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Upgrade time - Z77 or X79


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The OP wants to give his son the current hardware and buy new stuff for himself. So, if he wants to accomplish everything he stated, then keeping his own gear isn't an option. It really boils down to the question if he buys new hardware for himself, does he go Z77 or X79. Personally I don't see the justification in spending the premium dollar for X79, unless you specifically need some of the technology pointed out previously by others in this thread.

 

Given those parameters I'd be leaning towards a Z77 board and 3770K processor. And even then, I see that as more of a side-grade from a Z68 / 2600K, rather than a real upgrade. The only solid justification I can find in that is that you would be buying the latest technology.

 

I agree with Capitan on the video card, the Radeon 7870 would be a solid choice.

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See I am thinking that he could simply build his son an i5 rig that will handle everything his son needs, and the OP can just upgrade his card (maybe give his card to his son).

 

There simply won't be enough of a performance gain for the OP to upgrade his rig to justify the cost. I would wait until haswell or broadwell before upgrading.

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See I am thinking that he could simply build his son an i5 rig that will handle everything his son needs, and the OP can just upgrade his card (maybe give his card to his son).

That's not a bad idea either. Especially if the OP didn't mind shopping around or even consider used hardware. Sometimes there are some good hardware buys here at OCC and on other forums.

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Good input, everyone, thanks.

 

My original plan was to go with an X79 platform (last year), but most of the hardware was not out yet when I was building my system last November. Plus, I like to see how stuff works in the field before I jump into it - and the X79 has proven (from what I can see) to be solid. So I decided to go with the Z68, and the system I built is just fine for what I do and I didn't have any plans on an upgrade for a long time. Video card, yes, but all my other hardware is fine for what I do. When the X79 hardware was readily available, I have to say that I never felt like I missed out or jumped too soon. The Z68 with an SSD in SRT mode (cache disk) was plenty fast.

 

Regardless, since I have a chance for an upgrade (ok, side grade) I have been looking at high end ASUS ROG boards - the Maximus (Z77) and Rampage (X79) boards (Formula and Extreme). So right now the breakdown is:

 

Z77

Maximus Formula with 3770K is $608

Rampage Formula with 3820 is $650

 

X79

Maximus Extreme with 3770K is $908

Rampage Extreme with 3820 is $917

 

As you can see, there is not much cost difference. Both platforms are more than adequate for me. Seems like the Z77 is favored for gaming. I can get Blue Tooth, wireless and thunderbolt on the high end Z77 board. Neat stuff to have, but I probably won't really use much. The Ivy heat issue - not a concern for me as a light overclock is ok for me. No need to push the limits.

 

The X79 gives me the "future proof" factor. Quad channel memory, although (again, for what I do) I probably wouldn't notice it. Some say don't bother if you aren't going with the 3930K cpu. But I can opt for that later. And tons of memory for a RAM disk. The Ivy Bridge E for the 2011 socket. 40 PCI lanes. More than two video cards for me is not likely, and one of the recommended 7870's would be fine. But the X79 does offer more horsepower in the future, if you need it. Or want it.

 

But I have to wonder about what capabilities will the next chipset have? Yet another platform / socket upgrade path? Will it make the X79 old news?

 

My guess is that with a nice video card (7870) the Z77 will be good for gaming (and everything else I do) over the next 3 or 4 years. Who knows what the hardware advances will be then.

 

I feel like a politician - waffling back and forth...

 

(Side note: I like the ROG boards because I like all the tweaking and monitoring software. I am a bells and whistles person. Considering the Sabertooth boards too.)

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Why such high-end motherboards for features you don't need? I just got a crazy good i7 2700K and ASUS P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3 for $350, it will blow your Z77 configuration away at 5.0GHz at almost half the price. There's no point in going with a Z79, either for futureproofing, especially if you're only going with a 3820. Get yourself a good used Z68 system, Gen3 or not, with a good i7 2600K/2700K. In 3-4 years, you'll still be good with it.

 

You don't end up spending close to $1K on a MB and CPU just for a single $200 graphics card. Keep your pricing in perspective for what you're going to use it for, otherwise, you've just wasted money. Think about it, you can get a Z77 and a 3770K and a HD 7870, or a Z68 and a 2600K and a GTX 680. The GTX 680 will blow away the HD 7870, but the CPU/MB will be on par.

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^^ :withstupid:

I can't see any need of opting for expensive motherboard which you can get almost every necessary feature in a sub $200 board like z68 v pro or z77 v pro.

Unless of-course you are a ROG fan. :P

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^^ :withstupid:

I can't see any need of opting for expensive motherboard which you can get almost every necessary feature in a sub $200 board like z68 v pro or z77 v pro.

Unless of-course you are a ROG fan. :P

 

 

The more I read the comparisons and reviews, I am seeing things your way.

 

And El Capitan's, and...

Edited by red454

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  • 1 month later...

I don't understand why anybody would want X79 unless they NEEDED 6 cores & 3 way SLI.

 

 

Picked up a 3770K for 4229 at Micro Center this week. Ordering the Maximus V Formula next week...

 

So Z77 it is.

 

Good Choice. The only reason to go X79 is if you need the memory bandwidth that X79 can deliver. A 3770K is faster than the 3820 in just about every CPU based test I have run. Unfortunately I have not anything related to what you do most. When it comes to gaming the GPU is a more important decision as the most significant impact is from the GPU. All current intel quad cores are going to deliver similar FPS.

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Good Choice. The only reason to go X79 is if you need the memory bandwidth that X79 can deliver. A 3770K is faster than the 3820 in just about every CPU based test I have run. Unfortunately I have not anything related to what you do most. When it comes to gaming the GPU is a more important decision as the most significant impact is from the GPU. All current intel quad cores are going to deliver similar FPS.

 

For the GPU upgrade I am looking at either an ASUS GTX660ti or a GTX670. That should set me up for at least 3 or 4 years...

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