2500k vs 2600k

[porshe_carrera]

hey im new to building, looking at building a new gaming rig but i cant decide on which cpu is best for me.
its gonna be for all the newest games and ill also use it for a fair bit of design and rendering with programs like archiCAD and autoCADD. i also plan to try and have her permanently stable at 4.5 or higher if possible. current build idea specs are:

CPU:
MOBO:asrock Z77 extreme 4
RAM: 8gb G.SKILL Ripjaws 1600mhz
GPU: gainward gtx570 glh
PSU: Cooler Master 650W GX Series
OPTICAL DRIVE:LG blue ray read/write
HDD:2TB WD caviar green
SSD: -
CPU COOLER:Antec Kuhler h20 620
CASE: bitfenix colossus

so can u guys help me figure out if the i7 is worth it or if i should go i5 and instead get the next cooler up

 

[abekl]

If you are doing rendering, then the i7 is a worthwhile purchase.

On another note, stay away from Cooler Master PSUs. They are bad all around. Stick to Corsair, Antec, Seasonic, xfx.

One more note about the green HDD. Only get that if you do in fact get an SSD. If you aren't getting an SSD right now, bet a blue or black drive. You'll be horribly disappointed in the green drive's performance if you try to use it as your main drive.

 

[WR2]

Is that a 5400rpm 2TB HDD?
How much are you paying for that Bitfenix Colossus case?

 

[InvalidError]

Is that a 5400rpm 2TB HDD?

WD Green would be 5400RPM, which is a curious choice in a system intended for performance rather than power-efficiency.

Well, once all programs and data are loaded in RAM, HDD does not matter as much anymore. That is how I roll... but not sure I would take it down to 5400RPM, at least not without SSD for SRT/Readyboost/Superfetch.

 

[porshe_carrera]

are corsairs really that bad? cause im trying to keep it budget and they have the best power/cost ratio, also the one iv got now lasted years just fine so not sure if thats a problem.

the HDD is a swap over, just keeping it to save cost and store all my stuff.
does running everything off an SSD really improve the apps performance that much?

 

[WR2]

If you were buying a new boot drive most here would suggest a 7200rpm model.
But since you already own it I figure it saves you enough money to not feel too bad about it being slower.
Same for the case? A carry over from an older build?

 

[porshe_carrera]

yea that whats a i figured, saving money with the hdd and disk drive and put that into getting the gpu =)
nah atm iv got an antec 900 but im giving this comp to someone and wanted something different instead of getting the twelve hundred

 

[spookyman]

Why not just go with a Ivy Bridge processor? They go about the same price as their Sandy bridge counterparts but faster.

Yes they have higher temp but you can over clock them too with good air cooling and get similar overclocked results.

 

[porshe_carrera]

i looked at it, but im only paying for about half of this system and they alredy cost about $70 more and all the reviews and forums said they cant handle the higher clocks without intense cooling and i dont wanna have to listen to a cooling fan all the time

 

[InvalidError]

i looked at it, but im only paying for about half of this system and they alredy cost about $70 more and all the reviews and forums said they cant handle the higher clocks without intense cooling and i dont wanna have to listen to a cooling fan all the time

IB performs 5-10% faster than SB clock-for-clock so IB at 4.2GHz would be about as fast overall as SB at 4.5GHz while using 10-20W less power, which technically translates into lower cooling requirements. The thermal challenge lies in drawing that lesser amount of heat away from the core more effectively and this does not necessarily mean more noise.

As far as price goes, my local computer store lists 2500k at $219 and 3570k at $228 while NewEgg lists them at $225 and $250 respectively. If your prices are higher than that, you might want to shop around.

 

[porshe_carrera]

oh your right, the difference i saw was for the i7's.
well to start with im gonna crank it up to 4.8 just for pride/principle since my current runs at 2.4 and i wanna see the difference =) but after that, i wanted it around 4.5 stable, iv decided to use the saving and go with the corsair h80; would that support IB around 4.3-4.5?

 

[porshe_carrera]

btw wr2 the bitfenix case is only $195, few dollars less than its other full size competitors and oh so much sexier

 

[A Bad Day]

i looked at it, but im only paying for about half of this system and they alredy cost about $70 more and all the reviews and forums said they cant handle the higher clocks without intense cooling and i dont wanna have to listen to a cooling fan all the time

You could remove the Ivy Bridge CPU's heatspreader and replace the thermal compound with a higher quality one to fix the problem.

 

[InvalidError]

iv decided to use the saving and go with the corsair h80; would that support IB around 4.3-4.5?

If you want to save even more, you could use a Hyper 212 EVO instead of h80 since the EVO performs practically as well for nearly half the price.

At 4.3GHz, you get in the zone where IB's power vs frequency slope gets steeper and IB overclocking becomes edgy regardless of cooling solution.

 

[porshe_carrera]

hmm thats what i was affraid of =/ and im not competent enough to change the compound myself.
i read they burn out easier round the higher speeds, which really makes me question why they have higher clock capabilities (clever intel)
i really wanna boost this machine to its maximum potential so it lasts years, hence i think ill go with Sb just cause it can take the punishment better
thanks for the advice =)