Need help choosing gaming CPU

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FrogPantsFan

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Jun 14, 2016
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I've researched myself into total confusion. I recently parted out my old system to build a new one. Half for the fun of it, half for a small upgrade all around. I'm having a really hard time choosing a CPU. I was leaning 6850k, then it looks like the 6700k would be better, then it looks like I should have kept my 4960x, etc. I'm just so confused now and need some guidance. All I care about is gaming, and I want those frame rates. I'll be using a 2560x1440 144hz monitor. That's all I want. No streaming, no editing or encoding, just gaming. What confuses me is, sometimes the 6700k is ahead in the benchmarks, then it's way behind. I compare the 4960x specs to the 6850k and they look identical. My head is spinning. Someone please give me some advice here. I'm not concerned with money. If I need to save a little more, I will. No big deal. I'll be using a couple 1080's. Not sure if I'll water cool yet, I'm split 50/50. Thanks.
 
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clutchc


I never meant that it was "equal" to the i7-6700K. It is a generation older and lacks HyperThreading. But more importantly, I missed the OP's reference to gaming at 2560x1440. That changes everything. I was under the assumption he was gaming at 1080p/60 Hz. So, in that regard, yes... there will be a difference...
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manleysteele

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Jun 21, 2015
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I feel your pain. There is always a certain amount of aggravation when you just want to buy the best available hardware for what you are trying to do. It's not helped when you have to give up half your expensive chip for a on chip GPU that you will never use. Of course, as soon as I had typed that, I was forced to remember the Marine saying, "Forever is a long, long time."

As I'm sure you have noticed, the answer depends on the game you are playing. While some games reward you, however poorly, for having more cores/threads available to the game engine, others seem to go out of there way to punish you for the same choice. When clock is the biggest issue, the 6700K will out-perform the 6850K. When total threads is the major bind, the exteme series pulls ahead.

All I can advise you to do is to look at the games you play and intend to play in the future, and make the best compromise you can muster. Not what you wanted to hear, I know, but unfortunately, the best I can do.

Having typed all that, being forced to make a decision today, I would choose the 6700K, based on economics.
 
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manleysteele

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Jun 21, 2015
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Being in the same tier is not the same as having identical performance on games. While neither the Skylake 6700k, nor the Broadwell 6850K is a clear winner across the board, they each have their strengths when paired with a high end graphics card. They do not deliver the same FPS on all games. There is also a clear gain from memory speed on high end systems, despite the conventional wisdom. At the high end, one has to weigh price/performance with the entire system in mind before purchasing new hardware.
 
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Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163

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Mar 8, 2015
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I'm on the fence on getting a Pentium G4400, considering I can't pay much. But I have doubts because newer games likely will just lock them out, regardless if they technically have the horsepower to handle the tasks. That really bothers me. As a result I'm probably going to buy an i5 of whatever is the best at the time, locked of course, by Christmas.

If AMD comes out with something more appealing, then I'll jump on that instead. But, gaming as a whole, is hardly affected by the performance of the CPU. Remember that benchmarks are likely at max settings, or close to max setting. Far more than the enthusiast 1% can live with playing at lower settings, considering 'consoles' are the standard for video game quality.

People seem to forget that benchmarks reflect unrealistic results. The minimum, average, maximum framerates aren't set in stone. They fluctuate so often, that you wouldn't even notice the difference even if it started fluctuating by 20%, because the other CPU's are as well, so minimum frames at the end can be as close to 2-3%...
 
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manleysteele

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Jun 21, 2015
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So, if I understand you correctly, my i5 3570K, by virtue of still being among the tier 1 processors, is the equal of the i7 6700K in all things game related? All I need to do is spend the money for the latest, greatest GPU and I can drive a 2560 x 1440 monitor at it's highest setting and get the full 144hz fps while ignoring the rest of the system as immaterial to my goals?

 
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clutchc

clutchc

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Apr 22, 2009
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I never meant that it was "equal" to the i7-6700K. It is a generation older and lacks HyperThreading. But more importantly, I missed the OP's reference to gaming at 2560x1440. That changes everything. I was under the assumption he was gaming at 1080p/60 Hz. So, in that regard, yes... there will be a difference.

As we can see in this game comparison, once the rez increases to 1440p, there begins to be a distinct difference that doesn't show up at 1080p. http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/core_i7_6950x_6900k_6850k_and_6800k_processor_review,17.html

I apologize for being a sloppy reader...
 
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