So I've been using AMD CPUs for the last 6-7 years and even though I've never had issues with them, I'm starting too look at Intel CPUs since it seems like my FX8350 is bottle-necking my GTX1080.
I do a lot of music production so more cores = better since big projects really bog down the CPU. At the same time I'm pretty big into gaming so singled threaded performance is a big deal there too. The 6800k seems like the best of both worlds but I'm not too well versed in the last generation or two of Intels CPUs. Is there a different CPU out there that would give similar performance but cheaper? Also, I know Zen is coming out in the next 6 months or two but I'd still like to know my options. I'd be interested in Xeon chips too but I'm totally clueless on those chips and how they stand up to the i7 equivalents.
Just for the sake of saying I'd like to keep this upgrade at about $500 for CPU and mobo.
The 6800k or 5820k are your best options. The 5820k is haswell, so ever so slightly slower single threaded performance, and a generation older so a 22nm manufacturing process vs 14nm for the newer broadwell 6800k. Its basically a 100mhz clock difference, and a tiny ipc difference. I would recommend buying a 5820k if you can get a deal on one, and if you can't then just go for the 6800k. If you're willing to step down to 4 cores, the 6700k isn't a bad option, but if you want the 6 core than either of the other 2 options are great cpus. You'll be able to overclock any of these cpu's pretty well, usually to a 4.3ghz+ for the 6 cores and 4.5ghz+ for the 6700k.
That's why I'm interested in Xeons a little bit but I'd say this system is more geared towards gaming. Unless a Xeon has a good single and multi core performance.
OK, it probably is not what you are looking for but I mention it anyway. (because that is all I do in this forum lately...) Facebook just got rid of a LOT of Xeons. That is why ebay is flooded with E5 2670s. Those are 8 core / 16 thread CPUs and given the right board you can put two of them in one machine. The negatives: They boost up only to 3GHz on all cores and they are not the newest architecture.
The cost of a 2011 motherboard is too high to justify it in this case. A 5820k/6800k can score a cinebench score of 1200-1400, whilst a single 2670 is around 1000. So, only dual socket, and dual socket boards are a pain in the ass to get and very expensive now since everyone and their mother has been trying to do this.
Well, cost is not the issue here. A 6800k is around 450,-. A capable board is probably more than 150,-. The price for a dual 2670 system is the same. It is just the other way around.
@kylendm If you're more geared towards CPU-intensive multithreading that can take advantage of 16 hyperthreaded cores and if you can get your hands on a decent motherboard, dual 2670s will easily wipe the floor with a 6800K or a 5820K in raw multiple threads. Single threads, that's another story. Depending on the game, Sandy Bridge Xeons may be less of a bottleneck than an 8350 (because remember that even high-end gaming laptops have relatively slow hyperthreaded i7s that still offer better performance than the FX chips) but they won't be like a high-clocked i7 desktop. Then again, odds are depending on what game you're playing you won't notice a difference between the Xeons and a fast i7.
I run a 3.4GHz 2600K (of the same architecture as the 2670s) with an R9 Nano and it munches away at absolutely everything I throw at it. I don't get any slowdown even at max settings at 1440p. A 2670 at 3.0GHz will yield very similar numbers. If you don't mind lowering a few settings just a little bit, the Xeons will still be more than decent for games. Of course, during winter months, I can clock my 2600K to well past 4.5 if I want to, but I plan to move to a similar dual-Xeon build for video production, 3D rendering and video transcoding. Gaming will be handled by my i3 LAN rig. I'm far less picky about game settings than others are.
In terms of multithreading, though, if you can take advantage of them... dual Xeons vs an 8350 isn't even fair competition, they're on a totally different planet from each other. That's the way I'd choose to go if productivity and content creation requiring loads of CPU horsepower is your goal.
The main differences between a Xeon and a comparable Generation Intel desktop proc, such as an i7, is that the Xeons are 1) better "binned" CPUs that are then slightly underclocked for longevity and power efficiency and 2) typically compatible with ECC RAM (important in scientific applications or for high uptime requirements). Typically you pay a premium for these procs, and the MOBO with a chipset that can can utilize the ECC RAM, and the ECC RAM itself - basically all server grade hardware. For music production I don't think you would necessarily need any of those more enterprise geared features so I would advise looking up a comparable desktop proc (i7) for whichever Xeon Generation you may be considering and see what the cost difference is. If you just happen to find a really good deal on cheap Xeons no major reason not to go for it, but I would certainly run the comparison to see if you can save a few extra bucks going with the consumer grade desktop hardware.
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Ehh a stock 2600k is about equivalent to a 8350. The 2670 is a slower clocked version, and if 4 or 8 threads are being used he will see turbo speeds of sub 3ghz.
If he is gaming at higher than 1440p, I think the 2670 can be a good fit. But, a Gtx 1080 is a very fast gpu and requires a very fast ipc cpu too keep up. I think that this being an equally gaming and production machine warrants going for the 6800k vs a dual 2670, as the gaming performance of a 2670 with a 1080 may handicap if he does plan on playing at sub 4k. Its not like the 6800k is a bad rendering machine either, their is a difference of 600-700 cinebench r15 points, going from 2000 to 1300-1400(assuming he overclocks, stock is closer to 1100), whilst his 8350 is probably around 600.
Just quick: 2670s can run 3GHz all day long. Trust me, I just finished a conversion of all three Hobbit movies simultaneously with three instances of handbrake.
OK, you like this but you also like that.... Here is the simple choice you have to make:
