Is it dumb to buy Ivy Bridge?

[KUR0KO]

I've heard that it has cheap thermal paste inside.

Should I get Sandy Bridge i5-2500K instead? (no PCI-E 3.0 though)

Thanx

 

[HEXiT]

they both come with less than stellar thermal paste and shouldn't be the reason not to buy a cpu. considering new quality paste cost about £/$5...
if you want the max oc then the 2500k will go higher but if you just want out the box power then getting the ivy is a good choice as its an average 4% better clock for clock.

 

[KUR0KO]

I mean inside, not the heatsink paste. Replacing that would void warranty

 

[willzzz]

It's still not a big issue unless you are really trying to push the limits of overclocking. If you are building a gaming machine you aren't going to be bottle necked by the CPU anyway.

If anything the later batches of IB chips seem to be getting better and overclocking further.

If you can find a cheap 2500k then get it, if the difference isn't that much the IB is better.

 

[pckitty4427]

Remember that a 3570K at 4.3 GHz will perform like a 2500K at something like 4.7 GHz.

With a cooler like the Hyper 212 Evo, you should be able to get the 3570K to 4.3 GHz quite easily. IB's high temps only occur when the Vcore is increased and 4.3 GHz won't require you to increase the Vcore much, if at all.

 

[WR2]

Should I get Sandy Bridge i5-2500K instead? (no PCI-E 3.0 though)

No.

 

[bwrlane]

Not at all dumb to buy IB for some people.

If you already own a SB then it most affirmatively is dumb.

If you already own a socket 1366 processor, a top-line AMD processor or a top-line socket 1155 processor, then it is still a bit dumb.

PCIe 3.0 is irrelevant.

 

[willzzz]

With retailers dropping prices on IB 3570k since launch (£173 down to £156) and reports of later batches being better overclockers, it is starting to become dumb to buy a 2500k unless you find a great discount.