The 6800k is the best option by far within the 6 core CPUs here... 28PCI-E lanes are more than enough, and no, running in x8 wont be a problem in multi GPU configurations (You could even go 3 way SLI and still have 4 lanes to use with whatever you want). Also, I really dont have a clue what Tom was thinking when he said he doesnt know if there will be GPU bandwith problem when running SLI/xfire and that the 6800k is recommended for single GPU users, it has been proven over and over again that running in PCI-E 3.0 at x8 wont bottleneck any current GPU, even running them in x4 didnt present any significant performance impact when running Fury's in xfire (AMD allows you to run GPUs with only 4 lanes while nvidia requires 8). You would be STUPID to pay almost 200$ more for a CPU that only offers you more PCI-E lanes that you will never use, being its performance pretty much the same as the one you will find on the 6800k.
"They should get their pricing policies straight, firstly." Why? They have no serious competitor at the moment, PC market is declining, so they need to skim the cash as long as it still flows in their direction and they can't make the 10 core that much cheaper, because they would undermine their own 10 core workstation Xeon's otherwise. Intel has a quasi-monopoly, because AMD is grasping at straws for a while now and need to finally get their act together with Polaris and Zen.
Pilo ᴹᴱᴻᵀᴬᴸ ᴹᴱᴸᵀᵈᵒᵚᵑ lol dude. 10-core Xeon 1100$ with ECC support can do the same multithreaded workload that this 1730$ ... and I can buy another processor for 630$ to the other socket. Think about it.
Peter Bočan lol dude. But why do you whine like a crybaby about the pricing of an enthusiast platform then? If the Xeon platform is good enough for you or in your eyes even better, cheaper and even capable to handle mutiple processors? A *Intel Core i7-6950X Extreme Edition, 10x 3.00GHz* _Basis: 3.00GHz • Turbo: 3.50GHz • TDP: 140W • process: 14nm • can be overclocked_ ... costs in Europe at the moment around €1800. An almost similar clocked *Intel Xeon E5-2689 v4, 10x 3.10GHz* _Basis: 3.10GHz • Turbo: 3.80GHz • TDP: 165W • process: 14nm • fixed clock multiplier_ ... costs around €2900. If you want just a 10 core, you only need to buy an *Intel Xeon E5-2630L v4, 10x 1.80GHz* and it's even relatively cheap ... only €630. Then overclock it to 4 GHz...oh wait ... **WhatABummer**
No way, stable - mine as in my 16 core xeon (BroadweLL) is running my corsair platnium(s) ram in QUAD (8GB X 4 time two kits) at its rated 3000mhz for years, 1.35 volts on the Asus-x99-WS-USB3.1 ...It even runs stable at 1.25 since people were saying 1.35v was not safe for x99 UNTIL everyone and thier mother started to run it and use it with little issues for how many went out..... Maybe I am a lucky one, who knows but loving broadwell to this day... It does not bottleneck my RADeon VII .... I am happier or "much happier" with it then my x79 system that I also LOVED!....
In your measure of "value" you are forgetting that we expected double-digit physical cores in a consumer product 2-3 years ago. I'm not impressed with the price tag on 10 physical cores.
With Intel's architechture the extra cores were just not required for consumers. Not in the slightest littlest bit. Sure you can throw a couple extra cores on there, but that's not going to help if your RAM can't keep up. Or your storage can't keep up. Or your graphics cards can't keep up. The connections between those and the CPU have been getting the biggest improvements, because that's what improved actual noticable performance for non-enthousiast consumers. Professionals and enthousiasts were really the only people who needed the extra performance from a higher core count CPU, and they had their dedicated products.
@@DrSmokeTrees So what? That often means that the industry is slowing down the process of advancement and milking each incremental upgrade in the process, and setting the bar high at the front end.
I hope my comments finds you with good health. Excellent video! Thank you so much for a long-waited video. Can't wait for the X99 over-clocking processor/ram video guide and a nice video on the new Asus X99-A II motherboard. This video helped me to decide that the 6850k is all I really need for a dedicated gaming rig that will use 2 1080's and still have a few extra cores for some mid-level video editing of family stuff. Great video! Good job! Looking forward to more great informative videos from you. Peace out and get some sleep. ;)
TTL thank you for all the hard work getting this review up. I have read the written review on the website and i cannot see where the temps of these cpus.
Fantastic video Tom, really informative. I just ordered the 6900K to upgrade my wife's pc from her 5930K, I now get to upgrade from Z87 (i7-4790K) to the 5930K. I am really looking forward to the overclocking video you mentioned.
tom i think you've got the pricing wrong because the charts the other reviewers have are saying $1700++ for buying a thousand cpus but your chart says 1500++
you can run 3 gpu in 8x 8x 8x and have the same performance as the 40 lane processor. linus tech tips did a comparison and showed the 40 lanes only benefiting at 4 graphics cards. Why waste money on the 6850k when you get the same results with the 6800k given the same oc?
+Pienimusta the point is that no x99 cpu could keep up with 24 lanes of gpu data. if such a graphics card existed that could choke 8x lanes then the processor would become a massive bottle neck. a gtx980 isn't ever bottlenecked running in pcie gen 2 4x, so I ask again why anyone would need quadruple the throughput. www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GTX_980_PCI-Express_Scaling/4.html
yeah? try running two 1080 Cards in SLI & M.2 pcie raid drives or better with some SSDs for storage & maybe a ram disk - that's what this 40 lanes are about bro
+Ken Hunter both cards can run in 8x gen 3 giving you 12 more lanes. two m.2 or u.2 in raid would still leave you with 4 lanes left. but if you're going to be just throwing money away trying to populate every pcie lane then just get the 40 lane version. but the justification that graphics cards need anything more than 4x (I understand sli cert requires 8x) to run optimally is ludicrous. two 16x cards and raid m.2 will give you the same performance as two 8x cards and raid m.2 even though it's 40 lanes vs 24. heck, you only lose about 10% performance running a 980 on 4x gen 2.
What resolution and what games? SLI links can't handle very high res/FPS and the bus is used. Also, GPU compute and tessellation can require GPU writebacks and that uses bandwidth. Driver command lists in DX11 and 12 raise the volume of instructions.
