Splitting Hairs? 6850k vs 5930k

[bjratchf 80]

In some discussion with Rob A, I'm trying to narrow down which CPU to use in my new build. Keep in mind there's only going to be P3D and FSX as the major players on my machine. 

 

 

Rob made the good point that 6700k wastes space with an on-chip graphics processor, and the LGA 2011-v3 processors have 15mb of L3 cache. The 5930k has 6 cores, and compared to the 6700k- the additional cores are helpful if you use 3rd party programs on the same machine.

 

I thought I was set on the 5930K- but now I'm seeing that there's a 6850k?

 

5930K

L3: 15mb

L2: 6x 256

Clock: 3.5 - 3.7 (turbo)

6 Cores

 

6850K

3.6 -3.8 (turbo)

6 Cores

L3: 15mb

 

 

This machine will be paired with a GTX -1080 and the CPU will be cooled with Corsair H100i V2 water system, for a moderate overclock. 

 

6700K seems to be the most widely used however, and everyone seems happy- these two processors seem to be out in uncharted territory, but still within my budget. I'm just wondering if they're really worth it and will provide the smooth fidelity in P3D/FSX. I've searched and there's not much out there concerning these two chips. 

 

My hangups have been that the 5930k is 2014 technology... the 6700k is the "latest" along with the 6850 being released in 2016. 

[Silverbird 115]

Hi I would check out this video gives you in idea I personally feel it would rather be better with the newer tech if budget allows it. 

its not the 6850 but gives you in idea its really a tough choice.

 

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/1602245/6800k-vs-5930k-vs-6850k-differents-help-i-need-to-chooes-one-of-tem

[bjratchf 80]

and the question is, is it all really worth it for single-GPU gaming, on a native resolution monitor. 

[Luke 782]

 

 

Rob made the good point that 6700k wastes space with an on-chip graphics processor, and the LGA 2011-v3 processors have 15mb of L3 cache. The 5930k has 6 cores, and compared to the 6700k- the additional cores are helpful if you use 3rd party programs on the same machine.

 

I don't think the extra cores are of any value for addons. Look at the CPU time column:

 

 

Pretty much everything is a rounding error past FSX/P3D.

 

It's also worth noting that despite the model number, the 6850 is not the "latest" architecture. It is Broadwell-E, not Skylake.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

[bjratchf 80]

Thanks Luke... 

 

So Broadwell is the latest, but they seem to have scaled back on the CPU speeds- A 6800k now gets 3.5Ghz instead of the 4.0 of the 6700k.

 

Is the general consensus that the 6700k is still the best for FSX/P3D- that the additional cores don't offset the loss in GHz (and additional heat to overclock a stubborn Broadwell-E)?

[Luke 782]

 

 

So Broadwell is the latest, but they seem to have scaled back on the CPU speeds- A 6800k now gets 3.5Ghz instead of the 4.0 of the 6700k.

 

Of course. You've got six cores' worth of heat to dissipate. And as a general rule of thumb, once you start getting into workloads where you need lots of cores, it's sufficiently parallelizable that you don't care so much about per-core speed past a certain point. I don't doubt that a Broadwell-E can do 4+ Ghz, when there's fewer of them on the die.

 

Yes, for me a 6700K is as good as you're likely to get for now - I'd spend the savings on better video cards, more monitors, etc

 

Cheers!

Luke

[bjratchf 80]

Thanks... And sorry for the back and forth... I really thought I was set with 6850k, planning on overclocking with a corsair H100, to about 4.2GHz, which is what I see out there after searches and review reading.

 

Then I think of the purpose- the only taxing thing this computer will be doing is P3D/FSX- I don't compile code, edit video, do serious graphics work etc. And P3D FSX seem to do best on what simply is the fastest clock. So for the double price of the 6850k, it may not be worth it. 

 

I wish there were some "previous adopters" of the 6850k  that could chime in- but seeing many many 6700k happy simmers could be a good thing too. 

