2600K or 3820?

[Kobrakai]

I'm trying to decide between these two similar performing CPU's for a new build. I guess the main things that are influencing my decision are:

3820:
- Quad-channel memory.
- Future compatibility being on socket 2011.
- Slightly faster than the 2600K for the same price.

2600K:
- Cheaper motherboards.
- Mature/stable motherboards having gone through several revisions.

im swaying towards the 3820, but I'm a bit hesitant due to how new this is at the moment and wondering if I should maybe wait a while until there are more reviews about. Or just play it safe and go with the 2600K since I will probably keep it for several years anyway making future compatibility irrelivant.

 

[rare]

I'm going 3820 oem. Hopefully clock it to 4.5 slap in 32GB of ram, should be more than fast enough before being able to upgrade to a IB 2011 next year.

 

[cmndr_andi]

Hi there,

May I ask what you will mainly be using the system for?

If you are using applications that do well with more than 16GB of RAM and/or a lot of memory bandwidth - then the LGA 2011 platform is a benefit. Also, if you plan to use more than two high-end graphics cards (or other high bandwidth PCIE cards like RAID controllers) the LGA 2011 is advantageous.

However, if neither of these things apply to you (or don't justify the ~£80 price increase if you factor in pricing of CPU and motherboard) then I would go with the i7 2600K and a solid Z68 board. Also, bear in mind that the LGA 1155 boards like the Z68 will be compatible with upcoming Ivy Bridge LGA1155 CPUs - so there is a CPU upgrade path with this platform as well.

 

[Sasahara]

If your gaming the Sandy Bridge is the better option.

Don't let quad-channel memory sway you. Taken from xbitlabs.

"The cache-memory in Sandy Bridge-E processors works slower than in regular Sandy Bridge CPUs, and quad-channel memory controller performs fast only during multi-threaded requests, while during regular type of activity it falls behind the dual-channel memory in LGA 1155 systems"

There are various memory benchmarks that show this.

Sandy Bridge-E is made for highly threaded processes, if your not using it for this type for work load you don't need it. And even then a 3820 only just keeps up with the 2700k. :/

 

[Marine-RX179]

If your priority is just general usage and gaming, then I would suggest you best just go for SB, and use the money to saved on the platform cost on getting a better graphic card. Also, it is not necessary to get a 2600K over 2500K.

In my case, I got my board for £125 off OcUK (at least £50 cheaper than the average cheapest LGA2011 board), and my i5 2500K chip off the auction site for £125 (and that's around £100 cheaper than the 2600K/3820). Now if I was to spend these £150 saved on graphic card instead of the CPU/board, it would offer MUCH more performance in return for gaming.

 

[Kobrakai]

Thanks guys, I'm mainly going to be using it for gaming and general usage so I think I will go for the 2600K.

 

[Abz Hussain]

+1 with the sandy b brigade. The e is only useful if you really need all that memory and bandwidth on offer. With gaming probably not. But if you do a lot of cad, rendering etc then 2011 is the way.