Reviews - Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5 2500K and Core i7 2600K review

[Tunnah]

eh? for 1 its £30 difference, that's not exactly a little more
it doesn't decimate its an improvement sure but it depends on what you're doing with your PC
looking at graphs and noticing bigger bars and a few fps/seconds shaved off doesn't really matter if you're only trying to build a strong, reasonably future proof system on the cheap, that can also play games

i'll let you know first hand though soon enough, just gotta get my deposit money together then can finally build my new rig..woo no more pentium 4!

[Jimbo75]

So dispite the 2500k costing little more than a 760 but decimating EVERYTHING bar its bigger brother and the stupidly expensive hexa-core, your advice is to buy the older i5's?!

For a new build, you'd be a fool to choose anything other than Sandybridge.

Try clocking them both at the same clock speed. Now you're left with crap onboard graphics, weird chip/motherboard combinations and awesome "k" unlockable chips that were unlockable anyway before. Yeah what a great deal that is.

[Blackmage]

Try clocking them both at the same clock speed. Now you're left with crap onboard graphics, weird chip/motherboard combinations and awesome "k" unlockable chips that were unlockable anyway before. Yeah what a great deal that is.

I have to disagree also, the core i7 2XXX series are great processors; yes they may seem a bit complex but the performance per watt is outstanding.

[razer121]

So dispite the 2500k costing little more than a 760 but decimating EVERYTHING bar its bigger brother and the stupidly expensive hexa-core, your advice is to buy the older i5's?!

For a new build, you'd be a fool to choose anything other than Sandybridge.

You are to an extent right, but take the core i5 760, now consider its OC then take the new core i5s, the only one who really has anything on the core i5 760 is the core i5 2500K take note of the "K" please! have you seen its price tag? £170+ for a chip that can OC, the core i5 760 will no doubt OC and stand up to the lower end SB i5 no problem, i could probs prove that with my i5, as could others who own the old i5 tech.

I've been following the SB and although im an intel fan, this is just stupid, its the most pointless "upgrade" you could do, your going to get better performance out of the old tech unless you spend stupid money on there "overclockable" chips,

Maybe now you see why i would easily recommend a older i5 760 over the new ones? im pretty sure reviews and comparisions will come out soon backing up what i've just said.

As others have said before me, a few FPS in games is not enough to say this cpu is AMAZING and the way to go when building a new pc.

[GuinnesCYMRU]

eh? for 1 its £30 difference, that's not exactly a little more
it doesn't decimate its an improvement sure but it depends on what you're doing with your PC
looking at graphs and noticing bigger bars and a few fps/seconds shaved off doesn't really matter if you're only trying to build a strong, reasonably future proof system on the cheap, that can also play games

i'll let you know first hand though soon enough, just gotta get my deposit money together then can finally build my new rig..woo no more pentium 4!

Ok, obviously people have to buy to their budget so if they can't afford to stretch to Sandybridge, they won't. But why would anyone build a more expensive i7/x58/p55 system when a cheaper i5/p67 system is quicker - regardless of the performance margin.

Try clocking them both at the same clock speed. Now you're left with crap onboard graphics, weird chip/motherboard combinations and awesome "k" unlockable chips that were unlockable anyway before. Yeah what a great deal that is.

Well, from an enthusiasts point of view, the onboard gfx are irrelevant and the k chips have a higher maximum multiplier and therefore a higher maximum overclock.
but more importantly, why would you choose to clock them identically when sandybridge obviously has more potential performance. It would be like detuning a wrc car to compare it to a focus.

[razer121]

Well, from an enthusiasts point of view, the onboard gfx are irrelevant and the k chips have a higher maximum multiplier and therefore a higher maximum overclock.
but more importantly, why would you choose to clock them identically when sandybridge obviously has more potential performance. It would be like detuning a wrc car to compare it to a focus.

Can i point out the fails that is the 2500K chip? have you seen the threads popping up with it's "amazing" overclocking abilitys? i assure you this sandy bridge is going to be replaced very quickly, either by an upgraded chip or a new chip altogether, that is of course unless intel address this OC problem people are having.

[GuinnesCYMRU]

You are to an extent right, but take the core i5 760, now consider its OC then take the new core i5s, the only one who really has anything on the core i5 760 is the core i5 2500K take note of the "K" please! have you seen its price tag? £170+ for a chip that can OC, the core i5 760 will no doubt OC and stand up to the lower end SB i5 no problem, i could probs prove that with my i5, as could others who own the old i5 tech.

I've been following the SB and although im an intel fan, this is just stupid, its the most pointless "upgrade" you could do, your going to get better performance out of the old tech unless you spend stupid money on there "overclockable" chips,

Maybe now you see why i would easily recommend a older i5 760 over the new ones? im pretty sure reviews and comparisions will come out soon backing up what i've just said.

As others have said before me, a few FPS in games is not enough to say this cpu is AMAZING and the way to go when building a new pc.

There are plenty of reviews out that show sb beating everything but Intels own hexa-core.

I'm not suggesting that anyone with an older i5 should run out and upgrade to gain a few fps in games. They were top notch processors. As an upgrade from the last core generation its simply not worth it. But as an upgrade from a S775 system or for a new build?

[razer121]

Upgrade from a s775 system is obviously a good idea, but again if someone wanted a decent gaming rig then i would advise again on the older gen of the i5s due to the overclocking ease that you dont get from the new i5s, yes you can on the "k" series but how well can it really be done? the fails that are slowly creeping up suggest the new i5s are not as stable as people first thought.

To top it of i can and will again say the old i5 will most likly OC on par with the Non K series of the new i5s, again reviews should start to pop up and prove this.

[Terbinator]

The fact is, if you was to buy either a i5 or a i52xxx it wouldn't really matter as both are more than fast enough without a user applied overclock. Personally, it would be a chump decision not to go SB.

[miXer]

You think:

Intel Core i7 2600K
1280MB Asus GTX 570
Asus Maximus IV Extreme - Intel P67

well be a good set up ;D

[Tunnah]

one enables the use of the on board GPU, can't remember which

looks like i'm going sandy bridge, the 760 is out of stock and i want this PC ASAP ha

fingers crossed i can go pick it up in an hour or so

[Nobull]

Can someone clarify for me?

Does quicksync only work if you are using the IGP or would it still kick in if you have a dedicated GPU installed?

Cheers

[Jasp]

Currently only works if you are using a H67 board and have the IGP currently in use, so basically the moment you add a discrete card it becomes useless, unless you use the IGP to power a second monitor. Intel are apparently working with lucid to use a chip to allow switching but its not going to be anytime soon.

[dangel]

Lucid have a software only solution that works on H67... No joy with P67 though.

[Percy1983]

So I have to pay for graphics I will never use and will hold back my overlclocking...

My good old S775 Q9550 is going strong still, but right now the next board will be AM3.

[Nobull]

Lucid have a software only solution that works on H67... No joy with P67 though.

What's it called?