i5 or i7? Overlocking advice/information.

[Trash Man]

Looking to order a new build in the next couple of weeks and I'm trying to decide on the CPU.

Main use of the PC will be Diablo 3 and general surfing. I've read I don't need an i7 for gaming but the idea of getting the best I can at the time I build the comp is playing on my mind. The i7 is only £40 more than the i5 in the Scan bundle I'm looking at but would that extra £40 be better spent on top of my GFX card budget, or somewhere else even? Not that I have a set budget for anything at the moment.

Also, the bundles all seem to be overclocked to around 4.4-4.7Ghz, there is an option for no overlock at at all as well. Are these CPU's ok running at those speeds 24/7? Will it decrease the life of the CPU by a great deal?

Thanks again for any help.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

TBH,I would wait until Diablo 3 is out to get a good indication of what hardware you need!

Have you tried overclocking your Q6600?

Regarding the Core i5 CPUs at 4GHZ,I suspect if you are keeping it for three years or so,there should be no problems,but TBH no one can really tell I suppose and IMHO the voltages used are the more important factor. If sane voltages are used and the CPU is kept cool generally you should not have issues for a few years.

If you get you own parts,you could always get an overclocking capable CPU and motherboard and overclock the CPU later down the line when you need to.

Of course going with non-overclocking capable parts will mean lower initial costs,although overclocking will extend the usable performance of the CPU.

[Trash Man]

TBH,I would wait until Diablo 3 is out to get a good indication of what hardware you need!

Have you tried overclocking your Q6600?

Regarding the Core i5 CPUs at 4GHZ,I suspect if you are keeping it for three years or so,there should be no problems,but TBH no one can really tell I suppose and IMHO the voltages used are the more important factor. If sane voltages are used and the CPU is kept cool generally you should not have issues for a few years.

If you get you own parts,you could always get an overclocking capable CPU and motherboard and overclock the CPU later down the line when you need to.

Of course going with non-overclocking capable parts will mean lower initial costs,although overclocking will extend the usable performance of the CPU.

I've not tried overclocking my CPU, never really had any need to. Last time I played a game on my PC was about 4 years and then it was only ever WoW and my PC used to run that at max settings at stock speeds.

I looked into the idea of just replacing my GFX card with something better, my current card does not even make it onto the list of cards that will run Diablo 3 in low settings. There are a few of the newer cards that would seem to run ok on my current system, although reading up on getting PCI-E 2.0 and 2.1 cards working in a 1.0 motherboard, some people have issues and others don't. 2.1 cards appear not to work at all. The main problem would seem to be bottlenecking due the low CPU speed.

Pretty much made my mind up on a new build now. Ideally ready before Diablo 3 is released.

I noticed on the Scan bundles it states that the 2550K, 3.5ghz as no onboard gfx. Do CPU's have onboard gfx these days? Is the 2500k better to go for than the 2550k?

If I do get one of these bundles I will get in with no overclocking and see how I get on and if there is any need to overclock it.

Another question Are there any new CPU's or revisions due out in the next month or so?

Thanks again for the help and advice.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

If you really have no inclination to overclock get this CPU:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...623i52320.html

I would then get a basic H67 motherboard. The money saved can be put into your graphics card or an SSD.

Ivy Bridge is out late next month AFAIK. Basically it is at most around a 10% IPC increase and a slight clockspeed bump with lower power consumption.

How,much is the budget for the new parts and how much do you want to spend on a new graphics card??

[aidanjt]

http://www.diablowiki.net/Diablo_III...ents#Windows_2

Even the recommended specs are rather modest. As is to be expected with every Blizzard game.

[Trash Man]

If you really have no inclination to overclock get this CPU:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...623i52320.html

I would then get a basic H67 motherboard. The money saved can be put into your graphics card or an SSD.

Ivy Bridge is out late next month AFAIK. Basically it is at most around a 10% IPC increase and a slight clockspeed bump with lower power consumption.

How,much is the budget for the new parts and how much do you want to spend on a new graphics card??

No set budget really. I just tend to buy whatever I fancy at the time. I was thinking £200-£250 on the gfx card. I would like to get something that has after market cooling on it, more for the noise than anything else. I have 2 silent 80mm fans on my current gfx card. The noisiest thing in my machine at the moment is the HDD.

I will be getting a SSD for the OS drive, I've not starting look into which is best to get yet though.

For the CPU and MB, I still want to get parts that I can OC, incase in the future I want to do it. I'd like to get at least the 2500K. If I'm keeping everything at stock speeds, should I get the 2550K? Does the no onboard gfx affect anything else?

Thanks for all the help over the last couple of days Sorry if I'm being a pain

[CivilDrone]

i5k all the way, also prices drop on it all the time, i mean promotions going on, multithreading which i7 has, would be no use to you if you are gaming, simply why i chose i7. Both good cpus and will hold up against anything this days, even though they are quiet dated

[Adam_101]

go for a i5 2500k unless you do lots of 3d/video stuff, you'll be set for a while. Paired with a good solied 78/79's graphic card and your set.

[DeeBrad]

2500k unless you are going to make use of HT.

Use the money you save from the i7 and put it towards your GPU!