Help Me Choose: 3930K or 3770K

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DannyUf

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Joined
Jun 11, 2012
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Hey guys!

I have a pretty big dilemma: I've been planning a build for months now, and I have everything picked out, but I'm beginning to question my choice to opt for a 3930K. Here's why:

I'm planning to upgrade when Ivy Bridge-E comes out, but I've heard that it'll use the 2011 socket, so I thought, 'hey I'll get an LGA 2011 CPU/Mobo and just swap out the CPU in ~6 months when IB-E releases,' but now I have serious doubts. Is the 3770K really that much worse than a 3930K ? Is an older technology really worth $500 (yay Microcenter) vs $350 for a newer CPU with a higher core clock and a lower TDP? What real difference could 2 extra cores and +4MB of L3 cache make, especially if I don't plan on keeping either CPU in the long term?

On the other hand, I'm gonna overclock, and I heard that Ivy B doesn't do so well under load (higher temps). Also, whereas X79 Mobos have 8 DIMM slots, Z77 ones have a max. of 4. What's that all about?

Here's my planned system:

Case: Corsair 600T
PSU: Cougar GX1050
Video Card: ASUS OC'd GTX 670
RAM: 16Gb G.Skill Ripjaws Z @2133Mhz
Boot SSD: Kingston HyperX 3K 120Gb
HDD: 3TB Seagate Barracuda
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100

CPU: :confused:
Mobo: ASUS Sabertooth X79 or :confused: for LGA1155

EDIT: The H100 will be with push/pull fans. Also, I don't do video/photo editing or modeling, but I do lots of decompressing, mainly with Winrar (games, HD movies, TV Shows). In addition, I plan to add another GTX 670 very soon.

What do you guys think? I could really use some advice.
 
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Unless you need tons of pcie lanes or a massive RAM pool, LGA1155 will likely be good enough for you...unless you're doing something that requires 6c/12t.
 
If you don't know what the extra capabilities of the 2011 platform are, you probably don't need them.
 
Ok; it would help if someone cleared this up for me. What exactly are the advantages of X79 over Z77? BTW, I will be using 2 670's in SLI, and I do a lot of decompressing, in case u missed my edit.
 
Going for IVY will save you a lot of $, and yet still 4 cores are more than enough for most people
 
DannyUf said:
Ok; it would help if someone cleared this up for me. What exactly are the advantages of X79 over Z77? BTW, I will be using 2 670's in SLI, and I do a lot of decompressing, in case u missed my edit.
Click to expand...

It depends on what you use the PC for. If you run crazily CPU intensive tasks or need 64GB of RAM or have 680 Quad SLI then X79 will be worthwhile, but as others have said you'd know if you need those things already and wouldn't be asking the question. By the sounds of things you don't need X79, winrar is hardly a reason to go for X79.

If you're mainly focused on gaming an i5 3570K will perform just as well as the 3770K or 3930K.
 
Thanks slh28! I'm also concerned with upgradeability; if IB-E uses the 2011 socket as I expect, will it still use the X79 chipset, or will Intel introduce a new one like they have with Z77? If they do, I'll have to replace the Mobo anyway...
 
Intel has two platforms. Enthusiast, which this generation is 2011, and mainstream, 1155. Previous generation was 1366 and 1156. The next mainstream socket will be 1150, which should come out sometime mid to late next year, and it's called Haswell.
 
IB-E apparently will use the 2011 socket but won't be released until next year, by which time Haswell will be out anyway and that's gonna be on a new socket. Given that there's no competition from AMD, Intel have no incentive to rush IB-E or Haswell out.

I really wouldn't worry about it too much, X79 is absolutely not worth the premium over Z77 if all you're concerned about is upgradeability. Get a 3770K (or 3570K if you don't need the hyperthreading) and be happy with it because it will last you 3-4 years easily.

By the way I'd get the Samsung 830 128GB SSD instead of the Sandforce based Kingston HyperX.
 
DannyUf said:
Ok; it would help if someone cleared this up for me. What exactly are the advantages of X79 over Z77? BTW, I will be using 2 670's in SLI, and I do a lot of decompressing, in case u missed my edit.
Click to expand...

X79 has more PCI-Express lanes and the option to use 6c/12t CPUs. Essentially that's it. No Thunderbolt support, no integrated graphics support (which means no QuickSync) and it supports quad-channel RAM and thus has double the memory bandwidth of P67/Z68/Z77 Express chipsets. However in the real world the memory bandwidth doesn't mean much for most people. And finally, X79 supports more physical RAM than Z77 and the other LGA1155 chipsets do. 64GB vs. 32GB.
 
