Quick question ( Intel i7 5960x )

paladinyogi · Feb 16, 2016

I was wondering if the Intel i7 5960x is a viable choice for gaming? I plan on ( once I save up and buy the parts ) buying a Corsair H100i GTX V2 water cooler and over locking the CPU to 4.0Ghz,and pairing it with 32GB's of Corsair Platinum DDR4 memory.

I'm getting sick of my current build,which is a 2 year old AMD FX-8350 Black Edition with a Gigabyte R9 270x 4GB,as it is starting to show its age,and I feel that it's not worth buying a $450-$600 GPU,only to have to replace the rest of the rig within a year.

I'd like to know if it's worth the $3,000 price tag ( I'm hoping I'll be able to find some of the parts at a cheaper price )

And honestly,I don't plan on upgrading ANY of the major parts I.E M/B,CPU, RAM (may add some)

And only upgrade the GPU ( I plan on it being a GTX 980,which brand I don't know )

babernet_1 · Feb 16, 2016

No, core speed is king in gaming. The latest games are using hyperthreading so the best processor for gaming now is the 6700K. You can overclock it to 4.5GHz or more most likely. The Broadwell E series processor is coming out in a few months, but still the Skylake 6700K is king. Get only 16GB of RAM. Only now is 16GB providing a small measurable boost in gaming speed over 8GB for a couple games. 32GB is overkill for years. Take this savings and get a 980ti and you will have a gaming machine that can handle anything but a 4K monitor which require SLI 980ti's.

joex444 · Feb 16, 2016

No. Perhaps you're confused by the FX-8350 being an "8 Core" CPU and figuring the Core i5 series is a step down being quad cores.

If you're interested in gaming as the most intensive task then a Core i5 is what you should have. It'll surpass your FX-8350 by a good margin and you don't need to spend $1,000 on the CPU to do that, $250 will more than do it. For gaming you want to spend more on the GPU than the CPU, and a 980 + Core i5 fits the bill extremely well.

Leave the Core i7 5960X to scientific programmers and non-GPU assisted rendering. If you want a Core i7 5820K that's a much more sane choice for gaming, but I'd still go with the i5 + 980 over the 5820K + GPU that would maintain the same budget (ie, 970).

cdabc123 · Feb 16, 2016

for sole gaming nothing is better for the price then a unlocked and overclocked i5. a i7 might be nice if you want to future proof your build

babernet_1 · Feb 16, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBulOU56odo
Shows 5960 is no faster than the 5820.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDo-j00vUtw
Shows how fast the 6700K

littleleo · Feb 16, 2016

The 2011 v3 platform will game well you'll be pay a lot more for it compared to the 1150 & 1151 platforms. Most feel it's not worth the added expense for the small increase in gaming performance. I'm in agreement that the i5 or i7 from the 1150 or 1151 will give you a rich gaming experience and you don't need to go to the 2011 v3.

However if your one of those money is no object guys (and god bless you if you are) go for it! The 2011 v3 is for those where it doesn't mater the cost I want the fastest period. If you have to ask "how much?" its not for you.

paladinyogi · Feb 16, 2016

1:Money is a object,but as i don't have to pay bills,I don't mind spending this amount of money on a quality system.

2: Part of the reason why I'm considering the 5960x IS because I want a future proof computer ( hard to beat this processor for that )

3: Another reason why I'm considering buying this CPU is because a lot of the games I play ( not all,but the majority ) use very few cores ( HEAVILY modded Fallout 3,Fallout:New Vegas,Fallout 4,and other games such as planet side World of Tanks,Insurgency,War Thunder etc.)

This is part of the reason why my FX-8350 is letting me down with Fallout 4 ( per core performance ). And then I can't over clock because that would mean putting more money into a after market cooler ( a slight over-clock to my GPU,and my computer sounds like a jet taxying down a runway)

So I figure that a beastly 8-core Intel CPU OC'd to 4.0Ghz would keep me going for YEARS! And I've also heard that the 5960x is great for video editing,which will help me once I start making YouTube videos.

I really don't mind the price etc. As long as I'm not being beaten my a brand new CPU that comes out a month after I build this rig.

And I will have plenty if time to play the field while I get the funds together,so if a better CPU comes out,I can compare a d proceed.

I would like to hear your opinions!

theonerm2 · Feb 16, 2016

paladinyogi :

As far as gaming goes even a decent Core i5 is going to last you for YEARS. Take a look at the Core i5 2500K it's still good for gaming even today and it came out in 2011. It's a 5 year old CPU. You simply don't need to invest in a $1000 CPU for gaming. As far as gaming goes all you need is a ~ $200 CPU and you are good to go for years. Only get the Hexacore or Octacore Intel processors if you are into heavy multitasking or do a lot of video editing and stuff like that. You don't need it for gaming. The 8 core 5960x is going to fall behind the Skylake Core i7 6700 and Haswell Core i7 4790K in gaming anyway because of its lower clock speed.

paladinyogi · Feb 16, 2016

So a Over-clock to 4.0Ghz won't compete against those ( CPU's ) you mentioned? And again,this CPU could kill two birds with on stone ( gaming,even if it's a a slight disadvantage,and multitasking/video editing)

babernet_1 · Feb 16, 2016

Yes, the Broadwell E is coming out April or maybe May. But even that will be slower than the Skylake 6700K overclocked. Keep in mind the Skylake does more instructions per second and a faster clock. You are better off with a 9800ti than a 5960K.

paladinyogi · Feb 16, 2016

You're going to have to forgive, I'm not used to the Intel nomenclature ( first time I've really "built" a Intel system )

The 5960k is part of the Skylake series?

