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[Damaniel]

I'm rather disappointed - I used to enjoy upgrading my PC every couple years, but I'll still sitting on the same 2600K that I've had for over 4 years, with the only reason to even consider the Skylake upgrade being the peripheral support rather than increased CPU speed. 30-40% improvement (tops) in synthetic benchmarks in 4.5 years is just really, really sad.

At least GPUs are still getting faster.

 

[Tovarisc]

Anand hasn't been so hot (in my eyes) as far as reviews go in some time.

I think that test is a bit specific to the point where you'll have to wait until some people get the CPUs in their hands. I'm curious to also see how much DDR4 speeds affect non-FPS areas of gaming. Especially would like to see performance in MMOs or open-world games that could be streaming or caching a lot of assets.

I'm building around Skylake hopefully next week and have i5 6600K ordered, like I mentioned earlier. Now I'm just deciding on mobo and if to take Kingston 2133 or 2666 memory.

I understand all that but again, I don't see the point of benchmarks like these when they will have literally zero impact in real-world gaming performance.

Bold claim there, anything to back it up? CPU performance scaling upwards as speed of memory increases just doesn't magically disappear because instead of 800x600 you run 1920x1080. Maybe it doesn't scale as much, but it will.

Hence need for proper dGPU tests with different DDR4 speeds.

 

[SleazyC]

I understand all that but again, I don't see the point of benchmarks like these when they will have literally zero impact in real-world gaming performance.

To me they are pretty much on par with gaming synthetic benchmarks.

But they do allow us to see areas where CPU architecture might have improved that are otherwise overlooked if you are just looking at the real-world FPS performance. Seeing that the memory bandwidth influences CPU performance in gaming situations could come into play down the road with the use of DirectX 12 or Vulcan or maybe improvements in engines.

None of this is strong evidence to push people to upgrade from older CPUs that still have the raw horsepower but to me its valuable to have as much information as possible to help me make a decision to upgrade or not.

 

[kinggroin]

Well, for my 1080p 60hz requirement, seems the FX8350 @ 4.3ghz is plenty for the games I play. May experience a few more hitches on the low end here and there, but not enough to care about moving to anything else for the foreseeable future.

Too limited by my display capabilities (Samsung Plasma) and GPU (GTX670)ATM.

 

[daninthemix]

Wow, the gains from Sandy Bridge are even less than I thought. Clock-for-clock they are microscopic, considering five years have almost passed. I remember when five years would cause order-of-magnitude gains in CPU power.

Definitely waiting for hexa/octocore models.

 

[LilJoka]

I understand all that but again, I don't see the point of benchmarks like these when they will have literally zero impact in real-world gaming performance.

It can in multi GPU situations or way in the future when GPUs get a lot faster.

 

[Tiduz]

i got a I7 930...

i want the I5-6600K, or is the older one better? Pricing is almost the same give or take a 100 bux for total systems i planned.

so it seems going 6600 would be smarter cause i wannt it to last for ~5 years like i did with this pc.

 

[Grief.exe]

i got a I7 930...

i want the I5-6600K, or is the older one better? Pricing is almost the same give or take a 100 bux for total systems i planned.

so it seems going 6600 would be smarter cause i wannt it to last for ~5 years like i did with this pc.

Depends on how much of a bump we get from DX12 and Vulcan benchmarks.

 

[Durante]

Reviews confirm that upgrading to X99 a year ago was a good decision.

 

[Zaptruder]

Reviews confirm that upgrading to X99 a year ago was a good decision.

Reviews confirm my sadness.

 

[Dimmuxx]

I'm glad that I bought a 5775C for my linux workstation instead of waiting for Skylake.

 

[ShyGuy0504]

Reviews confirm that upgrading to X99 a year ago was a good decision.

I just upgraded to X99 last month.

I was a tiny bit worried that Skylake would make me regret my purchase but the itch to ugprade was too strong.

 

[Grief.exe]

What's even on the horizon?

Intel is not committing to dieshrinks in 2016. Then there's AMD's next product.

 

[komorebi]

I can hear my 4770k smiling and my build-happy inner daemon frowning

 

[Ce-Lin]

so basically upgrading from a 4790K is pointless (for gaming), unless these new chips have some hidden "magic" for DX12 / new Windows 10 that I'm unaware of... I guess we'll have to wait for the first DX12 game.