Unless you plan to fold 24/7, which I do, ivy 4C/8T is enough. Otherwise depreciation will kill your purchase value without using it to its potential.
 
The 3930k is a tough sell even to the people who would most benefit from it.

I considered it recently, then looked at the 3770k, and finally wound up going with the 2700k. Not a big difference and you might find a reliable seller on eBay giving a good deal. I snagged one for $270 brand new and others seem to be going at that price or a little more.
 
In general, I understand that the 3770K would be a better choice than the 3930K, but there's one thing that's stopping me from finalizing my decision: the blatant, horrible, inexcusable heat issues. I want to OC to 4.5Ghz, but Intel's switch to thermal paste would make it a nightmare. This article on Maximum PC explains it. Why would you do this, Intel?

Is this really as big a deal as I'm making it out to be? I will have a push/pull H100, but I want a powerful, stable, and quiet overclock. Can someone reassure me?
 
DannyUf said:
In general, I understand that the 3770K would be a better choice than the 3930K, but there's one thing that's stopping me from finalizing my decision: the blatant, horrible, inexcusable heat issues. I want to OC to 4.5Ghz, but Intel's switch to thermal paste would make it a nightmare. This article on Maximum PC explains it. Why would you do this, Intel?

Is this really as big a deal as I'm making it out to be? I will have a push/pull H100, but I want a powerful, stable, and quiet overclock. Can someone reassure me?
Click to expand...

4.5 is easily attainable on the 3770k. It's beyond that where you need to increase voltage, and when you increase voltage, you greatly increase temps. Besides, voltages you need to get higher clock speeds are not considered all that safe for IB anyways.

I have never found Maximum PC to be a reliable source of information. At best they're misleading, and at worse they're downright wrong. They tend to sensationalize everything from what I've seen. Dedicated forums like this are much more reliable.
 
DannyUf said:
Is this really as big a deal as I'm making it out to be? I will have a push/pull H100, but I want a powerful, stable, and quiet overclock. Can someone reassure me?
Click to expand...

It might be a big deal if you're gunning for a hardcore overclock, i.e. 4.5-5.0Ghz but at a mild and perfectly acceptable OC e.g. 4.2Ghz then temps aren't a problem. If you really need a high OC then get a 2600K/2700K.
 
Nightbird said:
Unless you plan to fold 24/7, which I do, ivy 4C/8T is enough. Otherwise depreciation will kill your purchase value without using it to its potential.
Click to expand...

There are other applications which can leverage the cores besides folding. As for depreciation, umm we aren't talking about cars here. Computer hardware depreciates faster than almost anything and value is subjective. What you do with it and how much value you get out of it don't impact the sale price of used hardware at all.
 
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How long do you plan on keeping this build? If you are a long term buy & hold and like to upgrade, I suggest considering the 4 core socket 2011 solution.
 
Right now, the option no one is talking about here is an i7 3820 on a budget 2011 board like the Gigabyte X79-UD3. This combo can be had for about the same price as a 3770K and higher end 1155 board. You get Quad channel DDR3, 40 PCI-E lanes and the ability to upgrade to six cores in the future should you need it and up to 4 GPUs. It becomes a much tighter gap between the two platforms at this point.
You lose integrated video (QuickSync), but you still have 4 Hyper threaded cores, lots of SATA connectors and up to 64Gb of RAM provided yougrab a board with 8 DIMM slots.

2011
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128532
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121552
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115229

1155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128549
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121605
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116501&Tpk=3770k


Not so clear now.....Similar features, similar price...
 
kirbster said:
Right now, the option no one is talking about here is an i7 3820 on a budget 2011 board like the Gigabyte X79-UD3. This combo can be had for about the same price as a 3770K and higher end 1155 board. You get Quad channel DDR3, 40 PCI-E lanes and the ability to upgrade to six cores in the future should you need it and up to 4 GPUs. It becomes a much tighter gap between the two platforms at this point.
You lose integrated video (QuickSync), but you still have 4 Hyper threaded cores, lots of SATA connectors and up to 64Gb of RAM provided yougrab a board with 8 DIMM slots.

2011
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128532
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121552
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115229

1155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128549
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121605
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116501&Tpk=3770k


Not so clear now.....Similar features, similar price...
Click to expand...

I'd still say it is pretty clear. Quad-channel memory means as little in performance terms in real life as tri-channel memory did for 1366. Even a 16GB memory pool is beyond what most people use, and the 32GB "limit" ithat most 1155 boards have isn't limiting at all for most people. Which really only leave the PCIe lanes.

