Do you need the 'K'

[Jamie_Taylor_4200]

Hello, My name is Jamie I'm building a new gaming PC and I was wondering if I need the K (Overclockable) CPU?

 

- Thanks, Jamie

[WoodenMarker]

No.

[Jamie_Taylor_4200]

1 minute ago, WoodenMarker said:

No.

Thanks, I wasn't sure if I needed it (I'm new to this PC building thingy) 

[Droidbot]

Do you want to overclock? Get a K series processor and a Z series motherboard.

If you don't want to overclock, get the non-k series processors and a H or B series motherboard. 

[WoodenMarker]

2 minutes ago, Jamie_Taylor_4200 said:

Thanks, I wasn't sure if I needed it (I'm new to this PC building thingy) 

If you would like help planning a new build, read this thread: 

and make a thread in the New Builds and Planning subforum.

[Megah3rtz]

No, its completely optional. 

[Jamie_Taylor_4200]

1 minute ago, WoodenMarker said:

If you would like help planning a new build, read this thread: 

 

and make a thread in the New Builds and Planning subforum.

 

Thanks, That will be very helpful. =)

[Jamie_Taylor_4200]

2 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

Do you want to overclock? Get a K series processor and a Z series motherboard.

If you don't want to overclock, get the non-k series processors and a H or B series motherboard. 

 

Thanks!

[beanhubbleday]

No, but I have it

[Simon771]

You don't need it, but you want it

Which CPU do you want to buy?

[rn8686]

Not necessary at all, only if you plan to overclock (You also need a Z170/Z270 motherboard and an aftermarket CPU cooler to do so though). 

[Aereldor]

51 minutes ago, Jamie_Taylor_4200 said:

Thanks, I wasn't sure if I needed it (I'm new to this PC building thingy) 

The ability to overclock comes at a hefty premium, but your CPU will last you a hell of a lot longer. Overclocking an older CPU allows it to keep up with current CPUs, and thus, the demands of current games and applications.

 

The Core i5 2500 and Core i5 2500k both came out six years ago. One of those CPUs is an antique that can't even keep up with Skylake or Kabylake i3s. But the 2500k? With a good overclock, it's on even footing with any modern quad-core. 

 

You don't need it, and a modern Core i5 or Core i7 CPU will last you longer, but if you really want to go the distance without upgrading, an K-CPU is a very good choice. Any overclockable chip is. That's why Zen is so promising, because all Zen chips are going to be overclockable, and overclocking motherboards will be available at the mid-range.

[Jamie_Taylor_4200]

2 hours ago, Simon771 said:

You don't need it, but you want it

Which CPU do you want to buy?

 

Either the 6600 or the 6600K

[Simon771]

2 hours ago, Jamie_Taylor_4200 said:

Either the 6600 or the 6600K

Well if you are 100% sure that you won't be overclocking it, get 6600 non K CPU and H170 or B150 motherboard. It will be cheaper for you.

[JoostinOnline]

Personally, I would suggest getting a Z170 board, just in case you change your mind.  I didn't think I'd ever overclock, but I got a Z97 motherboard anyway because it was on sale.  I'm so glad I did, because it saved me money later when I got an overclockable CPU.

[SteveGrabowski0]

If you're going locked, go Kaby Lake instead of Skylake since Kaby has higher clockspeeds and supports DDR4-2400 RAM even on low end boards and locked cpus. For instance, the i5-7600 is 200 MHz faster than the i5-6600.