Help Me Decide i5 or i7 PC $699

[bailey_woof]

Hello people...
I'm hoping you can help me decide b/t these two computers. The goal is a desktop only (no monitor), and must cost less than $700. My goals are a PC that will allow some decent gaming (or do I have to upgrade the GPU on these systems to even get in the game), light Photoshop and video editing needs, and keep us reasonably happy for years.


Which of these looks like a a better choice:
1) CyberPower NZXT Tempest 210
- Intel® Core™ i5-3470 Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.60 GHz)
- (16GB, 8MB Cache, 2TB, 500W ps)
2) HP ENVY h8xt Desktop
- (8GB, 6MB Cache, 1TB, 300W PS)
- 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3770 quad-core processor 3.4Ghz

- Both have onboard Intel HD – I know that’s weak
- Both $699 (Costco).
- The 1) Cyberpower has a BlueRay player, not that exiciting to me.

A little uncertain about Cyberpower but Costco will cover the poor customer service I've read about Cyberpower.


Uncertainties: 1) I feel like I should go for the i7, but the i5 is a better setup for gaming (esp. w/ gpu upgrade), 2) the i5 has a 500W P/S vs i7's 300w 2) Confused about the different i5 and i7 flavors and gen's...how much does that matter, are there versions of those CPUs I should avoid (aside from 1st gen).

 

[JMer806]

The Cyberpower is a more balanced PC, but still not very good, all things considered. Have you considered building your own? For the same amount of money (roughly), you could get a better PC. See here:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($53.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $583.47
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-19 14:29 EST-0500)

That leaves you $$ to spare and plenty of room to upgrade with a GPU when you get the cash.

Edit: If you don't live near a Microcenter, you have to add like $40 back onto that price. Assuming you can get it for this price, you could buy a 550ti or a 7770, which would give you decent gaming at medium settings or so.

 

[JMer806]

Uncertainties: 1) I feel like I should go for the i7, but the i5 is a better setup for gaming (esp. w/ gpu upgrade), 2) the i5 has a 500W P/S vs i7's 300w 2) Confused about the different i5 and i7 flavors and gen's...how much does that matter, are there versions of those CPUs I should avoid (aside from 1st gen).

To answer these questions.

1. The i7 is a better CPU, even for gaming, but generally isn't worth the price upgrade. So when people say that the i5 3570k is the best gaming CPU, what they mean is that it's the best value for a gaming PC. It's considerably cheaper than the i7 (or the Sandy Bridge E series) and is not very far behind in terms of performance.

2. A 300W PSU would very severely limit your future upgrade options. I doubt you'd be able to run a modern GPU along with the rest of your PC on 300W. Furthermore, prebuilts are notorious for using crappy no-name OEM PSUs compared to the ones you can buy yourself, because it's an easy way to save money on the build and most people never think to look.

3. 3rd gen i3/i5/i7 is Ivy Bridge. Sandy Bridge is fine but doesn't have all the features or speed of IB. On the other hand, I've read that you can do much higher overclocks on Sandy Bridge CPUs. IB has generally better performance, though, and more features. As far as avoiding them, there's no real reason for that as long as you understand what you're paying for.

 

[bailey_woof]

Hey...Jmer ... thanks for some great thoughts. I think I'll investigate building my own more before pulling the trigger, hadn't really considered that.
And I'll go w/ the i5 I think, under the best option for the money idea.