Need help deciding on a new i7

[wrxsnowman]

Hey guys I'm kinda stumped at the moment. Or I could say impatient. I have been waiting about 6 months to do a cpu upgrade. Well, for one I bought an Asus Crosshair V Formula because I was going to get the new FX-8150. However after benchmarks came out I was pretty unimpressed and decided to step away from AMD and go intel.

Now here is my delima. I want to put together an i7 system, pretty much just cpu/mobo/ram. I would really like to go with the 3930k, but it seems that intel has trouble keeping them in stock on newegg etc. My other option is to go with the 2600k and eventually go with an ivy bridge cpu. I know both are very good investments. Personally, I want the 3930k but it seems like they are scarce at the moment to get.

Is it really worth going for the SB-e line over the upcoming IB line? I was debating the 3960x, but thats juts too pricy, when the 3930k isn't far behind at all. The system will look like this which I think will be a crazy winner

CPU: i7 2600k/3930k - w/ Corsair H80 cooling
Mobo: Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 LGA1155 or Asus P9X79 PRO LGA2011
RAM: 16gb GSkill Ripjaws X series 1866
Video: HIS HD7970 - buying along with cpu
Boot Drive: Crucial M4 128
Storage: WD 1tb caviar black
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

current set up

CPU: AMD Phenom 965 BE at 3.9 ghz
Mobo: Asus Crosshair V Formula
RAM: 8gb GSkill Ripjaws X Series 1866@1600 though
Video: XFX HD 5870
Boot: Crucial M4 128
Storage: WD 1TB Caviar Black
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

So basicly I'm looking for peoples .02 in helping me decide if I should wait for 3930k availibility or go to the 2600k and upgrade to IB later on. I'm a major performance junky and I hardcore gamer. I want my games to run at max, and I don't want anymore bottle necks in my system. My 965 is slowing me down as well as my 5870, which I can't run BF3 on ultra. I know the 7970 will be the key to that puzzle, but I just need help figuring out what CPU to get

Thanks guys!

 

[phyco126]

You'll do better in games with a 2500K instead of a 3930K, not to mention all the money saves you could crossfire that 7970, buy a second SSD and do RAID 0, buy a 2 TB drive for data, or increase RAM to 32 GB. =P

 

[wrxsnowman]

I would go with the 2600k for the HT capability, just to have I might need it for some video editing or anything. I don't know that i would buy another 7970, which would be crazy powerful, and I would have to get another PSU if I did that. But I thought about getting another M4 and running raid 0, but I've never done that before

 

[amuffin]

2500k, then in april upgrade to a 3770k.

 

[wrxsnowman]

I would go with the 2600k because I do alot of mulitasking, and some video editing. Also I wouldn't upgrade to the ivy line until prices drop some and I get back from basic T and AIT probably later int he year. I want something thats going to be a smoking system to use now

 

[jaguarskx]

Well, if you know that you are likely to use programs that can take advantage of HT, then I would recommend the i7-2600k. Unless of course you can wait until mid-April to buy Ivy Bridge... but it seems you are a bit impatient... so the i7-2600k it is.

 

[wrxsnowman]

As I posted earlier I am impatient. However I have been waiting to upgrade my CPU since July. I've had my 965 dec 2009, so its time to do something different.

 

[jaguarskx]

Like I stated, get the i7-2600k.

I built my Q9450 PC back in 2008, but I'm waiting for Haswell to come out next year.

 

[EXT64]

Well, if you use a lot of fully parallel programs the 6 core would be nice (though it is extremely hard to get these days - should get better as the new stepping comes out). If that isn't one of your major things though, you should get the 2600k. The 2600k and 2500k are amazing processors, and the 3930 is essentially the same until you get above 4 parallel threads.

Ivy will be faster, but only modestly. I'm excited for Ivy in large part due to the big drop in power consumption.

 

[wrxsnowman]

Well I just orderd the 2600k, once Ivy comes out I'll buy the 3770k probably later in the year though. But seeing that I mainly game and hardly any games take advantage of using mulitple cores I figure this will be a good idea. And once my tax return comes in...I'll buy the 7970, another Crucial M4, and more RAM and I should have a screaming set up

 

[esrever]

I'd get the 2500k if I were you. the i5 is plenty fast for multitasking. hyperthreading isn't worth the difference unless video editing/ rendering is one of your main tasks.

hyperthreading doesn't help at all in games and turning it off often boosts frame rates.

 

[wrxsnowman]

Well I do video editing for WoW arena, BF3 videos and other things. So I got the 2600k for the better to have and need, then need and not have. Besides, instead of going for the 3930k, I saved around 400 bucks, what does 100 matter in that case. I will have more ram, two SSDs in raid 0... I understand what you mean, but gaming isn't all I do. I can turn of HT when I game, and keep it on when I'm doing other things

 

[amuffin]

i5-2500k and overclock, then switch to 3770k.

 

[wrxsnowman]

Thanks guys, I already have the order in from newegg. The 2600k and Asus P8Z68-V Pro, Rush process, and next day!!! can't wait!

 

[esrever]

you could have gotten the 2500k and 2 7950 for the same price as the i7 extreme + 1 7970.

would give you a lot better gaming results.

 

[wrxsnowman]

Yeah, true but then I would have to get a new PSU also... I'll be happy with this choice. Later on, I'll end up getting another 7970 for xfire and a 3770k. So I'll be content. If not, I'll go for SB-E

 

[sarinaide]

If you buy a X79/i7 setup, you should feel bad and deserve it. The most unimaginative and underwhelming platform released by Intel of late. Marginal gains, plenty downside and a big hole in your wallet. You will be smart to put that thought out of your head, there is nothing extreme about it.

I think back to the days when owning a C2D Extreme or X58/980 put you well and truely in the realm of elite, the feeling of SB-e is just Intel slaping extreme on there box and selling it to those silly enough to be suckered into it. The reality is that the SB-E's is like owning a Rolex, when a Tag Hauer(normal sandybridge) is more than capable of doing a job.

 

[wrxsnowman]

Lol...very good point. I went with the sandy bridge, and will move to ivy and I"m sure I will be plenty happy with it. Besides I'm running a Phenom 965 I will be happy with the 2600k

 

[sarinaide]

Core 2 Extreme and X58 was legitimately extreme level. 2011 is just a lot of suck for a lot of buck.

 

[EXT64]

The 6 core variants of SB-E weren't that bad. They were however, so far, just 2 more cores than the 2600k, and performed as such (equal in most apps, better in highly parallel). In essence, they are server chips. I was more disappointed that they have not released a fully functional SB-E (with all of its 8 cores active).