i5 or i7 for gaming

Geo-Gamer · 6 Sep 2014 at 13:40

hi all!

sorry if this has been mentioned many times before as i cant seem to find a convincing answer anywhere!

I am currently building a system and im deciding between an i5 4670k or an i7 4790k and if the extra 90 pounds more is it worth it?

I am purly using it for gaming such as bf4 and wow.

thanks in advance!

setter · 6 Sep 2014 at 13:49

The i7 will help a bit in multi threaded games, moreso with sli/xfire. Bf3/4 and crysis 3 are games that ive found benefit a lot as i run sli 780's.

~>Dg<~ · 6 Sep 2014 at 13:53

if you have the extra and dont mind spending go with a i7 .

only real benefit games wise is if you go dual cards.

in bf4 you wont notice anything.

setter · 6 Sep 2014 at 13:59

~>Dg<~ said:
if you have the extra and dont mind spending go with a i7 .

only real benefit games wise is if you go dual cards.

in bf4 you wont notice anything.

Yup, single card no difference. Turn off ht on my i7 though and things get a bit messy due to thread limit with sli.

Amatsubu · 6 Sep 2014 at 14:00

I had the same dillema and went with the 4790k in the end because I also use my PC to make music. I'd probably be ok with the 4690k but I decided to buy the best parts I could afford. If you have the lolly there's no reason not to buy a better CPU but if it means skimping on the GPU (or other important components, for that matter), then go with the i5.

Geo-Gamer · 6 Sep 2014 at 23:33

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I will just go for the i7 for the sake of £90

Makes me feel better inside, even though probably wont see a difference in games with my single card xD

Thanks again!

apostolis_kt · 8 Sep 2014 at 12:53

Have this under consideration as well:

The i5 runs normally on 3.5GHz - 3.9GHz in Turbo mode
The i7 runs normally on 4GHz - 4.4GHz in Turbo mode and both processors can overclock.

WOW has always been CPU intensive and i read that the new expansion will use multithreading better (in the past it couldnt see more that 2 cores if i recall). WOW always needed the extra MHz you could have in the processor so i would go for the i7 just because of wow and because it runs 0.5GHz more than the i5

If the 90 pounds though spent to an i7 force you to get a lower spec GPU then go for the i5. BF4 needs a good GPU (nothing fancy though it is not Crysis

) although it can use multicore really well.

danny86 · 8 Sep 2014 at 16:15

im debating getting a 4690k from a guy i know, then i noticed there isnt much difference in what he wants to a 4770k second hand from the likes of ebay, what one should i go for ?

cheers

apostolis_kt · 8 Sep 2014 at 17:00

danny86 said:
im debating getting a 4690k from a guy i know, then i noticed there isnt much difference in what he wants to a 4770k second hand from the likes of ebay, what one should i go for ?

cheers

Hmmm tricky. The 4770k i think is a just a bit better because of HT but on the other hand will be older than the 4690k with a chance that it has seen more action (OCing) in its lifetime compared to the 4690K which came out 3 months ago and that is something you need to factor in when buying used CPU's

danny86 · 8 Sep 2014 at 17:15

apostolis_kt said:
Hmmm tricky. The 4770k i think is a just a bit better because of HT but on the other hand will be older than the 4690k with a chance that it has seen more action (OCing) in its lifetime compared to the 4690K which came out 3 months ago and that is something you need to factor in when buying used CPU's

cheers for the advice mate, is there much between them performance wise? i was thinking with the 4770k being a i7 it may be better just to get one of them. Im not too good with computers.

MrMD · 8 Sep 2014 at 17:54

danny86 said:
cheers for the advice mate, is there much between them performance wise? i was thinking with the 4770k being a i7 it may be better just to get one of them. Im not too good with computers.

Out the box at stock both those CPU's will offer identical performance in the majority of games.

Games that do support more than 4 threads will perform better on the I7,but generally speaking the difference isnt a lot.

If you have the cash an I7 will probily be better for the long term.If not an I5 is still excellent for gaming.

Personally tho i wouldnt buy a used CPU unless it is from some1 you know,and know what conditions/speeds/temps it has been ran at during its lifespan.

apostolis_kt · 9 Sep 2014 at 10:04

MrMD said:
Out the box at stock both those CPU's will offer identical performance in the majority of games.

Games that do support more than 4 threads will perform better on the I7,but generally speaking the difference isnt a lot.

If you have the cash an I7 will probily be better for the long term.If not an I5 is still excellent for gaming.

Personally tho i wouldnt buy a used CPU unless it is from some1 you know,and know what conditions/speeds/temps it has been ran at during its lifespan.

