Going to be building a new PC in December, $1200 budget. Wait for Zen, or go Skylake?

I edit video, and game, and make gameplay videos.

I want to overclock.

What I have in my PCPP list right now:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/vZwY9W
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/vZwY9W/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 51.7 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.46 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($129.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1060 6GB Dual Video Card ($289.44 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX Mini ITX Tower Case ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ B&H)
Monitor: Acer GN246HL 24.0" 144Hz Monitor ($199.99 @ B&H)
Total: $1204.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-26 22:54 EDT-0400

Uhm, ask again in late November.

2 Likes

If you wait, go into it with the expectation that the Zen cpu around the price of a 6700k will be slightly slower, will probably be a bit less, and overclocking is completely up in the air. If its better, wahoo, but if its that or less, you know what your getting into. By December, hopefully we will know for sure the stock clock speeds and the more specifics of the part, but don't depend on it. But if you do wait until December to build, scrap whatever you plan today and remake it. There is a laundry list of things that can change between now and then.

Lots of things will change by then

but in any case I'd suggest an RX 480 with a free-sync display, the display isn't much more than that one, might go on sale again sometime before then as well

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/DCWq3F
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/DCWq3F/by_merchant/

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 480 8GB Video Card ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: AOC G2460PF 24.0" 144Hz Monitor ($229.88 @ Amazon)
Total: $469.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-26 23:06 EDT-0400

I'm not planning to do SERIOUS video editing.

I'm also going to use my current 1TB SSD (when it comes)

I don't need like, 4676283642 drives.

I'm also willing to wait for benchmarks of Zen.

And, if it's cheaper, I may just go with it. AMD did a test, and it showed Zen was faster (but not a lot) than a 6900k

Why an RX 480? The 1060 is faster (not by much though, only 11% more)

Mostly because you can get free-sync where you can't get G-sync for the money

and it's faster in DX12/Vulkan which is the future of games, or should be anyways

I don't need Freesync.

Besides, I don't think DX12 and Vulkan will take over for the duration I have the machine.

Kind of do, because neither a 480 nor 1060 can saturate a 1080p 144hz display for AAA games, so you'll be running below the 144hz refresh rate of your display

I turn AA off every time. Plus I don't really play AAA games

Wait for Zen benchmarks to come out. Then pick between the 8core Zen, and the i7 5820k.

I'd be getting the 6700k, not the 5820k

i7 5820k will be better for livestreaming/rendering. And is very close to the i7 6700k in price.

But the board is $250 as opposed to $130...

5820k: $677

6700k: $480

Yeah, no.

Plus, Dimitri did a video comparing a 6700k to a 6800k, the 6700k won in most of the benchmarks (stuff that I'd be doing)

That, and my max budget is $1200

That is dependent on where you get the board and the cpu.

If you live near or pass by a Microcenter, check out the clearance shelf as they have board with open box. Otherwise check the buildapcsales subreddit for daily deals

A precaution you should take is to check the box for any missing parts. If you are still paranoid ask for a reason why it was returned.

I got my Asrock x99 board (open box, no issues) for $159 and my 5820k from Microcenter ($30) discount for buying the cpu and motherboard.

at best zen is by amd's own admission weaker then skylake. also rumors are am4+ motherboards should be for sale in october but zen cpu's may not be released till January / February. so you'd likely be stuck with a lower grade A12 or athalon cpu untill then.