I5 vs I7

[gombo12345]

Dear users,

I need a cpu for gaming, school and other things
i also have a budget: $1500 for the whole computer
I have ABSOLUTELY no experience in building a computer

Thank you very much

 

[jason gran]

Games nowadays utilize the graphics cards more than the cpu's. how heavily do you multi task? that'll determine between an i5 and i7 build? plus there is a complete guide you can use to build your new computer after you have your parts picked out

assembly guide:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274745-31-step-step-guide-building

I7 build I'd go with:

case Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case-$119
cpu Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor -$299
mobo GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard-$209
ram CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model -$189
hd Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -$87
psu CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active -$149
gpu MSI N460GTX Hawk GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card-$239
cd drive ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM-$23
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM-$99
Extras
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM -$10
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long -$29
Antec 761345-75024-0 120mm Blue LED Case Fan-$15

About $1400-1500. You can Sli another gtx 460 later and add a ssd drive then your pretty much set


I5 build id go with:

case Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case-$119
cpu Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor -$208
mobo ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard-$179
ram CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model -$119
hd Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -$87
psu CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-650HX 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply-$119
gpu MSI N460GTX Hawk GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card-$239
cd drive ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM-$23
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM-$99
Extras
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM -$10
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long -$29
Antec 761345-75024-0 120mm Blue LED Case Fan-$15

$1200-1300 and you can Sli the gtx 460 later if needed and add an ssd drive

**Just threw these together, can be modified im sure for better/cheaper value(hd/ssd/psu/case)**
**SSd G.SKILL Phoenix Pro Series FM-25S2S-60GBP2 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)-$144**
**all builds are before tax and rebates**

 

[Tamz_msc]

Dear users,

I need a cpu for gaming, school and other things
i also have a budget: $1500 for the whole computer
I have ABSOLUTELY no experience in building a computer

Thank you very much

FOr gaming, get a Core i5 750/760 based system.It will allow you to spend more on the GPU which is the most important factor in high resolution gaming.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section CPU & Components to section Systems by Mousemonkey

 

[cadder]

There is some overlap between some of the i5 and i7 models. At one time there was a big difference in price between cpu's with similar speeds, there still is some difference. There was/is also a difference in motherboard prices. Also the ram could cost different amounts because the 1366 boards used ram in 3GB chunks while the 1156 boards used ram in 4GB chunks. So if 3GB was enough for you then you only bought 3GB, but if you thought you needed 4GB you had to buy 6GB to get it, but with the 1156 board you bought 4GB.

But basically for gaming any of the i5 or i7 cpu's will be more than enough, so choose the cheapest cpu/mobo/ram combination that you like and spend the rest on the gpu.

 

[gombo12345]

Best answer selected by gombo12345.