[ryanbatc 12,846]

Unfortunately p3d is still very cpu consuming

 

I think the 6700k is still the best bet - clocked as much as possible and should be easy to do with your proposed cooler.

[tod 14]

This is a long post. For what its worth, my experience with Broadwell-E. Note 1) I don't have $$ to dedicate my computer to just flightsim. 2) I use professional graphics programs. 3) I play other games. 4) I hate to tweak and prefer flying, not chasing FPS. Smoothness is what I care.
My previous rig and game settings
- i5 4670K 3.40 GHz Overclocked to 4.20 GHz, nVidia GTX 980, Resolution 3840 X 2160 with a 43" 4K monitor.

- P3D Settings: http://www.robainscough.com/Prepar3D_Settings_2.html, but do not use NVidia Inspector or Job Scheduler tweak.
 

My current rig (1 month old)
- i7 6800K 3.40 GHz Overclocked to 4.006 GHz @ 1.228V, EVGA nVidia GTX1070 Founder's Edition, same resolution.
- P3D Settings: Scenery sliders fully to the right, and same monitor resolution. Still do not use NVidia Inspector or Job Scheduler settings.
 

Cloud Testing with REX softclouds - Heavy storm clouds over the skies of Taiwan. FL150.
Aircraft: Freeware Skyspirit 777
Spot View: 8 - 14 FPS depending on view angle, Cockpit View: 10 - 12 FPS depending on view angle

Complex airport: Aerosoft's Mega Heathrow
Aircraft: Freeware Skyspirit 777
Spot View: 16 - 22 FPS depending on view angle, Cockpit View: 18 - 23 FPS depending on view angle (Freeware Virtual Cockpit)

Same Cloud Test with new rig
Spot View: 20 - 24 FPS depending on view angle, Cockpit View: 20 - 24 FPS depending on view angle
Same Mega airport Test with new rig
Spot View: 20 - 30 FPS depending on view angle, Cockpit View: 22 - 30 FPS depending on view angle

Most obvious thing was P3D is much smoother (much less microstutters), especially in heavy clouds thanks to GTX 1070, and around major /complex airports. This was what I was after and the 6800K & GTX1070 delivered. But I won't say this chipset is the magic bullet for FPS.
OTOH, with my professional graphics program, its night and day so this upgrade was totally worth it. Last note, I chose the 6800K over the 6850K due to budget plus I didn't need the extra PCI lanes. Under load, temp is typically 50 - 55F so no heat issues. OC was straightforward.

 

Good luck with your decision.

[warbirds 555]

Check my video I just posted here showing 5930k clocked to 4.4hz running P3Dv3 flatout with ASN16, Orbx Global, Orbx Vector and Orbx North America LC. See it in the video section or use this link. 

http://www.avsim.com/topic/492990-p3dv3-cpu-overclock-test-in-4k-asn16-orbx-open-lc-na-global-and-vector-14/#entry3463024

[martin-w 3,235]

 

Most obvious thing was P3D is much smoother (much less microstutters), especially in heavy clouds thanks to GTX 1070, and around major /complex airports. This was what I was after and the 6800K & GTX1070 delivered. But I won't say this chipset is the magic bullet for FPS.

 

 

 

 

And there are numerous posts here in this forum from happy 6700K owners who also remark how "smooth" the sim is with an absence of micro stutters. The difference is that they paid less for their CPU's AND gained frames per second. And of course they benefit from the new Z170 platform and all that provides.

 

The problem is, without some kind of objective metric to measure smoothness,  we are left with just subjective opinion. 

 

OTOH, with my professional graphics program, its night and day so this upgrade was totally worth it. 

 

 

If you can justify Broadwell E as a result of the other applications you run benefiting fair enough, but for just the sim, not in my opinion.

[bjratchf 80]

I can always turn down settings when I have students using my PC as a PCATD for currency, to keep sim fidelity.