Broadwell E info from Asrock

[Gman]

I was starting to get worried that this "tick/tock" was going to be a vaporware deal, many rumors about rumors rumoring that, but alas, it lives.  I've been waiting a while to finally upgrade my oldest/x79 box, which is my AH system as well. Yay.

I doubt I'll get the 6950x, the next chip down most likely, the 6900k or even the 6 core 6850k will be more than enough to suit my purpose, I'll be running SLI of whatever the new Pascal card 980ti replacement is in June now - apparently the 980 and 980ti replacements will be out early june, and the 970 late June.  So hopefully by July Broadwell will be ready to roll as well - 6900k 1080ti.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/asrock-x99-broadwell-e-bios-update,31592.html

Ahead of Intel’s anticipated Broadwell-E processor launch, Asrock announced the availability of an updated BIOS with support for the new X99 platform CPUs.

The update applies to all of Asrock’s X99 motherboard lineup. The new Broadwell-E processors drop into the same LGA 2011-v3 sockets as their Haswell-E predecessors, and the new CPUs introduce 14 nm lithography to Intel’s Extreme Edition chipset.

Asrock said its new BIOS updates will support the entire Broadwell-E lineup, which includes the deca-core Core i7-6950X, the Core i7-6900K, i7-6850K and i7-6800K. Aside from a few leaked product reference tables, Asrock appears to be the first reputable source to confirm the Broadwell-E lineup offerings (or at least the processor names) ahead of Intel’s official announcement, presumably slated for Computex.

Asrock’s X99 BIOS updates with support for Intel Broadwell-E processors is available right now from the company’s website. Now we just have to wait for the CPUs.

Now I only have to decide which VR system to get.  I have 2 ROG Swift 27" (one TN and one IPS), and one Acer 28" 4k right now - I'm trading the Acer28" back in and have a new Asus 35" Gsync curved IPS ROG monitor on preorder, but now due to major, major home-ack I am help to picking either the Vive or Occulus.

I know HT is working on the Rift, and I know the folks at ED/DCS are more Rift focused as well, as DCS has a Rift box in their settings already to check, and has been used by many with the DK2 already over there.  It's just that the Vive in every other application OTHER than the 2 flight sim companies I fly, looks WAY better and more than the rift.  Standing, the room barrier box it can draw, the dual pistol like controllers - a lot more fun than the Rift so the many video reviews I've watched have said.  That said, I'd primarily be a "sit down" user, and if the Rift is superior with DCS, and more importantly AH3, the Rift it shall be for me.  It's a tough call deciding, I have a few months I'm sure until either are available for sale/shipping, but then my upgrades for the next couple years will be complete. 

[Masherbrum]

Still wondering if I need to upgrade my 780Ti.   Still running triple screen, 60FPS at max setting in Rainbow 6 and Mechwarrior Online.

[Gman]

I'd say tough call for jumping from 780ti to the 1080ti.  It'd be a huge jump in performance in the real FPS punishing titles out there, but if the games you currently play are hitting your refresh FPS rate, it's sort of "not broke, no need to fix it" type of deal.  I'm going to be driving a very large 35" Gsync panel @ 100hz and 1440p with everything cranked on many AAA and newer games, and eventually a 4k IPS 144hz 35" someday soon I hope, so I can justify it.  Sort of, hah.

[Vulcan]

Gman in my many years of IT I've developed an underlying distrust for HTC product reliability.  I don't know if the Vive is reliable or not. But because it has those 3 letters in front of it I will be always wary.

[Gman]

Interesting, I'll keep that in mind.  I'm leaning towards the Rift mostly due to the already existing support for the 2 flight sims I focus most of my time with - I wish they would make a better controller though than a stupid Xbox POS, and something more along the lines of the Rift.  I think maybe in time the Rift will have a similar option anyway...likely be the Rift at this point, but I do want to try both before buying them for sure.

[Skuzzy]

We are having difficulty getting an SDK for the Vive.  Your game must be on Steam before they will provide an SDK.  The Vive is a joint venture between Steam and HTC.

We are still trying to get an SDK for it, but not getting any response from HTC.

[Ack-Ack]

Your game must be on Steam before they will provide an SDK. 

I guess Valve really wants their 30% cut.

[Bizman]

We are having difficulty getting an SDK for the Vive.  Your game must be on Steam before they will provide an SDK.  The Vive is a joint venture between Steam and HTC.

We are still trying to get an SDK for it, but not getting any response from HTC.

After that post I had to google for what HTC stands for. Very confusing!

[Gman]

Haha AckAck.

