i5 2500K or i5 3570K? Which one for gaming?
 

Hi,

Which i5 processor should I buy for a new rig.

i5 2500K is older tech but a proven overclocker..

i5 3570K is newer, has good extras (like lower power usage), but might not overclock as high due to temperature concerns.

This topic generates verbal fisticuffs on other forums.

Any experiences with one or the other?:heh:

What is your graphics card?

The CPU only needs to keep up with the GPU to avoid a bottle neck, any more is overkill.

In most cases, going with an i3 or Ph2X4 and using the money saved on a higher end GPU will be better for framerates.

Don't be afraid of the lower overclocks on the 3570k, because clock for clock, it still performs better than the 2500k.

The temperature concerns on the 3570k aren't that big of a deal to be honest, as long as you have a good after-market cooler.

Biggest factor is cost. How much more does a 2500k cost than a 3570k?

I upgraded this year, and went for a 2500K over the 3570K because of cost.

The cost difference is less than 15 Euro where I live. :confused:

Thanks for the input.

I have an EVGA GTX-480 (video card) that is supposed to be decent (runs hot and is an energy hog).

The price between the two CPUs is about $10.00.

I haven't upgraded in a while(I'm running q6600 and q6700 as CPUs on two machines). I can afford to buy something nice but I always want bang-for-the-buck.

I just got a higher resolution monitor(2560x1440) and I would like to drive it properly.

I'd go 3570k, you can get the same power with less noise and heat. In my opinion that's worth ten bucks.

I just recently last month built a completely new gaming computer and I went with the I5 3750k.

I've had mine overclocked to 4.6ghz with a aftermarket cooler and has ran fine since, but the temperatures are warmer compared to a equally clocked I5 2500k. But a 4.6ghz 3750k is still faster than a 2500k of same clock because of improvements in CPU architecture. If I remember correctly the 3750k is faster by 3x times over the 2500k.

For example I can have a overclocked 5.0ghz 2500k but a 3750k clocked to 4.6ghz will still beat the 2500k in performance tests.

IMO, the price difference is like around only 10-20 dollars (last time I checked) difference so I would recommended the 3750k because it's newer and better tech.

However, what Random32 said does hold true. If you're really really tight on the cash then just get the 2500k and get a nice GPU because gaming wise upgrading the GPU is number one while CPU is second. I bet the 2500k will go cheap very soon since the 3750k are out now.

Get the 3570k then. There's no real reason not to get it when there's only a $10 difference. May want to upgrade the 480 GTX though, it'll start bottle necking at 2560x1440

Thanks again.

I guess I'll get the 3570 and a suitable motherboard.

I might get another gtx-480 and try them in SLI.

I tend to buy things on impulse sometimes.

I'd rather consider buying another GPU than SLI-ing the 480s.

Maybe a GTX 670/680?

You can get a second 480 for around 200$, if you have the psu and the case for it, it's a giant boost in performance.

You're going to end up with an oven :heh:

That's why I said a good case :D
Now that I remember, the 480 only have 1.5gb of gddr5. You are right, it might limit at high resolution with high texture and AA...

I suppose I should build the rig then see how far the 480 will take me.

I mainly play RPGs like Oblivion, Skyrim and Witcher 2.

Only 1.5GB?
I built my computer over 2 years ago and it has an HD 5870 with 1GB, and I still feel like that's too much :D

But then again, all I really play anymore is WoW (quit playing all my other games when I first discovered anime 8 months ago :p)

But yeah, I would get dual 480's if you can afford it, just to be awesome. I've heard that SLI scales ~30% better than CrossFire, which is probably the only reason I haven't bought a second 5870 yet (that and I don't want to buy a second waterblock ;))

5870 has stellar performance, it's a great card despite being two generations out of date. If you're not running at obscenely high resolutions (nothing higher than 1920x1200 or so) then you're not going to run into issues with a 1GB framebuffer.

Get the i5 2500k if you are going for a gaming rig with a dedicated GPU card. Ivy bridge of the 3570k isn't worth the money in terms of performance gain.

Also for graphic cards, look up performance charts on review site before buying em as the actual size of the onboard RAM are not a good indicator of the performance you can get from them.

I just recently built myself a rig for around 1.2k USD (being a malaysian, price is slightly higher but not by a lot) and here's the spec i'm using.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bigg
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bigg/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bigg/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($169.87 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($36.98 @ NCIX US)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($102.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Silverstone 600W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.98 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $961.78
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-07-27 06:43 EDT-0400)

I used this guide for reference when planning my rig.