Intel i5 vs intel i7

[SodaSpartan]

Besides the price, what is the actual functional difference between a core i5 and a core i7 skylake that are both quad core, is it the clock speed or something else?  

 

For example newegg.com has an Intel i7 quad core 4.0 clock speed, 6700k skylake. If I get the i5 that is closest to that, (I believe it's the i5 6600k quad core 3.5 clock speed) and over clocked it to 4.0, would it essentially be the exact same as the more expensive i7?

[zMeul]

i7

• hyperthreading
• bigger L3 cache

[WoodenMarker]

No, it's not the same. The essential difference is hyperthreading.

 

[Velvet Revolver]

Most games utilize i5's

[tarfeef101]

3 minutes ago, Velvet Revolver said:

Most games utilize i5's

And i7s... what might be more helpful to say is most games will run just fine on an i5 compared to an i7 from the same product class and generation (i.e. 5-6600K vs i7-6700K).

 

Here: 

 

[Velvet Revolver]

An i7 is only good for multitasking, video editing and high work loads.

[SodaSpartan]

So unless I'm doing lots of video editing and stuff like that, don't get an i7? Also I assume an over clocked i5 could handle most of that pretty well right?

[WereCat]

For games... i5 is enough unless you want to play modern AAA games at 144Hz for which you will need i7 and very powerfull GPU.

 

For editing the i7 is better.

[SodaSpartan]

Dang, I'm trying to justify getting an i5, I do some video rendering for youtube and I mess around with 3d models in blender sometimes so an i7 would be a lot better, but the price.... I think I may just wait another couple of weeks and get the i7 and call it done, at least I won't have to upgrade for a long time. Thanks for all of the info.

[The Sloth]

9 minutes ago, SodaSpartan said:

Dang, I'm trying to justify getting an i5, I do some video rendering for youtube and I mess around with 3d models in blender sometimes so an i7 would be a lot better, but the price.... I think I may just wait another couple of weeks and get the i7 and call it done, at least I won't have to upgrade for a long time. Thanks for all of the info.

 

get a i7 its worth it especially for what you are doing in the long run. 

[dizmo]

Depends what you want to do, and also how long it usually is before you upgrade.

There's benchmarks showing that DX12 will make great use of more threads.

So, if you're planning to keep this CPU configuration for a few years, I'd go i7.

 

40 minutes ago, Velvet Revolver said:

An i7 is only good for multitasking, video editing and high work loads.

Not only, it's just as good for gaming, if not better.

[Luffy71]

Hey guys, would be nice if you can give me an advice.

I cant decide which cpu i should buy. the i5-6600k or i7-6700k. i understood that the i5 is enough for me, because i do not render any videos or something like this.

But what makes me hard to decide is the hyperthreading of the i7. i will use the cpu in long term (minimum 6-7 years) and just change the gpu. if games with higher specs requirements will come out they could use the full power (hyperthreading) of the i7 in future. would not be it future proof for me if will buy the i7 ?

 

thanks in advance

[PeachyUwUSenpai]

i7 is better if your going to do game streaming or if you are doing multiboxing in eve or wow or really any game but those make it easy. i personally perfer them since i like having multiple screens running many things at a time. but if your more a single screen only one game client at a time person i5 is probly what you should go for

[Velvet Revolver]

How much time will an i7 save you over an i5, thats where the value is!

[MageTank]

17 minutes ago, Velvet Revolver said:

How much time will an i7 save you over an i5, thats where the value is!

Worth is subjective. As for whether or not Hyperthreading is worth $100* (Current 6600k is listed at $227 on PCPartpicker, while current 6700k is listed at $329), I just did some tests yesterday for some people on this forum. Here are my results:

On 12/11/2016 at 0:27 AM, MageTank said:

The gauntlet is complete! I'll let you guys extrapolate the results, as I am too tired to do so myself. I'll go over whatever you guys conclude in the morning. Without further ado, the results:

 

Stock i7 6700k HT Off 2133mhz Ram: http://imgur.com/a/YeY9f  http://valid.x86.fr/3a9v8e

Stock i7 6700k HT Off 3200mhz Ram: http://imgur.com/a/O52eP   http://valid.x86.fr/fh77ve

Stock i7 6700k HT On 2133mhz Ram: http://imgur.com/a/jSnIm  http://valid.x86.fr/li4nvu

Stock i7 6700k HT On 3200mhz Ram: http://imgur.com/a/5jIuH  http://valid.x86.fr/kb5895

 

If there is any additional benchmarks you guys need me to do, let me know. I can't offer much experience when it comes to CPU's themselves, but anything memory related seems to come easy to me, so feel free to exploit that if applicable. 

At best, HT offered 49.5% improvement in Blender. At worst, it was a difference of 5%(Aida64 Hash Benchmark). The average of those 6 tests, brings us to a 21.416% improvement on average, in those specific benchmarks. Now, that isn't gaming. In gaming, we don't see much of a difference with average framerates (5-10% on average) but in minimum framerates, it's an entirely different story. i7's seem to be less prone to stuttering than it's i5 counterpart, and minimum framerates can see up to 30% improvements depending on the title. Fallout 4 was a great example of this.

 

Now, do I advocate gamers to get an i7 over an i5? Not really. Price:Performance wise, paying 45% more money, for 21% more performance on average doesn't make much sense. That being said, if you know for a fact that you will be doing more than just gaming, or have even the slightest doubt for what you might do beyond gaming in the future, investing in an i7 is perfectly fine. It does offer an overall smoother gaming experience (again, at a 45% price premium) and the additional threads can be well worth the price premium in specific applications (Again, see the 49.5% improvement in Blender).

 

In short to @SodaSpartan: The simple answer is: it depends entirely on the application(s) you are using. If you are playing a dated game that seldom ever leverages more than 2 threads, no, the i7 won't really make a difference compared to a similarly clocked i5. Older MMO's (and some current MOBA's) are examples of games that are often poorly threaded. However, modern AAA titles are designed to utilize more threads, and often make a big difference in minimum framerates, the most important FPS number in gaming. If you find yourself playing more MOBA's and MMO's, or light First Person Shooters, an i5 will suffice. However, if you find yourself playing more AAA titles (Fallout 4, GTA 5, etc), you won't regret going for an i7.