Building my first computer

[ziggystar]

Hello community:

I'm in the process of building my new computer. While I thought myself as a tech savvy person, the process has made me change my opinion. {I blame my switching to mac laptops for the past 7 years.} I know the place to start is the CPU, but I don't feel sufficiently informed to make an intelligent decision.

The reason I'm switching back to a desktop is because i want to play games on it, but I don't want to limit it (my future computer) to being a Gaming PC. I'd like to try some video capturing and editing, and maybe start a youtube channel. Big dreams!

These are the 3 CPUs I'm currently looking at:

- Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost)
- Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost)
- Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo)

The i5-2500k is reviewed as the best $200+ CPU for gaming on this website, therefore its there on the list. The reason I'm considering the i7-2600k is because of the Hyper-Threading technology. Would it give me a noticeable performance boost when it comes to video editing/capturing? and Will my gaming suffer from this plus 80 or so dollars? (This question may reflect my lack of knowledge)

Finally, the i5-3570k is there just because its Ivy Bridge and it looks as if its good.

This forum may not be the correct place to put this, and if so I apologize in advance, but if any of you know of straightforward tutorials that will get me on track I would greatly appreciate.

Have a good one!

 

[Robi_g]

with no overclocking Ivy bridge CPUs are better than their Sandy bridge models, eg. i5 2550k is worse than 3570K at stock and Ivy bridge has better quick sync which will help with video editing. Hyperthreading will help if the applications you use are multi-threaded ones

 

[MidnightDistort]

I have the i7 2600k processor and so far it runs smooth, actually the best processor that i've seen and it even runs amazingly well at low cpu usage. I haven't had experienced the other 2 processors i imagine they do pretty well, but i can't tell you which one is better i chose the i7 over the i5 2500K mostly because it seemed like a better processor overall. I don't know enough about the ivy bridge one.

I also recommend looking at Tomshardware - Best HDD for gaming to help utilizing the processor. I have a 500WD Caviar Black but i regret not getting a SSD instead. Most of them are pretty expensive though so i'd look for a smaller size (depending on what you can afford of course).

 

[Pearlmam]

That is a good question. Looking at the specs alone, the Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) is the way to go for the larger L3 cache and hyperthreading. However, there seems to be more to it than just that. I quickly googled "sandy bridge vs ivy bridge" and many results came in so i suggest to read those.

Hyperthreading is useful but I don't know by how much. I think it depends on the application. I think with completely parallel processes, you would see a bump up in performance. In parallel processes that need to communicate with each other, I think there would be no edge and possibly a performance loss.

All in all, if the game's threads are all independent of each other, than hyperthreading would be better. If not, than there will be no benefit.

This is my speculation, based on what I know about parallel processing and hyperthreading. Some articles I read support my claim: http://www.overclock.net/t/671977/hyperthreading-in-games

If I had to decide, I would probably go for the new Ivy Bridge architecture (my first instinct), but not after much research. The quick research I did do, reinforced my instinct.

 

[MidnightDistort]

here's some info on hyperthreading http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/hyperthreading-technology-explained/

 

[ziggystar]

Thank you for the responses.

After a bit of research, I'm leaning towards the i5-3750k. I discarded the i7-2600k since I don't find the hyperthreading as essential for me.

The reason I'm choosing the i5-3750k is because, like I said, I'm a rookie. I think it will run smoother and colder? at lower overclocking speeds, which makes it a safer bet.

Again, thank you very much for your help!

 

[ziggystar]

Best answer selected by ziggystar.