 

[StarlordDial]

Reviews confirm that upgrading to X99 a year ago was a good decision.

Yup ! I just made my pc like a week ago ! So worth it ^_^

 

[Quotient]

Apologies i haven't read through the whole thread, but was is the initial impressions, is Skylake worth it for a gaming PC, or in general an upgrade?

 

[daninthemix]

Apologies i haven't read through the whole thread, but was is the initial impressions, is Skylake worth it for a gaming PC, or in general an upgrade?

Depends on what you're upgrading from. It's a 25% increase over Sandy Bridge, clock for clock, and even less for newer generations.

Nothing even remotely dramatic, in other words.

 

[LQX]

Welp! I was hoping for a monster improvement to convince myself to upgrade. Coupled with the DDR4 prices not much value for me. Guess I can also now jump to Windows 10 as I was holding off so it would not be tied to my current system.

 

[Kintaco]

I was about to jump in on a 4790k and motherboard, I assume this will still be the way to go since I will most likely pay a premium for Skylake gear?

 

[Ziffles]

I understand all that but again, I don't see the point of benchmarks like these when they will have literally zero impact in real-world gaming performance.

If you're just going for 60hz and cranking your GPU settings, then yes it will have no impact. But if you're trying to go for higher framerates like 120-144hz, then CPU/memory definitely comes into play.

 

[MR ARCADE FOREVER]

Reviews confirm that upgrading to X99 a year ago was a good decision.

Durante what X99 motherboard and cpu do you have? I'm disapointed by Skylake bench and planning in getting the MSI X99S plus and i7 5820k paired with an gigabyte gtx 980 ti. What do you think!?

 

[joesiv]

Anand hasn't been so hot (in my eyes) as far as reviews go in some time.

I think Anandtech does a great job on the technology, architecture and all that, but yeah they're actual gaming benchmarks have not kept up with the other sites. I still like they're unbiased take on the technology of the things they review.

 

[Dictator93]

I understand all that but again, I don't see the point of benchmarks like these when they will have literally zero impact in real-world gaming performance.

They show what happens when a game finally become CPU limited. Which happens in a couple games and genres (RTS, etc...).

 

[bee]

that 6700k price lol, 5820k is faster (with oc) and cheaper, the only negative is the x99 vs z120 mobo prices, still sticking with my 3570k for the foreseeable future as it's plenty fast enough for now and supports pci-e 3.0

 

[DeFiBkIlLeR]

I'm disapointed by Skylake bench and planning in getting the MSI X99S plus and i7 5820k paired with an gigabyte gtx 980 ti. What do you think!?

I think the only thing you'll need to upgrade in a rig like that to stay current over the next 5yrs is the GPU.

 

[Tovarisc]

I was about to jump in on a 4790k and motherboard, I assume this will still be the way to go since I will most likely pay a premium for Skylake gear?

Depends what you mean with "premium". I got i5 6600K for 15€ more than 4790K, mobos are at same prices and memory cost difference between 16GB DDR3 and 4 isn't that big either anymore. I wouldn't say that there is a lot of "premium" in Skylake platform prices.

Benches, especially for gaming, does leave it up to personal decision as there isn't clear lead for Skylake in gaming.

----

What is up with all validation posts?

 

[Shepard]

Wtf, Skylake was hyped so much and that's what we got?

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

Lol at the posters saying before the reviews came out that Haswell-E is no longer Intel's enthusiast platform.

I'm going to go over more reviews when I get back home but what I'm seeing so far for the 6700K is 5% IPC gain over the old Haswell 4770K, slightly worse performance from Skylake when it comes to gaming and slightly better overclocking (4.6Ghz seems the sweet-spot, so 100-200Mhz only over Haswell).

Very poor from Intel but I notice a widespread reticence from the tech media to criticise the launch.

 

[Kintaco]

Depends what you mean with "premium". I got i5 6600K for 15€ more than 4790K, mobos are at same prices and memory cost difference between 16GB DDR3 and 4 isn't that big either anymore. I wouldn't say that there is a lot of "premium" in Skylake platform prices.

