i7-5960X or i7-5930K

[johnplow]

Hey guys,

I am looking to upgrade my right to one of the new Haswell-e CPUs when they launch. I am currently running an i7-980X an I have had a good run out of it but I think its time for it to go into retirement.

I do a lot of 3D modeling / rendering in programs like maya and After Effects, and use the machine as a gaming rig second. I would think that the 5960X would be the better choice but I notice the core clock is only at 3.0ghz so my question is that will the 5960X be worth the price premium or should I go with the 5930K? Price really isn't an issue and I don't mind shelling out the extra money on the CPU if I can get another 5 years out of it. I just dont want to throw away extra money on something that would only net me minimal gains over the 5930K.

Any help you guys could give would be very appreciated.

Thanks a lot!

 

[williamcummins]

Higher clock speed will be more effective for your games, but IMO, if you do some 3d modelling and AE rendering, you'll get a better improvement with the 8 cores. Therefor, i'd go with most core/most cache for rendering purpose, so the 5960X.

 

[geofelt]

It would seem that your apps are multi core enabled, making the 8 core 5960X the absolute best cpu.
The X allows you to overclock so the base speed is not really relevant. If price is not an issue, then that is the chip to get.
The decision is the same type you made with the i7-980X .

On the other hand, the 6 core chips are more affordable, and will still be a big improvement over your current i7-980X They can be overclocked also, so the stock speeds are not that relevant..

On any of the cpu's, how well you can oc will be determined by your luck of the bin.

 

[aerocool]

If money is no problem, go for the 5960X. But it is only 25% faster than the 5930k and cost twice... Yo can go for the 5930k and do some OC to match the speed of 5960X. My 4930k with OC is faster than 4960x at stock.

For better render speeds, use the old 980x in a renderfarm. I have my two q6600 (with OC) helping in my renders.

Some aplications still only uses 1 core, better if you have a fast core speed (5930k) like williamcummins said. I notice that some other aplications don´t activate the turbo mode, and don´t take advantage of that speed, I solved that with OC the bus speed, and push the normal mode from 3.4 to 4.25 GHZ, you can do something like that.