Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 16 of 28

Thread: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

  1. #1
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Birmingham
    Posts
    56
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked
    2 times in 2 posts
    • CHiLL's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8P67
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core i7-2600K
      • Memory:
      • Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1333MHz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 840 EVO 120GB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • KFA2 GeForce GTX 580
      • PSU:
      • Corsair 750W HX Modular
      • Case:
      • Antec Nine Hundred
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Home x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • LG 22" 1080p
      • Internet:
      • Sky ADSL

    New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    I plan on building a new gaming rig in the near future, one that will not need upgrading for another 5-6 years.

    My dilemma...do I go Core i5-6600 or Core i7-6700? I don't want the 'K' versions, as I have no intention at all to overclock.

    Can anyone offer advice?!

  2. #2
    True Blue! silent's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Heybridge, Nr.Maldon, Essex
    Posts
    1,380
    Thanks
    22
    Thanked
    18 times in 16 posts

    Re: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    i'd go i7 if you need to do additional things like editing etc that need lots of cores and threads, but the i5 is the best gaming chip. the non k seies also overclock now on certain boards with a bios update and tweak.

    i am also thinking of upgrading my z97 and 4690k at present but don;t know if its worth it!

  3. #3
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Birmingham
    Posts
    56
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked
    2 times in 2 posts
    • CHiLL's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8P67
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core i7-2600K
      • Memory:
      • Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1333MHz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 840 EVO 120GB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • KFA2 GeForce GTX 580
      • PSU:
      • Corsair 750W HX Modular
      • Case:
      • Antec Nine Hundred
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Home x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • LG 22" 1080p
      • Internet:
      • Sky ADSL

    Re: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    Quote Originally Posted by silent View Post
    i'd go i7 if you need to do additional things like editing etc that need lots of cores and threads, but the i5 is the best gaming chip. the non k seies also overclock now on certain boards with a bios update and tweak.

    i am also thinking of upgrading my z97 and 4690k at present but don;t know if its worth it!
    Every now and again I'll re-encode a video file or perform format conversions, but that has reduced severely over the past couple of years. I can't remember the last time I did anything like that.

  4. #4
    Anthropomorphic Personification shaithis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    The Last Aerie
    Posts
    10,857
    Thanks
    645
    Thanked
    872 times in 736 posts
    • shaithis's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8Z77 WS
      • CPU:
      • i7 3770k @ 4.5GHz
      • Memory:
      • 32GB HyperX 1866
      • Storage:
      • Lots!
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire Fury X
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX850
      • Case:
      • Corsair 600T (White)
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • 2 x Dell 3007
      • Internet:
      • Zen 80Mb Fibre

    Re: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    I'll throw the cat among the pigeons and say E3-1245 v5
    Main PC: Asus Rampage IV Extreme / 3960X@4.5GHz / Antec H1200 Pro / 32GB DDR3-1866 Quad Channel / Sapphire Fury X / Areca 1680 / 850W EVGA SuperNOVA Gold 2 / Corsair 600T / 2x Dell 3007 / 4 x 250GB SSD + 2 x 80GB SSD / 4 x 1TB HDD (RAID 10) / Windows 10 Pro, Yosemite & Ubuntu
    HTPC: AsRock Z77 Pro 4 / 3770K@4.2GHz / 24GB / GTX 1080 / SST-LC20 / Antec TP-550 / Hisense 65k5510 4K TV / HTC Vive / 2 x 240GB SSD + 12TB HDD Space / Race Seat / Logitech G29 / Win 10 Pro
    HTPC2: Asus AM1I-A / 5150 / 4GB / Corsair Force 3 240GB / Silverstone SST-ML05B + ST30SF / Samsung UE60H6200 TV / Windows 10 Pro
    Spare/Loaner: Gigabyte EX58-UD5 / i950 / 12GB / HD7870 / Corsair 300R / Silverpower 700W modular
    NAS 1: HP N40L / 12GB ECC RAM / 2 x 3TB Arrays || NAS 2: Dell PowerEdge T110 II / 24GB ECC RAM / 2 x 3TB Hybrid arrays || Network:Buffalo WZR-1166DHP w/DD-WRT + HP ProCurve 1800-24G
    Laptop: Dell Precision 5510 Printer: HP CP1515n || Phone: Huawei P30 || Other: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Pro 10.1 CM14 / Playstation 4 + G29 + 2TB Hybrid drive

