Thanks for all the PSU info, guys. Interesting stuff.
PSU
Some things to consider: I tend not to upgrade often, but when I do I go big, so either the fastest 'K' processor or HEDT; the same is true for the GPU, hence the 2080 Ti (I don't go bleeding edge though, no 18-core, Titan or SLI
) - so whatever I have in future will be high spec, at time of purchase at least. What I like about the 850 W PSU is also what I like about 64 GB RAM; sure, I may not need it and 32 GB might be sufficient, plus I could spend the difference on faster RAM, but... if I do need it (and there's a reasonable chance I will) - it's there, and in that situation a faster 32 GB isn't going to help. So, the question is, is 850 W the 64 GB equivalent, or is it more like 128 GB (which I 100% would not make use of
)?
Also of note, I tend to use a lot of drives, for e.g. will prob have 7 in this rig, to start with at least (1 NVMe, 3 SSD and 3 HDD). The machine will be working pretty hard, many hours per day and for many years (I guess this is a good reason to go for a higher efficiency rating).
Whilst I don't overclock, presumably not all CPUs (in future) will run cooler/have lower power consumption, take the 9900KS for e.g., sure it's binned, but it's also operating at 5 GHz all core; there's a good chance it'll be more demanding than the 9900K, right? Then we have Comet Lake which, if rumours are correct, will also operate at 5 GHz (or above) whilst adding 2 more cores and, still being 14 nm, will presumably be pretty power hungry as well.
I don't really want to pay £230 for the 850 W Titanium if I can help it, so I think the decision's between the 750 W Titanium and the 850 W Platinum. From what you've all said, I imagine either would do a v. good job
.
CPU (9900K/KS/Comet Lake)
Gee_Simpson, happy to include this in the discussion - it's also something I've been mulling over.
I always like to buy the best I can (see above) and preferably shortly after a product's launched to get as much longevity out of it as possible. If I were an AMD man, I'd be to go with their new 12-core chip (or 16, depending on time frame), but I'm with Intel, so things are a little trickier...
I mention this above but in case you missed it, Intel tweeted that the KS will be
'shipping holiday 2019' which, rightly or wrongly, I interpret as December as opposed to earlier in Q4. By that time we will either have, or be close to having 10-core, 5 GHz Comet Lake, which will also require a new 400-series MB (if rumours are correct, on all counts...). Whilst I would hands down choose the KS over the K right now, or in June/July, come December it becomes a much less attractive proposition unless I already have a Z390 MB and am looking for an upgrade rather than a new system.
View: https://twitter.com/intel/status/1133750362089938944
When Intel announced the KS last week I felt sure it'd be coming this summer, in order to counter AMD's new releases and generate some excitement until Comet Lake arrived at the end of the year (so basically the new 'latest and greatest,' but only for 6 months). Upon learning that it wasn't coming until Q4, apart from being a bit bummed out, I began to wonder whether Comet Lake was actually coming this year at all - in fact, I thought that it meant it probably was not. It seems as though I'm the only one who came to that conclusion however, as since I've heard that Comet Lake is most likely to arrive in October, as that has become a somewhat standard release date for Intel over the past few years.
I'd like to hear what people think on this and whether it might be worth waiting for (bearing in mind I won't be upgrading the CPU/MB for many years, or don't plan to at least!). It'd be difficult for me to wait longer really, but for an extra 2 cores, faster clocks and to get onto the next platform, I could prob just about hold out till Oct; just... Under normal circumstances, I would def wait (as per my normal routine), but I am under a certain amount of pressure to upgrade.