2500k vs 2600

[Oropher]

Hey guys, I have a problem. I'm saving up for my first build and decided on an Intel i5-2500k build so I can use the integrated graphics and overclock if/what I want to. But Micro Center currently has a coupon making the i7-2600 (no K) $200.

I would like to have the option of overclocking down the road if I want to, but if the 2600 is a flat 10% or so better then it may be the better option.

What do you guys think?

 

[amuffin]

Why don't you just go with the 2600k and $50 off of a motherboard?

 

[jimmysmitty]

The other downside to the 2600 is that it only has the Intel HD2000 IGP, not HD3000 which is about half as powerful.

The 2500K is the best bet TBH.

 

[Oropher]

The other downside to the 2600 is that it only has the Intel HD2000 IGP, not HD3000 which is about half as powerful.

Oh wow I didn't realize that, I thought it was the other way around. That is kind of important to me since I am going without a dedicated GPU for the time being. That pretty much answers my question then. Thanks a lot.

 

[amuffin]

You can also overclock the igp! So get a hyper 212+ and overclock the hd 3000.

 

[Oropher]

You can also overclock the igp! So get a hyper 212+ and overclock the hd 3000.

Yeah I'm planning on getting the hyper 212 evo for the build, especially if I go with the 2500k which I'm pretty sure I will now.

 

[jaguarskx]

I would go with the i5-2500k since it can be easily overclocked. 4.2GHz - 4.5GHz is typical.

The i7-2600 is only 100MHz faster, has Hyper Threading (HT), but since the multiplier is locked overclocking it limited to playing around with the frequency. But that only allows you to overclock the CPU by around 300MHz - 400MHz.

Games do not make use of HT, in fact it can reduce performance by 1% - 3% based on some previous benchmarks.

Unless you know whatever programs you use can take advantage HT, it's not worth going for an i7-2600. For example, video encoding using the x.264 codec can give you a 18% boost in performance in the 2nd pass. However on the 1st pass HT will give you about a 4% penalty.

To make up for that difference in the 2nd pass the i5-2500k would only need to be overclocked to around 3.9GHz - 4.0GHz. Of course that means it's performance during the 1st pass will also increase.

 

[HEXiT]

yep the 2600k is a bit of a waste to most people as they can always compensate with overclocking the 2500k. getting a 2600k is the better option and the price difference for what you get over the stock 2600 is well worth the extra if you use HT regularly...
then again for not much more you could look at the 2011 cpu's similar performance to the 2500k and 2600k but have the potential of unlocking 2 extra cores on some models. although im not sure how much of a chance you have of getting them to run successfully... i doubt it will be more than a 50% chance... but even so you could potentially have up to 6 cores with 12 threads wich for productivity would just blow you away with speed and performance.