Facing a dilemma here with the decision how to upgrade my gaming rig. I already have the following components:
1366 Platform:
i7-920 D0 installed in ASUS P6X58D Premium - supports 3x SLI
Performance CPU cooler
3x of 2GB of DDR3 1600Mhz
1155 Platform:
i7-3770k installed in MSI Z68MA-ED55 (B3) - no SLI support due to second PCIe slot at x4 speed.
Performance CPU cooler CORSAIR H80
2x of 4GB of ram at 1333Mhz
Samsung 256GB SSD boot/game drive (EVO I think)
Have a Corsair 1000W power supply with 6x 12V feeds enough to support 3x SLI
HAF932 computer case
Already have 2x PNY GTX 970 XLR8 v2
Already have 1x EVGA GTX 970 Superclocked
Already have G-Sync 1440P monitor
Objective is pretty clear: I want to spend money efficiently and get the best bang for the buck to utilize most of my graphics power.
Here's the options I'm considering:
1. Build a system based on old X58 platform with i7-920 overclocked to 4Ghz. Use either 2x or 3x SLI. Sell the third GTX 970 to recoup the cost if not used. Sell of all my 1155 parts on ebay to recoup the cost.
2. Build a system based on old X58 platform but buy a used 32nm 6-core Xeon X56xx on ebay for about $60-90 and overclocked it as high as it would go (4.4Ghz or higher maybe). Use either 2x or 3x SLI. Sell the third GTX 970 if not used and all my 1155 parts.
3. Buy a used 1155 motherboard that supports SLI and build a system with 2x GTX 970. Sell the third GTX 970 and all my 1366 parts.
4. Sell the 1366 and 1155 parts and build a brand new i5-6600k CPU/MoBo base with either 2x or 3x SLI. Sell the third GTX 970 to recoup the cost if not used. Sell of all my 1366/1155 parts.
The parts I already have are pretty good, I like them as everything works properly and overclocks really well. I don't feel the need for a new platform. I'm tempted to buy an old hexacore Xeon and take my X58 parts out of retirement, if this works out, selling my 920 cpu would mean only $30-60 total cost of upgrade before selling anything else. Also, buying a used 1155 motherboard for about $120 on ebay for i7-3770k is tempting, since this cpu is newer and has been pretty darn good so far.
All I do is game on this computer. I play all kinds of stuff so I'm aiming for best performance at 1440p on average, not in specific titles. It seems like everyone keeps recommending the newer platforms for upgrades, but I'm not convinced i5-6600k or i7-6700k will be THAT much better at 1440p and quality settings dialed up. The graphics cards will be doing all of the heavy lifting at that point anyways. I see that many people report the minimum frame rates improve somewhat with the newer CPU's on top of a small average FPS increase, but I have G-Sync display to smooth them out.
So, what is the best thing to do here? Is it really going to be THAT much better with the current gen CPU? If you know of a benchmark that compares first gen CPU to current generation at 1440P with GTX 970 or 980 2x or 3x SLI, that would be awesome!
1366 Platform:
i7-920 D0 installed in ASUS P6X58D Premium - supports 3x SLI
Performance CPU cooler
3x of 2GB of DDR3 1600Mhz
1155 Platform:
i7-3770k installed in MSI Z68MA-ED55 (B3) - no SLI support due to second PCIe slot at x4 speed.
Performance CPU cooler CORSAIR H80
2x of 4GB of ram at 1333Mhz
Samsung 256GB SSD boot/game drive (EVO I think)
Have a Corsair 1000W power supply with 6x 12V feeds enough to support 3x SLI
HAF932 computer case
Already have 2x PNY GTX 970 XLR8 v2
Already have 1x EVGA GTX 970 Superclocked
Already have G-Sync 1440P monitor
Objective is pretty clear: I want to spend money efficiently and get the best bang for the buck to utilize most of my graphics power.
Here's the options I'm considering:
1. Build a system based on old X58 platform with i7-920 overclocked to 4Ghz. Use either 2x or 3x SLI. Sell the third GTX 970 to recoup the cost if not used. Sell of all my 1155 parts on ebay to recoup the cost.
2. Build a system based on old X58 platform but buy a used 32nm 6-core Xeon X56xx on ebay for about $60-90 and overclocked it as high as it would go (4.4Ghz or higher maybe). Use either 2x or 3x SLI. Sell the third GTX 970 if not used and all my 1155 parts.
3. Buy a used 1155 motherboard that supports SLI and build a system with 2x GTX 970. Sell the third GTX 970 and all my 1366 parts.
4. Sell the 1366 and 1155 parts and build a brand new i5-6600k CPU/MoBo base with either 2x or 3x SLI. Sell the third GTX 970 to recoup the cost if not used. Sell of all my 1366/1155 parts.
The parts I already have are pretty good, I like them as everything works properly and overclocks really well. I don't feel the need for a new platform. I'm tempted to buy an old hexacore Xeon and take my X58 parts out of retirement, if this works out, selling my 920 cpu would mean only $30-60 total cost of upgrade before selling anything else. Also, buying a used 1155 motherboard for about $120 on ebay for i7-3770k is tempting, since this cpu is newer and has been pretty darn good so far.
All I do is game on this computer. I play all kinds of stuff so I'm aiming for best performance at 1440p on average, not in specific titles. It seems like everyone keeps recommending the newer platforms for upgrades, but I'm not convinced i5-6600k or i7-6700k will be THAT much better at 1440p and quality settings dialed up. The graphics cards will be doing all of the heavy lifting at that point anyways. I see that many people report the minimum frame rates improve somewhat with the newer CPU's on top of a small average FPS increase, but I have G-Sync display to smooth them out.
So, what is the best thing to do here? Is it really going to be THAT much better with the current gen CPU? If you know of a benchmark that compares first gen CPU to current generation at 1440P with GTX 970 or 980 2x or 3x SLI, that would be awesome!
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