1. #1

    Help me choose i5 vs i7 - my first new PC since 2004!

    I'm new to the site (and having not built a PC since 1999 and not played a new MMO since 2007, I'm also a tech noob all over again).

    Having looked at CPU benchmarks, my guess would be that the i7-3770 and i7-3770k look like top gaming choices. But reading these forums, I've seen a lot of new builds center on the i5 instead. Which one should I choose? And if you're up for it, maybe you recommend a video card as well.

    My goals:
    Play Guild Wars 2 at around 60FPS*
    Be able to run Everquest Next whenever it comes out*
    Non-gaming: lots of multi-tasking, dual-monitors, playing music, keeping my system on more hours than off.
    * - with neither game released, I realize it's guess-work planning a system, but your guesses are better than mine!

    My planned System:
    Pre-built Dell XPS 8500 (I don't feel comfortable building everything myself, so I'll replace the GPU).
    Windows 7 Pro
    CPU choices: i5-3450 or i7-3770 ?
    1TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive 6.0 Gb/s
    16GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz
    Video: ?

    The best GPU they offer is AMD Radeon™ HD 7770 2GB GDDR5 for $150 additional. I don't think that's going to cut it, so I'm thinking I'll go with the included AMD Radeon™ HD 7570 1GB GDDR5, then replace that and the PSU. I'd sure love a GTX 680, but I don't have $500 to $600 for just the card.

    My total budget is around $1500. That pre-built computer will be about $1100, so I have $300 to $400 for the GPU and PSU. Anyone have thoughts on what might fit the bill?

    Thanks in advance! Really excited!

  2. #2
    encoding / render lots??? go i7 if not i5 the program has to take advantage of hyper-threading (multiple process threads which most games dont) basically for i7


    edit: also read this for video card for gw2 http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...ighlight=video
    Last edited by WarJames; 2012-06-29 at 05:55 AM.

  3. #3
    Hey, if you can replace a GPU, you can build the system. The hard truth is that $1100 system would only cost you $500 or so to make on your own. You could take that $1100 and get a much better motherboard, case, SSD, and your GTX 680.

    Regardless, if you have to go that route, I would suggest getting a -good- 7850:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127663

    And a capable PSU such as:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151093

    That's about the best you can do in your stated budget. The next step up would be a 7870, but that would put you over you $400 mark.
    i7-4770k - GTX 780 Ti - 16GB DDR3 Ripjaws - (2) HyperX 120s / Vertex 3 120
    ASRock Extreme3 - Sennheiser Momentums - Xonar DG - EVGA Supernova 650G - Corsair H80i

    build pics

  4. #4
    The Patient
    10+ Year Old Account
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    Sweden
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    Quote Originally Posted by hungrybat View Post
    I'm new to the site (and having not built a PC since 1999 and not played a new MMO since 2007, I'm also a tech noob all over again).

    Having looked at CPU benchmarks, my guess would be that the i7-3770 and i7-3770k look like top gaming choices. But reading these forums, I've seen a lot of new builds center on the i5 instead. Which one should I choose? And if you're up for it, maybe you recommend a video card as well.

    My goals:
    Play Guild Wars 2 at around 60FPS*
    Be able to run Everquest Next whenever it comes out*
    Non-gaming: lots of multi-tasking, dual-monitors, playing music, keeping my system on more hours than off.
    * - with neither game released, I realize it's guess-work planning a system, but your guesses are better than mine!

    My planned System:
    Pre-built Dell XPS 8500 (I don't feel comfortable building everything myself, so I'll replace the GPU).
    Windows 7 Pro
    CPU choices: i5-3450 or i7-3770 ?
    1TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive 6.0 Gb/s
    16GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz
    Video: ?

    The best GPU they offer is AMD Radeon™ HD 7770 2GB GDDR5 for $150 additional. I don't think that's going to cut it, so I'm thinking I'll go with the included AMD Radeon™ HD 7570 1GB GDDR5, then replace that and the PSU. I'd sure love a GTX 680, but I don't have $500 to $600 for just the card.

