i7 2600k or i5 4670k?

etayorius

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Jan 17, 2013
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Ok here is the deal, i want to build a new PC and this time i will go to Intel... AMD just cant cut it up anymore.

So there is this friend who got a i7 2600k, he is selling it for 230 USD and it`s been used for the last 3 years, no OC ever but has been used heavily for gaming, how much could i offer him for his CPU?

But i also saw a brand New i5 4670k for around 240 USD... i know the 4670k has around 15-20% better IPC than the 2600k, but the i7 has HT which could come in handy for games that could take advantage of more threads.

I will probably OC which ever CPU i choose, since i always OC my CPUs. So, any pros and cons between both CPUs? which one should i pick? i am more inclined to pick the i5 since is faster and newer, but the old 2600k i heard is a bastly superior OC performer and can do Extra Threads per Core. I heard of people pushing it pass 4.2 GHZ on Air, and the newer Haswell models are not as good with OC.

Also, which is the difference between 1155 and 1150 Sockets? are they somewhat compatible or are completely different sockets?

So yeah, which one would you all choose?
 
Solution
for the price your friend is charging, its simply not worth it. my biggest qualm, other than a "friend" being pretty out of touch regarding pricing, is that you give up any hope of an upgrade path with the 2700k, also its been used and theres no warranty.
is it a bad cpu? absolutely not. but that doesnt mean it isnt a bad buy.

if i couldnt buy that cpu and a good mobo ($150usd ish?) for the cost of a 4670/90k then i wouldnt even consider it.

Brighttail

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First off the 1155 and 1150 sockets each require a different motherboard associated with that socket. So if you have the I7-2600k and it is an 1155 socket it will NOT work on an 1150 socket motherboard. 1155 and 1150 refers to the number of pins within the socket.

So if you want to buy the one from your friend, you will have to get an older 1155 motherboard to run the i7-2600k.

Personally, you are giving up the hyperthreading if you go with the i5, but I would be considering future upgrade potential. If you get one of the new z97 motherboards with the I5 (there are lots of good bundle prices out there) it also gives you the opportunity to go to the new Gen 5 in the future if you so choose. With the 1155 motherboard you are pretty much limited to having to buy a whole new motherboard later if you chose to upgrade. With the newer motherboard (z97) you also get extra perks with more Sata ports and such. So I would go with the i5-4570k. Heck if you want the hyperthreading or need it you can go for an low end I7 - 3000k+ series which would probably be faster than the I5 anyway.

Good luck!
 

clutchc

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Completely incompatible sockets.
But that would be a tough choice... for me any way. I think I might opt for the i7 Sandy Bridge. They run cooler than the Haswell CPUs* and are in the same class for gaming: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html

The 8 "cores" that the i7 will present to apps that can use that many and can recognize HT, will be a boon if you need them. Unless the i7 has been mis-used, it would be at least as long lived as the newer i5.

* my one experience with a Haswel wasn't too good. I had to RMA it due to core temps being unusually high even at idle.
 

Brighttail

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I think most of us here believe you are better off with the 1150 chipset and motherboard. You then have several options for processors that are around the $250 range. I just don't think there is a really good reason to go backwards in the Intel hierarchy to the 1155 chipset/motherboard combo, especially when you can get a better processor than the old 1155 one for the same/similar price. The motherboard would be more expensive but you can also go for a z87 motherboard a little more cheaper than the z97.

In the end it really depends I think more on what you are looking forward to in the future.
 

justaguywithagun

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for the price your friend is charging, its simply not worth it. my biggest qualm, other than a "friend" being pretty out of touch regarding pricing, is that you give up any hope of an upgrade path with the 2700k, also its been used and theres no warranty.
is it a bad cpu? absolutely not. but that doesnt mean it isnt a bad buy.

if i couldnt buy that cpu and a good mobo ($150usd ish?) for the cost of a 4670/90k then i wouldnt even consider it.
 
Solution

Brighttail

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Good point about the chip's value. I just looked up on Newegg and here is a pretty standard motherboard for the newer chip for under $150:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132118&cm_re=z97-a-_-13-132-118-_-Product

My wife has this in her computer and she has her i5-4670k cpu overclocked to 4.6 stable at 1.22v. My friend didn't win the chip lottery and only has his at 4.4, but that is another story :)