4770k or 3930k

[AdamK47]

The problem with Haswell is that it's still stuck with only 16 PCI-E 3.0 lanes. I would need half of those just for my SSDs. Forget about also trying to squeeze three Titans on the other half that's left. It's a CPU that's obviously not ment for me.

 

[NTMBK]

The problem with Haswell is that it's still stuck with only 16 PCI-E 3.0 lanes. I would need half of those just for my SSDs. Forget about also trying to squeeze three Titans on the other half that's left. It's a CPU that's obviously not ment for me.

Oh, I feel so bad for you.

 

[Shmee]

The problem with Haswell is that it's still stuck with only 16 PCI-E 3.0 lanes. I would need half of those just for my SSDs. Forget about also trying to squeeze three Titans on the other half that's left. It's a CPU that's obviously not ment for me.

Wouldn't there be boards that add additional lanes with add on chips though? Or would this no longer work?

Still, I can see where this could be a problem for those with multiple cards, certainly. MB wait for IB-E or something.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Got any numbers on that? And I assume you got numbers to compare them as well to desktop LGA2011 sales as well.

Or is it just...made up again?

...I've got a new UX31A on my desk. I've got a Retina Macbook Pro (15) - and Macbook Airs sell well too. I think Intel's push for laptops is going exceedingly well.

Wouldn't there be boards that add additional lanes with add on chips though? Or would this no longer work?

Still, I can see where this could be a problem for those with multiple cards, certainly. MB wait for IB-E or something.

They don't add lanes per se, they just mux additional lines in right? Essentially faking it because 3.0 lanes have become so big.

 

[bryanisleet]

depends on what your needs are. i would probably go with haswell though.

 

[lagokc]

The problem with Haswell is that it's still stuck with only 16 PCI-E 3.0 lanes. I would need half of those just for my SSDs. Forget about also trying to squeeze three Titans on the other half that's left. It's a CPU that's obviously not ment for me.

If you can afford 3 Titans you can afford Socket 2011.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

He already has 2011. But until haswell e is released haswell will be the fastest CPU for games.

 

[Makaveli]

People who used to upgrade on a 12 monthly cycle.

Same people who buy a new GPU every time they are released.

People who would buy an 8 core Haswell CPU if it dropped just to play Crysis 3 on.

Some would say that is just someone that likes to spend money for incremental upgrades

doing a complete rebuild for 10-15% Extra IPC or a gpu that is 20% faster hardly sounds worth the cost.

But different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

[RUN4Y0URL1F3]

What is certain is that in many new games my 3770K is holding my 2 TITANs back.
I get abysmal GPU usage (60-70%) in many areas of such games. Examples? Far Cry 3 (it drove me crazy, even with dual 680s), BF3 Multiplayer, Red Orchestra Rising Storm with 4x SGSSAA and even Sleeping Dogs. When GPU usage drops my FPS drop below 60. This is in 1080p with everything maxed out (and 4x SGSSAA in DX9 games). I've just bought a 3930K with an ASUS RAMPAGE IV EXTREME. I'll try them out on Saturday and let you know if I see any improvements.

 

[Face2Face]

What is certain is that in many new games my 3770K is holding my 2 TITANs back.
I get abysmal GPU usage (60-70%) in many areas of such games. Examples? Far Cry 3 (it drove me crazy, even with dual 680s), BF3 Multiplayer, Red Orchestra Rising Storm with 4x SGSSAA and even Sleeping Dogs. When GPU usage drops my FPS drop below 60. This is in 1080p with everything maxed out (and 4x SGSSAA in DX9 games). I've just bought a 3930K with an ASUS RAMPAGE IV EXTREME. I'll try them out on Saturday and let you know if I see any improvements.

Did you overclock your 3770K? I have a hard time believing a decent clocked 3770K would bottleneck two 680's in those games.

 

[crashtech]

What is certain is that in many new games my 3770K is holding my 2 TITANs back.
I get abysmal GPU usage (60-70%) in many areas of such games. Examples? Far Cry 3 (it drove me crazy, even with dual 680s), BF3 Multiplayer, Red Orchestra Rising Storm with 4x SGSSAA and even Sleeping Dogs. When GPU usage drops my FPS drop below 60. This is in 1080p with everything maxed out (and 4x SGSSAA in DX9 games). I've just bought a 3930K with an ASUS RAMPAGE IV EXTREME. I'll try them out on Saturday and let you know if I see any improvements.

Are your complete system specs listed anywhere? Do you have a discrete sound card?

 

[RUN4Y0URL1F3]

Are your complete system specs listed anywhere? Do you have a discrete sound card?

No soundcard.

Case: * *InWIN BLACK DRAGON RIDER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU): * *INTEL® CORE™i7 QUAD CORE PROCESSOR i7-3770K (4.7GHz) 8MB CACHE
Motherboard: * *ASUS® SABERTOOTH Z77: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, THERMAL ARMOR
Memory (RAM): * *16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (4 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card: * *6GB ASUS NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX TITAN
2nd Graphics Card: * *6GB ASUS NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX TITAN
Memory - 1st Hard Disk: * *2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
SSD Cache Drive: * *20GB INTEL® SSD 313 SERIES - SLC CACHE DRIVE FOR SYSTEM / 1st HDD
DVD/Blue-Ray Drive: * *10x LG BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
Power Supply: **CORSAIR PROFESSIONAL SERIES AX1200 HIGH PERFORMANCE 1200W MODULAR '80 PLUS GOLD
Keyboard: * *RAZER BLACKWIDOW ULTIMATE STEALTH
Mouse Mat: * *RAZER VESPULA
Mouse: * *RAZER MAMBA

 

[cytg111]

That was an early test platform though with some performance issues that need to be ironed out. With that said though, HSW still crept up on the 3970x..

Hex vs Quad Haswell

-The hex core will benefit from the potential uprising of the multithreaded revolution(a few games could be the start of the iceberg!). Or not.
-Haswell will benefit from the upcoming adoptation of AVX'es and TSX. Or not.

Place your bets.
Spin the wheel.

 

[RUN4Y0URL1F3]

Did you overclock your 3770K? I have a hard time believing a decent clocked 3770K would bottleneck two 680's in those games.

Well, believe it or not, it's happening. 3770K clocked at 4.7. In Far Cry 3 it happens in most story missions with open spaces and big firefights. Dropping below 60 FPS is not uncommon.

 

[crashtech]

I'm not knowledgeable of the bandwidth requirements of twin Titans. Even though they would be running at x8/x8 on your board (if placed correctly), I would assume if GPU-Z reports PCIe 3.0, there would be enough bandwidth available. Still, something makes me think your problem is platform or config related rather than specifically a CPU problem.

 

[RUN4Y0URL1F3]

I'm not knowledgeable of the bandwidth requirements of twin Titans. Even though they would be running at x8/x8 on your board (if placed correctly), I would assume if GPU-Z reports PCIe 3.0, there would be enough bandwidth available. Still, something makes me think your problem is platform or config related rather than specifically a CPU problem.

I guess we'll know for sure on Saturday. GPUs run at 8x.
I honestly think that low GPU usage is due to my CPU. I tried changing the CPU clock speed and I noticed that GPU usage changed accordingly.
Note that this doesn't happen in all games. It happens enough to annoy me though.

 

[moonbogg]

OP, yes, you are CPU limited MASSIVELY in most games. Crysis 3, Metro and maybe a couple others will suck up most of, if not all that GPU power at 1080p, but most games won't come close.
With BF3 multiplayer, with a 3930k@4.3 and two 670's, playing at 1080p, I get GPU usage dips nearing 50% due to CPU bottlenecking in that game. I came from a 2600k t the 3930k hoping for a difference, and it amounted to perhaps 10% (i'd have to go back to the numbers).
Hate to say it, but at that res with those cards, no CPU on earth, regardless of overclock will set you free from that nasty bottleneck. But report your numbers so we can see what happens, just don't get your hopes up too high. Theres a few games out there that benefit from more cores and that trend will probably continue, so the 3930k is still a solid choice and its the best you can possibly do for now since Haswell clocks like crap.

 

[avtar2008]

AFAIK, a 680 sli perform more or less same as a single 690. I have seen a lot of people using a 690 with 3770k, they reported no bottleneck or any similar problem. So, i am with crashtech. I think you are underestimating 3770k, it is a power house and can easily handle a 680 sli.

 

[crashtech]

@moonbogg: A water-cooled 3960X might come close...

 

[moonbogg]

@moonbogg: A water-cooled 3960X might come close...

With a 3930k at 4.3ghz, I would need 50% more CPU power to feed my lowly 670's at 1080p (for BF3 mp). I don't understand CPU performance curves and how they affect GPU usage, but thats my best observation based guess.

Would a water cooled 3960x provide 50% more power than a 3930k @ 4.3?

 

[Grooveriding]

Obv. 3930K. Accept no substitute, unless it's a 3970X.

 

[Face2Face]

Well, believe it or not, it's happening. 3770K clocked at 4.7. In Far Cry 3 it happens in most story missions with open spaces and big firefights. Dropping below 60 FPS is not uncommon.

Wow... This is happening @ 1080P?

Take a look at this video - never going below 60FPS with a modest overclock on a single card and 3570K @ 4.8Ghz @ 1080P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0WVuL6w6Lk

 

[tweakboy]

New build on the horizon.

Would you go for the 3930k? is 2011 socket going to be used for Haswell-e ? Does that mean one mobo will do for the next 2 CPU's?

Games seem to be using 6 cores now such as Crysis and BF3. So there seems to be some benefit to hexacores.

Or should i just go for Haswell 4770k?

This is going to be a gaming rig at 1900x1200 probably. maybe 1440p depending on my mood at the time

Neither. Wait for Ivy Bridge E coming in 3 months. 6c12t 4930k Im gonna get and slap it on this mobo... Already did BIOS update and Im waiting for Ivy E.

 

[RUN4Y0URL1F3]

AFAIK, a 680 sli perform more or less same as a single 690. I have seen a lot of people using a 690 with 3770k, they reported no bottleneck or any similar problem. So, i am with crashtech. I think you are underestimating 3770k, it is a power house and can easily handle a 680 sli.

The fact other people don't complain about it doesn't mean the problem is not there. I own a 3770K and I see bottlenecks every day at 1080p. I noticed it even more when I switched to TITANs. I'm sure moonbogg can confirm something similar.

 

[RUN4Y0URL1F3]

Wow... This is happening @ 1080P?

Take a look at this video - never going below 60FPS with a modest overclock on a single card and 3570K @ 4.8Ghz @ 1080P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0WVuL6w6Lk

I'm sorry, I don't want to appear pedantic, but:

1) He's using SSAO
2) He didn't get into a big firefight in a demanding story mission or in a Trial of the Rakyat with 10+ enemies on screen, everything burning down and explosions.

Your video doesn't prove much. I get almost double those FPS with my system in those condition. That's not what I'm debating.