Is skylake worth it?

[asiancorruption]

i5 4590 or the 6500? theres a $30 difference. Is skylake worth it and why?

[Oshino Shinobu]

If you're buying new, then yes, it's worth it. You won't have to replace your RAM for ages, and there is a slight boost in performance. If you were upgrading from a somewhat recent i5 or up, then it wouldn't be worth it. 

[Frankie]

I would say yes. 30 bucks is not a lot for being on more modern platform with upgrade path.

[Nonco]

Sure, theres a $30 diff in CPU, but then consider the diff in price for mobo and DDR4 ram

[Enderman]

yeah it is, there will be a lot more CPUs being released on that platform in the future

[Curufinwe_wins]

yeah it is, there will be a lot more CPUs being released on that platform in the future

Not true. z170 is dead. The two hundred series chip-set is starting with the next generation, but at least ram will still likely be DDR4.

[Enderman]

Not true. z170 is dead. The two hundred series chip-set is starting with the next generation, but at least ram will still likely be DDR4.

lol z170 was released a few months ago

 

remember the 4770k? then the 4790k? then 5770c? yeah, those were all Z97

and Z170 still has a long way to go before its "dead"

[007agentHP]

I would say yes. 30 bucks is not a lot for being on more modern platform with upgrade path.

even though almost every new gen has a new socket

[007agentHP]

lol z170 was released a few months ago

 

remember the 4770k? then the 4790k? then 5770c? yeah, those were all Z97

and Z170 still has a long way to go before its "dead"

the only reason the 4790k was released was because of horrible thermal die design on the 4770k. it was to appease consumers. and the 5770c wasnt even mass produced.

[Curufinwe_wins]

lol z170 was released a few months ago

 

remember the 4770k? then the 4790k? then 5770c? yeah, those were all Z97

and Z170 still has a long way to go before its "dead"

Official documentation states next gen for intel uses 200 series chipset. It is dead unless they release a refresh which they shouldn't (they only did for haswell because the TIM was absolutely abhorrently bad the first time around.)

[Necrodead]

Its only worth it if you use the integrated graphics, or I guess if you want DDR4 ram for the future. Don't expect Z170 to last as a platform.

[Frankie]

even though almost every new gen has a new socket

 

I meant it more in a sense that if in the near future you find out that i5 is not enough, you can always bump it up. Technically the same goes for the Z97 but you know, on the Z170 things tends to be a little bit faster, might as well invest in that.

[007agentHP]

I meant it more in a sense that if in the near future you find out that i5 is not enough, you can always bump it up. Technically the same goes for the Z97 but you know, on the Z170 things tends to be a little bit faster, might as well invest in that.

yeah, like 5% faster. and compare the price of a 6700k to a 4790k

[Frankie]

yeah, like 5% faster. and compare the price of a 6700k to a 4790k

 

Funny thing, in my country the 6700k is actually like one buck cheaper.  

[007agentHP]

Funny thing, in my country the 6700k is actually like one buck cheaper.

in the us,its 20-30 USD more

[Curufinwe_wins]

Funny thing, in my country the 6700k is actually like one buck cheaper.

Well that and more expensive motherboards (like 30-50 dollars more), and more expensive ram (like 15% more per gig) and it no longer becomes such a small price difference.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($326.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97A GAMING 6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($142.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Team Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($67.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $537.92

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-07 22:46 EDT-0400

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($359.99 @ B&H) 

Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M7 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($216.99 @ Amazon) 

Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($88.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $665.97

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-07 22:46 EDT-0400

 

And that doesn't factor in that at a microcenter a 4790k can be had for 279 dollars, while a 6700k still costs 349 (aka add an additional 50 dollar difference there, so 180 dollars more (or nearly 35% more cost for less than 5% performance boost.)

 

Hell at that point even a comparably featured x99 setup is cheaper:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($378.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: MSI X99A SLI PLUS ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($229.89 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($88.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $697.87

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-07 22:51 EDT-0400

 

NOTE that at microcenter the cost of a 5820k is 299 dollars (so subtract 79 dollars from the total, and x99 comes in right between the two.)

 

BTW I have no idea why pcpartpicker decided to drop Microcenter as a part list source, but they did so whatever.

 

In the US x99 is basically the same price as z170 i7 under all cases, but is significantly cheaper if you can buy your cpu from microcenter.

 

So no, uneqivocally skylake i7's in the US are not worth it.

[Curufinwe_wins]

In case that comparison bothered people in this thread, here is US prices for literally the cheapest z/x series motherboards and ram available (noting ofc that the cheapest x99 board is better in quality than many mid-range z97/z170 boards, but not included in calculation).