I just upgraded to a 6850k for $325 off craigslist. Already have a X99 build so didn't want to buy a new motherboard for Ryzen or X299. Can't wait to throw everything together tomorrow. Parts List: EVGA X99 Micro2 i7-6850K EVGA 1080 Hybrid 3200mhz G.Skill DDR4 16gb Samsung 850 500gb SSD Corsair H105 ASUS Rog 1440p GSync 27" Monitor
have you done the X99 overclocking guide yet? im running a 6850K at 4.6Ghz with 1.25v on vcore 100Mhz base 46 multiplier on a MSI x99 godlike gaming temps under load are 50 to 60 C 64GB corsair dominator platinum 3000mhz this is not a gaming rig
total fail intel 6800-6950 +2% sometimes -1-2% performance vs 3930-5930K and this after 4 years , and the 6950X would be good for 1000-1100$ max. Meaning you getting the same performance that was in 2012 =)
6950X provides superior performance to IVY/SANDY i7X procs in multithread rendering tasks. Biggest gains are to be had on Excel giga workbook calculations (actuarial books), Cinematic DAW configurations (running VEP + EWQL 300+ voices at 96k/24 stereo) , video editing, etc also faster CUDA feedback and lower ram latency due to better headroom.
Nvidia is hitting near 100% improvements GTX 980(GM104) -> 1080(GP104) and got near 100% from 680(GK104) -> 980. 2012 - now Intel has been without competition for too long and all gains must come from architecture as Dennard scaling is dead. Architecture is expensive to improve and they have little reason for the expenditures. Nvidia could have done a Mars mission for what their latest architecture cost. Best hopes would be AMD's Zen and/or Nvidia's accelerators + IMB power with NVlink putting on Intel.
Nvidia has been without competition for a good while now too. Atleast nvidia are actually increasing speed and inovating instead of intel who just give very little peformance gains and increase the price a shit ton.
I'm just thinking my 5820k is still a great buy as a single GPU-preferring gamer. IPC improvements are almost non-existent. Oh well, sticking to the four year CPU upgrade cycle sounds about right.
Best thing is that the X-99 platform is gonna have a real great longevity. I'm very satisfied with my 5820K, and imo Haswell-E is still more than enough for most people, we're seeing small gains here. Will be nice to have the possibility to upgrade to one of this chips in a couple years time (or maybe more, we'll how haswell-e holds up), at awesome prices € and maintaining the same board/socket. Unless the new "Skylake-E" will bring bonkers and real innovative features
I currently own an AMD-based system(FX-8320 & Radeon HD 7870), and I'm looking to upgrade. People all over tech forums and in the comments here debate about whether Broadwell-E is a good value, but they usually compare it to previous Intel CPUs. If I am a *FIRST TIME* Intel buyer, and I'm not interested in frequently selling off old hardware to get new hardware(I want to keep my next CPU for many years), then is the 6850k a good purchase in that regard?
Hi Always love your reviews, I think this video is the perfect length. I seen other videos on this topic but for me your videos are always the more IMPORTANT(they have detail information) which is what i need to make a decision($$$$)
Tom, how come you say the 6850K is cheaper than the old 5930k ? A quick check shows that the 5930k is 485 pounds, while the 6850k is 525 pounds. That is 40 pounds difference for a 5% increase in performance.
Cheers Tom Great video, Thanks I will be be getting the 6850K it will do me for Gaming and rendering my uploads and general stuff like watching TV and You Tube , Keep up the Great work Tom - Love your Long Vids Ace --- Cheers Harry.
My mistake. That miniature Vulcan model in the background is distracting. Better now Mr American-who-doesn't-know-British-aircraft? Bit of a mouthful I know.
So you can update the BIOS while using a CPU from the 6th generation (Broadwell-E)? Been hearing all different stories. Some claims that you need a Haskell-E CPU to do it. Would be thrilled if you could clarify this for me - my i7-6850k arrives tomorrow and my old CPU is not working, as well as my BIOS is not updated I believe.
sorry for being a noob to this stuff but If I currently have a 4770k is it worth it for me to upgrade to any of these new broadwell-e or wait until skylake-e or further? I mostly use my pc to game and I hear people saying things like dx 12 and games will use more cores, should I buy into that now or wait until that happens and buy then?
Thank you for this video, it has really helped me. Im currently studying game development at university and more and more so I've found that I'm doing more and more work at home than at uni, so i need a PC rig that can handle the workload of developing video games with Unreal Engine, the Autodesk Maya, Mudbox and 3DS Max and the Adobe suite. I will be aiming for the 6850k as thats the processor i think i can get at this point in time with me at university, then upgrade to a 8 or 10 core in the future when i am working in the industry.
Tom, why when benchmarking games do you use console port games that are not CPU dependent. Wouldn't it male sense to benchmark a CPU using games that are specially designed for PC and are CPU intensive?
So did I understand it correctly that Intel Turbo Hyper Speed Boost 3000 boosts all cores to 4 GHz (on some/most ASUS boards) instead of just the best performing one as intended by Intel)? I currently have a Xeon E5-2680v3 (12 cores, 24 threads, 2.5 GHz) ripped from a server I don't need but overclocking doesn't work for sure. I do some video encoding (native x264 CLI, which used all threads up to 98% overall usage when the server was still online) but will mostly play games. ASUS Rampage V Edition 10 is my board. I actually don't want the 6950X (way too expensive) but I can't decide between 6900K and 6850K.
Which x99 motherboard is a safe way to go today? I'm looking to get the 6850k soon. Everyone seems to suggest ASUS but amazon has so many bad reviews on their boards. MSI seems good with reviews but bad with warranties. Any suggestions with reason is welcome and appreciated.
I HIGHLY recommend the EVGA Micro2 or any other EVGA board. They are excellent, stable, and if something does go wrong the RMA process is smooth and painless with EVGA.
currently have an ASUS deluxe x99 with 5930. Not planning to upgrade the CPU but if I were buying again should i go X99 or Z170 if I want lots of cores for VMing ??
I thought about upgrading from the 5820k to the 6800k but my CPU will do 4.7 at 1.313 volts and from what I've read broadwell just doesn't overclock as good and is harder to cool. I'm pretty sure the better overclock will make up the performance difference. I don't get why Tom thinks 28pci lanes are so bad, for 90% of the PC users it will work fine, most of us run one GPU or two. And running one in 16 and the other 8 won't make it any faster than 16\16.
hey tom after watching this video i bought the asus x99 deluxe u3.1 and i a new cpu the 6850k did a bios flash for the new cpu and i am running windows 10 with a video card gtx 1080 ftw but now i get a flicker while in game i did a windows wipe and reinstall all the drivers are up to date and it still does it do you know what could be making this happen keep up the good work love the video's
X99 Overclocking IN DEPTH guide. IS the BOMB ! When we can expect that ? I am perfectly happy with 5930K yet would LOVE to OC it with my Dominator Platinum 2800 memory.
