Xeon vs i7

[frythatchicken]

Hey all, I'm looking to build a PC that I will be using for modelling and simulation, as well as be able to game at 1440. I've costed up a system with both the Xeon E3 1230 V5, and the i7 7700k, with the price difference coming up around $370 Australian (this includes the CPU cooler for overclocking). I'm having trouble deciding whether its worth the effort to get an overclockable setup for the extra coin or stick with the cheaper Xeon option. I was looking for peoples opinion on how much performance that the extra 1ish GHz of CPU speed, and therefore performance, is really worth. Thanks.

[Energycore]

Well, think of this: the Xeon and i7 both have the same IPC, but the max speed on the Xeon is 3.8GHz and on the i7, once overclocked, should be around 5GHz. That's 30% more clockspeed, which would not translate into performance one-to-one, but should give you a boot that you can measure.

 

Now the 7700K is a bit expensive as of today, and you could be saving money by buying a 6700K instead. Also I can guarantee you're overspending on your cooler. There's a cooler from Deepcool, the Gammaxx 400, that is more than capable of cooling an overclocked Skylake CPU and costs $35.

[frythatchicken]

15 minutes ago, Energycore said:

Well, think of this: the Xeon and i7 both have the same IPC, but the max speed on the Xeon is 3.8GHz and on the i7, once overclocked, should be around 5GHz. That's 30% more clockspeed, which would not translate into performance one-to-one, but should give you a boot that you can measure.

 

Now the 7700K is a bit expensive as of today, and you could be saving money by buying a 6700K instead. Also I can guarantee you're overspending on your cooler. There's a cooler from Deepcool, the Gammaxx 400, that is more than capable of cooling an overclocked Skylake CPU and costs $35.

I was looking at spending in the ball park of $70 on a CPU cooler because i wanted to make sure i was getting something of quality, but i wasn't sure on exact makes or models. The large price difference could be due to a deal with the Xeon, which included motherboard and memory.

 

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/37506/pccg-xeon-power-bundle

 

 Also the price difference for the 6700k and the 7700k from what I could find on PC parts picker was only $6 AUS, hence my decision to ignore the 6700k.

 

So i can save on my CPU cooler and that may mean the i7 is a more feasible option. 

[Energycore]

2 minutes ago, frythatchicken said:

I was looking at spending in the ball park of $70 on a CPU cooler because i wanted to make sure i was getting something of quality, but i wasn't sure on exact makes or models. The large price difference could be due to a deal with the Xeon, which included motherboard and memory.

 

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/37506/pccg-xeon-power-bundle

 

 Also the price difference for the 6700k and the 7700k from what I could find on PC parts picker was only $6 AUS, hence my decision to ignore the 6700k.

 

So i can save on my CPU cooler and that may mean the i7 is a more feasible option. 

That's actually a sweet deal on the Xeon bundle, I wouldn't pass it up.

[frythatchicken]

6 minutes ago, Energycore said:

That's actually a sweet deal on the Xeon bundle, I wouldn't pass it up.

Yeah that's why its such a hard decision.