I7-930 vs 3930K for Gaming

ToddW2

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My primary desktop/workstation is my 3930K rig in my signature...

I have an i7-930 I use for other tasks, and am debating getting my new video card.

I'd like to keep the 3930K with a low powered video card, and would swap to 2x passive cooled units, and sell my 6870.


However, I`m wondering if the 3930K will perform better in games than the i7-930 or won't it matter once I replace the video card with a 7970?

I don't mind gaming at my other desk, and by keeping it out of my desktop/workstation I could take it to friends, etc to play... but if I would be really hit by a performance decrease between the 930 and 3930k I wouldn't do it.
 
Is your 930 overclocked? If you can get it around 4 ghz either would be fine for gaming. The 3930K might be a little faster but nothing noticeable.
 
It's currently not overclocked, and I believe still running the OEM HSF.

The only games I play right now (and in the past) are first person shooters.
BF3 and COD mainly.

I will be gaming at 2560x1600 and I plan to get a 7970 :D
 
the 3930k will outperform by far the i7 930. specially if aren't oc'd... so if you planing to game in the i7 930 with the 7970 take into consideration buy a new cooler for your i7 930 and oc it. specially at that resolution...
 
if all you're going to be playing is BF3 and COD, don't waste your money.. overclock that 930 and it will be plenty fine
 
Should I go with a h100i or h80 ?

I have the 100i on the 3930k, and it's great, but i`m not sure I need that for the 930
 
An H60 2013 edition could make excelent work over the 930. And be more silent than an h80 or h80i, or you can even go a bit lower with a corsair Air A70. It worth right now like 40$ and it will perform excelent with moderate OC.. Just depend on what are your needs.. But if want the more cooling performance possible and money ins't a problem.. Go with h100i.. I just love it.. :)
 
At that resolution, your bottleneck is the gpu. Keep the 930 and try to get to 4.0.
 
i can tell you the the 1st gen i7s are space heaters when overclocked, a h100 with a push pull fan config will probably give you the most headroom for overclocking
 
i can tell you the the 1st gen i7s are space heaters when overclocked, a h100 with a push pull fan config will probably give you the most headroom for overclocking

QFT. couldn't believe how much my office cooled down when I went to Ivy from my 4ghz 920.
 
Totally depends on the game.

As a former wow raider I can tell you my 920 was a bottleneck and I would have greatly benefited from an SB-E cpu. Between the higher IPC and clockspeed there is just a huge difference.

The other thing is that future games may require more cpu power so consider that as well.
 
I can't speak for the 930 but my 3930k @ 4.2Ghz runs BF3 flawlessly. At 2560x1600 your video card is going to peak well before your processor does (unless you're running some ridiculous SLI or Crossfire setup). Also, I'm using an h100i to cool my 3930k and it works great. The pump is also silent which is nice.
 
Well games are more sensitive to frequency than number of cores. However it's hard to find a great X58 mobo nowadays. But I have to say it's much more fun to play with LGA1366 than LGA2011. I've got a X5698 (4.4GHz stock freq, dual cores, lga1366). It is ultra fast in single thread tasks.
 
It's apparent a lot of you guys are commenting on this and NOT reading the thread completely.

I already have BOTH these systems.

I`m NOT building.

I`m well aware the 3930K is a more kick-ass system... I do have both after all ;)

I`m simply wondering if for BF3, BF4, COD, and other FPS games if the 3930K would be a huge improvement while GAMING over the i7-930.

I`m not concerned about "new" games or future proofing as I`m NOT building. I can always swap the video card to the 3930K in the future.

I will be putting it in the 930 for now, and testing that :D
 
My primary desktop/workstation is my 3930K rig in my signature...

I have an i7-930 I use for other tasks, and am debating getting my new video card.

I'd like to keep the 3930K with a low powered video card, and would swap to 2x passive cooled units, and sell my 6870.


However, I`m wondering if the 3930K will perform better in games than the i7-930 or won't it matter once I replace the video card with a 7970?

I don't mind gaming at my other desk, and by keeping it out of my desktop/workstation I could take it to friends, etc to play... but if I would be really hit by a performance decrease between the 930 and 3930k I wouldn't do it.

so lit games are optimized for the HUGHE power we have on our PC's...a 3930K its def a very nice chip but doubt you will notice a high dif unless on 3DM11

so far i would keep it and upgrade your VGA, u can also water cool all for cheap today man and get super fast clocks
 
It's apparent a lot of you guys are commenting on this and NOT reading the thread completely.

I already have BOTH these systems.

I`m NOT building.

I`m well aware the 3930K is a more kick-ass system... I do have both after all ;)

I`m simply wondering if for BF3, BF4, COD, and other FPS games if the 3930K would be a huge improvement while GAMING over the i7-930.

I`m not concerned about "new" games or future proofing as I`m NOT building. I can always swap the video card to the 3930K in the future.

I will be putting it in the 930 for now, and testing that :D

I was gonna say why don't you just try it out in the 930 machine and if it doesn't work out you'd have a nice upgrade over that 6870 in the 3930K machine...but it looks like that's what you're doing already. I'm sure it will game fairly well and for your needs it will be nice so you can take that rig to your friend's place to game as well.
 
either way i see it, if you over clock the 930 to 4ghz you shouldn't have any problems with gaming.
 
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