You need to run cpu occt(not linpack,that only generates heat) for at least 6 hours to confirm full stability and even then it's a good idea to run aida for another 6 hours to find any smaller instabilities causing errors in the calculations which could cause crashes in the long run.
Serious question, Paul's Hardware showed that chart and had the 6950x pricing around 1700+ for bulk buying. Where did yours come from? He stated his was from Intel, but didn't say from when or from where at Intel. If those are both US pricing and both from Intel...something is wrong with Intel tossing out multiple prices to reviewers.
These CPUs are just refreshed versions of Haswell-E. It's better to wait for Skylake-E and the new LGA 3647 socket and those CPUs will support up to 48 PCI-E lanes.
Ok so I cant decide on either buying the 6700k or the 6850k. Im mostly going to be gaming on this rig on mostly 1440 and 4k, but im not planning on doing sli, but I would like to have the opportunity to do it. Im going to use the gtx 1080 so I just cant decide.
I can render 4k, twitch game stream perfectly on 4670k and r9 390 16 gig ram perfectly fine, im going 6800k, same r9 390 but will be going 32gig ram, 6800k with one gpu is totally fine and gives perfect gaming.
i would like to see the fps difference ingame with 2 1080 on the 6800k and the 6850k i, i highly doubt that there will be any difference in fps with the less pci-e lanes
Tom, i would like for you to test 16x vs 8x. I know in pcie2.0 there was some bottle neck. But i think pcie3.0 is enough to hold 8x sli without bottleneck
If I have 40 pci lane Core i7-6850K. I can run 2 video cards at full x16 speeds that 32 lanes for video card and 8 left for two hard drvies x4 each is that correct ?I would be running 2 video card at x16 and 2 pci express x4 hard drvies at full speed is that correct??
For Gaming I'd take a 6700K over these. 4Cores+HT with higher CoreClock works much better in like 98% of all Games then more Cores and lower CoreClock. Most Games barely make full use of 4 Cores.
for the next couple of years anyway. I expect most major game engines developed moving forward are going to use very different threading models than we have over the last couple of decades.
+sickbailey21 and games will still run like shit. because there is no game out there that fully take advantage of processors since Sandy Bridge. The hardware is and always will be ahead of software. all the idiots upgrading their processors from Ivy Bridge to todays processors are wasting their money. Especially if they are JUST gaming. But most PC gamers don't understand computer hardware, they only understand hype train.
Movies/Photos/CAD-CAM/3D Modeling for Production Runs... The 6950X for me. I can, and will, wait until October/November permitting the Mobo manufacturers (MSI/Asus/ASRock) to get themselves sorted. If my math is correct 60 to 65% gain on X79 (the best system ever) / 25% (initial) to 35% (at the end of the cycle) on current X99 processors (that's a lot of cash jumping into my wallet). One very important question: Have you heard any rumors of any Mobo vendors finally unleashing 128GB RAM kits (and yes, there are a lot of apps which would appreciate it)... Are there enough lanes for that and a two way SLI? Glad to see you posting a properly lengthen video (40+ minutes). All the best to you and your sister, Cheers. PS> If you have your system just for gaming/youtube/movies/TV series there is no need for these processors. A 3770k, even a 2500K, will suit you just fine. In the eventuality of you having to upgrade, for some unforeseeable reason, buy a good used PC from your local shop or, much better, from Ebay (using the secure payment options, of course, and Ebay's excellent insurance policy).
Sounds like you would benefit from a duel Xeon motherboard with 16 DIMM slots for 1024GB of RAM (or even 2048GB if you want to pay the premium). As long as you don't mind the lack of overclocking support on Xeons they are way better value too. The E5-2630v4 has 10-cores like the 6950X, but you could get two of them for less than a 6950X, giving you 20 cores. Even with overclocking, 20 cores at 2.3GHz will outperform the 6950X's 10 at between 4.2-4.4 (depending on the silicon lottery). The Xeons are also going to run at lower volts and therefore cooler and with increased longevity. Of course, if gaming is a high priority then the lower clocked Xeons are not as good value, but then you should just get an i5 6600k as it is just as good as a 6950X in games. Basically, unless one games and renders video on the same computer I see no point in either the 6900k or 6950k except for the epeen.
Sorry for the delay... My Chrome is having "script issues" and doesn't warn me of responses (saw it now reading my mail). For various, obvious, reasons I have always been an anti Xeon person, just like I would never buy anything from Apple. Those processors, all their requirements, and demands, just don't go down well with me... Especially the RAM/GPU issues. You would be right if my PCs/Servers were only used as work horses by androids. However, thanks for all your recommendations and advice. I'm just not a Xeon person... Too many drawbacks for the very few "advantages". My X79s with the best mobo ever built (the MSI BigBang-Xpower II) are still running strong with no special cooling requirements, nor maintenance, nor cleaning. Thanks for all your advice and recommendations... That is one of the things which make this channel so special. Cheers.
Thanks you for your kind words, it is always nice to know that someone appreciates one's efforts. If I may enquire, what "obvious reasons" are there for not going with Xeons? The only negative differences I know of are the maximum RAM frequency due to using ECC (which for some would be considered an advantage), and the practically non-existent overclocking ever since Sandy Bridge. Xeons have no special cooling requirements (often needing less than overclocked consumer chips), and better performance for the dollar is quite a compelling advantage in my mind.
A very good question... Got me thinking. Maybe I just don't like leaving my "comfort zone", maybe it's the perceived lack of compatibility... I know a long time ago when I decided not to ever use Xeons the main reason was the lack of integrated GPU which I needed to work on my NAS/Seedboxes and such. There were also huge compatibility issues with RAM. For some reason, I never liked the lack of options available (at the time there were only mobos from Intel and some other company I cannot remember). In the end, I guess it became a dogmatic viewpoint. I am sure that so much has changed since the 90s. Thanks for your post, it got me thinking about how sometimes our (my) prejudices creep up on us and become barriers to knowledge. I will now research the current Xeons... At least for my business (custom car/truck industry) usage they might be just the best solution. Again, thanks for breaking my irrational aversion to Xeons (based on very old experience/knowledge/aversion) and for giving me a good reason to research the new Xeons as a business solution. Cheers.