  5. #5
    True Blue! silent's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Heybridge, Nr.Maldon, Essex
    Posts
    1,380
    Thanks
    22
    Thanked
    18 times in 16 posts

    Re: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    probably the i5 and spend the difference on a good GPU instead. or the xeon as an option.

    i will also say that the AMD rigs i've built have been great for gaming in the past. and good value.

  6. #6
    Evil Monkey! MrJim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    London
    Posts
    2,313
    Thanks
    300
    Thanked
    472 times in 362 posts
    • MrJim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Tomahawk X570
      • CPU:
      • AMD Ryzen 5900X
      • Memory:
      • 32gb Kingston 3600 DDR4
      • Storage:
      • Aorus 1Tb NVME SSD, Samsung 1Tb 970 Evo SSD, Crucial 2tb MX500 SSD, Seagate Ironwolf 4Tb SSD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 3080Ti
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic Prime Ultra Platinum 1300W
      • Case:
      • Fractal Meshify 2
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 11 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • Viewsonic 27" XG2703-GS
      • Internet:
      • BT 900 mb/s FTTP

    Re: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    Quote Originally Posted by shaithis View Post
    I'll throw the cat among the pigeons and say E3-1245 v5
    Nice choice, but the selection of motherboards is very limited right now...

    https://www.scan.co.uk/search.aspx?q=c232+motherboard

  7. #7
    Anthropomorphic Personification shaithis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    The Last Aerie
    Posts
    10,857
    Thanks
    645
    Thanked
    872 times in 736 posts
    • shaithis's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8Z77 WS
      • CPU:
      • i7 3770k @ 4.5GHz
      • Memory:
      • 32GB HyperX 1866
      • Storage:
      • Lots!
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire Fury X
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX850
      • Case:
      • Corsair 600T (White)
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • 2 x Dell 3007
      • Internet:
      • Zen 80Mb Fibre

    Re: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    So, intel have stopped Xeons working in workstation boards with skylake have they?
    Main PC: Asus Rampage IV Extreme / 3960X@4.5GHz / Antec H1200 Pro / 32GB DDR3-1866 Quad Channel / Sapphire Fury X / Areca 1680 / 850W EVGA SuperNOVA Gold 2 / Corsair 600T / 2x Dell 3007 / 4 x 250GB SSD + 2 x 80GB SSD / 4 x 1TB HDD (RAID 10) / Windows 10 Pro, Yosemite & Ubuntu
    HTPC: AsRock Z77 Pro 4 / 3770K@4.2GHz / 24GB / GTX 1080 / SST-LC20 / Antec TP-550 / Hisense 65k5510 4K TV / HTC Vive / 2 x 240GB SSD + 12TB HDD Space / Race Seat / Logitech G29 / Win 10 Pro
    HTPC2: Asus AM1I-A / 5150 / 4GB / Corsair Force 3 240GB / Silverstone SST-ML05B + ST30SF / Samsung UE60H6200 TV / Windows 10 Pro
    Spare/Loaner: Gigabyte EX58-UD5 / i950 / 12GB / HD7870 / Corsair 300R / Silverpower 700W modular
    NAS 1: HP N40L / 12GB ECC RAM / 2 x 3TB Arrays || NAS 2: Dell PowerEdge T110 II / 24GB ECC RAM / 2 x 3TB Hybrid arrays || Network:Buffalo WZR-1166DHP w/DD-WRT + HP ProCurve 1800-24G
    Laptop: Dell Precision 5510 Printer: HP CP1515n || Phone: Huawei P30 || Other: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Pro 10.1 CM14 / Playstation 4 + G29 + 2TB Hybrid drive

  8. #8
    Senior Member watercooled's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    11,478
    Thanks
    1,541
    Thanked
    1,029 times in 872 posts

    Re: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    Yeah, sadly you need a different chipset for Xeons now. There are a few desktop-aimed Xeon boards in the pipeline though. http://www.anandtech.com/show/9948/c...ds-at-gigabyte

    For gaming I'd say the i5. Even for video encoding, depending on the encoder you use, the i7's hyperthreading might not help massively anyway.

