I5 or i7?

[christofudge]

Hey guys, I just wanted to ask, is there a point paying the extra money for the i7 ivy or would the i5 suffice for gaming and for how long? I'm switching over from console gaming instead of waiting for the ps4 and new xbox
Ill also be using it for some college/uni work which I do game design and development (coding, designing, that kind I'd thing)
Thanks for the help!

 

[tenaciousk]

Yeah, for gaming the i5 is the go to processor. It is fast enough to handle all games provided you have a sufficient gpu. So the extra money you would be paying for the i7 isnt really justified. And since games are just starting to be able to even utilize 4 cores (most games do not) i would imagine that the i5 will be good for a while.

 

[christofudge]

Thanks that's what I was thinking to be honest!

 

[groundrat]

Agreed (+1)

The only big difference between the i5 and the i7 is hyperthreading, which isn't overly utilized in games. The i7 doesn't shine until you start to crunch large amounts of data (read rendering, CAD or video editing).

Stick with a good i5K series.

 

[christofudge]

I will do! save myself a lot of money I can out towards a new graphics card too :-D

 

[g-unit1111]

I will do! save myself a lot of money I can out towards a new graphics card too :-D

Yeah for gaming the best rule of thumb is spend less on the CPU and more on the GPU. The i5-3570K is currently the best CPU on the market for gaming bar none. Then get the absolute best GPU you can get for your budget.

 

[phx08]

the i7 3770k is on sale for the same price as the i5 3570k ... FYI..its for in-store pick up only though, so see if the store is near you. I was able to drive a few minutes and grab one for $229

 

[christofudge]

I live in the north of the UK so I don't think there is near me unfortunately, I'll definitely keep an eye out for deals and sales though!

 

[Dorsalphin]

I'm apologizing in advance, but instead of creating a new thread I'm going to temporarily hijack this one b/c I have a similar question. I completely understand that as of right now it doesn't make any sense to buy the i7 over the i5. However, as someone who only upgrades their computer every 4 to 5 years, wouldn't I be better off spending the additional $40 and getting the i7?

 

[g-unit1111]

I'm apologizing in advance, but instead of creating a new thread I'm going to temporarily hijack this one b/c I have a similar question. I completely understand that as of right now it doesn't make any sense to buy the i7 over the i5. However, as someone who only upgrades their computer every 4 to 5 years, wouldn't I be better off spending the additional $40 and getting the i7?

Depends on what you're going to use it for. If it's gaming no. If it's Adobe CS5 / 6 or CAD/rendering programs then yes.

 

[J_E_D_70]

Will have to see how the 8-threaded console to PC ports go. I'm thinking the 3570K's *much* higher clock speed (minimum of 3.6 Turbo as opposed to 1.6Ghz per core) will cover the difference but who knows. The IB has more Instructions Per Clock (IPC) as well.

 

[DiaSin]

He did say he is going to do game design on his system.. so he probably needs the i7.

One thing to keep in mind.. If you live near a microcenter or have a friend that lives near one and you trust them enough to buy with your money, the in-store price of an i7-3770k is only about $10 more than the pre-shipped price of buying an i5-3570k online.

Personally I was going to get the i7 anyway as I am going to do video editing fairly regularly once I do my new build, but seeing the microcenter i7 price cemented in the choice of the i7.

Oh.. and @ g-unit1111: There are patches from adobe for every CS as far back as CS2 to allow it to utilize hyper threading and all available cores, so its not just CS5 and CS6 where it makes a difference.