Z97 or X99 - image editing and gaming

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
M

martinch

Distinguished
Mar 21, 2014
837
26
19,640
Hi guys,

I'm looking at building a new PC, and I'm trying to decide between Z97 (i7 4790K), and X99 (i7 5820K). I will be using it for the following:

  • ■ Photo Editing ("raw" files). I'll be editing up to 36MP 14bit-per-pixel images, stored in Nikon's NEF "raw" format. I'll be using a mix of Nikon Capture NX/NX-D (multi-threaded), Adobe Lightroom (single-threaded edit, multi-threaded import/export), and GIMP (multi-threaded?)
    ■ Games. I mostly play a mix of strategy (Civilisation V, Sins of a Solar Empire Rebellion, Dawn of War 1/2, Company of Heroes 1/2, X-Com Enemy Unknown, Tropico 4, Supreme Commander, Shogun 2) and first-person games (S.T.A.L.K.E.R, Crysis 1/2, Borderlands 2, Metro 2033/Last Light, Bioshock trilogy). I think there's a mix of single-threaded and multi-threaded in there.
    ■ Development. I occasionally use Microsoft Visual Studio (multi-threaded).

I was originally looking at the i7-4790K, as it has very good multi-threaded performance, combined with excellent single-threaded performance. This would be combined with an ASUS Z97-Pro, 16GB 1866MHz CL9 DDR3, GTX 760, and Noctua NH-U12S.

However, with the i7-5820K only being another £50, I'm half-tempted by this, together with an ASUS X99-A, and 16GB 2666MHz CL15 DDR4 (I assume the Noctua cooler would be OK..?).

So, given my usage, is it worth spending the extra £220 on the X99 platform? I'm guessing the i7-4790K's multi-threaded performance is probably good enough, and single-threaded performance should be better, which would mean that overall the answer is "no".

Having said this, there is something attractive about the X99 platform as a whole. Whilst I can't see myself using more than 6 SATA devices, the Z97-Pro's 8 PCI-E (PCH) lanes seem to run out fast (it seems to suffer from "if you use X, Y is impaired" a lot), which doesn't seem to be as much of a problem on X99. I don't intend on plugging in a lot of expansion boards (I can only think of a sound card, perhaps), but it might be an issue with external devices - if I use 5-6 rear USB sockets it impairs/removes one of the PCI-E x1 and the PCI-E x4 slot, and I will be at 5 sockets (keyboard, mouse, 2 HDDs, printer). Having said that, I could just spend £15-25 on a hub or bracket for one of the internal headers (for the HDDs - only 1 will be on, but I can't be bothered switching cables over) ... I guess I'm reading more into this than I should..? :??:

So ... am I being daft thinking of going with Z97 over X99..?

Thanks! :)

P.S. I'm not interested in over-clocking, nor using SLI, and am looking to keep the PC for at least 5 years (although I appreciate it's unlikely I'd be able to play "modern" games on it in 5 years).
 
Solution
guanyu210379
Regarding X99, I am with indy17. I see no point getting it unless you want it bad.
X99 platform does not fall into my price/performance price class.

The Xeon E3-1231V3 and 1230V3 are the hidden diamonds in the processor jungle.
Yes, those two are compatible with any normal Z/H87 and Z/H97 mobos.
About "some features may not work on consumer boards, check our support page" == the onboard GPU will not work since 1230/1231V3 does not have any iGPU. If you connect the HDMI or any display output on the mobo, it will not work.

The difference between 1231V3 and 1230V3 is minimal, you won't really noticed the difference.

If those 2 Xeons are more expensive than 4790k, you might simply take 4790k.
The base/stock frequency for 4790k is higher...
Sort by date Sort by votes
I

indy17

Reputable
Aug 25, 2014
106
1
4,710
If you go with the Z97 and 4790k, well that seems to be the last stop for this socket. In 5 years, if you want to upgrade, you`ll prolly have to toss all that out and get the modern staff.

The Z99 however is new and it looks like it is going to stay here for a while, CPU, PCIe lines, RAM wise.
BUT the downside it will cost you 50 more pounds only for the CPU. Dont forget that the Mobo is almost 400 bucks atm. The RAM is expensive too.

At this point, the ball is in your court as to decide whether you want to spend the extra buck for the future proof + upgradability or just stick with the best bang for the buck atm, but toss it all out in 5 years.

IMHO
indy

EDIT: If you dont want any OC atm, then go with the NON K versions, CPU and Mobo wise. Save the money and in 2 years switch to the Z99 socket by tossing all the other staff out (or selling it at 24% of it`s actual price) :lol:
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
guanyu210379

guanyu210379

Illustrious
Mar 30, 2007
7,684
25
38,115
+1 above
The performance difference between Z97+4790k and X99+5820k is not really worth the price difference.
DDR4 will cost an arm and a leg too.
If you said X99+5930k or 5960x, I will ask you if you really need such premium price.

Extra info for you,
if you do not OC, plan to get a dedicated GPU, do not plan to use the iGPU, you can consider E3-1231V3.
That Xeon in a hidden price/performance monster. It is basically an i7 4790, slightly underclocked, without the iGPU and as expensive/cheap as an i5 4690k.




