Best High End Intel CPU to put in -right now-? i7-5960x, i7-5930K or i7-6700k?

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Hey guys! People here were kind enough to inform me about the Skylake chipset a few months back. And as we all know, it's basically here. And just in time! My computer is in need of an upgrade.

So I was looking at chipsets, and the best two I saw were the upcoming i7-6700k, and the already -been-around-the-block i7-5960x. The latter is WAY more expensive, but if it's a work horse that can radically outperform the 6700k, I'd be curious to consider it. The in-between-prices model I found was the i7-5930K (which is 6 cores).

So what are your thoughts? It's hard to find comparisons... and I don't know much about CPU specifics. Do any of you know which is better? By price and cores alone my gut tells me the 5960x. But the 6700k is newer, and might pick up a bunch of slack held by previous CPUs... it's definitely easier on the wallet.

And if you're curious, my current CPU is a i7 950. It didn't quite last me 10 years like I had hoped, but it will still get some use before it's completely retired.

A few notes addressing the 6700k, i7-5930K and the 5960k:
6700k has 4 cores (HT to 8)... i7-5930K has 6 cores (HT 12)... 5960k has 8 cores (HT to 16)
I don't want to get a fancy water cooling system (just will use standard setup of 8 or so fans in the chassis)... so I wouldn't OC the 5960k
All take DDR4
6700k runs @4Ghz, i7-5930K @3.5Ghz, 5960x runs @3Ghz
6700k runs 2 mem chan, i7-5930K and 5960x runs 4
6700k is Skylake, i7-5930K + 5960x is Haswell-e
6700k has 8MB shared l3 cache, i7-5930K is 15mb l3 cache, 5960x has 20mb l3 cache
6700k is 14nm, i7-5930K and 5960x is 22nm
6700k is LGA 1151 socket, i7-5930K + 5960x is LGA 2011-v3 socket

If you have motherboard models you would advise with either of the above, that'd be cool too. I'm basically building a new system. Only things I'm keeping will be my GPU and my HDDs!

 
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synphul
It depends on what your use is for the pc. Are you doing massive video editing 8-10 hrs or more a day 5 days a week for a living? Mostly gaming, watching youtube and occasionally streaming? The 5960x is mostly for those who either have a fat wallet and demand the best, cost is no issue or who are using it professionally. For the vast majority of tasks, it's overkill. There's also the 5820k which doesn't have quite as many pci lanes as the 5930k, it has 28 lanes where the 5930k has 40 lanes. They both have the same cache (15mb). The issue would be trying to run two nvidia cards in sli both at x16, the 5930k will do it the 5820k won't. One will have to run at x8 so not sure if this is even an issue for you or not.

For the majority of...
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synphul

synphul

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It depends on what your use is for the pc. Are you doing massive video editing 8-10 hrs or more a day 5 days a week for a living? Mostly gaming, watching youtube and occasionally streaming? The 5960x is mostly for those who either have a fat wallet and demand the best, cost is no issue or who are using it professionally. For the vast majority of tasks, it's overkill. There's also the 5820k which doesn't have quite as many pci lanes as the 5930k, it has 28 lanes where the 5930k has 40 lanes. They both have the same cache (15mb). The issue would be trying to run two nvidia cards in sli both at x16, the 5930k will do it the 5820k won't. One will have to run at x8 so not sure if this is even an issue for you or not.

For the majority of people gaming, streaming, video editing, the quad i7 is quite adequate. It does give up quad channel memory though. Also the 6700k hasn't been available in the u.s. and no real news on when that's going to happen so if you're in a massive hurry to get parts and get building you may either have to wait or consider the 4790k or one of the 2011v3 cpu's (5820k/5930k).

I'm not really sure any of these builds will last you an entire 10yrs, that depends on your needs which could be different from anyone else's. 5, 6 even 7 years would be getting a good long life out of a build.

It is hard to find comparisons between the enthusiast 2011v3 and more mainstream lga1150/1151. They're sort of in different classes. If considering the 2011v3, unless you absolutely need all 8 cores/16 threads I'd suggest the 5930k tops. At least by u.s. pricing, the 5960x is twice the price but not twice the performance. Saving $500 is a good chunk toward a 980ti or 970 sli which is nothing to sneeze at in terms of getting the most for your money without making a huge sacrifice in the cpu department.
 
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Thanks for the reply synphul! I work from home so my computer is my office... 8+ hours a day... 7 days a week... and because of this the high price tag gets a tax reprieve. As for what it's used for: I do a lot of rendering and high res painting (I hate saying that because a lot of people will auto assume photoshop doesn't need a lot of power to run, but when you do what I do it needs a lot of power). Lots of saving, flipping of canvas, etc of a file that's so huge it can't even be saved as a .PSD file any more. I do 3D modeling as well. Gaming also is part of my work, so I need to be able to do ultra settings on games whilst having a lot of browsers and applications open all at the same time (and all on different monitors, too).

My i7 950 has lasted me about 6 years, though I'm retiring it to my parents' house where it will get a couple more years out of it! So that's good at least. Might even make it to 10! Haha I'm not completely serious when I say I hope it'll last 10 years -- but you know, good to be optimistic.

Skylake isn't out just yet I know, but we expect it soon (knock on wood) .. and my computer can last a little while longer as is. It's just a matter of if the Skylake chipset is the best option for me or not (and I really appreciate the feedback!). So time is and isn't a factor -- I'd want to get it done as soon as I can, but if it's best to wait for Skylake then I will.

When I retire my 780gtx I might go for 970 sli (or whatever is out at the time)... so full 2 x 16 SLI setup would be ideal!

I'm not too sure if I'd need all 8 cores and, as you say, the 6 cores of the 5930k might suffice just fine. I have a quad core cpu right now and I guess that's why double the cores seemed so very enticing! In general, would you say these CPUs are better suited for my needs than the 6700k?
 
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Alright, I think I've decided on the 5930k. it's a nice compromise as it runs at 3.5ghz, has 6 cores, and doesn't break the bank as much as the 5960x. Thanks so much for the help! Now to find the right motherboard :)
 
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