i5-2500k + Sniper M3 or i5-4690k + Sniper z87?

anbello262 · Sep 4, 2014

Hello, everyone.

I'm about to make a new build (already have some parts), and I have one last doubt about the processor and platform. I will be keeping this system for a very long time, probably 5 years or even more (just upgrading the GPU and maybe the cooler).
First of all, where I live prices are REALLY expensive, and availability is quite bad, so I'll give you the best prices I can get. Maybe I can't even get the 4690k and will have to get the 4670k for the same price.

Where I live prices are like this (new items, prices converted to US$):

i5-4690k = ----------------$260
Gigabyte Sniper Z87 = ---$200
Total = --------------------$460

i5-2500k = ---------------$135
Gigabyte Sniper M3 = ---$125
Total = -------------------$260

In both cases, the cooler will be a Hyper Evo 212 (might be upgraded in the future). Motherboard HAS to be a Sniper series, because of the color theme. I can't get the Sniper 3, that's not available where I live.
I would like to know, would the difference in performance/future proof-ness be really big among these two combos?
Is the M3 motherboard a lot worse at overclocking than the z87?
Would it be worth it to get the 4th gen haswell, at these prices?

In case you need any other info, just ask me.
Just in case, the rest of the build:

Memory: ---------Gskill Sniper 8gb DDR 2400 C11
GPU: -------------Radeon R9 280x
PSU:--------------XFX Pro XXX 850W
Case:-------------NZXT Phantom 410

Shneiky · Sep 4, 2014

Considering the price difference - the 2500k is the way to go. Without overclock the 2500k is 10% slower maybe, but because it is easier to overclock any difference is neglected, except the price. If you just want your best bang for your buck - 2500K at that price is a grab. Both I5s will last the same amount of time.

PS. With these specifications, even a 650W power supply will be plenty. No need to waste money on a 850W.

littleleo · Sep 4, 2014

The i5-2500K is a little older then the i5 -4690K. The progression after the i5-2500k you got to the i5-3570K then the i5-4670K the the i5-4690K. In other words i5-2500K >> i5-3570K >> i5-4670K >> i5 4690K. I would recommend you get the most current i5 the i5-4670K. Otherwise you are buying an obsolete product. This way you have the greatest ability to upgrade in the future and the newest features. The LGA 1155 socket upgrades are getting scarce,

Shneiky · Sep 4, 2014

Performance is performance, regardless of date of manufacturing. 2500K+motherboard for 260 beats any current I5+Motherboard for 460. Hands down. Unless you want the latest just for having the latest, you would be stupid not to take the 2500k. I bought 2700K for 200 instead of 320 after 2 years of its release. I bought a Z77 Extreme6 for 120 instead of 250 when Z97 hit the market. So my "obsolete" 2700K+Z77 for half the price come just 10% shy of the latest. The price differences is all that matters.

littleleo · Sep 4, 2014

If price is your main consideration you can make an argument for the i5-2500K. If you want the newest technology the 4690K is the choice. The 4690K has a higher Frequency (GHz) 3.5 vs 3.3. Higher Turbo Frequency (GHz) 3.9 vs 3.7. It has every Instruction set extensions the 2500K had plus it has: AVX2 / Advanced Vector Extensions 2, F16C / 16-bit Floating-Point conversion, FMA3 / 3-operand Fused Multiply-Add. It supports 3 displays vs 2 for the 2500K if you want to run them off the motherboard. The integrated Memory controller in the 4690K supports DDR3-1600 Natively and the 2500K goes up to DDR3-1333 natively. The Maximum memory band is 25.6GBs on the 4690K vs 21.3GBs on the 2500K. The 4690K has a lower TDP 88w vs 95w on the 2500K. It supports a newer version of PCI-E. I can go on but Shn is right the 2500K is cheaper.

anbello262 · Sep 4, 2014

I already have the 850W PSU, and I will maybe sli the gpu on the mid-term future.

I will be overclocking the chip I get, so base and turbo clock are irrelevant for me. Supported memory is also unimportant because I will also be overclocking that. About the instruction sets, I don't think it will be very important as I will not be doing very much except gaming and basic amateur video editing.I will not be using more than one monitor, and even if I do, it won't be out of the motherboard.
Memory band has a bit of relevance, but I don't think it will make much of a difference, will it?
PCI-E revision, how importat is that? Can PCI-E 2.0 handle sli 280x?

