980X, new board and mem or New 4770k, board, and mem?
 

So as most of you guys know, I have my computer for sale. The $1,000 cube is the one I'm referring to. There are a few parts that for me, are getting long in the tooth. It doesn't mean slow or old, I'm just a tech junkie and I like the new stuff. My processor is a Core I7 980X extreme edition six core beast. It has plenty of processing power to last me another couple of years. My motherboard on the other hand is a bit dated.

Currently my motherboard does not support USB 3.0, Sata 6g, PCIE 3.0 or EUFI bios (not a huge deal). It also only has three dimm slots for memory. Keep in mind, this is a tri channel system, so a minimum of three memory slots are needed to get the full memory bandwidth. The memory I have populating my board happens to be rare and expensive. They came out in 2010 and still cost $200 for 3x2 (6gb).They are rated at 1866mhz with 7-8-7-20 timings at 1.65volts. The big take away here are the very tight timings. I have these running at 2000mhz at 7-7-7-20 timings which is just awesome.

So with all that said. I found a motherboard (Asus Rampage III Black Edition) for $300 (originally $600 in 2011). It gives me four usb 3.0 ports, 2 sata 6g ports (no raid on sata 6g), but no EUFI bios, and only PCIE 2.0 (not a big deal) I also found 3 more sticks of matching memory that I already have. This newer board has six slots and I can run 12gb instead of 6gb. Total cost is $500

My other option is to go all new with the latest and greatest. Brand new Haswell Core I7 4770k Quad core processor ($340). It trades blows with my 980X... This also requires a new motherboard which I've chosen an Asus Maximus VI Hero ($200). This new motherboard gives me all the latest features I was looking for. 6 usb 3.0 ports, 8 sata 6g ports, PCIE 3.0, EUFI, Ram disk, and $100 cheaper. This also requires me to have new ram which I had already purchased ahead of time.I bought 2x8 (16gb) of Gskill Trident 2400mhz ram. The cost for them are $174.

Should I stick to my current stuff and upgrade memory and motherboard? Or should I go for the new and buy the new processor and motherboard (again I already purchased the memory)? Second question... Should I start 100% from scratch or just replace the old stuff with the new? I can save about $400 keeping my case, fans, and HDD. Graphics cards will be brand new regardless which way I go. Likewise my power supply which I already purchased. I also already purchased a 240gb SSD. I know a lot of you guys may get lost in the sauce, but for some of you who might know what I'm talking about... I'm just looking for a second opinion.

New motherboard: Newegg.com - ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
New processor: Intel Core i7-4770K - Newegg.com
New memory:G.SKILL Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory Model F3-2400C10D-16GTX - Newegg.com

Current processor: Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition Gulftown 3.33GHz LGA 1366 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor BX80613I7980X - Newegg.com
Motherboard for current processor: ASUS Rampage III Black Edition LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com
Current memory: CORSAIR DOMINATOR GT 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000) Desktop Memory Model CMG6GX3M3A1866C7 - Newegg.com

Guess noone knows. Oh Well, worth a try

If it were me, and I'm not an Intel guy. I would go with the Asus Rampage III Black Edition. It has some pretty strong reviews.

What you didn't note is what you use the computer for. :tup:

It's multipurpose, so whatever the F@ck I want ;)
I already have the 980X CPU. It's the only reason why the black edition mobo is an option. Upping the ram will also cost $200
But having the newer mobo with more stuff that I want and $100 less is nice. The offset is spending $330 for the new processor I already have the memory I need for the new board.

Personally, I don't see why you would need to upgrade your processor unless you wanted to. Your processor is already beast. G.Skill is dat shit, that's what I run in my machine. I would almost switch to Intel for that mobo. That Rampage Black is sick.

The processor is a sidegrade. It's the motherboard options I'm looking at.

processor downgrade..for usb 3.0 and pci 3.0 both of which serves probably little function?

if you're bored, just put your whole system 'underwater' like me :P

whatever cards you're running you're no way maxing the pci channel and need an upgrade

PCIE 3.0 isn't the main reason. Usb 3.0 , data 6G, free ramdisk software, is. The newer platforms also run lower power, faster ram, the PCIE 1x lanes can support faster speeds for expansion cards (thunderbolt card for example), EUFI is amazing, the processors do have new instruction sets, as well as faster in single threaded applications.

Usb 3.0 on the black edition board is a lot slower, same with data 6g. The PCIE lanes aren't a big deal now, but 2 years down the road it might.

The cost difference is nearly identical right now.

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk

Haswell FTW!

1) New CPU/mobo
2) I'd keep the case and other stuff if you don't need to upgrade them (i.e. planning on getting new video card(s) that requires more heat dissipation, etc)

Sell the 980X to recoup a little bit of money and that will bring the cost of the 4770k system down. While I think it's great to try and reuse things, the 4770k has about the same performance as your 980X like you mentioned but runs a lot cooler and more efficiently and also supports all the newer bells and whistles. That'll future proof you for a while :)

Id personally keep the 980x and take the newer mobo, im sure the 980x is still more powerful then the new i7 that came out. The UEFI bios is much easier to navigate then the regular bios. And the new mobo will have better specs obv.

980X won't work with the new motherboard. it's Lga1366 socket. Newer boards are LGA1150. Hence why I would need the newer processor to get the board.

Go next gen to Haswell!

Do a modern build from the ground up :)

You know that feeling right?

It all depends on how much you are comfortable spending. If money isn't an issue just go all new components; CPU, GPU, motherboard, RAM, audio card, cooling system etc. Also upgrade to an SSD, looks like you still just have an HDD. Get a large HDD for bigger files and games you don't play as much, but get a decent sized SSD for your OS and frequently used programs. Also a big factor is what are you using this for? Graphically intensive games, general computer stuff, or multimedia? Build it around what you will be using it for, but I'm sure you already know all this stuff.

keep what you've got. most USB 3.0 devices are barely, if any, faster than 2.0's. pci 3.0 is nice but not absolutely needed. stick with what you've got for another year or so and see what's coming down the pipe.