Looks like it'll be the Rift then.  Reading a lot today about how it's not very comfortable, seems to be a very commonly pointed out "feature" from most reviews.  The only thing that is superior from what I've read and IMO is the controllers, and I'm sure eventually either aftermarket or Occulus will come out with something better than that stupid Xbox idea.  I don't really want to walk around the room "in game" much anyway, and that also seems to be another of the few things Vive has over the Rift atm now too. 

[Ack-Ack]

Haha AckAck.

Looks like it'll be the Rift then.  Reading a lot today about how it's not very comfortable, seems to be a very commonly pointed out "feature" from most reviews. 

Comfort wise, the VR set for the PS4 is by far the most comfortable of the three, especially after long play sessions.  When I tried it out, I didn't realize that I had been playing for an hour and the headset wasn't bother some.  But so far has been really no concrete news whether or not that PS4 VR set will be available for anything other than the PS4 but hints have been tossed out about other platforms.  The Vive (only had 15 minutes on it) was far more cumbersome than the PS4 VR set, it felt heavy on the head but wasn't uncomfortable, though you definitely felt its heaviness.  Tracking wise, it was far superior to the Rift and PS4 VR, probably due to the 2 lasers it uses for tracking.  When I say "far superior", I mean the tracking was far more accurate but that is probably because the Vive is designed for use standing up, while the Rift is designed more for the player to be sitting down.  The Rift was the most uncomfortable of the three but it wasn't bad, but it helped taking off the goggles for a couple of minutes.

Personally, I liked the PS4 goggles the best, at least comfort wise but over all, I liked the Rift for the PC, even though it was a little heavy on the head, more so than the Vive and PS4 VR. The resolution on the Rift appeared to be better than the Vive, at least that what it looked like to me but both looked awesome with Eve: Valkyrie demo.

[Pudgie]

I was starting to get worried that this "tick/tock" was going to be a vaporware deal, many rumors about rumors rumoring that, but alas, it lives.  I've been waiting a while to finally upgrade my oldest/x79 box, which is my AH system as well. Yay.

I doubt I'll get the 6950x, the next chip down most likely, the 6900k or even the 6 core 6850k will be more than enough to suit my purpose, I'll be running SLI of whatever the new Pascal card 980ti replacement is in June now - apparently the 980 and 980ti replacements will be out early june, and the 970 late June.  So hopefully by July Broadwell will be ready to roll as well - 6900k 1080ti.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/asrock-x99-broadwell-e-bios-update,31592.html


Now I only have to decide which VR system to get.  I have 2 ROG Swift 27" (one TN and one IPS), and one Acer 28" 4k right now - I'm trading the Acer28" back in and have a new Asus 35" Gsync curved IPS ROG monitor on preorder, but now due to major, major home-ack I am help to picking either the Vive or Occulus.

I know HT is working on the Rift, and I know the folks at ED/DCS are more Rift focused as well, as DCS has a Rift box in their settings already to check, and has been used by many with the DK2 already over there.  It's just that the Vive in every other application OTHER than the 2 flight sim companies I fly, looks WAY better and more than the rift.  Standing, the room barrier box it can draw, the dual pistol like controllers - a lot more fun than the Rift so the many video reviews I've watched have said.  That said, I'd primarily be a "sit down" user, and if the Rift is superior with DCS, and more importantly AH3, the Rift it shall be for me.  It's a tough call deciding, I have a few months I'm sure until either are available for sale/shipping, but then my upgrades for the next couple years will be complete. 

Hey Gman,

You wouldn't happen to know the associated core clock speeds (base and turbo) of the various Broadwell-E CPU's?

I vaguely remember a base clock for the 6850K as 3.6Gb and turbo clock as 3.8Gb from an earlier leaked article that I can't find anymore.

Would appreciate any info along these lines.

 

[Gman]

It still just rumor, but several sites all agree that the clocks will be as follows:

6950x - Core Clock 3.00, Boost Clock 3.50 GHZ
6900k - Core Clock 3.20, Boost Clock 3.70 GHZ
6850k  - Core Clock  3.60, Boost Clock 3.80 Ghz
6800k -  Core Clock 3.40, Boost Clock 3.60 Ghz

Again, still rumor, but we'll know soon, NCIX has a page up for pre ordering them already, so these should be close.

[Pudgie]

It still just rumor, but several sites all agree that the clocks will be as follows:

6950x - Core Clock 3.00, Boost Clock 3.50 GHZ
6900k - Core Clock 3.20, Boost Clock 3.70 GHZ
6850k  - Core Clock  3.60, Boost Clock 3.80 Ghz
6800k -  Core Clock 3.40, Boost Clock 3.60 Ghz

Again, still rumor, but we'll know soon, NCIX has a page up for pre ordering them already, so these should be close.

Thanks!