Advice Please: 2600K or 3770k?

[poofyhairguy]

So currently I have a 2500K that is a pretty poor overclocker (I have problems above 4.3 GHz). The disappointing (to me) Skylake benchmarks plus the increase in games using more threads has convinced me that just upgrading my CPU is probably a better option than a full platform upgrade at this time, but I don't know which CPU to get.

My mobo is a MSI P67A-GD65 which is compatible with both processors. On ebay the two CPUs run around the same price secondhand, so I don't think price separates them.

I get the 3770k is a newer CPU, but I do only have a P67 Mobo and from what I understand Ivy isn't the overclocker that Sandy was unless you delid (which makes me nervous). But when 2600ks are basically the same price as 3770ks I would hate to make a dumb choice.

Other specs if they matter:

GPU: GTX 970
RAM: 16GB of 1333 DDR that won't run at 1600 to save my life
Samsung 128GB SSD
I will cool either CPU with my Scythe Ninja 3 HSF

Thank you in advance for any advice.

 

[Yuriman]

I want to say that Sandy Bridge, on averaged, overclocked maybe 200mhz higher, but Ivy Bridge, on average, performed around 5% better per clock, which makes them perform about the same. Ivy will draw less power delivering the same performance.

 

[Burpo]

i7 2700K

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-...U-Processor-/271973362022?hash=item3f52e02966

 

[poofyhairguy]

i7 2700K

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-...U-Processor-/271973362022?hash=item3f52e02966

I thought the 2700k overclocked the same as the 2600k basically? Just to be clear, whatever I get I plan to overclock to its max.

 

[spinejam]

I've had two 2600k's and one 2700k --- they all maxed ~4.7 / 4.8!

 

[Kenmitch]

I thought the 2700k overclocked the same as the 2600k basically? Just to be clear, whatever I get I plan to overclock to its max.

Silicone lottery no matter which chip you choose.

Price seems reasonablè to me.

Most likely will run cooler than a 3770k which is a plus.

 

[mikeymikec]

In my experience, you should proceed with caution even if your (presumably SB era) board is listed as being Ivy Bridge compatible. My wife's PC's board is listed as such as well yet didn't take a Ivy i3 that it was supposed to be able to.

Lots of fun and games were involved as well such as upgrading the BIOS twice with the same update. As a result, if I were in your place I would go with recommendations of people with the same board as yours who have managed to do the upgrade.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Silicone lottery no matter which chip you choose.

Cool. A 2600K will stay on the consideration list I guess then, they can be had for under $170 pretty consistently.

 

[AtenRa]

I would go for the 3770K, less power consumption, less heat. I have mine at 4.44GHz for 3 years now no sweat with a Corsair i80.

 

[Arachnotronic]

3770K, for sure.

 

[Absolute0]

I would also do 3770K. Assume that OC and IPC negate each other. Ivy should consume less energy.

 

[2is]

3770k is the better CPU. In addition to the benefits mentioned, it's IGP is quite a bit better should you ever need to use it, which in turn, also gives it better QuickSync performance if you ever do some encoding.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I need to review some old hastily-read articles, but the Ivy Bridge provides for PCI-E 3.0 and has a bCLK "strap" -- allowing bCLK to run faster than 100 Mhz. 125 Mhz? and possibly higher? You can only run up the bCLK on Sandy Bridge to around 12, so it's not worth fiddling with.

I built a system for my brother early this year with a used i5-3570K, Asus Z77-A motherboard and 2x4GB+2x2GB of Ripjaws DDR3-1600 GBRL's.

We haven't bothered to overclock it. For bro's purposes, not necessary. It may be luck of the draw -- the gap between IHS and die, the TIM, the processor.

 

[richierich1212]

Have you tried getting help to get your 2500K past 4.3GHz? I remember getting mine to 4.8GHz easily, but needed to enable PLL overvoltage past 4.5GHz.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Have you tried getting help to get your 2500K past 4.3GHz? I remember getting mine to 4.8GHz easily, but needed to enable PLL overvoltage past 4.5GHz.

Yeah it will boot all the way up to 4.8Ghz, but it is not stable. Every third boot or so I would get a blue screen with anything higher than 4.3ghz no matter the voltage. I always have bad luck with CPU overclocking, my Q6600 wouldn't do 3Ghz for a second.

 

[tweakboy]

Get the Sandy Bridge 2600k . You are not bottlenecking anything, Your RAM @ 1333 is not botttlenecking your 970 and games. Matter of fact is you cant tell.

My dads Sandy 2600k is going strong on my dads PC. He does PS Premiere and other bunch of stuff.... Free OC to 4.2Ghz or 4.0Ghz .. gl

 

[richierich1212]

Yeah it will boot all the way up to 4.8Ghz, but it is not stable. Every third boot or so I would get a blue screen with anything higher than 4.3ghz no matter the voltage. I always have bad luck with CPU overclocking, my Q6600 wouldn't do 3Ghz for a second.

What bsod code? Your memory settings could also cause instability.

 

[Denithor]

Are you certain the OC limitation lies with the CPU and not motherboard and/or RAM? Would be really, really sad to upgrade to old tech CPU and then discover it was your motherboard or something else holding you back...

 

[poofyhairguy]

What bsod code? Your memory settings could also cause instability.

I don't remember offhand, but tonight I will clock back up and check. Thank you for asking, I will get back to you.

I will admit I don't even try to overclock the memory, I keep it at the 1333 it is rated for. It gives me huge problems at 1600 so I quit trying.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Are you certain the OC limitation lies with the CPU and not motherboard and/or RAM? Would be really, really sad to upgrade to old tech CPU and then discover it was your motherboard or something else holding you back...

This is a good point, I replaced out the RAM with a faster single 8GB stick and the CPU still couldn't go any higher. So it might be the motherboard holding me back, but that is a risk that I am willing to take because I really want the 2500k in another desktop machine for now.

The computer I am buying the new CPU for is strictly used for gaming, in which case I figured a 2600k or 3770k was an upgrade even at the same OC clockspeeds just to get hyper-threading for new games. Honestly I just feel dumb buying another 2500k four years later for like $60 less in the used market, so I want an i7 (which is a much smaller price delta now then when it was new tech) either way.

Thank you for the input though and new thought process.

 

[richierich1212]

Too bad poofy, guess you just had bad luck with your 2500K.

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

The MSI P67 is a good board(think i had the G45 version), even a good overclocker. Took my 2500K to over 5Mhz, the bios is feature rich. I miss that board, price and usability you can not go wrong. MSI customer service is great also!

 

[poofyhairguy]

Too bad poofy, guess you just had bad luck with your 2500K.

Yeah that is part of the reason I am willing to buy an older K processor, just to have another ticket for the silicon lottery.

 

[TeknoBug]

My i7 3770K was a wonderful piece of hardware, and it was a silicon lottery too- OC'd to 4.5GHz on stock voltage and 4.2GHz on -0.115v underclock. Too bad I needed to sell it to cover some moving costs.

 

[guskline]

I would go for the 3770K, less power consumption, less heat. I have mine at 4.44GHz for 3 years now no sweat with a Corsair i80.

Excellent suggestion.:thumbsup: