I7 with GTX 570 or i5 with GTX 580

[Gwart]

I hate to bother you guys but I'm having a problem getting my head around the pros and cons for both arguements.

Lets say all things else equal (ram/mobo/hds) would you want to go with an i7 and a overlocked GTX 570 or a i5 with an overlocked GTX 580. The difference in price for a i7 and i5 almost covers the difference for the better video card.

Mostly game rig (BF3!!) but I do convert movies and do some work at home.

My only reason NOT to get the i7 is that with the ivory bridge coming out with the same sockets I can always get a newer CPU in a year or so. (Plus what I hear the i5 is nothing to laugh at compared to my Core Duo)

 

[Mike20_14]

my own list of gtx gpu's that r worth the money r
gtx 560
gtx 560ti
gtx 570
gtx 590
dunno bout those 465 470 i know lil bout em
anyway i would w8 for intel's new series
or get the i5-2500k with gtx 580 if u dont wanna w8

 

[mmaatt747]

from what I understand the only real benefit of going with the i7 is Hyperthreading... which most software can't take advantage of.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

By the way Gwart, I should mention I just built a rig with the i5-2500k and a GTX 570 and am VERY happy with the way it runs. Just ran GTAIV yesterday with all detail on high and it ran so smooth and I have not overclocked anything yet.

 

[easymoney9]

I5 2500k and gtx 580.
Overclock 2500k to make up difference of 2600k (100mhz clock speed, hyperthreads and cache).

 

[quicksilver98]

If you look around on the internet you will find that the 2500K is the best gaming CPU for price. Depending on Budget/Board/Case/PSU you might want to consider 2X GTX 560's in SLI ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125390 ) or 2X 6950 1GB cards in Xfire ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125385 ). This will give you much better frame rates over all and cost less than a good 580GTX ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162073 ).

 

[Mike20_14]

590 is a waste. so is the 560 (non ti version)
To answer your question the i5 with the 580 would be the wisest option.

590 is for ppl who dont care bout their money jus wanna get the best 580 is the waste cos a 570 can max out any game
560 is worth buying instead of the 460

 

[Gwart]

Ok.. so hypothetically I get the i5... does anything compare to the 570 for the same price?

Like if I get 2 560 SLI is that BETTER than the 570 or the same (or marginal difference)? If they are the same then I can always get another 570 down the line and give my pc new life.

SLI seems like a good way to upgrade in the future and not the best way to start (but I could be wrong)

I'm not one of these people that upgrade often so I always try to get the most out of the build. I've had my current rig for over 3 1/2 years now.

Waiting for the ivory bridge seems pretty useless considering all reports speculate that the ivory bridge will be more expensive then the current sandy bridge tech. Which will drive all costs up....

 

[larkspur]

580 is the waste cos a 570 can max out any game

Maybe at your itty bitty widdle resolution.

 

[mmaatt747]

Maybe at your itty bitty widdle resolution.

Childish comment... hehe but it's a good point. What resolution are you wanting your games to run at?

 

[larkspur]

Ok.. so hypothetically I get the i5... does anything compare to the 570 for the same price?

Unless you are doing heavy encoding the i5 is a much better value. Especially for gaming. The 570 is on par with the radeon 6970 and both will own most games @1920x1080.

You can get an idea of basic performance levels (see the hierarchy chart) and some recommendations on cards to buy at a give price range here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,3018.html

 

[Au_equus]

getting off track: for gaming there's little to no difference between the i5 2500k and the i7 2600k. unless you found a way to enable HT on an i5 2500k, you can't make up the difference between the two cpu's. the 2600k is just as oc'able as the 2500k, if not more. cf/sli'ing anything below 6950/560ti could result in microstuttering.
IMHO: i5-2500k/gtx580

 

[larkspur]

Childish comment... hehe but it's a good point. What resolution are you wanting your games to run at?

Yes, hence the childish phonetics. Personally I run eyefinity. But there's a number of gamers who use single monitors above 1920x1080. At some point the 580 will be fully utilized by very demanding games. But I would definitely agree that the 580 is not the "value" choice. SLI gets you a lot more bang for the buck.

 

[quicksilver98]

The 2600k is pointless for gaming.

I would Xfire a pair of 6950's. I run 2 6950 2GB's unlocked to 6970's and I can max out any game on my Phenom II 955 @4.2Ghz. (Awaiting a BD chip for my setup)

 

[Doctor_Den]

i5 with GTX 580.

 

[beauchee]

Agreed, the I5 and GTX580 ! Go for it !

 

[genghiskron]

i5 + gtx 580. an OC'd i5-2500k simply wont bottleneck your gtx 580, giving you the best single gpu gaming system available (which many would argue makes it the best gaming system available), and its easily doable for under $1100.

 

[Corning]

I5 and what ever card you want.

If you have been following the articles on Tom's they all prove the I5 is all you need for gaming. The Cost/improvement of the I7 is minimal. And the I7 is only good for showboating

 

[Gwart]

Best answer selected by Gwart.

 

[larkspur]

Regarding the i7 only being good for showboating - It is generally believed that on average the i7 overclocks better than the i5. So if you want the best O/C available, an i7 is the better "bet". This however translates to very little real-world performance advantage.