I5 2500k or 3570k

[Firelance]

Hello. I was debating whether I should get the i5 2500k for the 3570k. My main purpose is for gaming, but I do a little video editing too. I was also planning on overclocking, but not too high, just a little.

The 2500k is $170 at Micro Center while the 3570k is $250.

Which should I choose?

 

[abekl]

If money is no object then the 3570k is a good choice, but unless the money is just burning a hole in your pocket, I say go for the 2500k. It has practically the same performance.

 

[computernewb]

lol at those prices its a no brainer. $80 difference is huge

luckily microcenter has the i5-3570k for $190
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0388577

you cant go wrong with either one.

 

[amuffin]

Plus you get $50 off of a mobo!!

 

[confish21]

thats in store only plus tax...

 

[bwrlane]

2500k is being phased out. If production is still continuing, it's only to utilise capacity on the old process. The reason for the large price difference is probably due to high demand for the new generation 3570k and to clear old 2500k stock. That said, there is almost no difference in performance between the two. 2500k overclocks better while 3570k has marginally better performance at a given clock speed. 3570k uses slightly less power.

For my money (and given this price difference) it's a no brainer: go for the 2500k. For all practical purposes, you are losing nothing.

 

[Azok]

For $20 more? 3570k.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

2500k is being phased out. If production is still continuing, it's only to utilise capacity on the old process. The reason for the large price difference is probably due to high demand for the new generation 3570k and to clear old 2500k stock. That said, there is almost no difference in performance between the two. 2500k overclocks better while 3570k has marginally better performance at a given clock speed. 3570k uses slightly less power.

For my money (and given this price difference) it's a no brainer: go for the 2500k. For all practical purposes, you are losing nothing.

While the Intel® Core™ i5-2500K is the older 2nd generation Intel® Core™ processor you can expect to see it still on the shelves for months to come. As a matter of fact there are over 3000 of them right now at our distributors ready to go out. So if you are worried about overclocking then don't worry about being forced into the 3rd generation Intel Core processors.


Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[Firelance]

I didn't even see the 3570k on MC, but if it is only a $20 difference, would you still recommend the 3570 over the 2500k?

Like I said before I plan to overclock but nothing intense like 4.8 or 5.0GHz.

 

[J_E_D_70]

At MC, the 2500K is $170 in-store only. The 3570K is $190 online or in-store. For $20, I'd get IB.

 

[basch99]

You'll have to go with an older P67 motherboard or flash a z77 motherboard to be able to support Sandy Bridge. Especially if you use P67 motherboards, you'll have to make do with PCI-E 2.0. If you use a z77 motherboard like the Gigabyte Z77-UD3H, you'll have to upgrade to ivy bridge to make most use of each feature such as that additional pci-e 2.0 slot. If you absolutely need a cheaper cpu, then go for the 2500K and a cheaper motherboard. Otherwise I would go for the newer i5-3570K.

 

[carbonfountain]

Everything people have said recommending i5-2500k is correct, but I thought I would add my 2 cents here.

If you ever plan on selling your computer in the future (to upgrade to a new one, which is what I did with my old e8400), you might want to consider going with an i5-3570k because at least to those unfamiliar with tech, a newer generation Intel CPU is going to be more marketable.

That said, I personally went with the 2500k on a very recent build, but that's because I really want to overclock the crap out of it.

 

[igie775]

Personaly i went for the gigabyte h61m-d2v . its small but powerfull and it also supports the newly 22nm processors so no need for a bios update. i have also read all the comments in the page iv been looking to upgrate to a i5 cpu its between the 2500k and the 3570k with only a 200 buck difference (ZAR) . i might go for the 2500k since it has more headroom for overclocking.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

You do not want to match up the Intel® Core™ i5-3570K or the Intel Core i5-2500K with an H61 chipset series board since it will not allow you to overclock these processors. In order to change the multiplier you are going to have to go with a P67, Z68, or Z77 chipset series boards (There are a couple more like the Z75 that can work but they are not that common).