Benches, especially for gaming, does leave it up to personal decision as there isn't clear lead for Skylake in gaming.

----

What is up with all validation posts?

Some of the motherboard reviews I saw were showing the motherboards at around $200, plus I already have DDR3 RAM so that's one less expense. I might hold of for a week to see how things look.

I'm looking at paying $200 more to go with Skylake.

 

[diffusionx]

Where can I buy Skylake? When is it going to be on Newegg?

 

[daninthemix]

Also what the heck is with these sites using Bioshock Infinite for benchmarks? Why not something like Crysis 3 that actually hammers the CPU? Madness.

 

[Tovarisc]

Where can I buy Skylake? When is it going to be on Newegg?

If you live in US or CAN you still need play waiting game. Seeing a lot people from there reporting that Skylake isn't available yet.

Also what the heck is with these sites using Bioshock Infinite for benchmarks? Why not something like Crysis 3 that actually hammers the CPU? Madness.

Next to none of benching sites use CPU heavy games in their benches. ArmA 3 and Crysis 3 would be niece to see as those are very CPU intensive games, just for different reasons. Still seeing performance drops in games that aren't CPU intensive is worrying.

Still on that i5 6600K train!

 

[fizzelopeguss]

Absolute shite, intel is just humouring retailers and keeping shelves stocked with new product at this point.

Terrible for the hobby.

 

[Durante]

Durante what X99 motherboard and cpu do you have? I'm disapointed by Skylake bench and planning in getting the MSI X99S plus and i7 5820k paired with an gigabyte gtx 980 ti. What do you think!?

I have one of the cheapest possible x99 builds, an ASrock Extreme4 mainboard and 5820k CPU.

If I was building now, I'd get a board with USB3.1 C.

 

[mkenyon]

Lol at the posters saying before the reviews came out that Haswell-E is no longer Intel's enthusiast platform.

I'm going to go over more reviews when I get back home but what I'm seeing so far for the 6700K is 5% IPC gain over the old Haswell 4770K, slightly worse performance from Skylake when it comes to gaming and slightly better overclocking (4.6Ghz seems the sweet-spot, so 100-200Mhz only over Haswell).

Very poor from Intel but I notice a widespread reticence from the tech media to criticise the launch.

Yeah, "Enthusiast Platform" is a classification, not a mindshare spot. "Consumer Platform" means 16 (now 20) PCI-E lanes, dual channel memory, on-die GPU, and a max of four cores.

"Enthusiast Platform" means 42 PCI-E lanes, quad channel memory, no on-die GPU, and a max of 8 cores (6 base).

Also what the heck is with these sites using Bioshock Infinite for benchmarks? Why not something like Crysis 3 that actually hammers the CPU? Madness.

Bioshock Infinite is actually a pretty good test for per-thread-performance, which is still a hugely important metric for the vast majority of games.

 

[MR ARCADE FOREVER]

I have one of the cheapest possible x99 builds, an ASrock Extreme4 mainboard and 5820k CPU.

If I was building now, I'd get a board with USB3.1 C.

USB 3.1 will be only on Skylake isn't it? What do you think about the MSI X99S PLUS?

 

[Durante]

USB 3.1 will be only on Skylake isn't it? What do you think about the MSI X99S PLUS?

There are a few X99 mainboards now with USB type C (using a separate controller). No idea about the MSI board, sorry.

 

[tagrat]

Currently running a Core2Quad Q9550 and an HD7870 GHz edition. I've had the CPU/MB since 2009 and have really been wanting to upgrade. If I plan on just gaming at 1080p/60 should I go for a Skylake rig or just go with an i7-4790k? I will probably hold on to my video card for a little while longer to minimize expense at the moment.

 

[MR ARCADE FOREVER]

There are a few X99 mainboards now with USB type C (using a separate controller). No idea about the MSI board, sorry.

Thanks for your feedback! I choose the msi mobo because it's listed under the OP s Smokey level build

 

[Shining Sunshine]

Depends on your GPU and resolution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38KSD9o-LOs

Nice, well, LGA1155 isn't even available in my local stores anymore, so not like I can do anything with sandybridge lol.

 

[StereoVsn]

I have one of the cheapest possible x99 builds, an ASrock Extreme4 mainboard and 5820k CPU.

