Spending $120 to overclock CPU. Worth it?

rubervaldo66 · Nov 9, 2016

Hey. I'm building my PC and I have a question: is it worth paying for a Z mobo and an aftermarket cooler just to buy the i5-6600k instead of the non-k? Suggestions please!
Full build
CPU i5-6600 cooler stock -OR- i5-6600k + CoolerMaster Seidon 120v
RAM 2x8GB Crucial DDR4 2133MHz
SSD 240GB Sandisk
GPU GTX 1070 Gigabyte G1
HDD Seagate 1TB
MOBO AsRock h110-HG4(if not OC) -OR- Gigabyte GA-Z170M-D3H(if overclocking)

bootcher · Nov 9, 2016

It depends for what reason. If you are overclocking for fun/hobby, it's fine. For gaming the extra performance usually means a little extra fps, which can make a difference if playing on high resolutions like 1440p or 4k. If you are playing on 1080p than your setup is already overkill for it. If you need the extra CPU power for specific CPU-heavy programs such as 3d/video editing, you should consider an i7/Xeon or maybe even an AMD 8core.

On a side note, if you are going to overclock, consider high speed ram, it will better your minimum framerates and perform better in general. Also if not overclocking, consider a good motherboard (H170 or a good B150), H110 motherboards are really budget/cheap motherboards.

captaincharisma · Nov 9, 2016

yes because you can only overclock a K CPU with the a motherboard that has a Z chipset

WildCard999 · Nov 9, 2016

If you want to (eventually/now) get into overclocking then yes I would go with the 6600K & Z170 motherboard, if not then just go with the 6600 & B150 motherboard as the ASrock you picked is a very low end unit. You can save quite a bit of money and go with a good air cooler such as the Cryorig H7 as its much cheaper then that AIO and should be enough to overclock fairly high as Intel Skylake overclocks very good.

geofelt · Nov 9, 2016

Worth, of course is something only YOU can determine.

Considering that you will be using a GTX1070 which is a very strong graphics card, I would opt for the stronger cpu.
But, I would pick two different choices.

1. Keep the H110 motherboard, and spend the extra $100 or so to buy a I7-6700K and plan to run it at stock. That is 4.0/4.4 turbo.
2. Go the I5-6600K route and a Z170 motherboard.
The "K" processors do not come with coolers.
One popular option is the cryorig H7 which is about $30. That is all you need to OC either.
I recently read a great review on the scythe Kotetsu cooler, about $35
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Scythe_Kotetsu

It even outperforms the noctua NH-U14s

On the ssd, I would, today, only buy Samsung or intel for the ssd. They have better performance and reliability. The warranties reinforce that.

Seagate is not one of the more reliable hard drives.
I suggest you defer on the hard drive until you actually need the space. WD is the better hard drive option.
It is trivial to add a hard drive later.

Have you picked out a case and psu?

captaincharisma · Nov 9, 2016

WildCard999 :

IMO i would go for a good Z mobo first and go for lower priced non-K CPU now and get a good K class CPU like an I5 or I7 down the road. i find its always best to focus on the more important parts when building on a budget like a motherboard or PSU. also it takes way the risk that if you are using an older version of windows you will not run the risk of invalidating the windows licence if you are using something older then windows 10

captaincharisma · Nov 9, 2016

geofelt :

all Intel CPU's come with a stock cooler unless you are buying the "tray" version of it. however the stock cooler that comes with a K CPU isn't good enough for a noticeable overclock

MWP0004 · Nov 9, 2016

captaincharisma :

Skylake K Series processors do not include a cooler.

Ecky · Nov 9, 2016

My opinion: no. I'd rather have a B150 + i7 than a Z170 + i5K + cooler. A lot of new games will benefit from the i7's extra threads and throughout to a degree that even an overclocked i5K won't be as fast. And the i7 will do so drawing less power.

captaincharisma · Nov 9, 2016

Ecky :

true but the one drawback can be that the B and H chipsets only support one speed of ram so that may end up hurting performance

MWP0004 · Nov 9, 2016

captaincharisma :

If OP is just gaming, that performance difference is negligible.

geofelt · Nov 9, 2016

If one is using a discrete graphics card, actual performance or fps differences from higher ram speeds are small.
Here is a report on ram scaling:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1478-page1.html

bootcher · Nov 9, 2016

For gaming the difference between i5 and i7 is negligible. The difference in money is well spend in other components such as GPU, SSD, (high speed) ram, PSU or better components in general.

The average performance in fps for different speeds of ram does not make much difference indeed, but your minimum framerates will be much better with high speed ram. This will enable a much better gaming experience with smoother gameplay.

Ecky · Nov 9, 2016

It depends on the game, bootcher. Tell those with 120hz screens and are trying to Play BF1, Witcher3 or GTA V that an i7 is no different than an i5.

Just an example, but the difference is almost 40%, in both DX11 and 12:

bootcher · Nov 9, 2016

Who is going to use a GTX 1080 to game in 1080p? These benchmarks are true, but completely useless in this case. High refresh rate screens are a niche that a few gamers use because of its price. I think we can conclude that OP is not going to be gaming in a high refresh rate setup since the used resolution is not even mentioned.

Ecky · Nov 9, 2016

Another salient point is that in modern games, a 5 year old i7 2600K performs better than an i5 6600. That suggest a 6700K is going to age a lot better than a 6600.

bootcher · Nov 9, 2016

There is no question the i7 performs better. Thats why it costs more. I would choose an i5 and GTX 1060 any day over an i7 and a gtx 1050.

Ecky · Nov 9, 2016

I'm generally in agreement, hence I went with an i5 and 2012's equivalent of a GTX 1060, but what I'm coming to find is that I replace a GPU several times over the life of one CPU - they go out of date much faster - so I think an argument can be made for the i7.

Spending $120 to overclock CPU. Worth it?

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