Sorry for the double post, just a question I forgot: Will a Xeon only work on a Supramicron Mobo, or will it be compatible with upcoming V3 Mobos (MSI/Asus/ASRock)? Are Xeons compatible with any current GPUs from Nvidia (980Ti and the upcoming 1080 Ti)? Any links you could provide, in order to get me more informed on the Xeons, would be much appreciated, Cheers.
May I comment in real world speed variants that are huge! Of the 9) Intel Core 6 channel CPU's total available. Firstly at the bottom I5-8400 & 8600K are only 6 thread and the benchmarks are low. Secondly there is the I7-8700 & 8700K CPU's and although the latter is now pushed as their greatest gaming CPU, but it has high bench marks with only 16 PCIe lanes. Thirdly you have an I7-5820K, 6800K, & 7800X which bolster 28 PCIe lanes. Fourthly we come to the I7-5930K & 6850K chips that flaunt 40 PCIe lanes. Well as he points out in the video: a single video can capitalize on 16 PCIe lanes by itself, but everyone omits a glaring truth! As you smart ones know: the fastest SATA III SSD made is the Samsung 860 Pro that reads at 565MB/s on a platform said to run upto 600. The best: Samsung 960 Pro M.2 X4 NVMe SSD platform will read at 3650MB/s although they contend upto 4000. The caveat here is that the latter NEEDS 16 additional dedicated PCI Express lanes to achieve this speed. If the video card is using them, then the fast memory will run through the SATA III port @ standard SSD speeds under 600MB/s in the real world. The bottleneck is created by the SATA III running through a controller. So gamers should be rockin' a CPU in my 4th catagory, a NVMe M.2 X4, and Mobo (a Motherboard) built to run 40 PCIe lanes. Your only alternative is to maybe spend double your money on the only other Intel offerings 8 core or more. With Intel do not even consider less than the older I7-5930 or newer I7-6850 and a 240GB-512GB stick of gum SSD with 1 video card. PS: 1 great video card has always been the preferred choice over 2 or more lesser quality and speed cards anyway. I bought the 5850 2 weeks ago and Sam's Pro 960 512GB the week b4. I think I am future proof for 2 1/2 years & happy as a gay guy w/a bag of D's, woops.
The ASUS X99 A II that Tom used in this is a solid board, we will have to see if others get better clocks, but from a features standpoint it has everything: USB-C 3.1, M.2, 8 DIMM slots, ASUS's typically good BIOS, support for triple Graphics Cards (not that anyone should use more than two anyway). What more would you want?
Holly shit ! 6850K in Australia will cost you $960 and the 6950x is about $2580.
its gonna be more than that probably another 200-300 more
checked it on a website though
We always get ripped off when it comes to pricing for anything so it wouldn't / doesn't surprise me in the slightest
can't agree more
6700k is the best for gaming only
6850k it is then.
Agreed.
The 6800k is the best option by far within the 6 core CPUs here... 28PCI-E lanes are more than enough, and no, running in x8 wont be a problem in multi GPU configurations (You could even go 3 way SLI and still have 4 lanes to use with whatever you want). Also, I really dont have a clue what Tom was thinking when he said he doesnt know if there will be GPU bandwith problem when running SLI/xfire and that the 6800k is recommended for single GPU users, it has been proven over and over again that running in PCI-E 3.0 at x8 wont bottleneck any current GPU, even running them in x4 didnt present any significant performance impact when running Fury's in xfire (AMD allows you to run GPUs with only 4 lanes while nvidia requires 8). You would be STUPID to pay almost 200$ more for a CPU that only offers you more PCI-E lanes that you will never use, being its performance pretty much the same as the one you will find on the 6800k.
Just ordered the 6800k
i would also like to thank you for all the time you put in to this show and information that you give us.it help a lot
Thank you for that, it means a lot :)
Maybe Intel should just skip releasing products for a few generations.
Be careful what you wish for.
They should get their pricing policies straight, firstly.
"They should get their pricing policies straight, firstly."
Why? They have no serious competitor at the moment, PC market is declining, so they need to skim the cash as long as it still flows in their direction and they can't make the 10 core that much cheaper, because they would undermine their own 10 core workstation Xeon's otherwise. Intel has a quasi-monopoly, because AMD is grasping at straws for a while now and need to finally get their act together with Polaris and Zen.
Pilo ᴹᴱᴻᵀᴬᴸ ᴹᴱᴸᵀᵈᵒᵚᵑ lol dude. 10-core Xeon 1100$ with ECC support can do the same multithreaded workload that this 1730$ ... and I can buy another processor for 630$ to the other socket. Think about it.
Peter Bočan lol dude. But why do you whine like a crybaby about the pricing of an enthusiast platform then? If the Xeon platform is good enough for you or in your eyes even better, cheaper and even capable to handle mutiple processors?
A *Intel Core i7-6950X Extreme Edition, 10x 3.00GHz* _Basis: 3.00GHz • Turbo: 3.50GHz • TDP: 140W • process: 14nm • can be overclocked_ ... costs in Europe at the moment around €1800. An almost similar clocked *Intel Xeon E5-2689 v4, 10x 3.10GHz* _Basis: 3.10GHz • Turbo: 3.80GHz • TDP: 165W • process: 14nm • fixed clock multiplier_ ... costs around €2900.
If you want just a 10 core, you only need to buy an *Intel Xeon E5-2630L v4, 10x 1.80GHz* and it's even relatively cheap ... only €630. Then overclock it to 4 GHz...oh wait ... **WhatABummer**
Thanks for the hard work Tom! Always great in depth videos, looking forward to the review of that Asus x99 Strix board in the background ;).
Here's my review. Broadwell E processors are a RIP OFF
True, even more so than Haswell-E was.
No way, stable - mine as in my 16 core xeon (BroadweLL) is running my corsair platnium(s) ram in QUAD (8GB X 4 time two kits) at its rated 3000mhz for years, 1.35 volts on the Asus-x99-WS-USB3.1 ...It even runs stable at 1.25 since people were saying 1.35v was not safe for x99 UNTIL everyone and thier mother started to run it and use it with little issues for how many went out..... Maybe I am a lucky one, who knows but loving broadwell to this day... It does not bottleneck my RADeon VII .... I am happier or "much happier" with it then my x79 system that I also LOVED!....
41 minutes ! whaou ! very generous format ! i'm happy to subscribed to this channel xD
Among the RUclipsrs about tech, youre one of the funnies but still full of info. Nice Vid.
In your measure of "value" you are forgetting that we expected double-digit physical cores in a consumer product 2-3 years ago. I'm not impressed with the price tag on 10 physical cores.