And I just looked at the Skylake i7 6700/6700k and the stats really aren't that much better. It's max OC is 4.2Ghz,only 2Ghz quicker than my theoretical 4.0Ghz on the 5960x.

theonerm2 · Feb 16, 2016

paladinyogi :

The 5960x is part of the Haswell-E series... Next comes Broadwell-E... And Finally We will get to Skylake-E in 2017.

paladinyogi · Feb 17, 2016

Ok,thanks for clearing that up! I'm still thinking that the 5960x is best for me,however,you have persuaded me to look deeper into other possibilities. If a really good 6-8 core comes out,I'll definitely get it.

babernet_1 · Feb 17, 2016

paladinyogi :

The 5960 is part of the Haswell series. There was the Broadwell series after that, then the Skylake series. So the Skylake architecture is two generations beyond the Haswell. The Skylake 6700K comes running at 4.0GHz with 4.2GHz turbo mode. But it is meant to be overclocked. The majority of 6700K's can hit 4.5GHz while many can hit 4.6GHz or even 4.7GHz.

If you really want all the cores, wait for the Broadwell E. It comes in 6, 8, and even 10 cores. Again, for gaming, I'd recommend the 6700K

paladinyogi · Feb 17, 2016

So this new Broadwell-E 8 core will outperform the i7 5960x? Will it beat the Skylake i7 6700k as well?

If it's around the same price as the 5960x,and is a great performer,all while still using the X99 platform,you'll have me hooked! And since I probably won't have the funds until a while after it's released,I'll be able to do the necessary research.

babernet_1 · Feb 17, 2016

paladinyogi :

It should be about 5% faster per clock cycle than the 5960. Here is all that is known about it:

http://wccftech.com/intel-broadwell-e-core-i7-6950x-price/

paladinyogi · Feb 17, 2016

The i7 6950x looks like a beast! The article stated it's something like 50% faster than the 5960x! That's absurd! Then it can immediately be boosted to 3.5Ghz,and it's unlocked,which means I can OC it! If the price isn't to steep ( I'm saving money by not buying a near $400 1TB SSD )

And it's going to be using the X99 platform as well!

babernet_1 · Feb 17, 2016

paladinyogi :

No, it says it is 50% more expensive, $1,500 vs. $1,000 for the 5960X. I've read elsewhere it will be about 5% faster per clock.

paladinyogi · Feb 17, 2016

I read it wrong,haha. But honestly,I think if I can afford it,and it receives good reviews,I'll probably purchase it!

babernet_1 · Feb 17, 2016

paladinyogi :

No problem, it's your money. Just look at the low clock speed. Remember, for gaming, core speed is king. I'd be willing to bet that the 6700K will still be faster for gaming, assuming you want a very fast framerate above 60Hz.

paladinyogi · Feb 17, 2016

Nah,all I want is to play/record all my games at 1080p,60FPS. And the 6950x OC'd to 4.5Ghz ( I imagine this will be possible ) Will allow me to both game AND edit.

paladinyogi · Feb 17, 2016

Again,I'm going to wait and see what the benchmarks bring.

littleleo · Feb 17, 2016

paladinyogi :

1. Wow your lucky I've had bills to pay since I was in High School
2. You want to future proof your computer that's easy always use the same programs and play the same
games. But this CPU won't be any more future proof then the Skylake models.
3. So you’re buying an Intel 8 Core CPU because the games you play require very fewer cores? So you’re
paying extra for cores you won't use/need? I'm confused about this logic.

It's no problem to put the money out to buy a $1k+ CPU like the 5960x, but you can't afford or don't see the value in a $32 CPU cooler? Well you got to do what feels like the best thing for you to do. Buying the 5860X for just doing gaming with the games you mentioned isn't really what I would do. As you can see I've been using and i5 and its handled every game I've wanted to play w/o issue. You would have a way better system than mine if you went with the 5960x, your gaming performance compared to mine would be better but not 2-3 times better even though you spent 2-3 times more than I did. If that's okay then buy the 5960x, and God bless you man!

paladinyogi · Feb 17, 2016

1: I'm still in high school,and save up money by doing odd jobs.

2: Yeah,I don't see the point of putting a $32 cooler on a $500 + ( in this case,$1,000 plus ) CPU! It's stupid.

3: I said the majority of the games I play use very few cores,key word majority,not all. And all those games require good per core performance,which Intel provides.

4: I also stated that I won't be buying the 5960x,and that I'll be waiting for the new Broadwell-E CPU's to come out,and that I will most likely buy the 6950x if the reviews and benchmarks show that it is a capable CPU.

Did you read any of the comments?

Quick question ( Intel i7 5960x )

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