i7 2700k overclocking and turning cores off

heero yuy

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I am thinking of getting an i7 2700k to replace my if 2500k that is currently clocked at 4.6ghz (I can get to 4.7/8 with no instabilities and reasonable temperatures)
I am getting the 2700k because next gen consoles are going to have eight cores so hopefully games will start to be able to utilise 8 cores
but until I run into a game that fully utilises 8 cores I am thinking of running it with two cores turned off
that should leave me with 4 threads from the hyperthreading right?
would turning those two cores off allow me to clock the 2700k higher due to there being less bits generating heat? (my current cooler is a hyper 212 and I am thinking of getting a noctua NH-D14)

also is the 2700k faster than the 2500k per clock or are they about the same?
 
Solution



The performance per clock of Ivy Bridge compensates for...

Lord_Kitty

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May 31, 2013
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First of all, games are not likely to use all 8 cores. We already know that at least 2 cores will be reserved for the OS.

Also, I don't think the performance loss with 2 cores turned off (in games that can use it) will be worth the higher clock speeds attained.

4.6GHz is already way more than you need for gaming. There's no point in going higher right now.
 

heero yuy

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thing is intel isn't making the 2700k any more (I believe retailers/wholesalers/whoeverordersthedamnthingsfromintelinthefirstplace cannot order any more and apparently the last shipment date is sometime in September)
and the 2700k is better than things like the 3770k (3770k apparently runs hotter and cannot get to the same speeds most 2700ks can meaning the slight increase in performance per clock the 3770k has probably won't mean a thing - this is going off half an hour of reading various forum threads and reviews so if my assumptions are wrong please tell me)

also how does hyperthreading work anyway? jldevoy says I should turn of hyperthreading instead of the cores
 

Lord_Kitty

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The performance per clock of Ivy Bridge compensates for having less overclocking headroom under the conditions that most people have.

Hyperthreading makes a single core appear a 2 cores. I enables 1 core to run 2 threads at the same time. It helps in the applications that benefit from more cores. From what I've read, there no benefit of turning it off, while some games, like Far Cry 3, benefit from it.


And, like I said, there's no point in upgrading for now. If you have money to spend, put it in a graphics card. You will see absolutely no gains by buying a better CPU. Or keep the money till the next-gen games roll out. If they do actually benefit from more than 4 cores, then you can upgrade. But then again, I doubt you will need an upgrade. Intel's CPU cores are very efficient, enough to get close to an AMD 8 core CPU.

 
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dusR

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You will not have any issues with your psu that's for sure...about the crossfire I wouldn't do that because we'll to be honest AND sucks...you better stay with it now and then when you'll upgrade your CPU to Intel you could change your graphic card to Nvidia... that's what I would do... but yet if you think adding another 7970 to create a crossfire is a better option for you, you can do that...I can assure you that your psu can hold a two way crossfIre