Xeon E5 2620 V2 or i7 4790K?

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asim1999

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Which CPU and motherboard combo:
i7 4790K + Asus Z97-WS
Xeon E5 2620 V2 + MSI Big Bang Xpower ii ?

I am building a PC that will se me through at least the next five years for both college and university. I am gonna do a lot of IT/Computing related work on there such as coding assignments and a TON of essays and research and presentation.
Also will do a fair bit of gaming with an R9 290 as my GPU for the next 2-4 years.

Basically a no-compromise student workhorse and gaming machine
which of the two options is best for my needs?
thanks for the responses.

 
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DubbleClick

DubbleClick

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No, it won't. You're looking at a cpu that isn't designed for gaming. Compare the 2.1 ghz base clock of the xeon to the 4.0 ghz base clock of the 4790k, which you might even take up to 4.6-4.8ghz, contrary to the locked xeon. This doesn't mean the xeon is bad, it is simply a server cpu and not suited for personal gaming.
 
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DHFF

DHFF

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I use a Xeon and I dont have any problem with gaming. The only difference between the two is that the Xeon doesnt have intergrated graphics (which is not an issue since you have a dedicated card) and you really cant over clock a xeon. I have played games like Civilization which is very CPU intensive and games like Skyrim which is very graphic heavy and my chip handles them like a pro.

IF you like like to Overclock then by all means get the i7. otherwise you are getting more chip for the money with a Xeon.
HOWEVER Getting an E5 locks you into the 2011 socket so any future upgrade will have to be 2011 based. there are plenty of server grade chips that go with it so no worries there. Getting an i7 gives you a broader selection of sockets like Haswell. both have plenty of options it just depends where you want to go in the future.
 
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DubbleClick

DubbleClick

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Xeon isn't xeon. For example there's the xeon e5 2697v2, which has 12 cores on 3.5ghz turbo clock.
It costs 2500 euro (3300 dollar) here in germany and isn't as good in gaming as a i7 4770k on base speed.
12 cores with 3.5ghz vs 6 cores with 2.6ghz on the xeon he suggested here.
If a 3300 dollar high end xeon performs less good than an i7 4770k (in gaming!), how do you think the 450 dollar xeon he suggested will compare to the i7 4790k?

You might want to read this.
 
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DubbleClick

DubbleClick

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I have a i7 4790k and an old q6600 on 3.0ghz. Even that one suffices for coding or uni work. The i7 won't even be working to 5% of its capacity.
 
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Beezy

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Coding isnt all that intensive, running IDE's and emulators though can start to eat up resources. Id focus on good and a lot of RAM and just leave it at the i7. Even the i5 4690 (eventually overclocked) is enough for gaming. I think personally the i7's Hyper Threading tech will leave you worry free from upgrades for years to come (also assuming games utilize it better- which it appears they will; DX 12 etc)
 
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DHFF

DHFF

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Yes I use a E3 1230v3. As far as comparing a 12 core chip to an i7, that isnt a fair compare because games are famous for not using more then 2-4 cores. so yea a 12 core chip at lower speeds wont do as well as a chip with 4 cores and higher clock speed.

In this case I think you are perhaps over thinking things a bit. He wants a good general purpose chip. Either will really be fine for his needs. Both have thier pros and cons. the i7 will be better at gaming and Over clocking. the Xeon will be better at multi tasking and crunching numbers and code but both will handle either task with decent results.

That being said you could save yourself a bit of money and Get an E3 1230, they are about $250 and as DubbleClick pointed out, they give very similar performance to an i7.
 
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Beezy

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no they are locked and use lower binned silicon which doesnt take to the extra heat or stress very well. You could overclock with the front side bus setting though to get a tiny overclock, not one youre likely to feel outside of benchmarks though. Plus FSB overclocks raise the DRAM and other components with it, bringing overall heat up on the board.
 
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DHFF

DHFF

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No they are designed for servers which count on stability, Intel figured businesses wouldn't be over clocking their servers.
anything in the i core family ending in a K can be overclocked. its good for games because games only use a few cores and benefit from raw clock speed. i5 chips rule the gaming camp because they handle single threaded applications like games very well. Xeons are good if you will be running lots of things at once or using software that pulls a lot of resources.

In all honest a 6 core chip probably is more then you are looking for. I would save some cash and stick with a 4 core chip. Hell even an i5 is plenty of chip. I have 2 servers at work that I built with i5 chips and they each host about 6 machines with no lag.
 
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DHFF

DHFF

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If you are going to get the i7, especially if you are going to overclock, get a better heat sink and fan. something like the Cooler master Hyper 212EVO. the stock fans and heat sinks give very "meh" performance and are not designed to handle over clocking at all.
If you get the 212 make sure you have a big case, you will need about 7" clearance from the motherboard to your side panel.
 
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DHFF

DHFF

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Nice.
The Corsair 450D is very nice too. plenty big and it has pretty impressive dust management. nearly every vent has a pretty sleek dust filter that is held by magnets so they peel off easy, clean then slap them back on, no screws, no sliding. I am thinking about upgrading to one.
 
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DubbleClick

DubbleClick

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Well, the E5 2620 that has been suggested has a base clock of 2.1ghz. It is suited for being a low power demanding work station/server, not for a gaming machine :p
 
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DHFF

DHFF

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Well initially his request was for mainly a workstation with some gaming but over the course of this thread he has shifted to wanting more of a gaming rig and Over Clocking so i7 there you go :)
 
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WoodenSaucer

WoodenSaucer

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If you don't care about overclocking, check into the Xeon e3 line, like the 1230v3 or higher if you want more clockspeed. They work with the Z97 boards, are identical to a locked i7 minus the integrated graphics, and they are significantly cheaper.

But if you do care about overclocking, go with the i7.
 
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