i7-4790 vs 4790k

[blue17echo]

So I am putting together a workstation build, mostly for Adobe Creative Suite style stuff. I'm trying to decide between an i7-4790 for $249.99 and a 4790k for 279.99. It's a mini-itx system with stock cooling, so there will be no overclocking.

Basically, is the 400mHz from the stock 4790K worth 30 bucks? I have a pretty firm $900 dollar budget for now (incidentally should I be considering an i5 with more spending on the video card in a system that is very much work first and gaming second? I can get an 4590 for 169.99 and a 4690K for 199.99)

Also, is it worth going to 12 or 16gb of RAM for this kind of use-case?

FWIW: This is the build I'm currently looking at. The case is definitely locked down (unless you have a suggestion that is 12"x12"x6" or smaller and allows for full size video cards), I need a very small build for portability. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/t8fxxr

 

[SessouXFX]

Not overclocking? Then the 4970 is more than good enough.

16gb is more than enough, to be honest...a dual channel kit would be a good thing however.

 

[geofelt]

I love small cases.
Look at the lian li Q03 if you want small. 7.83" x 9.65" x 8.27" (W x H x D)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112372
The graphics can handle 180mm long cards.
slightly larger is the Q08. but with the same volume as the evga case with slightly different dimensions 13.58" x 8.94" x 10.71"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112265

Lian li has some other small cases, go to their web site to check.

As to the 4790 vs 4790K I think the $30 is probably well spent. you pay an extra 10% and get an extra 10% in performance. More importantly, the devil's canyon chips are binned better and generate less heat. they have better thermal characteristics which is important in a small case.

Don't know how important gaming will be, but the GTX750 and GTX750ti cards offer decent gaming in a very power efficient form. I think there are single slot versions if you need that.
You might want to try using just integrated graphics first. with 1866 ram, it may well be enough.

With your budget, get a 16gb kit of 2 x 8gb.
Ram helps lots of adobe apps.

 

[Eximo]

If you aren't overclocking and doing real work, get a Xeon, it will have some features the i7 doesn't.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116906

 

[blue17echo]

What features does a Xeon offer that an i7 will not? Are they worth the 300-700 mHz gap?

The lian-li cases are pretty neat, but the Q03 is too small (this will probably have a r9 270x or 280 (or maybe a 760, depending on what i find on sale), and the Q08 is too big (must fit inside my carry-on bag).

 

[Eximo]

What features does a Xeon offer that an i7 will not? Are they worth the 300-700 mHz gap?

The lian-li cases are pretty neat, but the Q03 is too small (this will probably have a r9 270x or 280 (or maybe a 760, depending on what i find on sale), and the Q08 is too big (must fit inside my carry-on bag).

A few small things apparently. Intel has closed the gap up. Some enterprise security features and "Fast memory access" are the things that stand out. In general Xeons do a little better when it comes to rendering and calculation. The extra speed of the i7 might tip it the other way. There are more expensive LGA1150 Xeon chips out there with higher clocks. This one is about $50 cheaper, and that can move you up to the next tier in a GPU.

http://ark.intel.com/products/80806/Intel-Core-i7-4790-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4_00-GHz

http://ark.intel.com/products/75054/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E3-1230-v3-8M-Cache-3_30-GHz

 

[geofelt]

What are the dimensions of your carry on bag?
What will you do about peripherals like monitor/keyboard etc?
Would a laptop be more appropriate?

 

[blue17echo]

Welp, didn't meant to pick a solution yet.

As for the Xeon there, that v1230 is the same price as the i7-4790 at microcenter. I'm not sure what that fast memory access means, but my guess is it has something to do with server style PCI-E SSD?

My carry on bag is 22x14x8. The hadron would fit nicely at the bottom with some padding, and leave me some room for some other essentials.

A laptop might be more appropriate if I had more money. I would very much like to be able to have a full sized GPU rather than be stuck with mobile, or worse onboard graphics. This may be a work computer, but it will also be my only computer, and I do like to game.

I will have a monitor supplied for me at my destination.

Basically, I know what I want for a gaming perspective, and that's a 760 or an R9 280. I realize that if I were building a gaming rig, however, I wouldnt need more than an i5. However, I will be doing a lot of photoshop and illustrator (probably not too much video editing, but some!) on this box, and am trying to decide if an i7 is a better idea, and if an i7 is a better idea, whether I should be going whole hog for the 4.0ghz 4970k.

 

[geofelt]

I unselected my response for you.

Two factors for helping photoshop is a large amount of ram and perhaps CUDA cores.

I really don't think the extra $100 for 4790 buys you that much if you are on a budget.

If you do decide on 4790, I would get the "K". it is just enough better even at stock.

There are gaming laptops with gpu chips that are just as fast as a GTX760, but they tend to be expensive.
Since you have access to a monitor and hopefully a keyboard at your destination, a small conventional case would be appropriate.

 

[blue17echo]

So i might be better off going with an i5 and a 770 with 16gb of RAM?

Also I have pricechecked the 780m/880m laptops, and they're all in the 2k plus range, which is too much.