Motherboard for future extensibility

Question

I'm interested in desktop setup that will last. I've narrowed (thanks to this answer) my motherboard choices to MSI z170 gaming pro and MSI X99 SLI plus. As both cards are quite similar (multiple SATA III, USB 3.0, more than 32GB of RAM), the choice boils down to the chipset: LGA2011-v3 (in MSI X99 SLI plus) or LGA1151 (in MSI z170 gaming pro).

Arguments for LGA2011-v3:

• Finally, the 8 cores treshold overcomed, and processors can have ex. 32 threads.
• 40 PCIe lanes

Arguments for LGA1151:

• released in 2015 (vs 2011-v3 being released in 2014)
• 14 nm litography
• cheaper
• twice the link speed

In my understanding, in the 1151 there is still the limit to the number of cores a single processor can have, which is not present in LGA2011. I'm confused which one will be more supported (ex. better processors will be developped) in the future and what to choose.

[EDIT] more specific questions:

1. Which one would choose & why?
2. How important is link speed & what is this measure?
3. Will the LGA1151 overcome the 8 core treshold in next generations like 2011?

Answer 1

The LGA 2011 platform and the LGA 1151 platform is designed for two different markets. The LGA 1151 is a mainstream consumer socket, designed for CPU's ranging from $100 - $350. The LGA 2011 socket is for the extreme enthusiast and prosumer purposes. CPU's for the LGA 2011 socket is around $400 - $1200 (please note that the $400 5820K only has 28 PCI-E lanes).

Which one to choose depends on what your purpose is. If you're going to do normal day to day tasks, the LGA 1151 platform is enough. If you are doing to do prosumer things like video editing and 3D modeling, a LGA 2011 socket would be better.

In terms of "future extensibility", none of them are good at it. Intel tends to release a new socket for each generation so to upgrade you would need to get a new board.