We thought we'd have 5Ghz standard by now too. So what.
With Intel's architechture the extra cores were just not required for consumers. Not in the slightest littlest bit. Sure you can throw a couple extra cores on there, but that's not going to help if your RAM can't keep up. Or your storage can't keep up. Or your graphics cards can't keep up. The connections between those and the CPU have been getting the biggest improvements, because that's what improved actual noticable performance for non-enthousiast consumers. Professionals and enthousiasts were really the only people who needed the extra performance from a higher core count CPU, and they had their dedicated products.
That's nothing, I am still waiting for my flying car that is now 16 years overdue! ;)
@@DrSmokeTrees So what? That often means that the industry is slowing down the process of advancement and milking each incremental upgrade in the process, and setting the bar high at the front end.
I hope my comments finds you with good health. Excellent video! Thank you so much for a long-waited video. Can't wait for the X99 over-clocking processor/ram video guide and a nice video on the new Asus X99-A II motherboard. This video helped me to decide that the 6850k is all I really need for a dedicated gaming rig that will use 2 1080's and still have a few extra cores for some mid-level video editing of family stuff. Great video! Good job! Looking forward to more great informative videos from you. Peace out and get some sleep. ;)
TTL thank you for all the hard work getting this review up. I have read the written review on the website and i cannot see where the temps of these cpus.
no 3930k on the graphs what happend? dont you have benchmarks from that far back?
We didnt review a 3930k
i own a 3930k, it is really good, thats just about that review done :P
+OC3D TV you did back in 2012
probably didn't redo the testing after the test-rig specs were changed. The scores in the 2012 review would not be directly comparable
Fantastic video Tom, really informative. I just ordered the 6900K to upgrade my wife's pc from her 5930K, I now get to upgrade from Z87 (i7-4790K) to the 5930K.
I am really looking forward to the overclocking video you mentioned.
tom i think you've got the pricing wrong because the charts the other reviewers have are saying $1700++ for buying a thousand cpus but your chart says 1500++
*TTL always the absolute best!* Was looking around the channels for the new cpu videos and I bet you were the 1°, awesome job as always Mate!
I've been off for a while but there's just no substitute to Tom when reviewing this stuff :P
Thank you Tom, your dedicated hard work is highly appreciated :)
incredible review. thank you for taking the time out to make this.
you can run 3 gpu in 8x 8x 8x and have the same performance as the 40 lane processor.
linus tech tips did a comparison and showed the 40 lanes only benefiting at 4 graphics cards.
Why waste money on the 6850k when you get the same results with the 6800k given the same oc?
Because older cards like 980 cant use the bandwith of x8 even, neither can 1080. When we move beyond that, then its another case.
+Pienimusta the point is that no x99 cpu could keep up with 24 lanes of gpu data.
if such a graphics card existed that could choke 8x lanes then the processor would become a massive bottle neck.
a gtx980 isn't ever bottlenecked running in pcie gen 2 4x, so I ask again why anyone would need quadruple the throughput.
www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GTX_980_PCI-Express_Scaling/4.html
yeah? try running two 1080 Cards in SLI & M.2 pcie raid drives or better with some SSDs for storage & maybe a ram disk - that's what this 40 lanes are about bro
+Ken Hunter both cards can run in 8x gen 3 giving you 12 more lanes. two m.2 or u.2 in raid would still leave you with 4 lanes left.
but if you're going to be just throwing money away trying to populate every pcie lane then just get the 40 lane version.
but the justification that graphics cards need anything more than 4x (I understand sli cert requires 8x) to run optimally is ludicrous.
two 16x cards and raid m.2 will give you the same performance as two 8x cards and raid m.2 even though it's 40 lanes vs 24.
heck, you only lose about 10% performance running a 980 on 4x gen 2.
What resolution and what games?
SLI links can't handle very high res/FPS and the bus is used. Also, GPU compute and tessellation can require GPU writebacks and that uses bandwidth. Driver command lists in DX11 and 12 raise the volume of instructions.
I just upgraded to a 6850k for $325 off craigslist. Already have a X99 build so didn't want to buy a new motherboard for Ryzen or X299. Can't wait to throw everything together tomorrow.
Parts List:
EVGA X99 Micro2
i7-6850K
EVGA 1080 Hybrid
3200mhz G.Skill DDR4 16gb
Samsung 850 500gb SSD
Corsair H105
ASUS Rog 1440p GSync 27" Monitor
have you done the X99 overclocking guide yet? im running a 6850K at 4.6Ghz with 1.25v on vcore 100Mhz base 46 multiplier on a MSI x99 godlike gaming temps under load are 50 to 60 C 64GB corsair dominator platinum 3000mhz this is not a gaming rig
Kineticartist wow that’s a great overclock, what programs did you use to make sure it was stable? & what type of cooler you have ?
Thank you for all the time you put in to bring us the right info..
we appreciate the time and effort you put into this video Tom, peace out.
Videos looking crispy dude! Love it!
For CPU dependent gaming, you should use DCS (Digital Combat Simulator). This would show if new CPUs scale better or not then the older CPUs.
Nice set of nvidia cards in the back. Nvidia masters must be pleased
I have the same amount of cards he has. so all those are in my shelf almost the same way. im a huge fan of those reference cards.
Id happily have AMD ones up and have asked for even dead ones to display. They have not sent out OEM samples for some time now.
+OC3D TV this is why i love you guys i know amd has thight hands and nvidia sends more than just gpu-s :-D
+arton haziri last time I checked AMD's budget is very tight.
If your video was shorter I'd think something was wrong. We live for the long TTL discussions!
that intro bro... fuck its better than most movie companies
total fail intel 6800-6950 +2% sometimes -1-2% performance vs 3930-5930K and this after 4 years , and the 6950X would be good for 1000-1100$ max. Meaning you getting the same performance that was in 2012 =)
Check you ass first. Its practically the same that was in 2012 performance.
6950X provides superior performance to IVY/SANDY i7X procs in multithread rendering tasks. Biggest gains are to be had on Excel giga workbook calculations (actuarial books), Cinematic DAW configurations (running VEP + EWQL 300+ voices at 96k/24 stereo) , video editing, etc also faster CUDA feedback and lower ram latency due to better headroom.
Nvidia is hitting near 100% improvements GTX 980(GM104) -> 1080(GP104) and got near 100% from 680(GK104) -> 980. 2012 - now
Intel has been without competition for too long and all gains must come from architecture as Dennard scaling is dead. Architecture is expensive to improve and they have little reason for the expenditures.
