"unlocked" i5 Processor / Overclocking question

[TODDTH]

I am about to upgrade and getting a i5-3570 Processor. 3.4Ghz 3rd gen.

The basic processor is $209 and the "unlocked" version is $229.

It will be going on an ASRock Z77 Extreme4 board with XMP compatible RAM.

My understanding of the "unlocked" version is it will be set up to overclock. I have never messed with overclocking and am not a big gamer. I'm upgrading because I'll be doing some video editing and re-encoding.

So the question is will it be worth paying for the "unlocked" processor? I am pretty sure this board will overclock the CPU and RAM. the case it's going in is well cooled with fans, but I'm not planning on anything beyond the 3 fans already installed and was just going to use the included CPU fan/heat sink. I understand overclocking causes a lot more heat so if I go that way would I also need to do something more extensive for the heat?

I'm not sure how much difference the overclocking makes and how much if anything I would have to invest in cooling so not sure if I want to spend the extra $20 on the chip. I seem to keep bumping the cost a little on what I"m spending. Another $20 wont exactly break the bank, but don't want to throw it away on something I would never end up using either.

EDIT: I removed the "-M" from the Motherboard model. I'm not getting the -M version.

 

[FinneousPJ]

If you're not interested in overclocking as a hobby just get a 3450 and a cheaper mobo.

 

[bwrlane]

Yes, you can get a substantial speed boost from overclocking. CPU dependent apps like video editing and transcoding will benefit from this.

Given your usage profile, I would recommend looking at an i7 if your budget will stretch this far.

Take a look at this. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=287

This compares an i7 2600K with an i5 2500K. There wasn't a 3570K, so I couldn't do a comparison between the newer Ivy Bridge processors. However, the difference between the i7 2600K and the i5 2500K is much the same as the difference between the i7 3770K and the i5 3570K.

The main difference between the i7 and the i5 is that the former has hyperthreading. This gives a handy performance boost in multithreaded apps. Video editing and transcoding are perfect examples of such.

 

[TODDTH]

If I went the overclocked i5 route, would I need to get a larger heatsink / fan, or would the boxed intel fan/heat sink work? If so I think I'd stay that was as the i7 CPU jumps over $300.

If I was considering an i7, would a 3.1 Ghz i7 be that much better than an overclocked 3.4 Ghz i5?

The i7 3.1 is $310 and the 3.5 is $340 which is starting to get pretty expensive?

 

[TODDTH]

Best answer selected by TODDTH.

 

[bwrlane]

If I went the overclocked i5 route, would I need to get a larger heatsink / fan, or would the boxed intel fan/heat sink work? If so I think I'd stay that was as the i7 CPU jumps over $300.

If I was considering an i7, would a 3.1 Ghz i7 be that much better than an overclocked 3.4 Ghz i5?

The i7 3.1 is $310 and the 3.5 is $340 which is starting to get pretty expensive?

It's normally reckoned that an i7 has a 20% speed advantage over an i5 in applications that are able to take advantage of hyper threading. Video editing is one such example. This means that an i5 would have to be clocked at 3.7GHz to equate to a 3.1 GHz i7 in these kinds of applications. Overclocking isn't really for someone who doesn't enjoy tinkering with their system. You have to spend much more time thinking about temperatures, voltages and stability. If all you want is the best performance in your chosen apps, you probably don't want to be worrying about this.

 

[TODDTH]

It's normally reckoned that an i7 has a 20% speed advantage over an i5 in applications that are able to take advantage of hyper threading. Video editing is one such example. This means that an i5 would have to be clocked at 3.7GHz to equate to a 3.1 GHz i7 in these kinds of applications. Overclocking isn't really for someone who doesn't enjoy tinkering with their system. You have to spend much more time thinking about temperatures, voltages and stability. If all you want is the best performance in your chosen apps, you probably don't want to be worrying about this.

Thanks for this. I actually ended up going with an i7 after thinking about it. This supports it was the right call. I do enjoy tinkering with it, but don't have that much time these days. I'd rather not be worried about temps etc all the time and having to keep an eye on it. Rather get it set up once and leave it alone.