Non-K CPUs as a viable buying option.

[MaximumSid]

So I watched Linus' Intel CPU Buying guide, in which he recommended i5 6600K for the gamers and i7 6700K for the 'budding content creator'.

But since it was such an exhaustive list, I think that including the non-k variants wasn't a bad option.

 

The reason is that it's not just the 10-15% cost on the K variant CPU that you have to pay extra, but you also have to include the price of a good cooler, and a z170 motherboard (as opposed to a b150 motherboard. which I think is fine for people on a budget who don't want SLI, RAID, OCing), so when selecting a K variant for the advantages it offers, one also has to keep in mind the cost of other components if they want to get the full advantage of an unlocked variant.

 

One also has to keep in mind how much they'll be able to overclock, for example, the place I live in (India), the ambient temperature goes up to 45 C, so I am sure I wouldn't have been able to overclock as much as other people.

 

The difference between the performance of non K and K variant is minimal, as even though 6700K works at 4.0 base clock, it has turbo of 0/0/0/2 (only one core upto 4.2 ghz, no turbo at even 2 cores) as opposed to 3/4/5/6 of 6700 (all cores turbo upto 3.7ghz, one core upto 4.0 ghz).

 

I just purchased a new PC recently, and I was aiming for i5 6600, but then upgraded to i7-6700, both non K variants.

My final price of components turned out to be INR 90,000, which is around $1350 (excluding SSD, HDDs, PSUs which I had earlier).

 

Now had I wanted to get a K variant CPU, I'd have to spend around (at least) $210 more for being able to OC properly, and even then, I'd have been able to get around 5-10% of better performance in benchmarks, and almost minimal real world performance gain. $210 is a significant amount which can be used to upgrade other components (I went from GTX 1060 to 1070), you can even save that amount and upgrade your PC earlier in future. And I am not even going to add the 40% extra TDP of the K CPU, but that could have an impact in the long run.

 

Now Linus did mention better resale value, but I think it depends a lot on your situation and whether you're able to get a good deal or not.

$30-$50 USD may not be much for you, but keeping in mind the budget conscious, I think it'd be a better idea to save that amount if it's not going to give a justifiable benefit.

 

So my point is:

1. Getting a K variant only increases around 15% on the cost of CPU, but to utilize that amount, you'd have to spend around $200 more.

2. A Non K variant can be a better option for majority of people.

3. In an exhaustive CPU buying guide, Non-K CPUs should also have a place.

I hope I have been correct in my analysis.

[Lilithty]

@MaximumSid I agree with you. Linus also recommended the i5 6500 i believe because of its great price and the fact that it was only a fractional amount slower than the i5 6600k.

[Mark77]

Well Linus' audience is mostly the gamer enthusiast overclocker types.  So the non-K CPU's aren't all that interesting.  I personally paid $267 for my i7-2600 many years ago, never overclocked it, and recently, upgraded to a motherboard which actually supported the entirety of its feature set including VT-d and Intel AMT / vPro for my server -- features not available in the "k" SKU.

 

Most people who buy brand-name pre-builds, etc. get non-k CPU's.  They survive just fine.  I've personally never been a fan of overclocking.  Hardware is flaky enough without deliberately running it outside of manufacturers' specs.  But I appreciate that Linus has an audience that generally does embrace overclocking.  Even if its simply a matter of people showing off their e-p33n, rather than a legitimate cost savings or longevity increase.

[MaximumSid]

@Mark77 I'd say that Linus' audience is all kinds of tech users (TechQuickie channel, basic comparisons etc.), also a gamer enthusiast/overclocker wouldn't actually need something like a 'CPU Buying Guide'. I'd agree that the non-K versions are a little 'boring' in comparison, not because of the performance difference, but just because 'they do not overclock' and people EVERYWHERE keep recommending the K variants, presenting them as a 'smarter' choice.

 

Though thanks for reminding that I totally forgot about how OCing affects longevity and voids the warranty of CPU, making K variants suitable for even a lesser number of people.

[Imakuni]

1 hour ago, MaximumSid said:

@Mark77 I'd say that Linus' audience is all kinds of tech users (TechQuickie channel, basic comparisons etc.), also a gamer enthusiast/overclocker wouldn't actually need something like a 'CPU Buying Guide'. I'd agree that the non-K versions are a little 'boring' in comparison, not because of the performance difference, but just because 'they do not overclock' and people EVERYWHERE keep recommending the K variants, presenting them as a 'smarter' choice.

There's a difference between Linus' audience and his target audience. His target is the gamerish noob dude, even though his actual audience is much different than that.

[Jumper118]

you can overclock the none k cpus though............  the k cpus are pointless unless you care about power consumption or need avx.