Z87 vs X79 questions.

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iEastwood

iEastwood

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Jul 3, 2013
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Ok, so im building a gaming computer for the 1st time so im new to the different components. I have a budget of about $1900. I have had many people tell me to get a z87 MOBO but have also been told that x79 is better. Can someone please explain the differences in these and why i should get 1 over the other???
Also, what GPU is good for gaming?
 
Solution
MauveCloud
Z87 is for LGA1150 Haswell CPUs. X79 is for LGA2011 Sandy Bridge-E CPUS, which have more cores and threads, but those make little difference for gaming over a 4 core/4 thread i5 cpu. I think X79 has more PCI express lanes which allows more bandwidth when using 3 or 4 video cards. I'd say X79 is only worth it if you do something more cpu-intensive than gaming on your computer (e.g. video editing), or have a budget over $3k.
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MauveCloud

MauveCloud

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May 7, 2010
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Z87 is for LGA1150 Haswell CPUs. X79 is for LGA2011 Sandy Bridge-E CPUS, which have more cores and threads, but those make little difference for gaming over a 4 core/4 thread i5 cpu. I think X79 has more PCI express lanes which allows more bandwidth when using 3 or 4 video cards. I'd say X79 is only worth it if you do something more cpu-intensive than gaming on your computer (e.g. video editing), or have a budget over $3k.
 
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Solution
Sakkura

Sakkura

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Aug 22, 2011
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Yeah, X79 is a good choice if you need more than 2 graphics cards, or if you run programs that utilize more than 4 cores effectively and need the best performance possible.

Z87 is cheaper and at least as good (in some ways better) for most regular usage, including gaming.
 
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Eximo

Eximo

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May 27, 2010
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X79
Quad channel DDR3 (you need four matched sticks for this)
40 PCIe lanes (allows for dual 16x, quad 8x on larger boards)
i7-3820 quad core w/overclocking 130W (despite not having the k)
i7-3930k hex core w/ overclocking 130W
i7-3960x hex core w/overclocking +3mb l3 cache 130W
requires expensive cooling solution.
upcoming Ivy bridge E chips should support x79. Q1 2014?

Z87
6 native intel Sata III ports
PCIe 3.0 at dual 8x and/or one additional at 2.0 8x
Dual channel DDR3 memory.
i7-4770k (84W) quad core w/overclocking and hyperthreading (average 4.3-4.5Ghz)
i5-4670k (84W) quad core (average 4.3-4.5Ghz)
Requires expensive cooling solutions.
Upcoming Broadwell chips should be supported in this platform 2015.

z77
i7-3770k (77W) quad core with hyperthreading 4.5-4.8Ghz
i5-3570k (77W) quad core with hyperthreading 4.5-4.8Ghz
lower cost cooling works.
Latest chip for this socket, no upgrade path.

Dual GTX770 is about as good as it gets cost/performance on an expensive system. Single card solution would be a GTX780.

For AMD a pair of 7970, but crossfire is not exactly desirable. A single 7970 is a good 1900 budget option. Then you can pour money into SSD or monitors.
 
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