what is the main differences between these two and what are the pros and cons of both?
socket, x79 is lga2011, whose cpu's are either for servers or are total overkill for gaming. the lga 2011 also had four more ram slots. at that's all that's really different
Yea really X79 is more for high end workstations and MAYBE high end gaming (if you got the cash). Z77 is perfectly fine for any game currently out, though I wonder what kind power Star Citizen is gonna take, definitely a lot.
LGA2011 is a power socket. It doesnt waste any part of the cpu with integrated graphics or anything. Its a powerful chipset. It also is the only option with intel for getting more then 4 cores. It supports Quad Channel Ram (which isnt much fast then dual) which is built for rendering, coding etc. There are consumer level chipsets, and they are very very good chips. People tend to lean towards the i5's for bang for buck. But a 3820 will wreck it in most things, and overclocks really well. Another major difference is the 2011 cores have support up to 40PCIE lanes, which means you could (in theory) run two 16x and an 8x in SLI at full bandwith is in an insane amout of power. 1155 only supports 16PCIE lanes... when you run two cards, you are getting 8x 8x. Not very good. This is a rendering thing, but if the cost is right, I would always go with something built to perform at the top.
It's basically overkill for the regular user. If you do high-end 3D rendering, video editing or photo editing, get 2011, if you're gaming, get 1155.
i support overkill, and thats why i went x79.
I concur...
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My 2011 rig ;)