Z170 vs X99?

[Joongi Baek]

Hi, I am choosing between Z170 and X99 because I need a enthusiast grade gaming pc. I will go for Asus.
My budget is $2500~3500 and I will be using it for extreme gaming, some gimp editing, and some video editing on sony vegas, but I will be editing videos for my youtube channel. I might edit minecraft videos and videos recorded from a sony camcorder. I might also go for a watercooled build. I will also overclock.

 

[Suztera]

You probably still want the X99 route if you do video editing.

 

[Joongi Baek]

I will do a 1440p triple monitor setup or a widescreen g-sync setup.

 

[PsyKhiqZero]

z170. IMO x99 would only be worth if if your going to do dual GPU AND a High end RAID card. You would need an application that uses all the pci-e lanes x99 has to offer. Z170 will still be plenty good for dual gpu gaming and you tube video editing.

 

[InvalidError]

The i7-5930k/5960x (and by extension the x99 chipset they require) is only necessary if you want to do a native x16x16 or x16x8x8(x8) SLI setup.

If all you want is triple display or g-sync primarily for gaming and do not mind being limited to x8x8 SLI, then the 6600k and 6700k are perfectly fine.

If "some video editing" implies a still significant amount of it and you have no plans for extreme SLI setups, then the i7-5820k might be worth considering.

 

[AkhandChakra]

I feel for heavy gaming, even i5 should be fine as the Graphics card is gone make the difference. I think you can get 2 monitors as well with this setup, irrespective of X99/Z170, it all depends on GC. But, one key difference would be, Z170 will have support for Dx12, might be future proof.

BTW, I'm also looking for similar setup, but for around $1500, only strategy/simulation games (Simcity, Civ, Rome TW, etc.), heavy movie watching, few editing, heavy Development (few VMs) for web/mobile (limited photoshop). Should I go for X99 or Z170. Not able to decide for myself though.

 

[Tradesman1]

With what you've mentioned then X99 with the 5930 or 5960, to have the additional PCI-E lanes and expansion options