As stated above for gaming - now - you wont see any difference. But once the multithreaded games come (there are a few out there i think, BF4 being one but its GPU intensive) then i7 would be more future proof. Also in case you want to run some editing programs they would utilise the processor more. Between the 2 though and only for gaming i would get the i5 unless the i7 was a bargain and i knew from whom i was getting the processor. As i stated in previous post, the i5 -used- could be up to 3 months old the i7 will be up to a year plus 3 months max old.

I always bought used and never had a problem (with processors, with mobos i had a problem), my q9550 which i bought 3 months ago (which is sooooo many years old) is going very well and clocked so far nicely, i will try to push 4GHz if i ever get time.

Some tips, if the price of the used i7 is close to the i5 brand new get the new part. If it is even more then don't even think about it.
If the used i5 is cheaper by 10 - 20 pounds from the new part then you should think about it if it is worth the extra pounds to get it new. (unless you know the guy and the cpu is an excellent clocker)

edit: BTW not to get confused because i just re read the post you made, all my comments are about the new DC i5 4690K processor not the 4670K, if that is the case then again think of the prices and see if you can get the new parts with an extra amount you are comfortable with.

Thumbs up to any decision you make. All processors are very similar GPUs are the ones that need the money!

Geo-Gamer · 9 Sep 2014 at 11:12

apostolis_kt said:
Have this under consideration as well:

The i5 runs normally on 3.5GHz - 3.9GHz in Turbo mode
The i7 runs normally on 4GHz - 4.4GHz in Turbo mode and both processors can overclock.

WOW has always been CPU intensive and i read that the new expansion will use multithreading better (in the past it couldnt see more that 2 cores if i recall). WOW always needed the extra MHz you could have in the processor so i would go for the i7 just because of wow and because it runs 0.5GHz more than the i5

If the 90 pounds though spent to an i7 force you to get a lower spec GPU then go for the i5. BF4 needs a good GPU (nothing fancy though it is not Crysis ) although it can use multicore really well.

Thanks for the feedback! Did not know about the new expansion in WOW using Hyper threading. Big plus factor for me and well pleased.

I will have the CPU overclocked to around 4.5 Ghz, so in terms of MHZ it will not make a difference once the i5 and i7 are both at 4.5GHZ and being identical in speed.

But as already mentioned thats when the i7 hyper threading may help and being future proof.

In terms of GPU the i7 wont force me to get a lower GPU as I am currently waiting for the new 980 GPU's to be released within the next few weeks. So Im ok GPU wise

Thanks again!

Amatsubu · 9 Sep 2014 at 11:40

If you really want an i7 then grab the 4790k. I would advise against buying a second hand CPU and nobody can guarantee you'll get a good clocker. With the 4790k, you're guaranteed to have a 4Ghz base clock and a 4.4 turbo which you can easily set to run on all four cores with a bit of tinkering. You won't need more than that if you're not a heavy bencher. The 4790k should also run a tiny bit cooler than the 4770k (though the "new" TIM might be just a load of cobblers, as some people say).

Geo-Gamer · 9 Sep 2014 at 11:52

Just another question which has been bugging me recently!

Shall I use the pre applied paste that came with my Corsair H105 or apply artic silver 5?

Been reading a lot of people who left the pre applied paste had lower temps than when using artic silver 5.

apostolis_kt · 9 Sep 2014 at 11:53

Geo-Gamer said:
Thanks for the feedback! Did not know about the new expansion in WOW using Hyper threading. Big plus factor for me and well pleased.

Thanks again!

Take the above with a grain of salt, i have seen people doing the public beta saying it utilises more cores better, and i read it in some article but i cannot find an official announcement yet. either way with the 980 on board i think you are looking at a very capable machine.

Amatsubu · 9 Sep 2014 at 12:00

People say that the thermal paste that comes pre-applied on the H105/110 is quality stuff, I would use that one. Besides, Arctic Silver 5 isn't even that good;p

Geo-Gamer · 9 Sep 2014 at 12:05

apostolis_kt said:
either way with the 980 on board i think you are looking at a very capable machine.

Currently building a new build and just a waiting game now for the release of the new 900 series

Its killing me!

Amatsubu said:
People say that the thermal paste that comes pre-applied on the H105/110 is quality stuff, I would use that one. Besides, Arctic Silver 5 isn't even that good;p

Based on the reviews i will stick with the pre applied paste and good news is i really cant be asked to sit there applying new paste :/ lol

Thanks again guys.

Stas823 · 9 Sep 2014 at 12:32

I7 all the way!! Unless you are buying a new system then just spend more on Gpu

apostolis_kt · 9 Sep 2014 at 12:54

Amatsubu said:
People say that the thermal paste that comes pre-applied on the H105/110 is quality stuff, I would use that one. Besides, Arctic Silver 5 isn't even that good;p

I have read that the H105 has a really good thermal paste so use that and if not happy go buy some other one and try again. Ask here which one to get, i think arctic silver 5 is a bit old tech now, i saw tests with mustard working cooler than arctic silver 5