Nvidia could have done a Mars mission for what their latest architecture cost.
Best hopes would be AMD's Zen and/or Nvidia's accelerators + IMB power with NVlink putting on Intel.
Nvidia has been without competition for a good while now too. Atleast nvidia are actually increasing speed and inovating instead of intel who just give very little peformance gains and increase the price a shit ton.
it drives me crazy how the desk isn't square with the frame. I spent more of the video looking at that then actually hearing what you were saying.
Thanks, Tom, for the info and for consuming so much caffeine. Keep 'em coming. Shazam - lol!
I'm just thinking my 5820k is still a great buy as a single GPU-preferring gamer. IPC improvements are almost non-existent. Oh well, sticking to the four year CPU upgrade cycle sounds about right.
@Kael : yes but turbo boost 3.0
+Jonathan Wakeford Turbo Boost MAX 3.0
i couldn't be happier with the 5820k i got, overclocks to 4.8 and its at 4.7 1.312 volts right now.
Turbo Boost 3.0 is irrelevant when overclocking (which anyone with a HEDT 2011-3 CPU should be doing).
moving from 4930kx 79 to 6950x time to stick with x99 for the next 3+ years
i'm more than happy with my 4790k..best price performance cpu on the market
Best thing is that the X-99 platform is gonna have a real great longevity. I'm very satisfied with my 5820K, and imo Haswell-E is still more than enough for most people, we're seeing small gains here. Will be nice to have the possibility to upgrade to one of this chips in a couple years time (or maybe more, we'll how haswell-e holds up), at awesome prices € and maintaining the same board/socket. Unless the new "Skylake-E" will bring bonkers and real innovative features
I currently own an AMD-based system(FX-8320 & Radeon HD 7870), and I'm looking to upgrade. People all over tech forums and in the comments here debate about whether Broadwell-E is a good value, but they usually compare it to previous Intel CPUs. If I am a *FIRST TIME* Intel buyer, and I'm not interested in frequently selling off old hardware to get new hardware(I want to keep my next CPU for many years), then is the 6850k a good purchase in that regard?
Hi Always love your reviews, I think this video is the perfect length.
I seen other videos on this topic but for me your videos are always the more IMPORTANT(they have detail information)
which is what i need to make a decision($$$$)
Tom, how come you say the 6850K is cheaper than the old 5930k ? A quick check shows that the 5930k is 485 pounds, while the 6850k is 525 pounds. That is 40 pounds difference for a 5% increase in performance.
Cheers Tom Great video, Thanks I will be be getting the 6850K it will do me for Gaming and rendering my uploads and general stuff like watching TV and You Tube , Keep up the Great work Tom - Love your Long Vids Ace --- Cheers Harry.
You could add Corona Renderer Benchmark to the tests - would be a nice real life 3d rendering example for us 3d graphics people :)
*Gets bucket of coffee
That Vulcan in the background is distracting.
distracting like your pic ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
That's not a Vulcan.
My mistake. That miniature Vulcan model in the background is distracting. Better now Mr American-who-doesn't-know-British-aircraft? Bit of a mouthful I know.
Olivia Lambert that's what I said it's not a Avro Vulcan high altitude strategic bomber.
British aircrafts are shit. i have a 3 ft long 1/48 b-1b bomber model btw
So you can update the BIOS while using a CPU from the 6th generation (Broadwell-E)?
Been hearing all different stories. Some claims that you need a Haskell-E CPU to do it. Would be thrilled if you could clarify this for me - my i7-6850k arrives tomorrow and my old CPU is not working, as well as my BIOS is not updated I believe.
sorry for being a noob to this stuff but If I currently have a 4770k is it worth it for me to upgrade to any of these new broadwell-e or wait until skylake-e or further? I mostly use my pc to game and I hear people saying things like dx 12 and games will use more cores, should I buy into that now or wait until that happens and buy then?
Thank you for this video, it has really helped me. Im currently studying game development at university and more and more so I've found that I'm doing more and more work at home than at uni, so i need a PC rig that can handle the workload of developing video games with Unreal Engine, the Autodesk Maya, Mudbox and 3DS Max and the Adobe suite. I will be aiming for the 6850k as thats the processor i think i can get at this point in time with me at university, then upgrade to a 8 or 10 core in the future when i am working in the industry.
please help me configure my 5960x and asus deluxe 2 lpx 3200 1080 system. You make sense to me and no one goes over the asus x99 uefi well thanks mate
Ahh remember the days when updating the BIOS for one of these chips would have required you to just have a 5820K or above on hand.
Tom, why when benchmarking games do you use console port games that are not CPU dependent.
Wouldn't it male sense to benchmark a CPU using games that are specially designed for PC and are CPU intensive?
Thank you mate, I'm surprise you don't have more subscribers.
I only JUST got a 5960X and clocked it to 4Gs. I think im good. The graphs say enough about the requirements these days.
Nice video. You may very well have helped me make my decision. I think i may retire my i7-950 for the 6850k. Cheers!
Thank you for the nice review! This makes my decision much easier and saved me from making a several hundred pound mistake!
can you please do a X99 overclocking guide video. Could you show us the difference between auto and manual overclocking?
Seriously who the hell will pay extra 175$ for 0.2 Ghz?
its pcie lanes as well tho.... I'm going 6800k, GPUs don't need x16 all the time anyways
Who in there right MINDS would pay shit ;oads for PCIE lanes??? LOL
i know lol - gpu's dont need 16
people that use them? 2 way SLI and a couple PCI-E SSDS would eat up the 28 lanes easy
You're paying for PCI-E lanes stupid. WTFV
Remember the OC guides for the broadwell-e!
which do you like best for 4k video rendering and After Effects visual effects?
Any ETA on the Broadwell-E overclocking guide mate? (there arent any in depth ones at the moment!)
So we can expect the 6800k and 6850k to perform pretty much the same.
Thank you Tom, much appreciated.
So did I understand it correctly that Intel Turbo Hyper Speed Boost 3000 boosts all cores to 4 GHz (on some/most ASUS boards) instead of just the best performing one as intended by Intel)?
I currently have a Xeon E5-2680v3 (12 cores, 24 threads, 2.5 GHz) ripped from a server I don't need but overclocking doesn't work for sure. I do some video encoding (native x264 CLI, which used all threads up to 98% overall usage when the server was still online) but will mostly play games. ASUS Rampage V Edition 10 is my board.
