Distinguishing Intel i7 CPUs

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
M

Michael_113

Reputable
Nov 22, 2015
9
0
4,510
can someone please explain to me how to pick a good cpu for an extreme gaming computer? I am so confused by all the different chips that have GHz and cache numbers up and down the board, where some of the lower numbers seem to be some of the more expensive chips. What is more important when considering maximum speed and efficiency?

I have an x99 rampage 5 extreme MB with Corsair Dominator® Platinum Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz and 750 pcie SSD (everything closed system liquid cooled). I need a cpu to match (something between 500-800 dollars)
 
Solution
sammy sung
Here's the quick and the dirty of it

Z97 & Z170 are the consumer grade products sitting on sockets 1150/1151. The processors in this range run the gambit of 1 core with no hyperthreading, to 4 cores with hyperthreading, resulting in 8 usable threads.

X99 is an enthusiast grade platform on the 2011-v3 socket. The consumer line of processors here are the three i7 processors. Two of which are 6 cores with hyperthreading, and the other 8 cores with hyperthreading. The main differences between these three chips and their lower end counterparts are the following:

- Larger memory controller, making use of quad channel memory. Expandable to much larger amounts of memory, varying per motherboard. Doesn't benefit gaming at all.

- More...
Sort by date Sort by votes
I

ITechFreek

Reputable
Mar 18, 2015
119
1
4,710




He said he wants between 500 and 800 dollars and the X versions of the i7's are very expensive
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M

Michael_113

Reputable
Nov 22, 2015
9
0
4,510
The xeon you mentioned is in the 2 ghz range. Some of the i7 chips are going up to 4 ghz for similar prices. What is the difference? I don't know anything about the xeon lineup.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
sammy sung

sammy sung

Distinguished
May 5, 2014
1,786
0
20,960
Here's the quick and the dirty of it

Z97 & Z170 are the consumer grade products sitting on sockets 1150/1151. The processors in this range run the gambit of 1 core with no hyperthreading, to 4 cores with hyperthreading, resulting in 8 usable threads.

X99 is an enthusiast grade platform on the 2011-v3 socket. The consumer line of processors here are the three i7 processors. Two of which are 6 cores with hyperthreading, and the other 8 cores with hyperthreading. The main differences between these three chips and their lower end counterparts are the following:

- Larger memory controller, making use of quad channel memory. Expandable to much larger amounts of memory, varying per motherboard. Doesn't benefit gaming at all.

- More cores/threads obviously. But this comes at a minor cost in individual core performance. Realistically makes them less desirable as gaming chips, but this isn't always the case. Some titles are very well threaded, and minimum framerates can see a benefit here.

- DDR4 memory. Which unless you're an overclocker, or using some software that's coded very well to make use of DDR4, isn't much of a benefit at all. It just scales farther.

- More lanes. These processors make better use of multiple card set-ups of 2-4, relatively. Not often a benefit to a gamer.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
M

Michael_113

Reputable
Nov 22, 2015
9
0
4,510


Well said. Thank you. I plan on overclocking the piss out of everything I can so I think I'm going to go with the Intel Core i7-5930K Haswell-E 6-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 2011-v3 (which I'm assuming takes advantage of the quad channel memory that you mentioned, right)?

I can't justify spending 500 extra bucks for the top chip when the next one is performing almost as well in overclocking. In fact, some reports I've read have this chip performing equally as well as its more expensive counterpart with lower temps.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom