Best Intel CPU for Money?

[jaxxsteele]

Hey guys I'm looking for the best CPU/MOTHERBOARD combo that I can get for under $600. I want it to be Intel and I need to get the best performance possible on games like Arma 2, Arma 3, and DayZ.

 

[superninja12]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG A40 ULTIMATE 83.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($98.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($137.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $536.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-28 16:08 EST-0500

 

[Umbra_the_Wolf]

I'd take a 5820k though for the multitasking and to future proof on cores but if all you do is game then it might not be necessary. I personally own these three in my gaming rig and can attest that they will still be overkill in the next- nextgen of gaming. The cooler is awesome, it cools my CPU under stress at 4GHz staying under 71C which is amazing for a sub-$100 dual rad AIO. Both CPU's perform so well anyway but more cores always win when doing more. In ssimilar situations the 6700k keeps up fine with the 5820k and even surpasses it in some instances where more cores doesn't equal more performance. Since games are not optimized at all these days, I would say more cores will give better performance when push comes to shove with all the AAA games coming out broken at launch. Plus Arma will utilize all 6 cores and 8 cores on the 5820k, 5930k and 5960X

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Kkzv8d

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor
$368.99 $368.99 SuperBiiz
Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 240 66.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
$96.75 $96.75 Amazon
ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard
$159.99 -$30.00 $0.99 $130.98 Newegg
Base Total: $625.73
Mail-in Rebates: -$30.00
Shipping: $0.99
Total: $596.72

 

[Deleted member 217926]

A 6700K spanks a 5820K in gaming.

You can do a 6700K / motherboard combo with RAM and cooling for under $600 easily with the 6700K on sale. The Phanteks air cooler has no parts to fail beyond the fan. It cools just as well as the all in ones and is much more quiet. It also comes in colors.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Jet)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($115.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $580.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-28 17:48 EST-0500

Edited this: Picked an 8GB RAM kit the first time.

 

[esco_sid]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6800K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($379.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus X99-A II ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $584.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-28 16:26 EST-0500

you can find 6800k at microcenter for 329.99

 

[jaxxsteele]

So what's better the i7 6700k 4.0GHz or the i7 6800k 3.4GHzfor arma 3 FPS?

 

[esco_sid]

So what's better the i7 6700k 4.0GHz or the i7 6800k 3.4GHzfor arma 3 FPS?

If you have the money id go for the 6800k since its a 6 core and it can run at 4.4ghz Ocd most things can run at 4 cores nowadays but i think they will start shifting to more cores in a few years.

 

[jaxxsteele]

Okay so would I have to overclock it to 4.4GHz? It comes stock 3.4. I have no problem over clocking I'm just wondering if that's what I have to do?

 

[esco_sid]

Okay so would I have to overclock it to 4.4GHz? It comes stock 3.4. I have no problem over clocking I'm just wondering if that's what I have to do?

Honestly that CPU would run anything without even overclocking it but if you do overclock you would need a good Air CPU cooler.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

The 6700K is superior for gaming. Cheaper platform, newer, faster architecture and clocks higher. The 6800K clocks to 4.4Ghz sure if you want to do a custom water loop. The 6700K will do 4.6Ghz-4.8Ghz on air.

X99 is Intel's HEDT platform. It's for people needing workstation power and multiple threads for specific applications. It is almost never better for gaming.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Proof.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-what-is-the-fastest-gaming-cpu

 

[esco_sid]

The 6700K is superior for gaming. Cheaper platform, newer, faster architecture and clocks higher. The 6800K clocks to 4.4Ghz sure if you want to do a custom water loop. The 6700K will do 4.6Ghz-4.8Ghz on air.

X99 is Intel's HEDT platform. It's for people needing workstation power and multiple threads for specific applications. It is almost never better for gaming.

My argument was that yes today 6700k would be better but most people keep the CPU about 5 years do you still think 6800k vs 6700k will be better 3-5 years down the road ? everything is going forward to more cores/threads and 6800k would have 0 problem with any of today's games even at lower clocks and if you look around its not that much expensive considering his budget if you look for deals like micro center at 329.99. Naturally best choice would be 6600k if we are just looking at price/performance for today.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

The 6700K is superior for gaming. Cheaper platform, newer, faster architecture and clocks higher. The 6800K clocks to 4.4Ghz sure if you want to do a custom water loop. The 6700K will do 4.6Ghz-4.8Ghz on air.

X99 is Intel's HEDT platform. It's for people needing workstation power and multiple threads for specific applications. It is almost never better for gaming.

My argument was that yes today 6700k would be better but most people keep the CPU about 5 years do you still think 6800k vs 6700k will be better 3-5 years down the road ? everything is going forward to more cores/threads and 6800k would have 0 problem with any of today's games even at lower clocks and if you look around its not that much expensive considering his budget if you look for deals like micro center at 329.99. Naturally best choice would be 6600k if we are just looking at price/performance for today.

No a 6800K will not be a better gaming CPU than a 6700K in 5 years. I had a 2600K from January 2011 until February 2016 when I upgraded to this 6700K. I just moved my 980 Ti over. I saw almost no gain in gaming performance. 5FPS or less and I was on a P67 motherboard with PCI-E 2.0 so part of that tiny gain was moving the 980 Ti to a PCI-E 3.0 slot.

Games only become CPU bound at lower resolutions anyway. At 1440p and up almost all games become much more GPU biased as long as there is a decent CPU to drive the graphics card.

The only reason to use X99 for gaming is for 2 or more flagship level cards in multi Sli/Xfire and still needing PCI-E lanes for other things. Even with GTX 1080 SLI I'd still use a 6700K. Or 7700K in a month or so.

If more cores was automatically better AMD would have been dominating the CPU market for the last 5 years. 😉