  9. #9
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    The Third Foundation
    Posts
    919
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked
    99 times in 91 posts

    Re: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    Quote Originally Posted by CHiLL View Post
    I don't want the 'K' versions, as I have no intention at all to overclock.
    Intel have reverted to their old marketing strategy of making the K versions better as well as overclockable. So the 6700k runs at 4Ghz instead of the 3.4Ghz (3.7Ghz turbo) the 6700 runs at.

    So unlike the 4770 & 4770k the 6700 is actually the next model down in performance from a stock speed 6700k rather than just a non-overclocking version of it.

  10. #10
    Senior Member watercooled's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    11,478
    Thanks
    1,541
    Thanked
    1,029 times in 872 posts

    Re: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    The 6700k has next to no turbo though, while the 6700 can do 3.7GHz on all cores (TDP permitting), and 4GHz on a single core. That few hundred MHz makes negligible difference in most applications.

    The lack of turbo combined with the considerable efficiency drop-off the 6700k vs the i5 seems to show that 4GHz is a bit of a stretch for Skylake. Not that it matters much for desktop use, but it does make me think all the more that the 4GHz thing is a bit of a round-number marketing gimmick, same with the 4790k and for the 5GHz AMD FX CPUs. That, and regressing on clock speed would probably have people claiming the sky is falling despite the improved IPC, efficiency etc, so it's probably useful from a marketing point of view to have at least one CPU match the previous gen's clocks (even if not in turbo clocks).

  11. #11
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    The Third Foundation
    Posts
    919
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked
    99 times in 91 posts

    Re: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    Quote Originally Posted by watercooled View Post
    That few hundred MHz makes negligible difference in most applications.
    It's also all that separates the other models in the range. The 6500 to 6600 is 0.3Ghz in 4 core turbo for example, the 6400 to 6500 is 0.2Ghz.

    Quote Originally Posted by watercooled View Post
    considerable efficiency drop-off the 6700k
    What considerable efficiency drop-off?

    Looking at the tests SilentPCReview did of the two the efficiency seems pretty comparable. That is system power consumption but even if you're fairly conservative with the system power consumption you're generally talking single digit percents more power use than performance.

    They don't give the manufacture date of the two CPUs they tested, but as they reviewed the 6700k first it's likely to be earlier production.

  12. #12
    Senior Member watercooled's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    11,478
    Thanks
    1,541
    Thanked
    1,029 times in 872 posts

    Re: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    Quote Originally Posted by EndlessWaves View Post
    It's also all that separates the other models in the range. The 6500 to 6600 is 0.3Ghz in 4 core turbo for example, the 6400 to 6500 is 0.2Ghz.
    Which is why I often suggest not immediately going for the one with the highest number on the box, as there's not always much point in doing so. There's just nothing overly special about the k given the higher price, unless you need the OC ability.

    Quote Originally Posted by EndlessWaves View Post
    What considerable efficiency drop-off?
    The bit you cut out of my quote shows I was comparing to i5 clocks (they use the same die). I assumed the first review I read might have had a bad sample because of the striking difference in power consumption between the two, but it turns out it's just how it is according to the measurements I've seen. It stood out to me as more of a delta than previous generations; the Skylake i5 being one of the lowest-power i5s, and the i7 one of the highest. And that's even from similar non-maxed workloads (e.g. gaming) which rules out SMT as the only cause because of increased utilisation.
    http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/skylak...-33276-11.html
    http://www.anandtech.com/show/9483/i...h-generation/6

    As I said though, diminishing returns is nothing unique to Skylake - all processors have an efficiency curve of sorts which means beyond a point you'll get rapidly diminishing returns in terms of performance per joule spent. And it wouldn't surprise me at all given the low-power improvements in Skylake if the 14nm process isn't as geared towards high-power operation.

