Intel Sandy Bridge 2600K and 2500K Processors @ [H]

I am running i5 2500k in my rig. It runs at 4.5ghz 24/7, only turn it off if I am out of town for several days. Using corsair H50 for cooling. Unless the ambient temp is real hot it hardly ever breaks 60C after several hours of gaming. Have not tried to run it faster than that.
 
Stability testing my 2600k at 4.5GHz on 1.28V. Hopefully I can either bring this voltage down and keep x45 stable, or move to x46 with little fuss. Idle temps are low 30s (my room is normally 23-25C), load so far hovers around 70 with a Noctua U12P SE2 and Gentle Typhoon AP14s in push-pull.
 
So would you guys say a 2500k is still a great option gaming wise? Want intel on a budget lol

If you planning to OC it to at least 4.5GHZ. Yes it will do a good job for gaming... But to be honest i would go with the 3570K.. You can find very good deals now for that chip due to the new gen processors..
 
For some reason thought it was much more spendy lol, my bad. 2500 vs 3570, how much more power could I expect? Does ivy oc well?
 
Why? The processors perform the same when overclocked.

I say that even as a 3570k owner.

thats not true.. a 4.2GHZ ivy perform like a 4.5-5.6ghz sandy. that said if he can OC the ivy to 4.5-4.6GHZ its like he have the sandy at 5.0. :). wich its certainly better..
 
figured I'd update, ended up just getting the 2500k, won one on ebay for 160 shipped, not too shabby imo :)
 
figured I'd update, ended up just getting the 2500k, won one on ebay for 160 shipped, not too shabby imo :)

Nice pickup. The i5-2500K overclocks well, stays cool, and will stay relevant for years to come. Hope you got one from a good batch!
 
Almost 3 years later and my day one 2600K purchase that cost me $270 is still worth over $200

best investment in my whole system!
 
Almost 3 years later and my day one 2600K purchase that cost me $270 is still worth over $200

best investment in my whole system!

this is exactly what I was thinking some weeks ago.
I would like to upgrade my 2600 just to upgrade my SLI with something better and have a mobo that don't remember me that I don't have PCI Exp 3.

GTX 8 series will be mine and that will be the moment to upgrade my 2600.
 
2500k/2600k will be among one of those chips that were future proof, along with i920+x58 combo or E8400:)

Been two years since I got my 2500k, and there is no need for me to upgrade anything. The 3.0 PCIe is irrelevant, as even 780ti is not saturating it. Missing though the native USB 3.0 ports, so I might just upgrade the chipset from Z68 to Z77 and still use my i5.
 
2500k/2600k will be among one of those chips that were future proof, along with i920+x58 combo or E8400:)

Been two years since I got my 2500k, and there is no need for me to upgrade anything. The 3.0 PCIe is irrelevant, as even 780ti is not saturating it. Missing though the native USB 3.0 ports, so I might just upgrade the chipset from Z68 to Z77 and still use my i5.

Same here. It's been over 2 years since I put together my 2600k machine. Even though my GTX 580 is getting a little dated, I feel no need to upgrade anything. It still all exceeds my needs. They keep trying to claim the PC is dead. I just don't need a new one.
 
@ionutph: i thought it was a well known fact that every newer generation since Sandy was pretty much equal to 200MHz of clock speed of a Sandy Bridge CPU in pure CPU tasks. That means 4.7GHz Sandy Bridge has similar performance to 4.5GHz Ivy Bridge and 4.3GHz Haswell. And considering the OC potential was dropping over the time (Sandy 4.7-4.9GHz for most CPU, 4.4-4.6GHz for Ivy Bridge, 4.3-4.5GHz for Haswell), it keeps Sandy Bridge CPU still good enough.
 
A nice article about 2500K vs 3570K vs 4670K in gaming, all of them stock and OC to 4.5. I think the OC power consumption is irrelevant because they have not included OC voltages/setings. It looks like 2500K is very future proof, after Broadwell and Sky Lake.

http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1158

Seems about right. Every time a new Intel CPU series comes out, I go looking for an excuse to upgrade, then rapidly give up and go on using the 2500K for another generation.
 
