WHAT ARE CORES, GHz, Threads?

[DYGaming]

So.. I've been looking forward to buying a new computer and im confused on processor i should get? (not getting amd)

I have an option of:

a) i5 7600k - 4 CORES/ THREADS + 4.2 GHz (Can overclock up to 5.0 GHz)

b) i7 7700 - 4 CORES/ 8 THREADS + 4.2 GHz

c) i7 7700k - 4 CORES/ 8 THREADS + 4.5 GHz (Can overclock up to 5.0 GHz)

 

Now, I am an inspired content creator means that i would want to be editing, Which one should i choose? Why?

Price of processors are listed from top to bottom (top cheapest)

 

Ps: If there is any kind soul out there that is willing to tell what are threads and GHz. Also which to choose over, for example: GHz over Cores and Threads or Cores and Threads over GHz. that would be fantastically amazing! 

 

Edit: I did watch and read about CPUs and never understood anything.

      

 

 

Edited February 28, 2017 by DYGaming

[spark12072001]

these videos might help you 

[Godlygamer23]

Cores are basically a defined "brain" or computing unit within a chip. A good core should have all the components to achieve decoding, fetching, etc. GHz is the frequency at which the chip runs at, but GHz is Gigahertz, and not all chips run within this range. Some run strictly in the MHz(megahertz) range, and in fact modern chips from Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA will run within the MHz range to save power(Intel chips for example can run at 800ishMHz). Another way of thinking about frequency is that it's simply the number of completed operations the components are completing per second. Giga means "billion," so a CPU running at 4GHz is completing 4 billion completed operations(in theory) per second for each core.

 

Threads only exist in software. I will quote Wikipedia to give a better explanation:

Quote

a thread of execution is the smallest sequence of programmed instructions that can be managed independently by a scheduler[.]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thread_(computing)

 

@DYGaming

I forgot about the second part of the post.

 

It depends on the task you're trying to complete. For content creation, you generally want to focus on cores and threads versus frequency, but only if the underlying architecture is any good(if you're comparing CPUs). Some chips need to increase the frequency to make up for the sub-par architecture. So in your situation, between the CPUs you've chosen, the 7700 or 7700K would be a better choice. As @TheRandomness mentioned, checking out Ryzen might be a solution to take as the chip release is within a few days, and might just be worth the wait. 

Edited February 28, 2017 by Godlygamer23
Added information.

[TheRandomness]

Have a look at the Ryzen 7 1700, should cost around the same as the 7700k whilst doubling the amount of cores and threads (and keeping very similar per core performance). 

[Beddah]

Ryzen 7 1700 will be better for your needs. It cost as much as the i7-7700K.

[DYGaming]

2 hours ago, Godlygamer23 said:

Cores are basically a defined "brain" or computing unit within a chip. A good core should have all the components to achieve decoding, fetching, etc. GHz is the frequency at which the chip runs at, but GHz is Gigahertz, and not all chips run within this range. Some run strictly in the MHz(megahertz) range, and in fact modern chips from Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA will run within the MHz range to save power(Intel chips for example can run at 800ishMHz). Another way of thinking about frequency is that it's simply the number of completed operations the components are completing per second. Giga means "billion," so a CPU running at 4GHz is completing 4 billion completed operations(in theory) per second for each core.

 

Threads only exist in software. I will quote Wikipedia to give a better explanation:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thread_(computing)

 

@DYGaming

I forgot about the second part of the post.

 

It depends on the task you're trying to complete. For content creation, you generally want to focus on cores and threads versus frequency, but only if the underlying architecture is any good(if you're comparing CPUs). Some chips need to increase the frequency to make up for the sub-par architecture. So in your situation, between the CPUs you've chosen, the 7700 or 7700K would be a better choice. As @TheRandomness mentioned, checking out Ryzen might be a solution to take as the chip release is within a few days, and might just be worth the wait. 

I've noted about the AMD 7 Ryzen 1700, I have another question. The new AMD 7 Ryzen 1700 will have about 1 GHz less then the i7 7700k. Is that important?

[scottyseng]

19 minutes ago, DYGaming said:

I've noted about the AMD 7 Ryzen 1700, I have another question. The new AMD 7 Ryzen 1700 will have about 1 GHz less then the i7 7700k. Is that important?

It depends on the programs you use. Some will handle more threads better than others. The 1700 has 8 cores and will beat the 7700K in multithreaded if the program supports it. However, the 7700K will edge out in programs that want faster single core performance (and don't support multithreading)

 

Some programs prefer faster cores, I know photoshop's painting speed will increase with a higher clock speed/core performance. Some games will only run a few cores and prefer the cores to run really fast. I also believe after effects and premiere pro like faster cores as well.

 

It's quite a tough balance between more cores vs more performance per core (More GHz / threads / IPC).

 

Usually with higher core CPUs, the GHz has to go down due to physical limits of the CPU.