I actually don't want the 6950X (way too expensive) but I can't decide between 6900K and 6850K.
I've been looking forward to this!
Which x99 motherboard is a safe way to go today? I'm looking to get the 6850k soon. Everyone seems to suggest ASUS but amazon has so many bad reviews on their boards. MSI seems good with reviews but bad with warranties. Any suggestions with reason is welcome and appreciated.
I HIGHLY recommend the EVGA Micro2 or any other EVGA board. They are excellent, stable, and if something does go wrong the RMA process is smooth and painless with EVGA.
lol i went with the threadripper and waiting for my setup to come in now but thank you for your opinion.
currently have an ASUS deluxe x99 with 5930. Not planning to upgrade the CPU but if I were buying again should i go X99 or Z170 if I want lots of cores for VMing ??
i7-6850K
Price:729.60$
No:12 now in best sellers CPU !
5960x or 6900k upgrade?
I thought about upgrading from the 5820k to the 6800k but my CPU will do 4.7 at 1.313 volts and from what I've read broadwell just doesn't overclock as good and is harder to cool. I'm pretty sure the better overclock will make up the performance difference. I don't get why Tom thinks 28pci lanes are so bad, for 90% of the PC users it will work fine, most of us run one GPU or two. And running one in 16 and the other 8 won't make it any faster than 16\16.
hey tom after watching this video i bought the asus x99 deluxe u3.1 and i a new cpu the 6850k did a bios flash for the new cpu and i am running windows 10 with a video card gtx 1080 ftw but now i get a flicker while in game i did a windows wipe and reinstall all the drivers are up to date and it still does it do you know what could be making this happen keep up the good work love the video's
I'm interested in the 6950x but I haven't seen any tests for h264 to h265 conversion in comparison to the others
Totally Chuffing Epic as always Tom
I am split between the 6900k and the 6850K. I will be able to afford either one this fall.
Get the 6900k if you need more cores.
X99 Overclocking IN DEPTH guide. IS the BOMB ! When we can expect that ? I am perfectly happy with 5930K yet would LOVE to OC it with my Dominator Platinum 2800 memory.
You need to run cpu occt(not linpack,that only generates heat) for at least 6 hours to confirm full stability and even then it's a good idea to run aida for another 6 hours to find any smaller instabilities causing errors in the calculations which could cause crashes in the long run.
Running a 6850K with 2xGTX1080. What memory speed do you recommend? I am looking at Dominator 3000Mhz.
Serious question, Paul's Hardware showed that chart and had the 6950x pricing around 1700+ for bulk buying. Where did yours come from? He stated his was from Intel, but didn't say from when or from where at Intel.
If those are both US pricing and both from Intel...something is wrong with Intel tossing out multiple prices to reviewers.
Mine was an Intel slide that was sent to me by Intel
Thank you for the response!
I got a gold award mate! ;) love my 6850k
E-peen here. 5960x
For MSRP=1600$ i would expect sth like 10cores 4.0→4.5 boost and av. OC ar. 5.0GHz.
Is Boredwell-E designed to push Hass-E sale?
These CPUs are just refreshed versions of Haswell-E. It's better to wait for Skylake-E and the new LGA 3647 socket and those CPUs will support up to 48 PCI-E lanes.
2011v3 and X99 are in need of huge upgrades...
Whats the difference between "completely up to you" and "completely down to you" ????? Should I go up or down with these CPU's???
Sideways.
OC3D TV lol how much is the sideways option? I'm on a budget!
+OC3D TV no no no backwards
Any which way is up
Kinky
Great Video Tom :-) thanks man.
Ok so I cant decide on either buying the 6700k or the 6850k. Im mostly going to be gaming on this rig on mostly 1440 and 4k, but im not planning on doing sli, but I would like to have the opportunity to do it. Im going to use the gtx 1080 so I just cant decide.
So anything under the i7 6850K, would bottleneck an SLI GTX 1080 setup?
the 6 in the begining sounds like it wouldve been for skylake... so this doesnt work with z170 i assume?
Thank god more shiny things out so prices will continue to drop on i7 2600k's! That's what I'm getting since it can hang with the best still!
Mork mention!! Much love for the Valkians :D
good job mate, nice and long video :D I record game videos (and render them) so I guess 6850k is the best choice not wasting money, right?
With a single GPU the 6800k is better value.
Bayonet I was thinking to leave the option for SLI if needed later, otherwise what is the point of getting expensive x99 system at all?
I can render 4k, twitch game stream perfectly on 4670k and r9 390 16 gig ram perfectly fine, im going 6800k, same r9 390 but will be going 32gig ram, 6800k with one gpu is totally fine and gives perfect gaming.
i would like to see the fps difference ingame with 2 1080 on the 6800k and the 6850k i, i highly doubt that there will be any difference in fps with the less pci-e lanes
so i need to upgrade from my 5820k already...? and why cant i find any reviews of my mobo anywhere? its a msi X99A SLI krait edition (not the x99s!)
Tom, i would like for you to test 16x vs 8x. I know in pcie2.0 there was some bottle neck. But i think pcie3.0 is enough to hold 8x sli without bottleneck
If I have 40 pci lane Core i7-6850K. I can run 2 video cards at full x16 speeds that 32 lanes for video card and 8 left for two hard drvies x4 each is that correct ?I would be running 2 video card at x16 and 2 pci express x4 hard drvies at full speed is that correct??
Nice review. Thank You
Which one will perform better for Prepar3d Flight Simulator with GTX 1080 SLI?
Yep, I'm perfectly fine with my 5960X after seeing that horrendous price on the new extreme edition.
For Gaming I'd take a 6700K over these. 4Cores+HT with higher CoreClock works much better in like 98% of all Games then more Cores and lower CoreClock. Most Games barely make full use of 4 Cores.
for the next couple of years anyway. I expect most major game engines developed moving forward are going to use very different threading models than we have over the last couple of decades.
sickbailey21
When that happens, these CPUs will already be outdated.
+sickbailey21 and games will still run like shit. because there is no game out there that fully take advantage of processors since Sandy Bridge. The hardware is and always will be ahead of software. all the idiots upgrading their processors from Ivy Bridge to todays processors are wasting their money. Especially if they are JUST gaming. But most PC gamers don't understand computer hardware, they only understand hype train.
well the 6850K will be one hell of an upgrade for my i5 3570K. Be useful with my two r9 290x's (and soon 1080s when funds come about )
I love the model airplanes, especially the great VULCAN!
