What makes a i7 different from an i5

[blablacentral]

looking at the i7 3770 and the i5 3570

from a non overclocking gameing standpoint every forum im reading says the give the exact same performance. (games from bf3 to FFXIV/WOW style mmos)

how is this so what is actualy different in the i7 that makes it like 100 dollars more than the i5 thats what nobody is explaining, there both 1155 so i asume you would use the same z77 mobo but you would think the i7 would be faster or something.



and would having fraps or 3-4 internet tabs and a few monitors in the bacground of the gameaffect either differetnly??

 

[jay_nar2012]

Hyperthreading, more L3 cache, Intel getting greedy, tax.

HT doesn't really help much in gaming.

http://ark.intel.com/compare/65523,65520

 

[redeemer]

There is a huge difference, but it all depends on your needs.

 

[mocchan]

As previous posters have stated, there really isn't a big difference between the two from a gaming standpoint.

However, when you're purchasing an i7/i5, you want to consider your primary computer usage. Will you be doing video editing? 3D Modeling? Heavy Photoshop? Or will you just be gaming?

For gaming, an i5 is all you will ever need for the next few years as games today STILL only utilise around 2-3 cores.

For video editing, photoshopping, 3D modeling, you will most likely want an i7 due to the extra threads it can provide. Basically you can get certain workloads done faster with an i7 where an i5 wouldn't suffice.

Long story short, an i7 isn't worth the extra $100 if you're going to have a few extra web browsers open (because an i5 can do that just fine). It's only worth it if you're going to do work that's HEAVILY CPU bound and can take advantage of multiple threads.

 

[jaguarskx]

Hyperthreading, more L3 cache, Intel getting greedy, tax.

HT doesn't really help much in gaming.

http://ark.intel.com/compare/65523,65520

If you don't need HT, then don't buy a Core i7 CPU.

If you think Intel CPUs are too expensive, then just go ahead and by AMD. AMD needs individuals to buy their CPU more than Intel does.

 

[jay_nar2012]

If you don't need HT, then don't buy a Core i7 CPU.

If you think Intel CPUs are too expensive, then just go ahead and by AMD. AMD needs individuals to buy their CPU more than Intel does.

Are you saying that to me or the OP?

For mainly gaming get something like a Intel i5 or AMD phenom x4.

For mainly multi-threaded apps get an i7, phenom ii x6 or bulldozer.

For things that are less intensive (light-medium games, web browsing, stuff like that), i3, SB pentium, celeron.
AMD sempron, Athlon x2 basically lower end CPUs.