CPU for gaming/VMware workstation

[xael]

Hi,

I'm looking to build a computer for gaming (1440p) and lab work (VMware - multiple DC's and Exchange servers). I'm toying with the below and am torn between the CPU's 5820k, 5930k, 6800k and 6850k (not willing to consider 6900k/6950k as they seem to be be incredible expensive). Trying to get as many logical processors as possible without spending silly amounts of cash.

Intel Core i7-6850K 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor
Corsair H110 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
MSI X99A SLI KRAIT EDITION ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard
G.Skill TridentZ Series 64GB (4 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Samsung 950 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 8GB AMP! Extreme Video Card
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Glass ATX Mid Tower Case
EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Asus PG279Q ROG Swift 27.0" 165Hz Monitor

Would anyone have any recommendations on the CPU selection?

 

[joeyjojo]

(I'd probably get an i5-K, but if you must have 6 cores...)

Personally the thought of spending over £500 on a CPU would make me rule out the 5930K and 6850K. Then between the 5820K and 6800K it's a muchness - I'd probably be tempted by the Skylake for the newer arch.

Edit: Handy comparison http://ark.intel.com/compare/94188,94189,82931,82932

 

[AllBodies]

I'd go for the 6800k. It has higher IPC than the 5820k, which should help with your VMs.

No point in getting the more expensive 6-cores as they only have more PCI lanes, and you don't need those unless you're getting 2 GPUs. And with the state of SLI/Xfire support, I think people who get 2 GPUs are brave.

 

[edscdk]

for under £350 form the bay I got dual hex core xeon 5650, dell t5500 workstation with 72GB of ram - (65 2x cpus, £110 72 gb ram, 130 for the t5500) - you need to add storage (and a sata 3 card but mine was so fast I never bothered keep meaning to though).. you can have a dedicated esxi monster host.. you can probably crank down your game PC spec slightly end up spending the same money..

Just a though..

 

[joeyjojo]

^ I like this idea in principle but the 5650 is Westmere EP, they're pretty old (6.5 years) chips.

Slower arch, 700-1000 MHz lower clock speed than the CPUs OP is considering, higher power consumption, no AVX instructions, no DDR4. (ECC though which is nice.)

 

[AllBodies]

^ I like this idea in principle but the 5650 is Westmere EP, they're pretty old (6.5 years) chips.

Slower arch, 700-1000 MHz lower clock speed than the CPUs OP is considering, higher power consumption, no AVX instructions, no DDR4. (ECC though which is nice.)

Yeah to be honest I wouldn't be surprised if the 6800k was actually the same performance in an unlimited-thread scenario. And it should be over 2x the performance in single-threaded scenarios.