Which one would you pick and why?

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Ecky
That's actually fairly reasonable, but a Pentuim G4560 ($65) and H110 motherboard with an updated BIOS (~$50) would probably match or beat either of them in most recent games. The next step up is the i3 7100 at $120, which can also be used with a $50 board. It's something like 30% faster per clock than the 2500K and comes at 3.9ghz, meaning you'd need to reach ~5.1ghz to match the single-threaded performance with a 2500K. And, believe it or not, most 2500K's will not reach 5ghz. In fact, most top out between 4.4 and 4.6ghz. A stock i3 7100 just about matches a stock 2500K in multithreaded performance too.

Be aware that for either Xeon or i5, you'll probably spend $40+ on a cooler to get a reasonable overclock, and may need additional...
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WildCard999

WildCard999

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The Xeon would be good if you needed the extra cores/threads (6/12) for video editing, rendering or streaming but for just gaming and if you have a unlocked motherboard then the i5 would be a much better choice as the performance per core is better plus it can be overclocked.
 
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SchizTech

SchizTech

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This particular xeon is a 6 core chip, but a very old one. The single core performance of the 2nd gen i5 is significantly better. Leaving aside motherboard feature comparison (the xeon having the 1366 socket), the xeon might do somewhat better in tasks which adapt well to multiple cores but in general most programs would run better on the i5. I'd go with the i5 for most common use cases
 
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Virtual_Singularity

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Depends on what you'd be using it for really. Though fwiw, I'd have to point out the Xeon ultimately offers more value and options than the I5 does. Bear in mind it's still possible to find workstation boards for the x5650 with dual sockets for somewhat reasonable prices. It also supports triple channel memory whereas the I5 supports dual. Like the I5 2500k, you can overclock the x5650, though OCing the xeon may involve more difficulty and time than would the 2500k. Here's a reddit thread on OCing the x5650 that may be helpful should you choose to go with it https://www.reddit.com/r/overclocking/comments/2ua6yb/how_to_get_more_out_of_my_overclock_xeon_x5650/ or search "how to get more out of my overclock xeon x5650".

The 2500k has notably better single core performance, and includes integrated graphics, though it also has two less cores than the xeon, and no hyperthreading. The x5650 has no integrated graphics, but has 12 MB smart cache vs the 2500k's 6 MB. Both processors could be used to make decent gaming platforms, though if its strictly for gaming, I guess the 2500k might make an overall easier and more sensible choice.
 
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Bernd_

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I did hear that the x5650 can be overclocked, but is it per core as fast as an 2500k at the same frequency? I.e both at 4 ghz
 
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Bernd_

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Why the comparison between only these two CPU's? This is almost apples and oranges.
And what is the use case?
Click to expand...

I am looking to buy one used (these 2 cpus + board are about the same price here). I heard that while harder to oc, the x5650 is a beast but the 2500k has the title of the legendary 5ghz oc. I want to use the CPU primarely for gaming, but sometimes rendering and hosting as well.
 
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Ecky

Ecky

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Good luck finding a good motherboard for either. Cheap H61 boards exist for the i5 and you can get server boards for the Xeon, but any board that can overclock is going to cost you an arm and a leg, and probably make it more expensive than a newer and much faster CPU on a socket that hasn't been discontinued.
 
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Bernd_

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I'm going with a gtx 1060 but my old cpu is aging and heard that there have been negledgeable increases in cpu power for the last few years, so there would be no point to buy a cpu over 2x as expensive for +- 10 % increase.
 
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Bernd_

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Overclockable boards for the xeon are x58 right? and for the i5 it would be a z77 right? A combo of CPU + MOBO of those would cost me 100/80 for the MOBO and 50/90 for the CPU.
 
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Ecky

Ecky

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That's actually fairly reasonable, but a Pentuim G4560 ($65) and H110 motherboard with an updated BIOS (~$50) would probably match or beat either of them in most recent games. The next step up is the i3 7100 at $120, which can also be used with a $50 board. It's something like 30% faster per clock than the 2500K and comes at 3.9ghz, meaning you'd need to reach ~5.1ghz to match the single-threaded performance with a 2500K. And, believe it or not, most 2500K's will not reach 5ghz. In fact, most top out between 4.4 and 4.6ghz. A stock i3 7100 just about matches a stock 2500K in multithreaded performance too.

Be aware that for either Xeon or i5, you'll probably spend $40+ on a cooler to get a reasonable overclock, and may need additional case fans and/or a larger power supply.
 
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stantheman123

stantheman123

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This is so true depends on the end user and what are his needs, for purely gaming I'd say the 2500k with it being overclock able as well but if its something that can use the extra threads/cores the xeon is better but really these are some older generations cpu's why the interest the the two?

 
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