 6850k seems almost pointless. It will be even more pointless if it's combined with the soon to be released PCIe 4.0 which should double bandwidth per lane again. Meaning that even the highest end cards should only be requiring 8 x PCIe 4.0 lanes for a long time. And even 8 x PCIe 3.0 is rarely a bottleneck over 16x.

This test here uses the GTX 1080: http://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/2488-pci-e-3-x8-vs-x16-performance-impact-on-gpus
And as you can see, gains are very minimal. So if you did want to SLI, it would still not be a big issue as you can run the second card or both in 8x and you would lose a couple frames at very most in gaming and other programs also very minimal difference. That difference in bandwidth does become more noticeable at much higher resolutions so if you are running triple 4K monitors or something then the 6850k might seem a reasonable investment.

 

[Oussebon]

The 6850k seems to run the overclock with a fair bit less voltage, and I gather that temps on Broadwell ramp up relatively fast once you go over 1.3v.

To what extent that's worth the £200 price difference I guess is open to debate. Possibly a very short debate, unless you're doing a lot of video editing/rendering etc.

(And I'm not disagreeing that this constitutes almost pointless btw, since it's quite situational )

 

[Wozza63]

The 6850k seems to run the overclock with a fair bit less voltage, and I gather that temps on Broadwell ramp up relatively fast once you go over 1.3v.

To what extent that's worth the £200 price difference I guess is open to debate. Possibly a very short debate, unless you're doing a lot of video editing/rendering etc.

(And I'm not disagreeing that this constitutes almost pointless btw, since it's quite situational )

I'll rephrase. Pointless for 99.9% of people in 99.9% of situations

The 6850k on the other hand is pointless for 99.7% of people in 99.7% of situations

 

[Scott]

The 6850 is just the better chip IMO. It offers a lot more headroom and potential than the 6800. Granted, it's a bit of a price jump but if it's within budget then I would go for it.

If you're not planning to overclock then I would go with the 6800, but then if you're not planning to overclock I would go with the 6700.

 

[Sidmouth]

Thanks for all the replies again. Very much appreciated.

I will be going for the overlocked build as suggested in the thread, although the points above regarding the 6800k have been noted. I'm gonna go for the 6850k as the 6800k is just the first nod in the higher core direction with none of the extra headroom. Whether thats a mistake I'll soon find out

 

[Wozza63]

LinusTechTips recently released a video regarding Intel CPU choices. It may be of some benefit to you.

[video=youtube;toZ_t88bPBU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toZ_t88bPBU[/video]

 

[Sidmouth]

Im just reviving my thread here for one final question before purchase. Left it for a while to mull it over.

Im going to purchase the i7 6850k and go for the overclocked option.

From experience from other users would you purchase the noctua air cooler or go for one of the corsair looped water coolers.

many thanks

 

[Scott]

6850k will get rather toasty with all 6 cores on an OC so the H100i would be my only choice.

 

[SpyderTracks]

6850k will get rather toasty with all 6 cores on an OC so the H100i would be my only choice.

I would agree. The Noctua's excellent, but not really for extreme overclocked processors.

 

[Sidmouth]

Thankyou, that answers everything I think time to purchase

thanks again.

 

[Sidmouth]

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ AIR 540 GAMING CASE
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Six Core i7-6850K (3.6GHz @ up to 4.3GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X99: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s, RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX SAVAGE DDR4 3000MHz (4 x 4GB Kit)
Graphics Card
8GB EVGA GEFORCE GTX 1080 FTW GAMING - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - 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)
M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3200MB/R, 1700MB/W)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i V2 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
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
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 10 (64-bit) Home DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Gaming Chair
GT Omega PRO Racing Office Chair - Black Next Red Leather
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SUNDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 12 NOON)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Order placed!

Safe to say I'm happy with that spec lineup. Meticulously researched.

Looking through the forums for the last 5 or so minutes I've seen other users checking power supply choices. Obviously the configurator stops you from ordering something which would lack power throughput, however I'm guessing the 750w above is ample even after peripheral plugin. I won't intend on plugging in another 1080 at any point so I'm thinking I'm safe.

thanks

 

[Scott]

Since you are at that level anyway I would suggest the 850. Not so much for the power requirements but simply for the features that it offers. The RM range is the top spec from Corsair which allows for zero RPM fan (no fan on at all when under moderate load). It's a good bit of kit with better components than the CS range.

Also, the FTW GTX1080 isn't really worth it to be honest, you could save a bit of cash and just go for the base model. That would easily offset the RM850x PSU costs if it was of any use.

 

[Oussebon]

Since you are at that level anyway I would suggest the 850. Not so much for the power requirements but simply for the features that it offers. The RM range is the top spec from Corsair which allows for zero RPM fan (no fan on at all when under moderate load). It's a good bit of kit with better components than the CS range.

Also, the FTW GTX1080 isn't really worth it to be honest, you could save a bit of cash and just go for the base model. That would easily offset the RM850x PSU costs if it was of any use.

+1 to the above.

Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i V2 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler

And you might want this with the PCS quiet fans