Which is better Intel Core i7-3960X or Intel Core i7-3930K

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ISleepTheDayAway

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Nov 12, 2012
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The price ins't the issue, but which run would perform better gaming wise? I also animate and make YouTube videos so I have to render 3D Software such as Maya or Cinema 4D and Editing software such as Sony Vegas or After Effects.

Also would either of these CPUs work with my current motherboard?:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116491
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116492&Tpk=Intel%20Core%20i7-3930
 
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Neither of the CPUs will work with that motherboard, since they use a different socket - LGA 2011 instead of your motherboard's LGA 1155.

Their performance in games would be nearly identical. The 3960X gets you a little more performance at stock, but games will rarely benefit from it. Also, the 3930K can be overclocked to match the 3960X, so you're getting very little for the extra money. Mainly the bigger cache.
 
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What CPU do you have now? I would suggest a Core i7-3770K, which your motherboard can accommodate after a simple BIOS update. It's more than plenty for gaming, and still pretty good for productivity tasks. The Core i7-3930K and 3960X do offer more performance, but they cost a heck of a lot more.
 
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Fair enough. I would probably recommend the 3930K in that case.
 
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How often would you say Intel releases newer CPUs? I think the Intel Core i7-3970X is top of the line right now, How long do you think it'd be before becoming mainstream or outdated? (Think it's mainstream, when I say that I mean like common and not top of the line.)
 
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Intel follows a tick-tock cadence with a release cycle of around one year. The tick is a process shrink with small performance gains (at best), the tock is a new architecture with a larger performance gain.

They've fallen behind with the enthusiast CPUs though, so it's hard to say. It also depends on what software you're looking at. The 3970X, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, will remain ahead of quad-cores for a good while for software that can fully utilize 6 or more cores. For software that relies more on per-thread performance and doesn't benefit from more cores, the 3970X will be surpassed much sooner. Even a Haswell Core i5 might outperform it in that respect.
 
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Ugh this is the part I hate the most when getting computer parts, I grew up on a computer and they're my life. I put my together myself and all, but I don't know how all the physical parts intertwine with each other like threading. As I'm going to be upgrading so many parts, mine as well get a new case and just have two computers. And if I had two computers, I'd probably try to use both to have more power behind Livestreaming/rendering/gaming.

My plan for this computer I'm working on is:
32GB Ram (It's cheap, mine as well indulge)
2011 Pin Mobo
2011 Pin CPU
2 GTx 560's
6 Acer Monitors running 3x2
 
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2 GTX 560s would be weak for 3-screen gaming. You would want at least 2 GTX 660s(3GB version) minimum for smooth gameplay. 2GB just won't cut it, otherwise I would have suggested the 7850s or the 7870s.

PS: 2x7950s are the best value for tri-screen.
 
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