But the TDP is quite important, given that the 2500k has a higher TDP even at stock (lower) clocks, wouldn't it be too hard to cool for a 212 evo?
I know it depends a lot on the chip, but how high can an average 2500k be overclocked on the 212?

I really haven't made up my mind, as I would pretty much like the 4690k, because this is my first big build, and would like it to be awesome. But 4th-gen prices went up about 10-15% since last month, so that's why I started to look for the 2500k.

Still, the main reason I would like the 4690k is the motherboard. I like the Sniper z87 way more than the M3, both aesthetically and feature-wise. But it has become so very expensive now...

Basically, I don't know what to do (._. )<

littleleo · Sep 4, 2014

anbello262 :

I already have the 850W PSU, and I will maybe sli the gpu on the mid-term future.

I will be overclocking the chip I get, so base and turbo clock are irrelevant for me. Supported memory is also unimportant because I will also be overclocking that. About the instruction sets, I don't think it will be very important as I will not be doing very much except gaming and basic amateur video editing.I will not be using more than one monitor, and even if I do, it won't be out of the motherboard.
Memory band has a bit of relevance, but I don't think it will make much of a difference, will it?
PCI-E revision, how importat is that? Can PCI-E 2.0 handle sli 280x?

But the TDP is quite important, given that the 2500k has a higher TDP even at stock (lower) clocks, wouldn't it be too hard to cool for a 212 evo?
I know it depends a lot on the chip, but how high can an average 2500k be overclocked on the 212?

I really haven't made up my mind, as I would pretty much like the 4690k, because this is my first big build, and would like it to be awesome. But 4th-gen prices went up about 10-15% since last month, so that's why I started to look for the 2500k.

Still, the main reason I would like the 4690k is the motherboard. I like the Sniper z87 way more than the M3, both aesthetically and feature-wise. But it has become so very expensive now...

Basically, I don't know what to do (._. )<

Wait and send a letter to Santa, lol. You could always get the cheaper setup for now and get a newer one later. I have 2 desktop computers for me running at my house and I'm thinking a building another to make a Linux box.

anbello262 · Sep 4, 2014

Actually, I can't get a newer one later, because of pricing...
Even though it's $460, that actually means a lot more than it sounds in my country.
Basically, you can pay rent and live a whole month in a flat (not sharing, food+internet+everything included) for $460 here, so it's actually a lot of money in my country, technology is really expensive for us... My salary is about US$7-8 per hour (engineer student), and it's the highest salary in my family (and we're a somewhat well-off family, with even working engineers). Everything is quite cheap here, education and health care is free. It's really cheap to live a good, semi-luxurious life here... except for technology, and I turned out to be a big gamer and PC-phile (._. )<

That's also why it's so important to make the right choice now, given that I won't have a second chance until at least 3 years from now...

logainofhades · Sep 4, 2014

The 4690k is better, but not $200 better.

anbello262 · Sep 4, 2014

What about overclockability with CM 212?

And about the motherboards?

Is there any big difference between Sniper M3 and Sniper Z87?

littleleo · Sep 4, 2014

anbello262 :

Actually, I can't get a newer one later, because of pricing...
Even though it's $460, that actually means a lot more than it sounds in my country.
Basically, you can pay rent and live a whole month in a flat (not sharing, food+internet+everything included) for $460 here, so it's actually a lot of money in my country, technology is really expensive for us... My salary is about US$7-8 per hour (engineer student), and it's the highest salary in my family (and we're a somewhat well-off family, with even working engineers). Everything is quite cheap here, education and health care is free. It's really cheap to live a good, semi-luxurious life here... except for technology, and I turned out to be a big gamer and PC-phile (._. )<

That's also why it's so important to make the right choice now, given that I won't have a second chance until at least 3 years from now...

Yep sometimes the gaming bug can be a curse. Can you order thru Ebay there?

anbello262 · Sep 4, 2014

Nope, no ebay because of recent anti-importation laws. Not assured it would get here even after paying, and a big tax if it does get here. (BTW, I'm from Argentina, in case any of you was wondering)

But basically, because the whole system is so expensive (equivalent to a whole month of salary for me, and I have a quite high salary) and a one time only, I really want the z87. The motherboard is the main reason i want to go 4th gen.

