Best Intel CPU for my budget?

[Diamond-HP]

Hi guy's just need a bit of help from the Intel knowledgeable crowd.

I want the best gaming CPU I can get for $223 (£150) that will play Shogun 2 & Rome II on max graphics.

I know about the i5 3570k etc but are there any i7's etc that would be better?

I'd be willing to go higher in budget by a bit if it means getting something special but my max ceiling is $297 (£200) but I'm more looking to spend my min budget.

Any help will be appreciated and I will be giving "Best answer".

Thnx.

(My rig info is in my sig)

 

[sophiebeth100]

You will get no noticeable gaming performance by going for an i7 over an i5. The money between them would be much better spent on a better GPU.
If you want to overclock, go for this CPU and a Z87 board: http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/Intel+Core+i5-4670K+3.40GHz+%28Haswell%29+Socket+LGA1150+Processor+-+Retail+?productId=55828
If you don't want to overclock, go for this CPU and an H87 board: http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Processors/Intel+CPUs/Core+i5+-+Socket+1150+Haswell/Intel+Core+i5-4430+3.00GHz+%28Haswell%29+Socket+LGA1150+Processor+-+Retail+?productId=55831
or this:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Processors/Intel+CPUs/Core+i5+-+Socket+1150+Haswell/Intel+Core+i5-4670+3.40GHz+%28Haswell%29+Socket+LGA1150+Processor+-+Retail+?productId=55832

 

[AgentMcBride]

If your only gaming, go with an i5 you won't be disappointed. If you are at all thinking about doing any type of video production or anything like that, definitely get the i7. I am particularly fond of MSi and Gigabyte motherboards, and I would recommend getting an 1150 z87 board, that way you don't have to replace your motherboard when you want to upgrade later.

 

[Diamond-HP]

Cheers I'll expand a little.

I'm taking into account Mobo prices on top of my CPU spend so nothing more than £90.

I will be OC'ing, I want whatever I get moving into 4+ Ghz.

Also my GPU is fine, it OC's to a stock HD 7870 and my resolution is only a 720p screen so on Heaven I get 66 fps score on Ultra.

Rome and Shogun as well is that because of the magnitude of the game and numbers of units its very CPU intensive hence my need to upgrade.

Oh and this upgrade is purely for gaming power only, no rendering or anything like that, thanks.

 

[sophiebeth100]

Cheers I'll expand a little.

I'm taking into account Mobo prices on top of my CPU spend so nothing more than £90.

I will be OC'ing, I want whatever I get moving into 4+ Ghz.

Also my GPU is fine, it OC's to a stock HD 7870 and my resolution is only a 720p screen so on Heaven I get 66 fps score on Ultra.

Rome and Shogun as well is that because of the magnitude of the game and numbers of units its very CPU intensive hence my need to upgrade.

The cheapest Z87 motherboards currently are above £90, but here are what I would recommend:

Micro ATX motherboards:
Asus Z87M-Plus
Gigabyte GA-Z87M-D3H

ATX motherboards:
Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3
MSI Z87(-G41 or -G43)
Asus Z87-K

 

[Diamond-HP]

So if an i5 is going to be the answer .....

I was debating on the i5 3570k (all round bargain) or the i5 4670k but ideally I want my total spend including Mobo to be ....

£250 max ($373) grand total

So is there no point even looking at i7's if its just for gaming?

Oh and Asus mobo only ..... bit of an Asus fan boy.

 

[sophiebeth100]

So if an i5 is going to be the answer .....

I was debating on the i5 3570k (all round bargain) or the i5 4670k but ideally I want my total spend including Mobo to be ....

£250 max ($373) grand total

So is there no point even looking at i7's if its just for gaming?

Oh and Asus mobo only ..... bit of an Asus fan boy.

If you're set on Asus and £250 then you'll need to go for Ivy Bridge instead of Haswell, which hardly matters at all, anyway.

I'd go for the i5 3570k, which is £170 and the Asus P8Z77-V LX2 which is £75. This equals £245, under your budget. Here's a link to that motherboard I mentioned: http://www.amazon.co.uk/P8Z77-V-LX2-Motherboard-Intel-Socket/dp/B009OUXPHM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1373471666&sr=8-4&keywords=asus+z77

 

[axehead15]

So if an i5 is going to be the answer .....

I was debating on the i5 3570k (all round bargain) or the i5 4670k but ideally I want my total spend including Mobo to be ....

£250 max ($373) grand total

So is there no point even looking at i7's if its just for gaming?

Oh and Asus mobo only ..... bit of an Asus fan boy.

Yeah, if you are just gaming an i5 is perfect. If you plan on ever getting into video rendering (I didn't, but now I have and realize that I should have gotten a better CPU), then you definitely need an i7.

 

[Diamond-HP]

Yeah that's what I was thinking, I'll take advantage of the drop in price from IB to Haswell and it will fit my budget.

Guess I was just fishing around to see if the i7's were worth a look but yeah that's fine, I know Haswell has more future scope in that new socket but you know what Intel are like, by the time I'll want my next upgrade in a few years they'd have changed the damn socket anyway. 😉

Cheers peeps.