Difference between Generic Z170 Mobos & X99 Mobos

[adrielx]

Hi. Just curious about what is the difference between Z170 & X99 Mobos which can account for the price differences?

Also, what is the advantage of going for i7-6800K or 6900K when compared to i7-6700k?

 

[ondooy]

pcie lanes and more cores....

 

[ZrE0_Cha0s]

this is just a basic comparison : http://ark.intel.com/compare/81761,90591

but i think the most impt part will be z170 will be providing onboard gpu output as skylake chips has contain an igpu to allows u to use ur onboard gpu instead of getting a dedicated or discrete gpu to display. and yes X99 does not have onboard gpu, as those xenon chips does not comes with it. so u will need discrete gpu to display.

next will be the number of pci-e lane, z170 only provides up to 1 x16 or 2 x8 for sli and cf configurations of it ; x99 can al least let u do CF or SLI at 2 x16, but if u want triple or quad configurations also can.

other than that will be x99 can have more rams slots and max cap and sata ports than z170

as for price differences will be quite a lot and depends on which brands and model u get. (its veri hard to compare the price for u.)

 

[adrielx]

Yeah just curious only. Was looking at i7-6800k & Asus Strix X99 bundle. like cheaper than the high end Asus z170 mobos bundled with i7-6700k. so was wondering what is the difference and whether broadwell-e with X99 mobos more worth it in terms of performance/value.

interesting to find out more / learn from experts.

 

[Piezoq]

Yeah just curious only. Was looking at i7-6800k & Asus Strix X99 bundle. like cheaper than the high end Asus z170 mobos bundled with i7-6700k. so was wondering what is the difference and whether broadwell-e with X99 mobos more worth it in terms of performance/value.

interesting to find out more / learn from experts.

Let's put it this way.

If you're a content consumer (gamer, surfer), you'll be happy with Z or H series computers.

If you're a content creator (programmer, media artist, data miner) or a hard-core gamer who's out to squeeze the last frame rate out of today's top titles, you'll want the X series.

The cost isn't just down to the motherboard-cpu combi. These systems are usually built with a combination of top-shelf components, so the average X-powered desktop easily tops $2-3k, and those are just entry-level.

 

[royfrosty]

Usually a high end z170 with a i7 6700k will be about the same price or higher than a x99 basic mobo + i7 6800k or 6900k.

What you are getting is more pcie lanes, more cores, and a total of 8 dimm slots.

Also note that it really depends on your usage. Imho, if you were to buy a expensive z170 with i7 6700k, you are better off buying a x99 + 6800k unless you need a very specific needs of a high end z170 then yes you would buy the high end z170 instead.

 

[kandinsky]

Also moar SATA connectors and USB ports.

 

[Crooni]

2 parts to the situation

1. actual usage of cores in real world
2. marketing/pricing

think steam market survey suggests 50% of ppl are still on 2 cores or less below 3ghz. game developers are still/will not be utilizing full multi-core potential anytime soon. many new games have similar performance even between i3 and i5.

but the difference is very apparent in cpu/ram intensive stuff like encoding video, molecular simulation software, and multi core optimized games like cities skyline.

x99 is "enthusiast" level, and have a price premium of ~300-500 bucks.

if you're referring to those $1k z170 motherboards, those are mostly marketing/branding with some additional questionable features. it's never worth it to buy those extreme thermonuclear fusion versions of hardware.

i.e. if you want to spend 1k and are looking at z170 or x99, then definitely x99. but the x99 will only be better at certain stuff, not gaming.

it's better to scale back on cpu and channel the money on a better gfx, unless you specifically need that cpu. an i5 with a gtx1070 will be faster than any i7 with a gtx970 in gaming any day.