    I gave the 4790k as another example of this phenomenon, its power consumption being markedly higher than the 4770k before it, even given the maturity of the 22nm node at the time.

    Edit: But having said that, the i5's clocks aren't all that different to the i7 anyway, so there could be something else in it. I'm not too sure what though as I know there are differences in SMT, but these differences exist in lightly threaded workloads too. The i7's power just seems strangely high relative to their other processors. But as far as the OP is concerned it's not terribly important, just something I'm curious about.
    Last edited by watercooled; 11-02-2016 at 01:19 AM.

  13. #13
    Moderator chuckskull's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    The Frozen North
    Posts
    7,713
    Thanks
    951
    Thanked
    690 times in 463 posts
    • chuckskull's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte Z77-D3H
      • CPU:
      • 3570k @ 4.7 - H100i
      • Memory:
      • 32GB XMS3 1600mhz
      • Storage:
      • 256GB Samsung 850 Pro + 3TB Seagate
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA GTX 980Ti Classified
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic M12 700W
      • Case:
      • Corsair 500R
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • Asus VG278HE
      • Internet:
      • FTTC

    Re: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    I wouldn't go for i7 unless you've already bought a top end GPU. The GPU will make far more performance difference than HT ever will. Spend your money there first you'll get a much better return. If you've got a 980ti and money left in the budget only then would I consider an i7.

  14. #14
    Moosing about! CAT-THE-FIFTH's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Not here
    Posts
    32,039
    Thanks
    3,910
    Thanked
    5,224 times in 4,015 posts
    • CAT-THE-FIFTH's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Less E-PEEN
      • CPU:
      • Massive E-PEEN
      • Memory:
      • RGB E-PEEN
      • Storage:
      • Not in any order
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVEN BIGGER E-PEEN
      • PSU:
      • OVERSIZED
      • Case:
      • UNDERSIZED
      • Operating System:
      • DOS 6.22
      • Monitor(s):
      • NOT USUALLY ON....WHEN I POST
      • Internet:
      • FUNCTIONAL

    Re: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    Quote Originally Posted by shaithis View Post
    So, intel have stopped Xeons working in workstation boards with skylake have they?
    Yeah,and the Xeon E3 1230 V5 is still not available in the UK:

    http://ark.intel.com/products/88182/...Cache-3_40-GHz

    The RRP is slightly above that of the Core i5 6600K.

    Quote Originally Posted by CHiLL View Post
    I plan on building a new gaming rig in the near future, one that will not need upgrading for another 5-6 years.

    My dilemma...do I go Core i5-6600 or Core i7-6700? I don't want the 'K' versions, as I have no intention at all to overclock.

    Can anyone offer advice?!
    You already have a Core i7 2600K - if I were you I would hold off. Zen should be out at the end of the year and Kaby Lake.

  15. #15
    Senior Member watercooled's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    11,478
    Thanks
    1,541
    Thanked
    1,029 times in 872 posts

    Re: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    Quote Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH View Post
    You already have a Core i7 2600K
    I concur with this TBH - unless you know you're having performance issues with your current CPU I'd just stick with what you have and put the money towards something more useful like a GPU upgrade. You don't have to bin your entire system and start over to get the most out of games.

  16. #16
    Senior Member Bonebreaker777's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Herts, UK
    Posts
    2,035
    Thanks
    55
    Thanked
    203 times in 186 posts
    • Bonebreaker777's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI H97I AC
      • CPU:
      • Xeon 1225 v3 + Freezer 11 L
      • Memory:
      • 2 x 4GB 1600Mhz 1T-8-8-8-20 1.35V Crucial BallistiX Tactical VLP
      • Storage:
      • 128GB CRUCIAL MX100///XPEnology server + 3 x WD Purple 3TB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Intel HD 4600
      • PSU:
      • be quiet! L8 300W PSU BN220
      • Case:
      • Cooler Master Elite 120
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Samsung SyncMaster 226BW
      • Internet:
      • Virgin 100Mb

    Re: New gaming rig - i5-6600 or i7-6700

    Quote Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH View Post
    Zen should be out at the end of the year and Kaby Lake.
    Me want tests! Me can't wait. Me curious.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •