Help w/ CPU Choice: 5820k vs. 5930k for 2x SLI 980s

[xeromynd]

Had a quick question here, as I've seen arguments go either way for this.

 

I'm going to X99 soon, already have the mobo on order, and I'm currently debating between the two CPUs mentioned in the title:

5820k vs. 5930k.

 

• This PC will be used for heavy audio editing and gaming.
• Current gaming setup is 1x 970 with 2x1080p monitors.
• Current CPU is the i7-960
• The dream setup I'd like to have in this build within the next 1-3 years is: 2x SLI 980's with two 4k Free/G-Sync monitors.

 

I've been doing some reading on the 28 PCIe lanes of the 5820k vs the 40 PCIe lanes of the 5930k. I've seen many arguments in both directions, but am not well versed in this area of PC building.

 

My question is: for the uses I've mentioned above, will the 5820k's 28 PCIe lanes be enough for two 980's? Ideally I'd like to NOT pay out the a$$ for a CPU, and saving money on a 5820k vs. a 5930k would be a lovely thing, but not if it won't be able to handle two 980's.

[ELSknutson]

yes you will be fine the 5820 does not support 4 way

[Lotus]

Yes. It will be sufficient with no bottleneck for two 980s. Even for 3 980s, although that will only leave 4 lanes for other things. Where you get into problems is when you have tons of stuff all needing 16x lanes, like RAID controllers on top of other things.

[Arphenyte]

Both CPUs are the same, the only difference relies on the lanes, one gives more lanes than the other, for 2 way sli I would go for the 5820k. If you however, think you will be adding another one in the future, you may want to go for the 5930k, although I wouldn't recommend 3 way sli since it's not worth the extra money.

[dadasmithywinkle]

Had a quick question here, as I've seen arguments go either way for this.

 

I'm going to X99 soon, already have the mobo on order, and I'm currently debating between the two CPUs mentioned in the title:

5820k vs. 5930k.

 

• This PC will be used for heavy audio editing and gaming.
• Current gaming setup is 1x 970 with 2x1080p monitors.
• Current CPU is the i7-960
• The dream setup I'd like to have in this build within the next 1-3 years is: 2x SLI 980's with two 4k Free/G-Sync monitors.

 

I've been doing some reading on the 28 PCIe lanes of the 5820k vs the 40 PCIe lanes of the 5930k. I've seen many arguments in both directions, but am not well versed in this area of PC building.

 

My question is: for the uses I've mentioned above, will the 5820k's 28 PCIe lanes be enough for two 980's? Ideally I'd like to NOT pay out the a$$ for a CPU, and saving money on a 5820k vs. a 5930k would be a lovely thing, but not if it won't be able to handle two 980's.

Two way SLI on the 5820K will run at 16x and 8x. On the 5930K, it'll run at 16x 16x. You can do 3-way SLI on each, but only the 5930K can do 4-way SLI. If oyu're gonna do 3/4-way SLI, get the 5930K.

[david cassar]

For 2 way sli a 5820k would suffice. Also why not wait until amd release their new cards? 

[JustCallMeVlad]

5820K is plenty

[xeromynd]

Yes. It will be sufficient with no bottleneck for two 980s. Even for 3 980s, although that will only leave 4 lanes for other things. Where you get into problems is when you have tons of stuff all needing 16x lanes, like RAID controllers on top of other things.

 

Only other PCI device I'd have is a Firewire card, so I am assuming two 980's and one FW card will run fine. 

I'd like to dive into the realm of M.2, but afaik, with the mobo Im getting , as with many others, you can't use M.2 and SLI simultaneously anyway. Going from my god awful Marvel Sata III controllers on my Rampage Formula to native intel controllers is enough of a storage upgrade for me. 

 

 

For 2 way sli a 5820k would suffice. Also why not wait until amd release their new cards? 

 

I probably will, I'm jumping on the MOBO/CPU/RAM now, with the new GPU to come in the future. Will definitely be waiting for AMD to release the 300 series, if nothing else, just so NVIDIA might price their GPUs more competitively.

 

 

Two way SLI on the 5820K will run at 16x and 8x. On the 5930K, it'll run at 16x 16x. You can do 3-way SLI on each, but only the 5930K can do 4-way SLI. If oyu're gonna do 3/4-way SLI, get the 5930K.

 

So everyone seems to be saying it will "work" at the very least, but if the second card is running at x8, will that bottleneck anything? I definitely don't see 3 way SLI in my future at all. Would be overkill.

[zappian]

The difference is the extra PCI lanes AFAIK.

Our friend VLAD here has two 980 with a 5820k and he says its fine.

 

Im also pretty sure you wont need the extra lanes.

[JustCallMeVlad]

Do not buy the 5930K. Go for the 5960X if you want the extra lanes

[decripple]

You won't be bottlenecking the 980's by going with a 5820K and personally I would just buy another GTX 970 because despite the VRAM issues they still are very fast cards and a better value than a GTX 980 IMHO. However, if you are going to do 4K displays you may want the extra VRAM in which case go for it on the 980's

[zappian]

Do not buy the 5930K. Go for the 5960X if you want the extra lanes

 

Big difference in price.

 

The 5960x is not worth it for the price IMO.

 

5820k is the sweet spot.

[xeromynd]

The difference is the extra PCI lanes AFAIK.

Our friend VLAD here has two 980 with a 5820k and he says its fine.

 

Im also pretty sure you wont need the extra lanes.

 

Do not buy the 5930K. Go for the 5960X if you want the extra lanes

 

No way in hell i am primed to spend that kind of $$$ on a processor haha. So far, because of most of the responses, I'm leaning toward the 5820k now. 

 

If you seem to have it working all nice and fine, then it seems it's the way for me to go. Gonna see if anyone else has anything different to add, but if not, gonna mark this as answered.

[vembutech]

As mentioned for 2 way the 5820k looks good and fine may be try with that.

[JustCallMeVlad]

No way in hell i am primed to spend that kind of $$$ on a processor haha. So far, because of most of the responses, I'm leaning toward the 5820k now.

If you seem to have it working all nice and fine, then it seems it's the way for me to go. Gonna see if anyone else has anything different to add, but if not, gonna mark this as answered.

5820K will serve you well