Intel Core i5 4670K or i7 4770?

bingaloman

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Hello,

I am looking at these 2 processors for my new PC and I plan to game, work, web browse, multitask, video streaming, etc.

I was able to find an i5 4670K for about $170, but I also found an i7 4770 for $180, only $10 more.

I know the 4770 can't be overclocked since it is the non K version, whereas the i5 4670K can. I pretty much never overclock my processor anyway, so would the i7 4770 perform just as well compared to the i5 4670K?

Thanks!
 
Solution
The "stock" speed of an i5 4670K is 3.5GHz on all four cores. The stock speed of an i7 4770 is 3.4GHz. So the 4670K is actually faster out of the gate speed wise. Both turbo boost to 3.9GHz (turbo meaning only on one core). You may see a slight performance improvement in some games with the i7 that take advantage of its hyperthreading (4 real cores, 4 virtual cores).

You will definitely notice an improvement with the i7 over the i5 in productivity applications that utilize multiple cores though like video rendering. I'd get the i7 any day at that price. You would need to get the i5 overclocked to 4.5GHz or so to get close to a stock 4770 in applications like that. To overclock like that of course takes more money for a high...

bingaloman

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Yeah I have a motherboard and everything already, the CPU now is my last part. Just thinking hard on which one to get. If the i5 4670K is overclocked, will it be a lot better than the i7 4770? Or will it not be noticeable? I know that i7 has hyper threading and the i5 doesn't.
 
The "stock" speed of an i5 4670K is 3.5GHz on all four cores. The stock speed of an i7 4770 is 3.4GHz. So the 4670K is actually faster out of the gate speed wise. Both turbo boost to 3.9GHz (turbo meaning only on one core). You may see a slight performance improvement in some games with the i7 that take advantage of its hyperthreading (4 real cores, 4 virtual cores).

You will definitely notice an improvement with the i7 over the i5 in productivity applications that utilize multiple cores though like video rendering. I'd get the i7 any day at that price. You would need to get the i5 overclocked to 4.5GHz or so to get close to a stock 4770 in applications like that. To overclock like that of course takes more money for a high performance air cooler (and uses more power, produces more heat, etc).
 
Solution

bingaloman

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Thanks, yeah I actually have a Thermalright Silver Arrow CPU cooler. I was gonna purchase the i5 4670K but then I stumbled across the i7 4770 for only $10 more. Maybe that will be the better deal and I guess it wouldn't hurt to use this cooler on the 4770.

Can the 4770 be overclocked at all even a little bit even if it is not the K version?
 


All you can do is up the BCLK (front side bus speed) above the default 100MHz default. But that would yield next to no noticeable difference and throw stability into the question. So for example, you could try running that stuck multiplier of 34x at say a BCLK of 105 for an effective 3.57GHz (34x105). In my experience though, messing around with the bus causes more problems. And this is all assuming you have a motherboard that accepts overclocking at all, either with basic BCLK (like an H-chipset) or full overclock with multiplier changes (Z-chipset).

 

If that's the case. I would go with the 4650K. As 10tacle said, it is faster from the jump, plus you can overclock if you want to. Kind of like, I have it but don't need it type of thing.
 

bingaloman

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Thanks, I will probably leave it alone anyways, just wondering in case I do plan to later on.
 

bingaloman

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Thanks, I'll have to see if I need the hyper threading from the i7 since I do multitask a bit. Since the prices that I have found are so close and pretty much similar, that's what's making it harder to decide.