Movies/Photos/CAD-CAM/3D Modeling for Production Runs... The 6950X for me.
I can, and will, wait until October/November permitting the Mobo manufacturers (MSI/Asus/ASRock) to get themselves sorted.
If my math is correct 60 to 65% gain on X79 (the best system ever) / 25% (initial) to 35% (at the end of the cycle) on current X99 processors (that's a lot of cash jumping into my wallet).
One very important question: Have you heard any rumors of any Mobo vendors finally unleashing 128GB RAM kits (and yes, there are a lot of apps which would appreciate it)... Are there enough lanes for that and a two way SLI?
Glad to see you posting a properly lengthen video (40+ minutes).
All the best to you and your sister,
Cheers.
PS> If you have your system just for gaming/youtube/movies/TV series there is no need for these processors. A 3770k, even a 2500K, will suit you just fine. In the eventuality of you having to upgrade, for some unforeseeable reason, buy a good used PC from your local shop or, much better, from Ebay (using the secure payment options, of course, and Ebay's excellent insurance policy).
Sounds like you would benefit from a duel Xeon motherboard with 16 DIMM slots for 1024GB of RAM (or even 2048GB if you want to pay the premium). As long as you don't mind the lack of overclocking support on Xeons they are way better value too. The E5-2630v4 has 10-cores like the 6950X, but you could get two of them for less than a 6950X, giving you 20 cores.
Even with overclocking, 20 cores at 2.3GHz will outperform the 6950X's 10 at between 4.2-4.4 (depending on the silicon lottery). The Xeons are also going to run at lower volts and therefore cooler and with increased longevity.
Of course, if gaming is a high priority then the lower clocked Xeons are not as good value, but then you should just get an i5 6600k as it is just as good as a 6950X in games.
Basically, unless one games and renders video on the same computer I see no point in either the 6900k or 6950k except for the epeen.
Sorry for the delay... My Chrome is having "script issues" and doesn't warn me of responses (saw it now reading my mail).
For various, obvious, reasons I have always been an anti Xeon person, just like I would never buy anything from Apple. Those processors, all their requirements, and demands, just don't go down well with me... Especially the RAM/GPU issues.
You would be right if my PCs/Servers were only used as work horses by androids.
However, thanks for all your recommendations and advice. I'm just not a Xeon person... Too many drawbacks for the very few "advantages". My X79s with the best mobo ever built (the MSI BigBang-Xpower II) are still running strong with no special cooling requirements, nor maintenance, nor cleaning.
Thanks for all your advice and recommendations... That is one of the things which make this channel so special.
Cheers.
Thanks you for your kind words, it is always nice to know that someone appreciates one's efforts. If I may enquire, what "obvious reasons" are there for not going with Xeons? The only negative differences I know of are the maximum RAM frequency due to using ECC (which for some would be considered an advantage), and the practically non-existent overclocking ever since Sandy Bridge. Xeons have no special cooling requirements (often needing less than overclocked consumer chips), and better performance for the dollar is quite a compelling advantage in my mind.
A very good question... Got me thinking.
Maybe I just don't like leaving my "comfort zone", maybe it's the perceived lack of compatibility... I know a long time ago when I decided not to ever use Xeons the main reason was the lack of integrated GPU which I needed to work on my NAS/Seedboxes and such. There were also huge compatibility issues with RAM. For some reason, I never liked the lack of options available (at the time there were only mobos from Intel and some other company I cannot remember).
In the end, I guess it became a dogmatic viewpoint. I am sure that so much has changed since the 90s.
Thanks for your post, it got me thinking about how sometimes our (my) prejudices creep up on us and become barriers to knowledge.
I will now research the current Xeons... At least for my business (custom car/truck industry) usage they might be just the best solution.
Again, thanks for breaking my irrational aversion to Xeons (based on very old experience/knowledge/aversion) and for giving me a good reason to research the new Xeons as a business solution.
Cheers.
Sorry for the double post, just a question I forgot:
Will a Xeon only work on a Supramicron Mobo, or will it be compatible with upcoming V3 Mobos (MSI/Asus/ASRock)?
Are Xeons compatible with any current GPUs from Nvidia (980Ti and the upcoming 1080 Ti)?
Any links you could provide, in order to get me more informed on the Xeons, would be much appreciated,
Cheers.
May I comment in real world speed variants that are huge! Of the 9) Intel Core 6 channel CPU's total available. Firstly at the bottom I5-8400 & 8600K are only 6 thread and the benchmarks are low. Secondly there is the I7-8700 & 8700K CPU's and although the latter is now pushed as their greatest gaming CPU, but it has high bench marks with only 16 PCIe lanes. Thirdly you have an I7-5820K, 6800K, & 7800X which bolster 28 PCIe lanes. Fourthly we come to the I7-5930K & 6850K chips that flaunt 40 PCIe lanes. Well as he points out in the video: a single video can capitalize on 16 PCIe lanes by itself, but everyone omits a glaring truth! As you smart ones know: the fastest SATA III SSD made is the Samsung 860 Pro that reads at 565MB/s on a platform said to run upto 600. The best: Samsung 960 Pro M.2 X4 NVMe SSD platform will read at 3650MB/s although they contend upto 4000. The caveat here is that the latter NEEDS 16 additional dedicated PCI Express lanes to achieve this speed. If the video card is using them, then the fast memory will run through the SATA III port @ standard SSD speeds under 600MB/s in the real world. The bottleneck is created by the SATA III running through a controller. So gamers should be rockin' a CPU in my 4th catagory, a NVMe M.2 X4, and Mobo (a Motherboard) built to run 40 PCIe lanes. Your only alternative is to maybe spend double your money on the only other Intel offerings 8 core or more. With Intel do not even consider less than the older I7-5930 or newer I7-6850 and a 240GB-512GB stick of gum SSD with 1 video card. PS: 1 great video card has always been the preferred choice over 2 or more lesser quality and speed cards anyway. I bought the 5850 2 weeks ago and Sam's Pro 960 512GB the week b4. I think I am future proof for 2 1/2 years & happy as a gay guy w/a bag of D's, woops.
So whats the best X99 board options? High end, not budget. Will be building a new system for VR
The ASUS X99 A II that Tom used in this is a solid board, we will have to see if others get better clocks, but from a features standpoint it has everything: USB-C 3.1, M.2, 8 DIMM slots, ASUS's typically good BIOS, support for triple Graphics Cards (not that anyone should use more than two anyway). What more would you want?