The 1155 will also clock like no tomorrow. Which the 3820 wouldn't.

And by the time if you did have 2011 that you wanted to "upgrade" to a 6-core 2011, the next generation consumer tier in Haswell will probably be cheaper, run cooler, and perform just as good. Look at 1366 users, given the choice between Sandybridge K for $ 500-600 for board/proc or a Gulftown CPU alone for $700+ which made more sense?

I personally would (and did) take a nice 1155 board over an entry level 2011 board. There are also screaming open-box deals to be had from NewEgg for nice 1155 gear at times. My M4Gene-Z/Gen3 was $130 shipped.
 
If you go with a 2011 platform go with a 3930K, NOT the 3820
Go with a 3770K if you dont go 3930k, don't even bother with the 3820.
 
Relativist said:
How long do you plan on keeping this build? If you are a long term buy & hold and like to upgrade, I suggest considering the 4 core socket 2011 solution.
Click to expand...

That's a bad suggestion, he will need PCI-E 3.0 and Thunderbolt for sure in future.
 
Overclocking potential of the 3820 vs the 3770 isnt enough to talk about. The 3770 has a bit better IPC.
For gaming, you wont be able to tell the difference.
For any program that requires heavy memory bandwidth the i7 3820 will win.

It really depends on what the computer is for. Strictly as a gamer, either will do just as well.

Use the 3820 for a year or two then pick up a used 3930k for a cheap upgrade to hexa core. This wont improve any curent games much, but it will give you a 50% boost in video encoding/rendering speeds.

Just my 2 cents.

For the record, i currently have a Z77X-UD3H and i5 3570K. But I have an i7 3820 waiting for me to pick it out a new home. And i have built two 3930K systems as well.
 
Skripka said:
I'd still say it is pretty clear. Quad-channel memory means as little in performance terms in real life as tri-channel memory did for 1366. Even a 16GB memory pool is beyond what most people use, and the 32GB "limit" ithat most 1155 boards have isn't limiting at all for most people. Which really only leave the PCIe lanes.

The 1155 will also clock like no tomorrow. Which the 3820 wouldn't.

And by the time if you did have 2011 that you wanted to "upgrade" to a 6-core 2011, the next generation consumer tier in Haswell will probably be cheaper, run cooler, and perform just as good. Look at 1366 users, given the choice between Sandybridge K for $ 500-600 for board/proc or a Gulftown CPU alone for $700+ which made more sense?

I personally would (and did) take a nice 1155 board over an entry level 2011 board. There are also screaming open-box deals to be had from NewEgg for nice 1155 gear at times. My M4Gene-Z/Gen3 was $130 shipped.
Click to expand...

Also you can not get Thunderbolt support via X79. That's not a huge deal today, but I've got a feeling it's going to take off in a big way given its versatility.

extide said:
If you go with a 2011 platform go with a 3930K, NOT the 3820
Go with a 3770K if you dont go 3930k, don't even bother with the 3820.
Click to expand...

That's my contention as well. 6 cores or bust on LGA2011.
 
Thanks for all your suggestions, guys! I never had the intention of getting a 3820, as it is an older architecture and doesn't OC as well as K chips. I'm planning to keep this system until Ivy Bridge-E comes out, and I don't have a problem replacing both the CPU and Mobo in order to accommodate a hexacore IB-E chip. From what I gather, the 3770K is a better option for me because, even though it has heat issues, I'll only be OC'ing to 4.3-4.4Ghz, and a push/pull H100 should dissipate that heat easily. The 2011 socket has its advantages, but, since I'll be switching in ~1 year, it wouldn't be worth the price hike for both the CPU and Mobo. I'm not extremely concerned with Thunderbolt or QuickSync, but I'll consider them added bonuses. I'm probably gonna go with the Sabertooth Z77 for my 3770K.

Special thanks to slh28 and kirbster for your info and suggestions!
 
No problem.

And the 3820 is SB-E just like the 3930K. No difference in architecture. For your low overclock of 4.3-4.4, no problem at all on any of the chosen platforms.
 
DannyUf said:
In general, I understand that the 3770K would be a better choice than the 3930K, but there's one thing that's stopping me from finalizing my decision: the blatant, horrible, inexcusable heat issues. I want to OC to 4.5Ghz, but Intel's switch to thermal paste would make it a nightmare. This article on Maximum PC explains it. Why would you do this, Intel?

Is this really as big a deal as I'm making it out to be? I will have a push/pull H100, but I want a powerful, stable, and quiet overclock. Can someone reassure me?
Click to expand...