    My total budget is around $1500. That pre-built computer will be about $1100, so I have $300 to $400 for the GPU and PSU. Anyone have thoughts on what might fit the bill?

    Thanks in advance! Really excited!
    For pure gaming, i5 2500K and i5 3570K are the better choices over pretty much any i7 on the market, due to games not utilizing Hyper-Threading to actually benefit from the extra cores on i7.
    If you look on benchmarks between i5 2500K and i7 3770K, the i5 will have just as good performance, and in some games it even performs better.


    Building a computer isnt really as hard is it may seem, and there are lots of tutorials up on Youtube and there are links to some tutorials on this forum.
    The hardest part is to remember all the cables, and putting the distance screws (or whatever they are called) correctly.
    Pretty much everything else got something to make it foolproof.
    Other then that, you just have to be creative when getting to cable management

  5. #5
    The only way an i5 is better in gaming, is price. (In the few cases where HT is a performance loss, you can turn HT off in BIOS or set the executable to only use 4 threads)
    However, the i5 isn't any worse than the i7, so going for the i7 if you're only gaming is superfluous.

    In short, the i5 isn't any worse at gaming, and is thus usually the better choice. It's not better, but it is as-good..
     

  6. #6
    i5 without a shadow of a doubt if is it's going to be purely for gaming purposes, and judging from your goals, the i5 should be more ideal than the i7 - this is because the main and big-sell difference that sets them both apart is Hyperthreading, a feature that the majority of games that is not supported

    However, if you plan or you're considering on doing any of the following in the future, then the i7-3700k will be worth it

    Making videos
    Using Adobe software a lot
    Doing anything related to graphic design
    (or anything related to the above in terms of working tasks)

  7. #7
    Deleted
    We have had more than a few threads asking if i7 is better than i5 and why one should pick one over the other. I would suggest you use the search function.

    In short:
    As very few games can utilize HT technology one benefits very little by going with an i7 over an i5. As such, an unlocked i5, for example the 3570k or the 2500k, is the best choice for a modern gaming machine. Unlocked because it allows for overclocking, potentially offering more performance.

    The performance gain by picking the i7 3770k or the 2600k, or even a 3930k is abysmal in most titles, and where it makes a difference it's so little that you could do without. Spend the money on a better GPU instead - that's the component games in general rely the most on.

  8. #8
    Dreadlord
    10+ Year Old Account
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    Detroit mi
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    Quote Originally Posted by glo View Post
    Hey, if you can replace a GPU, you can build the system. The hard truth is that $1100 system would only cost you $500 or so to make on your own. You could take that $1100 and get a much better motherboard, case, SSD, and your GTX 680.
    same thing i was thinking, you could build a system that will work perfect for your wants/needs and it wont go over budget. you could get a 670 and save some money and get near the performance
    Intel i5-2500k@4.4ghz
    Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3
    Gigabyte N560OC 1gb gpu
    Corsair 2x4gb
    Antec v2 Two Hundred
    Razer Blackwidow Ultimate
    Razer Naga

  9. #9
    At last, I found this thread again! I failed to bookmark it, then ran CCleaner and wiped out my history. I've spent a month searching Google to find where I posted this.

    Thanks everyone for your input. I've decided to follow your advice and build the computer myself. I'm going with the i5-3570k and I will post my proposed build to get your feedback. Thanks for educating me before I made the mistake of buying an i7 that I don't need and the even more dire mistake of paying Dell to build a system for me.

  10. #10
    Deleted
    You can click your name and then "View Started Threads", unless of course you couldn't even remember which forum you posted in.

    Don't hesitate to ask if you got any questions.

    Newegg TV: How To Build a Computer - Part 1 - Choosing Your Components
    Newegg TV: How To Build a Computer - Part 2 - The Build
    Newegg TV: How To Build a Computer - Part 3 - Installing Windows & Finishing Touches

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