• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

Which i7 should I go for?!

Bradguin121

Bradguin121

Bradguin121

Associate
Joined
17 Nov 2011
Posts
335
I have a choice whether to get:

Intel i7 2700K
Asus P8Z77-V LX
8GB Corsair Vengeance RAM

= £357.40+FREE SHIPPING

or

Intel i7 3770 (NON K)
Asus P8H77-M LE
8GB Corsair Vengeance RAM

=£341+FREE SHIPPING

I dont know what to get! Ill be using the system primarily for gaming and some video editing. Whats making me have trouble deciding the most, is the fact that im not a very strong overclocker... which is putting me off the 2700K a little bit. Will I even be able to OC the 2700K on the 'Asus P8Z77-V LX2' ? Atm, I cant afford a better board as im on a budget of £300-£350.

The rest of my system will be:
Sapphire HD 7850 OC
1TB WD Green HDD
Corsair GS600W PSU
Lite-on DVD-RW

I also have a CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO laying around so ill use that for cooling.
 
Last edited:
Hyburnate said:
the Z77 is a much newer stronger chipset if I'm not mistaken, dont hold me to this...
Click to expand...

Is it worth the extra £16? Cause I dont know if ill be able to OC the 2700k very much.. Because im a noob when it comes to OC'ing.

So would it be better just to get the cheaper option of the stock i7 3770?
 
When it comes to clocking sandybridge and Ivybridge, the motherboard plays a much less significant role in the whole affair, clocking is purely down to the chip, and its multiplier, because you cannot clock via the Blck anymore

The main difference between Z68 and Z77 is better compatibility between Cpus (IE they will work with both Sandy and Ivy,)

purely down to the heat issues of Ivy, I would recommend getting the Sandy i7 (thats the 2700K) regardless of board you should be able to achieve 4.5Ghz at least, while maintaining pretty good temps, where as the Ivy would possibly get that far, but temps will be considerably higher :)
 
Got to be the overclocking system imho.

Wether you decide to clock or not - at least it's your choice !:)

(Would be a shame not to clock btw)

If it were a straight choice between the Sandy K and the Ivy K then I would probably go with the latter - even though I'm running a 2700k @ 4.3 on an Asus Z77 sabertooth and have no complaints; very easy to use and nice and stable- if I had to make the chice now then I'd go for the Ivy K
 
The 2700K. A non-K 3770 + H77 means no overclocking :(.

These chips are really easy to overclock, the 2700K will easily get 4ghz on stock volts, and even higher if you feel like playing with the voltages.
 
See a lot of people hit 5ghz with the Sandy chips on air whereas most top out around 4.5 with ivy unless under a good watercooler or top end air cooler.
 
I would probably go for the 2700k over the 3770 due to allowing overclocking. You'll be able to get more out of a 2700k than a 3770.

Now, as somebody suggested above - If you put the time aside to learn how to overclock properly and safely; getting a 3770k is indeed a better choice.
 
Chrisbes said:
I would probably go for the 2700k over the 3770 due to allowing overclocking. You'll be able to get more out of a 2700k than a 3770.

Now, as somebody suggested above - If you put the time aside to learn how to overclock properly and safely; getting a 3770k is indeed a better choice.
Click to expand...
Save the extra few quid and get the 3770k, yes it runs a bit hotter. But it has a 300mhz start over the 2700k. Put some coollaboratory liquid pro/ultra on the ihs and it will run cool enough, you get the full benefit of pcie 3 with a Z77 board and ivybridge. Yes they run hot in stress testing, but in normal use they run fine.
 
Bradguin121 said:
Iv Also been recommended an Xeon 1230v2 instead of the i7 3770 ... what do you think?
Click to expand...

This makes a lot of sense. They can be picked up around £180, performance wide there very slightly slower than stock i7-3370k. You loose the ability to overclock & no on board graphics, however your saving at least £70.

If you were already considering the non K i7, then the Xeon makes even more sense as either chip can't be overclocked and only difference is on-board graphics that you will never use.
 
Last edited:
Suarez7 said:
See a lot of people hit 5ghz with the Sandy chips on air whereas most top out around 4.5 with ivy unless under a good watercooler or top end air cooler.
Click to expand...

My 3570k topped out at 4.6GHz v1.384, I didn't want to push further with that one. My 3770k I hit 4.75GHz v1.4, delidded it and in normal use I don't see over 75'C.

Don't be put off by the heat that these put out, it really isn't that bad. If you can wait longer (I would) wait for the 4770k and have a look at some reviews to see how well they overclock, I remember reading a reddit Q&A thread with an Intel Engineer saying they overclock like a dream.
 
illuz said:
My 3570k topped out at 4.6GHz v1.384, I didn't want to push further with that one. My 3770k I hit 4.75GHz v1.4, delidded it and in normal use I don't see over 75'C.

Don't be put off by the heat that these put out, it really isn't that bad. If you can wait longer (I would) wait for the 4770k and have a look at some reviews to see how well they overclock, I remember reading a reddit Q&A thread with an Intel Engineer saying they overclock like a dream.
Click to expand...

75c is pretty warm and that's delidded as well, in normal use my 4.5ghz 2500k sits around 50c at just under 1.3v as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom