Hello there!
I'm looking to upgrade my freelancing computer from an ancient i5-760 (quad, no HT, 2.8Ghz), and I'm having trouble deciding between these two chips:
6700K, 32GB, 4 cores at 4.0Ghz, for $611 USD.
5820K, 32GB, 6 cores at 3.3Ghz, for $733 USD.
I'm looking to do the following:
- Modeling with 3DSMax/Zbrush
- Texture work with Photoshop/Quixel
- Rendering interiors and products with VRay
- Use VRay RT for lighting testing and look dev.
- Work with realtime engines (and some VR) in Unity and Unreal.
- Some video editing and 3D compositing.
- A bit of animation rendering.
- Bit of gaming, but I know either is just as good for this.
I've read here and in other places that both chips are very comparable, in spite of the different core count, but does this hold true when we consider these other purposes? The Corona benchmarks still place the 5820K above the 6700K, and chances are the French VRay benchmark out there that suggests otherwise isn't taking into account that Light Cache is singlethreaded, and that tip the result in the 6700K's favor.
As it is right now I've basically been avoiding CPU rendering as my GTX970 can do it much faster, but I've also run into its limitations quickly when it comes to interiors.
Baking textures for realtime objects with my current cpu also poses some problems, some simple models can take 22 minutes for one of several passes in xNormal, making iterations an absolute pain.
In the case of large VRay renderings, I don't have access to a render farm, so I'm thinking of using a cloud rendering solution when the need arrives, regardless of the chip. However, I'd like to be able to rely on my system, even if it involves waiting for a while. I can't afford a dual Xeon machine either.
For a variety of reasons, I can't risk my equipment by overclocking. RMA's are next to impossible to carry out, temperatures in summer easily reach 40°C, and I don't have access to air conditioning. Therefore, I need to keep it safe, and can't consider OCing the 5820K to 4Ghz.
I understand most of what I'll actually be doing is single-threaded work, but a lot of what I do is also multi-threaded. However, is it enough to favor going for the slower 6-core? I might sound like I'm deciding for the 5820K, but I'm really not sure.
Which of these two do you think would be the better option for me?
Thanks in advance for any replies.
