Processor recommendation.

[armjamil]

I apologized if this has been asked before.

I am looking to build a new computer and I am looking at several of the Intel's processors both i5 and i7 series. I have always been an AMD fan so never paid attention to intel's processor line, not to mention the last computer i built was some 5 years ago so I am a bit out of the loop.

Which processor do you guys recommend for gaming/HTPC type machine (definitely want to play FSX on high settings).
I have my sights on i7-3820 but I see i5s for similar price. very Confused as to what to get?

Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

 

[abekl]

The sweet spot for gaming and general use is the i5-2500k or the newer i5-3570k

 

[dannoddd]

Abekl is correct. The i5s are crazy capable and will be a speed up from any AMD cpu.
An i7 is overkill unless you're planning on doing wicked encoding, 3d generation, video production, etc.

For an HTPC without overclocking, get the newer 3570K.
If you want to overclock, look at the 2500K.

Don't forget to pick a Z77 board for your 3570K to reduce possible issues with BIOS compatibility.

 

[armjamil]

Best answer selected by armjamil.

 

[armjamil]

Thanks abekl and dannoddd for the recommendation.
Do you think i5s will become outdated anytime soon since i7 has been launched quite some time ago?

 

[dannoddd]

I don't think so. Intel uses a "tick toc" cadence on CPU releases.
So every other year you can expect to see a pretty decent change in performance, but we're not saturating the power of these CPUs as it is. Everything seems to be going more towards less power usage versus performance anyway. You'll be very well off with an i5 for quite a while.