Buy i7-2600 to be "future-secured" or i5 2500K?

Simen

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Apr 28, 2012
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Hi guys!

Okay, I'm upgrading my PC now and I'm not sure which processor to buy.
I'm thinking about i7 2600 to be "future-secured" but I game alot and have read that i5 2500K are the best for that compared with i7 2600. I'm also going to use Sony Vegas and Photoshop and not only gaming (BF3, Metro 2033 etc.).

In my country (Norway) i7 2600 is about 600 NOK (little more then $100) expensive than i5 2500K.

So I'm really not sure what to buy. What if i5 processor is going weaker in a couple of years?

Or should I just drop i7 and go for i5 since I game alot? orrrrr? :??:

Please help me guys.

Thanks in advance!
 
G

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Well, look at it like this... Q6600 was released in 2007 and it still holds its own in games today, even after 5 years. I doubt 2500K will be obsolete after 4-5 years.
 

jsrudd

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It's not really that the i5 is better for gaming, its that it a better value if all your going to do is game.

The i7 has eight logical cores which means that it will be better at multi-threaded applications. If you've got the money, get the i7 as long as it doesn't mean you're going to sacrifice something else.
 

bwrlane

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The i5 2500K is not better than the i7 2600K for gaming. It's just as good but for less money. The i7 2600K has two advantages over the i5 2500K.

1. It has a bigger cache memory

2. It has hyperthreading, which allows it to use spare resources on each core by emulating an 8 core processor.

Both of these are useless for gaming, but for Vegas and Photoshop, you will see a substantial performance boost. Vegas in particular is an extremely CPU limited app and just the sort of thing the i7 was designed for. I would say it's definitely worth getting the i7.

Make sure you get the K version of the i7 2600 as this allows you more overclocking flexibility for not much extra money.

Actually I'd say the best bet is neither of these processors. I'd recommend you get the newly released 3rd generation i7 3770K. These are slightly (but not much) faster than the 2nd generation i7 2xxx processors. If you can't get hold of one of these, the i7 2600K is still a great CPU. Another option is the i7 2700K, which is just a slightly faster version of the i7 2600K (for a bit more money).

 

anxiousinfusion

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Don't forget the i7's extra 100mhz speed over the i5. ;)
 

Simen

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Apr 28, 2012
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So we have a mixe between i7 and i5 xD

I've read that there may be som stuttering with i7 in games?

Should I buy the 3rd gen instead of 2nd? In my contry there is only 3820 and 3930K (last one is to expensive). 3820 is the same price as i7 2600K here.

There is also a i5 2550K version that is little more expensive then 2500K. Is that as good as i7 2600K?

BUT if I buy a i5 2500K I will buy a SSD at the same time. Or if I buy a i7 I have to wait to buy a SSD.

This is hard :(
 

Simen

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Motherboard for 3820 is also a bit more expensive then for 1155 socket.

IF I want to go for i7, should I go for the 3rd gen instead of the 2nd gen?
There no fan included with the i7 3820 processor and I was thinking about watercooling but there are not many watercoolers that supports socket 2011 yet, and that makes it more expensive.

Now when the 3rd gen of Intel i7 is out, for me it seems like I got an old processor if I go for one of the 2nd generation Intel processors and that makes it all a little bit :??:

And I pay around $200 more for cheapest setup with 3820 and socket 2011 here in Norway..


EDITEDIT: But If I go for i5, should I pay the extra $40 for the 2550K?