I agree that the new ones are a bit better, but that article is about performance in games. Its representative for the average user with mainstream apps and games. For professionals, photo and video editing and other stuff like that, they could benefit from new processors. But even there, the GPU (Cuda) is used more and more.
 
Ive had my 2600K since Launch, Its still running @ 4800Mhz 1.35 volts, Ram is running at 2200MHZ ( 2133 overclocked in bios ) and it has never failed me. Its so hard to not upgrade everytime something new comes out but its been just video card after video card. Next year I think HASWELL-E will finally get me to upgrade.
 
Still using my 2500K @ 4.2GHZ. Plenty of power. I can run the chip @ 4.5-4.6GHZ its just not worth the heat.
 
So I'm planning on streaming and playing bf4, would upgrading from a 2600k @ 4.6 to a 3930k @ 4.6 be a huge leap in processing power?
 
No, 10% maybe if you are CPU limited.
It also assumes you will get a 3930k to 4.6.
 
No, 10% maybe if you are CPU limited.
It also assumes you will get a 3930k to 4.6.

A nicely overclocked 2600k is still a gem indeed.

I think it may be at least two generations before the 2600k chips retire for a lot of people.
 
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Nicely a overclocked 2600k is still a gem indeed.

I think it may be at least two generations before the 2600k chips retire for a lot of people.

Well I got a buddy who is going to sell me his bnib 3930k for 250.
 
At this point I'm just debating if I want to keep the 2600k build and pay another 750 for the cpu mobo and ram for a 3930k build.
 
Unless you are desperate for a few % increase or need PCI-E 3.0, I'd stay put.
If it was a very cheap or free upgrade I could understand.
I'd like to upgrade my 2500K too but theres nothing out thats worth anywhere near the extra investment.
 
3 years on and my 2500K is still relevant and I don't find myself even close to wanting more CPU power.

Honestly though, I'm not sure what's better in terms of awesome for the time, my 2500K or the Q6600 it replaced. I feel spoiled, having those two chips in a row.
 
Still punching my 2600K. I really don't have any reason to upgrade. I tried to make up reasons for a 4770K but the heat and whole need for delidding etc just put me off.
 
Yeah i'm on 2600K and still find it plenty fast and no need to upgrade anytime soon. Maybe another 2 years down the road. (maybe).
 
Came here looking to upgrade my 2600k... Now I see there is no good reason to, unless I want a motherboard with more features. Great CPU... Been at 4.5ghz since day one.
 
Came here looking to upgrade my 2600k... Now I see there is no good reason to, unless I want a motherboard with more features. Great CPU... Been at 4.5ghz since day one.

Do, what I just did - ordered Z77 motherboard. I got the native USB 3.0, more SATA controllers, better internet chip. And I'm able to keep my 2500k :)
 
I would like to upgrade my sli. surely I will buy two gtx880 when available.
the question is...
is my 2600 able to push that cards while on PCI exp 2.0 8x/8x?
 
I would like to upgrade my sli. surely I will buy two gtx880 when available.
the question is...
is my 2600 able to push that cards while on PCI exp 2.0 8x/8x?

I don't think so.. for example actually 290X card according to the [H] review can saturate a PCIe 3.0 x16 16GB/s Line.. and PCIe 2.0 at X8 are just 4 GB/s Line. that may cause a serious impact in the next generation of cards if they represent a big performance jump..
 
I don't think so.. for example actually 290X card according to the [H] review can saturate a PCIe 3.0 x16 16GB/s Line.. and PCIe 2.0 at X8 are just 4 GB/s Line. that may cause a serious impact in the next generation of cards if they represent a big performance jump..

290X cards are multi GPU cards, I'm not talking about multi gpu.
in any case can you share the link where [H] talks about that please?
 
3 years on and my 2500K is still relevant and I don't find myself even close to wanting more CPU power.

Honestly though, I'm not sure what's better in terms of awesome for the time, my 2500K or the Q6600 it replaced. I feel spoiled, having those two chips in a row.
Same here. I'm not concerned with CPU power, I do look at things like Quad-Channel memory support. I might eventually upgrade when x99 comes out as long as it's not too expensive. I think going to x79 wouldn't be enough of an upgrade to justify the cost.
 
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