i7 2700k (3.5Ghz Sandy) v i7 3820 (3.6Ghz Sandy)

[SteelerRob]

I'm in the middle of working out my new computer, the price difference between the i7 2700k (3.5Ghz Sandy) and the i7 3820 (3.6Ghz Sandy) is about £20.

There appears to be very little difference between the two processors, if you were in my position, which processor would you get and why?

Cheers!

 

[Doomedspeed]

It's all about the sockets/motherboards..

Firstly, look at the 3770k rather than the 2700k, it's better.

What are the uses for your PC?

 

[SteelerRob]

Gaming will be its main use.

 

[SteelerRob]

Ah, didn't realize Sandy and Ivy CPU's had a separate section! 3770k it is!

 

[Doomedspeed]

If it's just purely gaming, id go with the i5 3570k. In games the i7 offers nothing extra than the i5. You will see no performance increase.

The i7 does help in Editing and CAD work where hyperthreading will be used. Otherwise it's spending £70 just to say "i have an i7".

 

[Orcvader]

If it's just purely gaming, id go with the i5 3570k. In games the i7 offers nothing extra than the i5. You will see no performance increase.

The i7 does help in Editing and CAD work where hyperthreading will be used. Otherwise it's spending £70 just to say "i have an i7".

This. Gaming hardly ever uses a lot of cores, so the i5 will offer pretty much the same performance. Unless you're doing anything that takes advantage of Hyper-Threading, buy the i5 and use the money for the GPU.

 

[ubersonic]

I agree with what Doom and Orc said right now, however we are already in the situation where an i3 pulls ahead of dual core Pentiums/Celerons due to its HT and so with the way CPU's and consoles are headed it is quite likely that although a quad core i7's HT isn't useful in gaming right now, it will become so within the 3570/3770K's lifespan, something to bear in mind if you don't expect to upgrade the CPU for a few years.

 

[MORE SPEED]

If you're intending on going high end SLI, I think there is a slight difference between the 3770K and 3570K in some games. Otherwise it isn't worth the price difference.