Performance difference between i5-2550k and i7-3930k

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xxcysxx

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hello folks,
just a quick question before i blow my money away. can you guys please tell me the real difference between these two processors.
i've been wanting to play some games for a few months now and i'm doing my homework for the parts i need for a new built.
so what kind of performance difference will i see between these two processors for games, i will use decent or good quality ram and main board accordingly to fit these two processors. i will be looking to use the nvidia 680, or two if i can save a few bucks.

i wouldn't be doing much else with this machine beside for games... well, maybe i'll be doing some other stuff like editing hd family videos from my camcorder, some web browsing, and maybe some general hobby programming with visual studio and eclipse.

i'm not a die hard gammer, heck the last time i played some games was since last summer. but i definitely appreciate pretty graphics and outright snappy performance. and i don't want to burn my waller either, but if i'm going to spend i want to make it worthwhile for a few years to come.

thanks folks
 
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esrever

esrever

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next to no difference in gaming performance.

the i7 has 6 cores and hyperthreading while the i5 only has 4 cores. The extra cores and threads are nearly never uses in games. Buying the 3930k really isn't worth it over the i5 for how little you gain in gaming.
 
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mi1ez

mi1ez

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+1
 
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bemused_fred

bemused_fred

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So....where do you see improved performance then?
 
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Smeg45

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If you call yourself a PC gamer, then you want to game at 1080p and the burden there falls on the GPU. I'd get a 965 or 960T and a decent 970 board with enough phases to stably overclock the CPU, then spend up on the GPU. The 7870 is a good choice.
 
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neon neophyte

neon neophyte

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it will be a similar experience to me with my last computer. i had a e6750, i chose it over the q6600 because i could overclock the 2 cores better and get better performance in games. at the time it was a great move, and it served me well.

down the line, as games started to take advantage of 4 cores i found my dualcore lacking. so i built my current rig, a powerful quadcore that can overclock very well.

do i end up with more fps than if i had got more cores? yes. do i end up building a new computer more often? sure do.
 
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xxcysxx

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thanks everyone for the helpful respond. but even though the two cpus doesn't show significant performance difference, don't you at least think the ram will show a difference in gaming performance. for example with the 3930 i can use ddr3 2133 speed ram with quad channel, where as with the 2550 i can only use some thing like ddr3 1600 dual channel. i mean that should show some difference since the ram are faster right? i know i specifically ask about the processor, but i was actually thinking the entire system as a whole.
 
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XthHaseoX

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overall from a general point of view of these two processors, the 3930k by far outperforms the 2550k. I mean it's a quadcore versus a hexacore also the cache in the 3930 is significantly greater than the 2550k Also why haven't you considered getting the core i7-2600k? it's probably the best bang for your buck and sure the specs of the i5 2550k and i7-2600k are almost identical, the 2550k lacks some major specs that people don't usually go too much into detail with such as the fact that the 2550k doesn't support hyper threading to where as the 2600k does. It also has less L3 cache and doesn't come with integrated graphics which is a must nowadays because even if you do have dedicated graphics, there is a feature on new mobo's that can utilize the integrated graphics and combine them with the graphics card in a way.. Though I'm not sure if it's new mobo's that support that feature or the new Ivy bridge CPU's soon to be released. I hope I'm not making myself sound like a fool.
 
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xxcysxx

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well, it's not about trying to save money, it's about informed spending. just trying to save a remorse that's all.
well, i intentionally wanted a to built a gaming pc, but i think i will go the extra mile and get the 3930 so i can do a few other things with it, like i mentioned earlier.
thank you all for the helpful respond.
 
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XthHaseoX

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There was one thing that I stated that I wasn't sure of, but I know for a fact the the "i5-2550k" does not support hyperthreading, Does not have Integrated Graphics and has 2MB less L3 cache than the 2600k
 
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esrever

esrever

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^all the things about the 2600k in that post was untrue...

except for the cache and hyperthreading. The i7 is not worth it over the i5 and is not in any way a better buy unless you can use hyperthreading. In general you can't tell the difference between the i5 and the i7 and the i5 performs better in games.
 
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neon neophyte

neon neophyte

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if integrated graphics are a concern theres the 2500k. 2 megs of cache and hyperthreading isnt worth 100 dollars that could be put towards a better video card or a ssd or whatever else you can get for 100 bucks thats better than 2 megs of cache and hyperthreading. well, not to most. some people care about hyperthreading or have giant wads of money burning holes in their pockets
 
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xxcysxx

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le me ask you one more question, when you guys over clock your cpu, let say its the 2550k for example. you go through the trial and error of pushing it to an unstable point (volt, multiplier, bus freq, ect) where it crashes or an undesirable temperature is intolerable by your cooling system, then you back it off a bit until a stable condition and in a manageable temperature is reached. how long can you run it this way. can you leave it running this way for the life of the cpu and motherboard?

what i'm getting at is can the cpu be set to run at a high frequency all the time? yes i will turn my pc off when i'm not playing games with it.

also does the 2550k have that turbo boost thing, like where it automatically adjust it frequency as the work load demands it? and can i turn this feature off?

i understand running at a fixed frequency does consumed more electricity, so it is something i will have to accept. but it is a gaming system, it will be turned off when it is not being gamed.

i just like to set it and forget it, i don't want to spend time working on it down the road again. yeah, i'm not an enthusiast to hardware and i don't have too much spare time to tinker.
 
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neon neophyte

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depends what you do with it. if you are just an average user who only needs the xtra power from time to time, itll be fine being overclocked heavily (assuming heat and voltage are tolerable.) if you run your cpu 24/7 full tilt do heavy calculations then a high overclock is ill advised

your cpu will downclock and undervolt if you arent using it, so the high overclocks dont put wear and tear on the cpu
 
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dialntone

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here's the youtube video :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjDT2T_soSM&feature=youtu.be
 
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darksparten

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The only thing that you would want(note: WANT, not need) anything above a 3570k for would be hardcore professional 3D rendering or editing of any kind, and I'm not talking basic youtube editing, I'm talking professional, like if you rendered/edited new episodes Family Guy on your computer or something.

But the difference is about 50 sysmark 2012 points, for reference, the FX-8120 is about 100 points behind the 3930K, so it's not too much, for gaming the 2500k is more than sufficient, in fact better than even the 3570k because the old Sandy Bridges don't have the deplorable max temp threshold, meaning you can go past 4.7GHz and up to more than 5GHz stable on a Sandy Bridge, you can't with an Ivy Bridge.

Good luck!
 
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amuffin

amuffin

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You could have gotten a Pavillion DV7T with a GT650M for the same price on the HP store. :p

Well, I'm running the Envy 17 3D. :D

BTW I replied to like some of the questions you have.

Nice to see someone else that lives local. :)
 
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