Questions concerning Xeon 1230v3, Asus Maximus VI Hero, and DDR3 1866

[s4in7]

So I've been rocking an FX-8320 and Sabertooth 990FX for a little while now, and the performance is pretty damn good (especially at my 4.8GHz OC), but I've always been curious what an Intel setup could provide as I've been an AMD guy since my Athlon XP 1700+.

I already have a fully built rig with the 8320 including dual 270X's in Crossfire and 16gb DDR3 1866MHz RAM and what I want to know is:

1.) If I get the Xeon E3 1230v3 and the Maximus VI Hero if I will be able to run my RAM at its rated 1866mhz? I know the motherboard supports that frequency but the Xeon has a max of 1600MHz and is locked so I didn't know if I'd be able to run 1866MHz.

2.) Will the Multicore Enhancement option in the Maximus BIOS allow me to lock the Xeon at its turbo speed of 3.7GHz?

3.) Will the Xeon play nice with my Crossfired 270X's? I know the motherboard supports Crossfire in a PCIe 3.0 x8/x8 configuration (which, correct me if I'm wrong, is the same as my current Sabertooth 990FX PCIe 2.0 x16/x16 configuration so I'm not losing any bandwidth)?

and finally

4.) Is there any reason other than overclockability to consider the i5-4670k over the Xeon? I have a Corsair H100i so I'd be able to keep a fairly heavily OC'd i5 in check--is it worth it?

Thanks for taking the time to read and maybe answer my questions, I am an Intel noob!

 

[s4in7]

I'm heavily leaning towards the Xeon just because I'd be getting an i7 at an i5 price, but only if it plays nice with Crossfire and supports 1866MHz RAM :/

 

[logainofhades]

The 1230 v3 would not perform much differently than an i7 4770 for CF. My 3570k is only rated for 1600 ram and I am using 2133's. I cannot remember if I am running at 2133 or 1866, though. My old set I had to run at 1866, I forget if this set is the same way.

 

[JOOK-D]

I knew you'd come crawling. jk.

1) Yes. The i5 4670k also claims to run only at DDR3 1333/1600. http://ark.intel.com/products/75048/intel-core-i5-4670k-processor-6m-cache-up-to-3_80-ghz They will both do higher speeds just fine.

2) If there is an MCE option, yes it will run @ 3.7GHz across all threads. I was told a while back that some of the newest BIOSes have had the feature dumbed down though.

3) Should be fine.

4) The only reason you'd want to go with the i5 is overclocking and the inclusion of an IGP.

 

[s4in7]

You've broken me down Jook lol

Thanks for the answers guys! It looks like I'll be going with the Xeon afterall

Should I expect significant FPS gains coming from an OC 8320? Is it even worth it to try?

 

[s4in7]

Well, I pulled the trigger and got the Xeon E3-1230v3 and an open box Maximus VI Hero--time to see what all the fuss is about