Remember that the actual temperature the CPU cores run at, and the total heat (aka power consumption) are two separate items. Yes, IB cores run hotter than SB, even at lower voltages, however they consume less power in aggregate, and because of that put out less heat in total into your case, and thus don't require as aggressive case cooling.

I'm running 4.5GHz at 1.2V on a Noctua NH-D14. My case temps never go above 31-33c with a GTX 670 in there. My system is significantly more quiet than my old Q6700 + 560Ti was.

For your use case, there is no reason to consider 2011. The 3770K at 4.5GHz is pretty fast at decompressing large RAR/ZIP archives as well :).
 
kirbster said:
No problem.

And the 3820 is SB-E just like the 3930K. No difference in architecture. For your low overclock of 4.3-4.4, no problem at all on any of the chosen platforms.
Click to expand...

Except that the 3820 is multiplier locked. The 3930K and 3960X aren't.
 
psyside said:
That's a bad suggestion, he will need PCI-E 3.0 and Thunderbolt for sure in future.
Click to expand...

That's why I mentioned if he likes to upgrade, he'd upgrade from a 4 core 3820 to then next gen stuff when it's released. But all that said the OP made a choice to go with the 3770k since he is not wanting a long term upgrade able socket.
 
Dan_D said:
Also you can not get Thunderbolt support via X79. That's not a huge deal today, but I've got a feeling it's going to take off in a big way given its versatility.
Click to expand...

Hmmm. I'm thinking Thunderbolt will go the way of FireWire, maybe more versatile or faster...but mostly irrelevant for most all consumers due to cheaper more ubiquitous alternatives.
 
from personal experience, i only got the i7 3930k solely for splurging on myself a bit after i found myself a decently paying job. i do some basic video editing, and use matlab, python, c++, R, maple and compile a bit here and there, and it hardly stresses my cpu

unless you REALLY need the 6 cores, you're just paying premium for bragging rights. because majority of games dont even utilize more than just 2 cores at best. the only game that i experience slight "lag" on is probably TERA online, when there are like... literally 500+ players on the same map on max settings attacking one huge ass boss/nexus
 
hey sorry to hijack this thread. i recently subscribed after reading this thread. i had the same questions. after reading everything i think i am going to get 3770k but right now it is hard for me to find a motherboard that takes 1155 socket and also capable of running 4-way sli at x16 speed. the ones ive run into can only do 3-way sli or 4way at 8x8x8x8 or 16x16x8x8. i was hoping to run 32gb ram as well. any suggested motherboards out there? im particular looking for asus but am open to other brand. at frys the tech was talking me into getting rampage iv extreme with the 3930k but after reading what you guys had said, i dont think i will need all of that power for gaming. please let me know what is the best option for the motherboard im looking into
 
also majority of the 4 way sli ive seen doesnt seem to allow me to take in 4 cards plus a tv-tuner. im in need of 4 way pci-e but another pci slot for a tv tuner. alot of motherboards has the small pci for tv tuner inbetween the 4way pci-e so i wouldnt know how the tv tuner can fit with all 4 video cards in at once.
 
Skripka said:
Hmmm. I'm thinking Thunderbolt will go the way of FireWire, maybe more versatile or faster...but mostly irrelevant for most all consumers due to cheaper more ubiquitous alternatives.
Click to expand...

Given Thunderbolt's versatility, I don't think it will. Apple's pushing it, ASUS is pushing it and Intel is pushing it and that's a lot of weight to put behind it. Other manufacturers of motherboards will get behind it as well. Infact MSI and ASRock already have.
 
I would skip this generation of Thunderbolt until the peripheral prices come down. Are you really planning on replacing your monitor and external drives? DisplayPort and ESATA still has plenty of life left. All those PCI-E slots aren't really needed for quad SLI/Crossfire if you get 690 or 7990 vid boards. Cheap Thunderbolt add-in controller boards will also come later.

So the only real benefit of socket 2011 is 6 cores and 64GB.
 
bloodypulp said:
I would skip this generation of Thunderbolt until the peripheral prices come down. Are you really planning on replacing your monitor and external drives? DisplayPort and ESATA still has plenty of life left. All those PCI-E slots aren't really needed for quad SLI/Crossfire if you get 690 or 7990 vid boards. Cheap Thunderbolt add-in controller boards will also come later.

So the only real benefit of socket 2011 is 6 cores and 64GB.
Click to expand...

Even two or three card SLI and CrossfireX is fine on LGA1155 as long as you get a board with the PLX chips on it. As you said, 6 cores and more than 32GB of RAM is the only real reason to get an LGA2011 setup.
 
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