I would really appreciate a benchmark between....

rogueblade · 12 Aug 2011 at 23:53

An i7 920 vs an i5 2500k.
Why? I have an i7 920 @ 4.0ghz and would like to upgrade to a rig with an i5 2500k but cannot find any reasonable benchmarks.

Of the few I have found that compare the two, the reviewer is using really poor GPU's such as a GTX 280 at an average resolution, where the CPU is really going to shine in making that FPS difference. Not what I need.

Does anyone know of/have a benchmark or have an idea of how an i7 920 compares to an i5 2500k when gaming with a high end gpu? OC'd or not, I'd love to get an idea.

Jayster · 13 Aug 2011 at 00:03

Unless its a really CPU intensive game or your GPU is being bottlenecked the difference a modern CPU makes in any real gaming scenario is tiny and I am guessing that's why the results are hard to find/non-existent.
As for your system, if its just for gaming you will see a far larger increase with a GPU upgrade.

cmndr_andi · 13 Aug 2011 at 00:25

Do you mean just gaming benchmarks?

If you are using a HD 5870 graphics card then the performance difference in games when playing at 1920x1200 res will be tiny to non-existant.

If you are mainly gaming then you would be much better off investing in a second HD 5870 to run in crossfire (your board and PSU should handle it fine) instead of a CPU/mobo upgrade.

masonkian · 13 Aug 2011 at 00:26

keep the 920

no need to upgrade

rogueblade · 13 Aug 2011 at 00:31

Yea, I'm definitely planning on buying a 580 very soon and considering the new mobo cpu, but thanks for the feedback, it seems most people think I should keep the 920 @ 4.0ghz for now.

j.col · 13 Aug 2011 at 12:49

here is a cpu comparison, but at stock speeds http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/47?vs=288

setter · 13 Aug 2011 at 13:02

rogueblade said:
Yea, I'm definitely planning on buying a 580 very soon and considering the new mobo cpu, but thanks for the feedback, it seems most people think I should keep the 920 @ 4.0ghz for now.

Keep the 920 for now and either add a second 5870, or a new single card, (ati 7 series rumoured to be arriving in a while). Your cpu is still a pretty powerful chip for gaming. I considered an upgrade to sb a while back myself, (primarily a gamer), but there were no signifigant benefits, so i just clocked my 920 a bit higher. My next full system upgrade will probably be ivybridge, but theres still a lot of life in the 920 yet.

johny dolan · 13 Aug 2011 at 14:01

I gaine between 10 and 20 fps going from a i7 [email protected] to a [email protected] and thats in iracing thats very cpu heavey and i have 6990 + 6970

I upgraded just because i could not because i needed to.

rogueblade · 13 Aug 2011 at 14:24

johny dolan said:
I gaine between 10 and 20 fps going from a i7 [email protected] to a [email protected] and thats in iracing thats very cpu heavey and i have 6990 + 6970

I upgraded just because i could not because i needed to.

See now that's interesting. I almost regret you saying that because I was almost ready to just do the GPU upgrade...

Jamiman · 13 Aug 2011 at 14:45

he's a minority, go for a new GPU.

johny dolan · 13 Aug 2011 at 14:49

I already had the 6990 + 6970 i was just saying the gain i got from the cpu change.

If you want to upgrade a pc for gaming go GPU first as that will gain the biggest gains unless your cpu bottlenecked which you sure are not with a i7920

Gashman · 14 Aug 2011 at 22:51

no offence but as someone who is using a Q6600 still (even though they are almost antiques to most on here!) but what the hell are you doing to consider 'upgrading' a processor like that? there is nothing at all it should be struggling with and the boost you'd get from an upgrade would be almost non-existent, except for noticing the cash missing from your pocket? :confused:

buttkinz · 15 Aug 2011 at 14:48

only reason his system is getting more fps is he has 3 top end gpu's which need a great cpu to feed them, an i7 9x0 is at its limit i guess at 3.8 to getting enough data to 3 6970's, up it to 4.2/4.4 and the difference will probably get smaller, also the sandy bridge chips will very rarely hit 5.2ghz, much less be able to run at that 24/7 without falling to bits due to the high voltage.

jennidc · 15 Aug 2011 at 16:06

2nd 5870

just get a 2nd 5870 instead for top of the tree gaming performance - might have to get it 2nd hand though as most places will have no stock now.

You could always add an SSD and install it as your boot drive for even more performance.

Your CPU is still near top of the range.

(I have just paid £35 for a 2nd 4850 on the members market which should mean my old q6600 @3.2ghz with 2 crossfired 4850's will play most modern games at decent frame rates with all the settings on high)

manveruppd · 15 Aug 2011 at 16:22

@johny dolan What sort of framerates were you getting at that particular game before the upgrade? Cause +10FPS doesn't tell us much - if you were previously getting 20FPS then a bump to 30 is the difference between crap and playable, but if you were getting 110 then a jump to 120 is imperceptible!

RavenXXX2 · 15 Aug 2011 at 19:13

Might see some decent gains with a 5Ghz 2500k v 4GHz 920, especially if you game at 800x600 res with low quality GFX settings. :rolleyes:

otherwise stick with the 920 as the difference will be negligible when gaming at a decent res and high IQ settings.

:(Rhodri:) · 15 Aug 2011 at 19:43

RavenXXX2 said:
Might see some decent gains with a 5Ghz 2500k v 4GHz 920, especially if you game at 800x600 res with low quality GFX settings. otherwise stick with the 920 as the difference will be negligible when gaming at a decent res and high IQ settings.

This 100%. Unless you need more CPU power for other tasks your money will buy you a tiny difference in FPS.

dante`afk · 17 Aug 2011 at 21:07

jennidc said:
(I have just paid £35 for a 2nd 4850 on the members market which should mean my old q6600 @3.2ghz with 2 crossfired 4850's will play most modern games at decent frame rates with all the settings on high)

members market?

sorry to pick this thread up again, no pm function in here

cmndr_andi · 17 Aug 2011 at 21:28

dante`afk said:
members market?

sorry to pick this thread up again, no pm function in here

Quoted from the Forum FAQ:

Members Market?
The members market is provided as a free service to active and contributing forum members. OcUK are not liable for any deals that are done in the Members Market, you are free to buy and sell at your own risk. Please read the rules of the Members Market before you proceed to make your first sale.

Access to the Members Market forum requires two things. Firstly, you will need to have over 250 posts and have been signed up for at least 90 days. Please note that this does not mean you spam the forums simply to increase your posts, as this action will result in posts being deducted, and if you continue this behaviour, your account will eventually be banned/suspended. Once you reach 250 posts, you will need to activate your trust.The Trust system is for Members Market feedback only and not to be used for general user comments. Abusing the trust system will not be tolerated and such abuse will result in your account being suspended/ banned. Trust activation is either found in your UserCP, or you can press the trust button that appears at the bottom of all your posts.

Once you satisfy both of these criteria, Members Market access will be granted within 24hrs. Please do not post on the forums asking why you cannot access the members market, if you have any queries, email one of the forum Dons/Admins. The contact addresses are available in the FAQ. There is no buying, or selling allowed outside of the Members Market.