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($76.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Team Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($67.99 @ Newegg) 

Other: i7-4790k @ microcenter ($279.99)

Total: $424.96

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-07 23:00 EDT-0400

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Pro4S Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($98.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($88.99 @ Newegg) 

Other: i7-6700k @ microcenter ($349.99)

Total: $537.97

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-07 23:00 EDT-0400

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X99-UD3P (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($153.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($88.99 @ Newegg) 

Other: i7-5820k @ microcenter ($299.99)

Total: $542.96

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-07 23:00 EDT-0400

 

Again skylake is NOT worth it unless you literally have no where else to spend the money.

[brob]

Its only worth it if you use the integrated graphics, or I guess if you want DDR4 ram for the future. Don't expect Z170 to last as a platform.

 

It is also worth it if one wants faster storage as Z170 supports 4-lane PCIe 3.0 M.2 ssd.

 

Z170 will likely last as long as Z87. Intel has announced Kaby Lake for 2016 to run on 100 series motherboards. Cannonlake has been pushed back to 2017 and will use 200 series chipsets.

 

IMO Skylake is definitely worth the small price premium. Systems built around Skylake cpu will have better performance than Haswell builds. Within a year DDR3 memory will likely be significantly more expensive than DDR4, so memory upgrades on Haswell will be more expensive. PCIe M.2 drives will continue to come down in price making them an attractive upgrade. As newer tech, Skylake systems will have a longer supported life time.

 

@Curufinwe_wins, the comparisons using Microcenter walk-in pricing is not really a good comparison. The cpu price differential is much smaller when using more generally available pricing.

[Curufinwe_wins]

It is also worth it if one wants faster storage as Z170 supports 4-lane PCIe 3.0 M.2 ssd.

 

Z170 will likely last as long as Z87. Intel has announced Kaby Lake for 2016 to run on 100 series motherboards. Cannonlake has been pushed back to 2017 and will use 200 series chipsets.

 

IMO Skylake is definitely worth the small price premium. Systems built around Skylake cpu will have better performance than Haswell builds. Within a year DDR3 memory will likely be significantly more expensive than DDR4, so memory upgrades on Haswell will be more expensive. PCIe M.2 drives will continue to come down in price making them an attractive upgrade. As newer tech, Skylake systems will have a longer supported life time.

 

@Curufinwe_wins, the comparisons using Microcenter walk-in pricing is not really a good comparison. The cpu price differential is much smaller when using more generally available pricing.

How is it not a good comparison when the vast majority of the US population lives within sub 1 hour driving range of a Microcenter (or stores that will price match it like Fry's) and even a 3 hour drive each way (with an opportunity cost of 10 USD/hr) is still more cost effective than not going to one?

 

Besides even without that it's still a 130 dollar difference. That's the difference between a 380 and a 390 or a more than a 250 GB SSD or a 980 ti vs a 980.

 

I don't possibly see how that could be worth it, unless literally you couldn't buy better components elsewhere.

[VeeTeePee]

I'd say you should buy it if you're starting a new build and you're looking for a new cpu. If not, I wouldn't bother upgrading if you already have the 4590. But then again... That's just me.

[brob]

How is it not a good comparison when the vast majority of the US population lives within sub 1 hour driving range of a Microcenter (or stores that will price match it like Fry's) and even a 3 hour drive each way (with an opportunity cost of 10 USD/hr) is still more cost effective than not going to one?

 

Besides even without that it's still a 130 dollar difference. That's the difference between a 380 and a 390 or a more than a 250 GB SSD or a 980 ti vs a 980.

 

I don't possibly see how that could be worth it, unless literally you couldn't buy better components elsewhere.

 

Based on the OP, this is a much better cost comparison. Just under 17%, about $50.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($191.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($67.89 @ OutletPC)

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($36.00 @ Newegg)

Total: $295.88

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-07 23:56 EDT-0400

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($204.99 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: ASRock H170M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($87.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $342.96

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-07 23:59 EDT-0400

 

BTW, people who do not live in the US do buy cpu. While prices differ from those in the US, excluding special offers the ratios tend to be the same.

[Curufinwe_wins]

Based on the OP, this is a much better cost comparison. Just under 17%, about $50.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($191.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($67.89 @ OutletPC)

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($36.00 @ Newegg)

Total: $295.88

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-07 23:56 EDT-0400

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($204.99 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: ASRock H170M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($87.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $342.96

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-07 23:59 EDT-0400

 

BTW, people who do not live in the US do buy cpu. While prices differ from those in the US, excluding special offers the ratios tend to be the same.

Indeed, but the OP is in the US. 

 

I concede there is less of difference with the i5's (especially locked i5's) (absolute scale, relative difference is still 20% for less than a 5% boost in performance.)

 

I do note that in the context of the discussion I jumped in on it was discussing unlocked i7's, which I vehemently state that with US prices Skylake is unequivocally not worth it.

 

Perhaps that "pertaining to unlocked i7's" is a very important caveat. 

 

I still wouldn't pay 50 dollars more there for skylake, but it is less of a difference, true.