4690k vs Ivy Bridge-E for SLI/Xfire

[Little_Dud]

Hi,

I'm currently designing a new system that I plan on eventually upgrading to a 4K system when it becomes a little more viable. I've been looking online for benchmarks that specifically test multi-GPU gaming performance across Haswell and Ivy Bridge-E and I have to say that I've not found any answers that I'm happy with. If I could post links I would link to the AnandTech review of the 4960x which shows that with 2 GTX Titans, There is no real difference between Haswell and Ivy Bridge-E at 1080p/Ultra, but, like a bad movie, it leaves me with too many unanswered questions. What about at 4K? What about 3+ GPUs? What about when games get more CPU intensive in the future? Can somebody with a better informed opinion shed some light on this?

Liam

[Bonebreaker777]

The trend in the software market is slowly going away from CPU dependence (DX 12 or Mantle).

The little overclocking edge that a IB-E would grand would negate the architectural benefit of Haswell.

Also with the new instruction error found in the Haswell CPU (TSX) I would just go for IB-E anyway.

To be sure,get a cracking cooling and motherboard so you can squeeze the max out of it and be happy for the next few years (2-5 years with a bit if luck).

[MrJim]

Hi,

I'm currently designing a new system that I plan on eventually upgrading to a 4K system when it becomes a little more viable. I've been looking online for benchmarks that specifically test multi-GPU gaming performance across Haswell and Ivy Bridge-E and I have to say that I've not found any answers that I'm happy with. If I could post links I would link to the AnandTech review of the 4960x which shows that with 2 GTX Titans, There is no real difference between Haswell and Ivy Bridge-E at 1080p/Ultra, but, like a bad movie, it leaves me with too many unanswered questions. What about at 4K? What about 3+ GPUs? What about when games get more CPU intensive in the future? Can somebody with a better informed opinion shed some light on this?

Liam

The main advantage Haswell-E would have for Crossfire or SLI is that it will have 40 lanes of PCI 3 available, allowing for 2 or 3 GPU setups at full bandwidth. To get a similar bandwidth on socket 1150 Haswell with Z97 chipset, you'll need a motherboard with PLX PEX8747 bridge chip, which increases power use, heat, & adds a bit of latency. In all honesty though, the performance difference between the two systems is probably negligible, & Z97 is definitely more cost-effective.