Which CPU for new build?

[texasrattler08]

Hey guys. Getting ready to build my first PC, and I am having a little trouble deciding on the CPU. I know for sure i'm going intel. I was looking at the i7-8700k (which I already know is highly suggested). But I was also looking at the i7 7820X. Both seem to be really good. I am looking for (to some degree), a top of the line cpu that will last a long time before needing to be upgraded. I can tell from the threads here and on youtube there is a lot of 8700k lovers and thats cool, but i'm asking we keep this bias free.

Also couple questions for a beginner and I apologize in advance if these seem really stupid. When comparing cpu's the 8700k says it supports only 2 memory channels. So does that mean it only allows 2 sticks of ram?

Thank you in advance to everyone who helps out and offers their opinions.

 

[Gam3r01]

For gaming there is no reason to buy the 7820X, that would simply be burning money for the sake of having money.
What are you going to be using the system for?

When it says two memory channels that means to supports dual channel memory, which can be up to 4 sticks. Quad channel memory is up to 8 slots.

 

[texasrattler08]

Using the pc primarily for gaming, however I am becoming increasingly interested in overclocking and pushing things to their limits. Which is why I was considering going a bit above and beyond the 8700k. Thank you for clearing that up gam3r. Also as far as specs go, the memory types being ddr4 2666. Does that mean the fastest memory it will allow is 2666?

 

[Gam3r01]

Out of the box yes, you can put in up to 2666MHz without doing anything.

 

[Dugimodo]

Memory channels are about bandwidth. Dual Channel combines two slots as a pair sort of like how SLI uses two graphics cards or RAID uses two hard drives to get more speed. Quad channel unsurprisingly uses 4 slots in the same way for even more bandwidth. The 7820 also uses a different socket and chipset which can offer more PCI-E lanes (depending on CPU choice). For most users though it makes no real difference and the 8700K is a better choice all round.

The 2666 memory speed is the official intel spec and is what the RAM will default to if you leave everything on auto in the BIOS, you can still use XMP profiles to get higher memory clocks if your RAM is officially 3200 or whatever and it should be fine. The safest option is to choose RAM from the motherboard manufacturers supported list because you know it's supported. There is always a lot of untested RAM that will work just fine and it's fairly safe to buy, but there is no guarantee.

 

[texasrattler08]

the 8700k is the cpu I have been leaning towards. Thanks for the input guys, very helpful.

 

[tbjerry07]

Don't waste your money on X299
Its a enthusiast platform and that word 'enthusiast' comes with great costs. Most X299 mobos are over 300 dollars
But if you look at Z270, they are between 100-200 dollars
If you are doing extensive video editing, go for the 7820X.
But if you are purely focused on gaming, then go for the 8700k
Its going to be a long time before any game can utilize 16 thread or even 12 threads
So that means the 7820X. will be only something like 30% utilized because no game can take advantage of 16 threads

Also, for your memory problems
On the Z270 platform, it supports Dual Channel RAM but most motherboards have 4 slots [So 2 slots per channel]
Except for Mini-ITX boards, they can only support 2 sticks [So 1 slot per channel] Because of the size limitation of the board

On the X299 platform, it supports Quad Channel RAM but most motherboards have 8 slots [So again 2 slots per channel]
Except for Mini-ITX boards, they can only support 4 SO-DIMMS {AKA Laptop RAM} [Yes in this case the only X299 Mini-ITX motherboard uses SO-DIMMS to save space for 4 memory slots

So 4 channels sounds better than 2 channels right?
Yes, the more channels you have, the more RAM slots it can support which ultimately means more RAM that you can have and more memory bandwith

So you are now thinking will my game load faster? Not by much in games

Ultimately, its your choice.

Gaming
Z270

P.S. Since you will be overclocking cause you have the Z/X mobos, a 6 core is much easier than OCing a 8 core [trust me on that] plus you will probably get higher overclocks on the 6 core


Workstation
X299