If I was building now, I'd get a board with USB3.1 C.

Yeah, it looks like even now, 5820k looks good with little chance of significant upgrade coming in even in 2016. I am going to wait till Intel's presentation mid-August and then upgrade to the x99 platform. Now to start looking for a good board with USB3.1.

 

[qa_engineer]

Reviews confirm that upgrading to X99 a year ago was a good decision.

Pretty much. I knew it was the right choice given the barrier to entry. Nothing cheap about x99 parts last year but tahts changing this yea.

Yeah, it looks like even now, 5820k looks good with little chance of significant upgrade coming in even in 2016. I am going to wait till Intel's presentation mid-August and then upgrade to the x99 platform. Now to start looking for a good board with USB3.1.

I have the ASUS X99 Pro U3.1 and its one of the best boards I've ever owned. Still a little on the pricey side, but keep in mind this board was going for 400+ US Dollars (its 300 now).

 

[Ce-Lin]

why are reviews comparing the 6700K against the 4770 instead of the 4790 ?

 

[j-wood]

So my build is

i7 2600k
8GB DDR3 (4x2GB)
ASrock p67 Extreme4
GTX 970
Windows 10

I mainly use my desktop for gaming. I get 60FPS in witcher 3 with hairworks off. Monitors are only 1080p. Is there any real use in me upgrading to skylake or should I wait for the next one?

My 2600k is still stock, I've never overclocked it.

 

[StereoVsn]

Pretty much. I knew it was the right choice given the barrier to entry. Nothing cheap about x99 parts last year but tahts changing this yea.

I have the ASUS X99 Pro U3.1 and its one of the best boards I've ever owned. Still a little on the pricey side, but keep in mind this board was going for 400+ US Dollars (its 300 now).

That's one of the boards I am looking at, including couple ASRock and three separate MSI boards. It's not too bad overall though for 5820K. I am assuming there is no point for splurging to 5930K proc as it seems there are no structural changes and just minor speed increase.

 

[mkenyon]

why are reviews comparing the 6700K against the 4770 instead of the 4790 ?

They're the same proc with different packaging materials, basically.

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

Yeah, "Enthusiast Platform" is a classification, not a mindshare spot. "Consumer Platform" means 16 (now 20) PCI-E lanes, dual channel memory, on-die GPU, and a max of four cores.

"Enthusiast Platform" means 42 PCI-E lanes, quad channel memory, no on-die GPU, and a max of 8 cores (6 base).
.

Yeah that makes more sense in terms of classification.

USB 3.1 will be only on Skylake isn't it? What do you think about the MSI X99S PLUS?

MSI X99S SLI Plus is great, I have one and I've got a devilishly fast SM951 on the M.2 Gen3X port there, used as a boot drive. The board itself is one of the most affordable X99 motherboards, or at least it was at launch, so you can't go much wrong with one IMO.

In terms of overclocking only, I read that with Haswell-E, the motherboard you have is not as important as it once was and you are relying almost purely on the silicon lottery.

 

[MR ARCADE FOREVER]

Yeah that makes more sense in terms of classification.



MSI X99S SLI Plus is great, I have one and I've got a devilishly fast SM951 on the M.2 Gen3X port there, used as a boot drive. The board itself is one of the most affordable X99 motherboards, or at least it was at launch, so you can't go much wrong with one IMO.

In terms of overclocking only, I read that with Haswell-E, the motherboard you have is not so important anymore and you are relying on the silicon lottery.

Thanks for the help much appreciated! People are recommending getting an X99 with USB 3.1 but prices aren't very hot and the msi X99S SLI plus is on sale at news egg for $165

 

[EarsOfASnake]

So my build is

i7 2600k
8GB DDR3 (4x2GB)
ASrock p67 Extreme4
GTX 970
Windows 10

I mainly use my desktop for gaming. I get 60FPS in witcher 3 with hairworks off. Monitors are only 1080p. Is there any real use in me upgrading to skylake or should I wait for the next one?

My 2600k is still stock, I've never overclocked it.

How is this serving you in this set up? I have the same set up but with a 560ti, thinking of going either 970 or 980ti. I will be playing at 1080P and am wondering if the 970 will treat me well for a couple of years.