Difference between some Sandy Bridge cpus

[cadu1990]

Hey guys, I like to play games at Ultra High. My GPU is a ATI HD 5870.


But I have an Core 2 Duo E8400, stock, since I don't like OC. As you may have already thought, it can't run new games with ultrahigh, so that's why I want to change it now. The options I got were the Intel i7 2600, and the i5 2500.

But there are those letters, like 2600K, 2600S, 2500K, 2500S, 2500T.

I searched some sites, but none seems very specific about the difference between them. Remembering, I don't overclock.
What's the best option to run games at UltraHigh? I think it's the 2600, but the 2500 have a better price/benefit?

Thanks

 

[Novuake]

If you are not planning to overclock then the best price/performance sandy-bridge CPU for you is the I5 2400.

K at the end is to designate extreme CPU that can be overclocked.
S and T at the end is to designate low wattage energy saving CPU that we would never suggest.

 

[cadu1990]

So K means it CAN be overclocked, not that it already comes OCed?

But isn't the 2400 a little low? Why not 2600 or 2500?

 

[jaguarskx]

A "K" model will run at stock speed unless you decide to overclock it using the motherboard's options.

The i5-2400 is only 200MHz slower than the i5-2500. It not too much of a difference. The i5-2300 is 500MHz slower than i5-500 though.

The i7-2600 is basically 100MHz faster than the i5-2500 and it also has 2MB more cache and Hyper Threading. The 2MB extra cache doesn't really affect performance unless perhaps you are doing a lot of number crunching or other things that uses floating point calculations; the performance increase will be small at best. Hyper Threading (HT) can be useful but only for programs designed to use it. Games do not take advantage of HT. In fact some games takes a small performance hit (2% - 3%) with HT activated, like BF 3.

 

[jaguarskx]

There are other differences between the "K" and "non-K" models, but nothing really worth mentioning for the average home user or hardcore gamer.

 

[de5_Roy]

k - unlocked cpu ratio. one can adjust the clock multiplier and oc the cpu.
s - usually core i5/i7 65w tdp cpus, lower power versions of 95w cpus. you'll see these in all-in-one pcs, imacs, prebuilt pcs, htpcs. they usually have low base frequency. they can turbo up to the non s version's speed if necessary.
T - even lower powered core i3/5/7 35-45w tdp. usually clocked lower, max turbo is also lower than s and non s versions.
for gaming at maximum settings, a core i5 2500k would be a good cpu. it has unlocked clock multiplier - can be overclocked if needed (with a good cpu cooler).
without oc, core i5 2400, 2500. the 2500 and 2500k are very similar except the k version has unlocked multiplier, can be overclocked more than the non k and priced a bit higher. the 2400 has 200 mhz less minimum clockspeed and 300 mhz less max turbo speed.
intel's website should have even more info.

 

[cadu1990]

I never got the Hyper Threading thing, but if you guys say that it doesn't affect gaming, fine by me. I think I will end up with the 2500, the price difference here in Brazil between it and a 2400 is very little. For hardcore gaming, non overclocking, will the Intel stock cooler be able to handle? Or should I get a better one?

 

[jaguarskx]

Intel's stock HSF (heatsink/fan) is fine.

 

[de5_Roy]

for the locked core i5 2500 cpu, the stock hsf should be adequate. you should run a system monitoring software like core temp, real temp, hwmonitor, speccy to keep an eye on the temperature.

 

[dish_moose]

You say no OC - get the 2500K and you may change your mind. You can get this CPU up past 4GHz with a <$40 cooler. Pretty sweet upgrade if you need it in the future.
-Bruce

 

[jsc]

And the K's are simple (there is a difference between "simple" and "easy") to overclock. You do not need to worry about memory settings. You leave then stock.

You basically increase the internal multiplier and core voltage while watching the core temperatures.

 

[vitornob]

Save a few bucks by not eating once in Mc or BK and buy the unlocked version (k)

 

[cadu1990]

There isn't Mc or Bk in my town....

 

[coastie65]

I never got the Hyper Threading thing, but if you guys say that it doesn't affect gaming, fine by me. I think I will end up with the 2500, the price difference here in Brazil between it and a 2400 is very little. For hardcore gaming, non overclocking, will the Intel stock cooler be able to handle? Or should I get a better one?

Hyperthreading ( HT ) gave way to multi Core processors. Now it is back in a sense with the Sandy Bridge Processors & beyond ( i7 2600k and maybe i5 2500k ). You have a Quad Core, but running 8 threads. ). If you are not OCing, the stock cooler should be fine. The 2500 is a good processor.