 
Upvote 1 Downvote
M

martinch

Distinguished
Mar 21, 2014
837
26
19,640

Yeah, I'd heard that Broadwell would use it, but Skylake wouldn't, which gives it a year, maybe..? To be honest, I'd assumed that whatever I selected, any major upgrade would largely be a "purchase new computer" exercise, as I'm guessing PCI-E4+ or DDR5, etc would be out, and something wouldn't be compatible, and therefore require a new motherboard and/or CPU..? (I know the X-series chipsets tend to last longer, but LGA-2011 & LGA-1366 both managed 4 years?) I'm currently on nVidia nForce 570 ... :(


Yeah, it does appear to have got all of the new shiny things. :)


I worked it out, and it was roughly another £220 in all - £50 for the 5820K (£290), £50 for the X99-A (£195), and £120 for 16GB Corsair 2666MHz DDR4 (£255). If I looked at Crucial's Ballistix 2400MHz C16 RAM, that would save £65, and there are some MSI/Gigabyte X99 motherboards in the £160-£180 bracket (UD3, SLI-Plus)...


Honestly, the main reason for asking was my uncertainty around Lightroom and single-threaded applications. I know that it is multi-threaded when importing and exporting (which makes the 5820K look good, as this can be 100-200 images), but it (apparently) doesn't use all available cores, and editing is still (from what I can find) single-threaded (which makes the 4790K look good). I'm not sure if this behaviour means that overall there wouldn't be enough difference to justify the more expensive platform, or even make it slower..? (Obviously clock-speed doesn't solely determine performance, as you've got cache and memory bandwidths, etc)

Like I said, I'm leaning towards the Z97 platform, but part of me keeps on thinking I should look at X99 (possibly because it's "shiny"), and I'm just trying to avoid doing something dumb ... :??:


The only reason why I wasn't looking at the 4790 (non-K) was the K version is has a higher clock (4.0 vs 3.6), which I thought might be worth the extra £20 - if they were clocked the same, I wouldn't be looking at it. :)


Whilst I was aware of them, I didn't realise that you could use the Xeons in the Z-series of boards, as ASUS, Gigabyte, etc didn't say on their specs sheet. :( Typically, ASUS have it in their CPU list, but they say "some features may not work on consumer boards, check our support page" (which, when you search for Xeon, yields no results). :(

Sadly, Xeons are quite hard to find here, and those stores that do stock them, don't stock that one (only the 1230v3 and 1240v3). I could only find a third-party seller on Amazon selling it, and they wanted more than the 4790K for it...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
guanyu210379

guanyu210379

Illustrious
Mar 30, 2007
7,684
25
38,115
Regarding X99, I am with indy17. I see no point getting it unless you want it bad.
X99 platform does not fall into my price/performance price class.

The Xeon E3-1231V3 and 1230V3 are the hidden diamonds in the processor jungle.
Yes, those two are compatible with any normal Z/H87 and Z/H97 mobos.
About "some features may not work on consumer boards, check our support page" == the onboard GPU will not work since 1230/1231V3 does not have any iGPU. If you connect the HDMI or any display output on the mobo, it will not work.

The difference between 1231V3 and 1230V3 is minimal, you won't really noticed the difference.

If those 2 Xeons are more expensive than 4790k, you might simply take 4790k.
The base/stock frequency for 4790k is higher than 4790, I tend to pick 4790k better than 4790.
I am living in Germany, so, I can not give you any tip about where to get them in UK.
How about trying to buy them from Holland or Germany and have it shipped to you...e.g. from alternate.nl or .de
BTW, Amazon is not my usual place to buy pc parts.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
Solution
Adroid

Adroid

Distinguished
Jul 2, 2009
1,763
0
20,160
Either are very viable choices. If you want bang for the buck, go for the 4790k.

If you want small performance gains for a few hundred extra dollars, or just bragging rights for owning the new x99 system, then by all means go for it.

Realistically you can't go wrong either way. Both are cutting edge. Neither software or hardware are fully capable of utilizing the available bandwidth on the x99 system, and historically speaking the platform will be obsolete by the time it can be utilized...
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
M

martinch

Distinguished
Mar 21, 2014
837
26
19,640
Thanks guys. Unless I have a last-minute funny-turn, I'll go with the Z97 + 4790K. :)


Indeed, they look very nice. :)


Of course. I'd just assumed that it was a reference to the Z97 chipset not supporting ECC RAM (I know most of the Xeons don't have IGP's).


Yeah, that's why I was looking at it. :)


Nor me. Occasionally, they can be really cheap, seemingly at random, so I find they're normally worth checking.


This is what I'm thinking. There's just this little (and probably quite irrational) voice in the back of my head saying "look at X99 - it's very shiny". :lol:


This is what I was thinking/hoping! :)

++EDIT: Sorry I couldn't mark all of your replies as the solution (it'll only let me pick one, which it annoying). I did make sure to go through and up-vote all of you, though - I hope that's the correct etiquette!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M

martinch

Distinguished
Mar 21, 2014
837
26
19,640

Indeed, the processors are still excellent. However, whilst quad-channel DDR3 is noticeably cheaper than DDR4, the ASUS X99-A is the same price as the P9X79, and the 5930K is actually slightly cheaper than the 4930K (not to mention the 5820K being a lot cheaper).

For the same price as the 4930K + P9X79 + 16GB DDR3 1866/2133, I could get the 5820K + X99-A + 16GB DDR4 2666 (it's literally within £5). :)

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Adroid

Adroid

Distinguished
Jul 2, 2009
1,763
0
20,160


Probably because it's been replaced by it's successor, the x99. Sure the x79 is still a great platform but it will soon be obsolete. Why? Because DDR3 will not longer be manufactured, and broadwell is coming - which is reportedly compatible with the x99 platform... But not the x79.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom