Should I go the Xeon way...?

[Silvertigo]

Hi guys

In the process of upgrading. Mostly gaming use.

Already purchased Asus H97 Pro Gamer mobo.

I can`t decide between an Xeon 1231v3 or i5 4690k

Current specs:

Asus P8H67
i5 2500k (cannot overclock with P8H67)
8GB 1600mhz Corsair Vengeance
Gigabyte R9 290x
250 Gb SSD
1920x1080p Monitor

I am hoping that the Haswells will drop in price soon, upon Skylake`s release so will pounce then.

I`d be interested to hear some opinions on which CPU I should grab and why !

Thanks

 

[Bill_Bright]

You have a decent graphics card so I would go for the Xeon with it's larger on-die cache, 8 threads, lower power consumption, and nearly equal cost - IF listed on the motherboard's QVL (and it is).

Xeon E3-1231 v3 vs i5-4690K

 

[Caring1]

As above, plus it would be pointless getting the K series CPU with the H97 Motherboard which will not allow overclocking in Windows 10, and limited overclocking in 7 or 8.

 

[Silvertigo]

lower power consumption

thanks, power consumption might just be the deciding factor, sure is a lot of heat blasting out of my case from the 290x

 

[Silvertigo]

As above, plus it would be pointless getting the K series CPU with the H97 Motherboard which will not allow overclocking in Windows 10, and limited overclocking in 7 or 8.

I realised there is only basic overclocking with the H97 Pro Gamer - quick and dirty one button push through asus`s software...but W10 has disabled it? how is that even possible?

 

[Norton]

You could also stick with the 2500k for awhile longer by picking up a Z77 motherboard and overclocking the snot out of it!

 

[Silvertigo]

I`ve given up the hunt for an 1155 Z board

Sellers on FleaBay wanted ridiculous money for them, so decided to go forward with H97.

Though I will hang on to the 2500k, maybe come across one on the cheap, after all my 2500k is still a virgin

 

[Bo$$]

Yeah z77 is a nice way to refresh sandybridge! overclock with a decent board and upgrade in a couple years

 

[Ruyki]

thanks, power consumption might just be the deciding factor, sure is a lot of heat blasting out of my case from the 290x

Those CPUs are both using the haswell arch and running at about the same frequency (they are just 100MHz apart). So there won't be a meaningful power consumption difference between them. But both should be super power efficient regardless.

 

[Caring1]

http://ark.intel.com/compare/80811,80910
The Xeon has hyperthreading while the 4690K doesn't.

 

[newtekie1]

Why not get an actual good motherboard and overclock the 4690k?

 

[Bill_Bright]

The Xeon has hyperthreading while the 4690K doesn't.

That's what I meant when I said above (with a link to the ark) "8 threads". Perhaps I should have been more clear.

And yeah, the power difference is only 8 watts so with a monster graphics card in there, drives, RAM, motherboard, etc., that will not be very significant. Still, if approaching the threshold between very warm and hot, that 8W may make a difference - at least until case cooling is addressed.

 

[Silvertigo]

I have a NZXT Noctis 450 case, the air flow is great, though I`m still amazed at the hot air that blasts from the rear.

3 front fans, 1 rear, added a top fan above mobo

Temps during gaming - CPU never more than 60C - GPU mid 70`s C

I have a sycthe shuriken rev b cooler - seems to be working well as a replacement for the ugly stock intel cooler.

So if the Xeon is a good match for the 290x so that will be my choice, as I have already purchased the H97 Pro Gamer.

 

[dorsetknob]

More and more people are going the Xeon Route
If there is little price difference then the Xeon is better
Intel bin / sort the waifers and the Best silicon goes to the Xeon line
Xeons are designed for a harder life as a enterprise grade hardware while the I7 is for retail use.
enterprise grade hardware should last longer than retail and after all intel make more money / rely on good reputation from the enterprise side of buisness
Retail is almost a sideline for Intel

 

[Silvertigo]

I`m looking at these prices here in Oz:

i5 4690 > $315
i5 4690k > $339

Xeon 1231v3 > $369

i7 4790 > $435
i7 4790k > $489

Hopefully these will drop a tad when skylake arrives.

With the kind help above, my reasons to go with the Xeon rather than an i5 4690k are as follows

1) larger cache
2) slightly lower power hence heat
3) better binned chip
4) roughly equal to an i7 4770 and cheaper
5) my 290X produces lots of heat already - why create more when an Xeon will give me roughly the same outcome as an OC`ed 4690k
6) should of went Z97 mobo to overclock properly so wiser to fall back to Xeon
7) Xeon sounds very exotic, mystical and important

 

[newtekie1]

Intel bin / sort the waifers and the Best silicon goes to the Xeon line

That was the case back in the day, now they jus throw the chips with dead iGPUs in the Xeon pile.

Even if they were better binned, it wouldn't make a difference to the home user anyway.

 

[Silvertigo]

I find the binning process very interesting.

According to these guys @ https://www.titancomputers.com/Articles.asp?ID=260

"Xeon CPUs are binned for low-voltage and high-stability characteristics. Xeons are chosen for their ability to run 24/7"

"Server grade CPUs are usually the highest binned consumer grade CPUs."

"i7 and Xeon when matched core-for-core and clock-for-clock have essentially the same computational power"