I will see if I can get some kind of discount and get the 4690k for a bit cheaper. Instead of a $200 difference it would "only" be a $180 differencce if I'm lucky D:

As I see it now, after reading your posts, performance isn't very different, so I would certainly not regret it if I decide to get the 2500k. I was worried about that.
But if I'm able to, since this is a one-time dream-come-true for me, I will do my best to get the z87+4690k.

Will report back with results!

Shneiky · Sep 5, 2014

2500k and 4690k will become obsolete at exactly the same time. Also you can compensate the difference in productivity of the 2500k with a higher overclock. 2500k can reach 4.4 on 212 evo (if you don't mind the noise), while the Haswell will go around 4.0 with comfortable temps and high noise.

The only possible argument you have in favor is the AVX2, PCIe lanes, which PCIe 2.0 x8 can handle even a 290, so it is not really a big deal. But you got a problem there. AVX is still not used in a lot of software or any games. AVX is a technology from 2008, first implemented in 2010/2011. Now at the end 2014 I am waiting for VRay 3.0 for Maya which will finally use AVX. AS software proceeds mainstream usage of AVX2 is going to be sometime around 5 years from now.

RobCrezz · Sep 5, 2014

logainofhades :

+1

Shneiky · Sep 5, 2014

"The 4690k is better, but not $200 better. "

What I have been trying to say the whole time.

DubbleClick · Sep 5, 2014

You really want to pay $100 more for the 4670k bundle just because of the color scheme? My advice would be going with the current I5 and a cheap z97 board. Or a cheap h97 board and the I5 4679/90.

anbello262 · Sep 5, 2014

I see absolutely no reason to favor z97 instead of z87. Won't upgrade the cpu in the future. Not even gonna get a normal SSD, so newer gen SSDs are just out of the question. Also, where I live it's not easy to get a z97 board, and if you can get one it will be really expensive.
About the color scheme, yes, it's really important. But the color scheme is not the reason it's so expensive, as I said above. Both the sniper M3 (for the 2500k) and the Sniper z87 (for the 4690k) share almost the same colors, and there's still a big price difference.
And I know overclocking is quite more expensive, probably enough that it wouldn't make sense value-wise (expensive motherboard, expensive chip, aftermarket cooler). But I still want to overclock, and probably that's the same with most users here.
If I didn't want to overclock, i would be able to get the Sniper B85 with a cheaper CPU, but overclocking is important for this build. Still, I thought that the 212 coulg go higher than 4.0 on the 4690k, given that the 4790k goes higher than that at stock, with the stock cooler D:

That's why the options I have are either a Sniper z87 or a Sniper M3 as far as motherboards go. I reallyl ike the z87, and I would certainly get it if the only price difference was the motherboard.
My main problem is the fact that the cpu itself is so expensive. The 4690k is $115 more expensive than the 2500k, and I wanted to know if it was really worth the difference. I see now that it's not worth it, value wise, and that there wouldn't be any kind of problem if I got the 2500k.
Basically, I understand that it would not be worth it to get the 4th gen Haswell, as the difference in performance is quite slim, whereas the difference in price is extremely high.
By the way, what's the deal about AVX2? Why would it be important? Where would it be used?

cmi86 · Sep 5, 2014

2500K all day and tomorrow for that price. IPC improvement after sandy bridge was marginal and actually resulted in higher temps and lower overclock head room. With a good cooler 2500K's are well known to hit 4.7+ with relatively low temps. Unless newer tech like usb 3.0 or superfast ram speeds are uber important to you the 2500k set up for 260 is definitely the way to go.

anbello262 · Sep 5, 2014

Actually, the sniper m3 already has USB 3.0 (although only 2 ports, i believe i can have also the front usb)

i5-2500k + Sniper M3 or i5-4690k + Sniper z87?

Distinguished

Distinguished

Splendid

Distinguished

Splendid

Distinguished

Splendid

Distinguished

Titan

Distinguished

Splendid

Distinguished

Distinguished

Expert

Distinguished

Admirable

Distinguished

Distinguished

Distinguished

Share this page