I5 vs i7

[unknownxxvii]

I was wondering whether there was a major difference between the i7-2600k or the i5-2500k for gaming.

Newegg offers a i5-2500k quad, 8Gb RAM, 1Tb hard drive, Nvidia GTX 560, intel Z68 motherboard, and a 800 watt power supply @ $950

PortaTech is offering a i7-2600k quad, 8Gb RAM, 500Gb hard drive, no video card, Gigabyte Z77X-D3H motherboard, and a 850 watt power supply @ $922

I already own an Asus Nvidia GTX 560 Direct CUII OC, so either way I do eventually plan to use SLI with two of these cards, so I just wanted to know which build is better? Also is PortaTech reliable or trustworthy compared to Newegg.

 

[quilciri]

for gaming, there is very little difference between a 2600k and a 2500k.

 

[mocchan]

I don't think you'll see much improvement with 2600k vs 2500k unless you're playing a CPU intensive game...Civ5 for example I know uses all 8 threads (I think anyway, from a thread I saw awhile back) but for games like BF3, Skyrim, the 2500k would be much better. Plus if you get the 2500k bundle, you could SLI for even more performance.

As for PortaTech reliability...I have no idea, never ordered anything from there.

 

[maui67]

I was wondering whether there was a major difference between the i7-2600k or the i5-2500k for gaming.

Newegg offers a i5-2500k quad, 8Gb RAM, 1Tb hard drive, Nvidia GTX 560, intel Z68 motherboard, and a 800 watt power supply @ $950

PortaTech is offering a i7-2600k quad, 8Gb RAM, 500Gb hard drive, no video card, Gigabyte Z77X-D3H motherboard, and a 850 watt power supply @ $922

I already own an Asus Nvidia GTX 560 Direct CUII OC, so either way I do eventually plan to use SLI with two of these cards, so I just wanted to know which build is better? Also is PortaTech reliable or trustworthy compared to Newegg.

The main difference between the i7 and the i5 is that i7 has threading. And threading has no benefit for gaming at this point in time for the majority of the games.

The i5-2500K is the consensus best buy for a gaming rig by most people on these forums. I might suggest that going with a Z77 motherboard with the i5-2500K as the Z77 is the latest in the Intel chipsets.

I am not familiar with PortaTech so cannot offer advice on that subject.

 

[Ironwilly]

Overall, I like the 2500k deal a little better, but I would definitely prefer to purchase a Z77 motherboard. Can you link the model number for the Intel MB and the PSU for both systems.

Is there SIGNIFICANT savings that are making you choose the pre-selected packages? There are a number of great systems that people on these forums have put together if you would like to just post a budget and what you're looking for.

 

[unknownxxvii]

Thanks for the quick responses.

My budget is $1000 taxes and shipping included. At PortaTech, I custom built that set up, so there can be some variations. As for Newegg, I just thought it was a good deal for my current budget. As for the PSUs, neither website gives anymore detail then the wattage. I currently have a Core 2 duo laptop with an ATI 4670 HD that runs games pretty well, but it is now struggling with the newer games. I would like to play games like GTA IV, and GTA V when it comes out, as well as newer games like Crysis 1+2, Driver San Fransisco, Mafia II, and what ever may come out soon, so there won't be much performance gain between the two processors to play games like these?

Edit: I forgot to mention that I have a lot of mods for GTA IV (about 0.7Gb of car mods and others), and I just want to make sure that the build can support all the cars at once, and maybe an enb mod. My laptop only allows me to have about 5 cars out with all settings at high at 1600x900. I really would like to run this game smoothly with all cars spawning at 1920@1080. I tried a vidock 4+ with the gtx 560 with the lap top, but it runs even worse, so the processor is important. Thanks for reading this massive text block!

 

[neal0790]

Get the i5 if your building a gaming rig. If you do any 3d programming or like benches get the i7. But for gaming you wont notice a big difference between the two. Especially if you overclock your i5.

 

[bamj6]

To the OP, Just hope there's a bigger difference between the current gen I5's and the upcoming Ivy I7's. If either of the mobos offered can go to the Ivies.

 

[unknownxxvii]

Best answer selected by Unknownxxvii.