2500k or 2600k for gaming, and what mobo?

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Stiletto

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Going to be upgrading soon from my E8400 to give my 6970 more breathing room. I'll be using air, and overclocking, but nothing crazy(4.0-4.2). I'm going to be gaming more than anything, and want to know how big a difference the cache increase makes between the 2500k and 2600k.

Also, I'd like a recommendation for a good motherboard, with two PCI-Express slots and USB 3.0.
 
Can't comment on Motherboard

However when I did the research last year, The difference in gaming between the 2500K and 2600K is negligible because in general, games don't take advantage of hyper-threading. The 2600K would be for someone who is doing operations like encoding files.

If you're strictly gaming, go with the 2500K.
 
DMFD-Minister said:
Can't comment on Motherboard

However when I did the research last year, The difference in gaming between the 2500K and 2600K is negligible because in general, games don't take advantage of hyper-threading. The 2600K would be for someone who is doing operations like encoding files.

If you're strictly gaming, go with the 2500K.
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Agreed.

As for motherboards the ASUS P8Z77-V, MSI Z77A-GD65, or Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H would all be good choices on a budget.
 
DMFD-Minister said:
Can't comment on Motherboard

However when I did the research last year, The difference in gaming between the 2500K and 2600K is negligible because in general, games don't take advantage of hyper-threading. The 2600K would be for someone who is doing operations like encoding files.

If you're strictly gaming, go with the 2500K.
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That's what I was originally assuming, so thanks for the confirmation.
 
Do you have a MicroCenter nearby? Reason being is because you can get a 3570k and decent mobo, like as AsRock z77 board for cheap. If you buy their "combo" you get like $50 off the board too.
The 3570k @ MC is like $10 more than the 2500k.
 
OmegaSupreme said:
Do you have a MicroCenter nearby? Reason being is because you can get a 3570k and decent mobo, like as AsRock z77 board for cheap. If you buy their "combo" you get like $50 off the board too.
The 3570k @ MC is like $10 more than the 2500k.
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Eh, I'm more of a late adopter, and the 2500k seems to have caused less headaches than the 3570k so far. I'm also not going to be using a video card(s) with PCI-Express 3.0 capabilities, so I'm not worried about that part.

I probably will, however, end up driving all the way to Chicago from Madison just to get a $150 2500k, though. Supposedly they're building on in Wisconsin soon...I can't wait.
 
Stiletto said:
Eh, I'm more of a late adopter, and the 2500k seems to have caused less headaches than the 3570k so far. I'm also not going to be using a video card(s) with PCI-Express 3.0 capabilities, so I'm not worried about that part.

I probably will, however, end up driving all the way to Chicago from Madison just to get a $150 2500k, though. Supposedly they're building on in Wisconsin soon...I can't wait.
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The 3570K and 3770K are solid processors. They don't cause more headaches than their predecessors. Not sure where you are getting that but if that's what you heard, you heard wrong. And PCI-Express 3.0 isn't just about bandwidth. Allocation of PCIe lanes is more dynamic with the newer CPUs. You'll see stickers on the bottom PCI-Express slots on many motherboards telling you that these slots don't work without a Ivy Bridge processor. Ivy Bridge is also on average around 6% faster than Sandy Bridge at the same clock speeds. For an additional $10 I'd say they are worth it.
 
I agree with Dan_D, go with the 3570k; the added cost isn't enough to make it not worth the price.
 
Dan_D said:
The 3570K and 3770K are solid processors. They don't cause more headaches than their predecessors. Not sure where you are getting that but if that's what you heard, you heard wrong. And PCI-Express 3.0 isn't just about bandwidth. Allocation of PCIe lanes is more dynamic with the newer CPUs. You'll see stickers on the bottom PCI-Express slots on many motherboards telling you that these slots don't work without a Ivy Bridge processor. Ivy Bridge is also on average around 6% faster than Sandy Bridge at the same clock speeds. For an additional $10 I'd say they are worth it.
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Then what's the chatter I keep seeing about a lid of some sort that messes with cooling?
 
Stiletto said:
Then what's the chatter I keep seeing about a lid of some sort that messes with cooling?
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That's for people that are pushing their IB's hard and hitting the "heat wall".

Since you are looking to OC to 4.0 - 4.2 GHz, you won't have a load temp problem with a 3570K. In fact, it'll be like running a 2500K at 4.1 - 4.4 GHz thanks to the higher IPC.
 
The issues with the 3rd generation Intel® Core™ processors have to do with the use of TIM over flexless solder in. For most people this means less then nothing since the only time that you would see any effects from this is when you are overclocking once you start to up the voltage the temperatures can rise quickly. Since you are not looking for a higher end overclock on the Intel Core i5-2500K. The improvements to the Intel Core i5-3570K leds to an improvement of about 6% at the same speed over the Intel Core i5-2500K. A number of people have reported that they have reached 4.2GHz or 4.3GHz on the Intel Core i5-3570K without increasing the voltage. So if you overclock the Intel Core i5-3570K to 4GHz you should be good to go and get better performance from it.
 
Yeah, if you are only going to 4.1 then get the 3570K...I'm in the same boat, but I'm not only looking to go 4.1, I want all I can get for my CPU intensive simulations....even so, I'm 50/50 on the 2500K/3570K path, and for you, I think you'll be happy with either, so if you see a good price on one vs the other, then get that one.
 
I own both, 2500k, and you can OC to 4.0 on the stock cooler, no need to go crazy on the motherboard just get the one with the features you need, dont spend more than 150 IMO. Gigabyte, asus, msi, intel all fine.
 
rudy said:
I own both, 2500k, and you can OC to 4.0 on the stock cooler, no need to go crazy on the motherboard just get the one with the features you need, dont spend more than 150 IMO. Gigabyte, asus, msi, intel all fine.
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Depends on the feature set you want. The Gigabyte Z77X-UP4-TH is a really nice board but costs $200.00. But if you want Thunderbolt that's not a bad trade off. Feature set above all else differentiates boards from each other. Just because you wouldn't spend more than $150 doesn't mean others shouldn't.
 
rudy said:
I own both, 2500k, and you can OC to 4.0 on the stock cooler, no need to go crazy on the motherboard just get the one with the features you need, dont spend more than 150 IMO. Gigabyte, asus, msi, intel all fine.
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The 2500K is the easiest overclock I've ever had.
 
I would say, ANY motherboard will go. I don't think, I've ever seen any benchmark to verdict performance differences between 100 and 400$ motherboards

I just got 2500k and Asrock p67 pro3 (VERY CHEAP) last month. Everything works great. no problems. Uefi and mobo itself don't feel to criple anything
 
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