CPU Choice (i5 6600, 6600k, i7 6700)

[Nerdasaurus]

I'm currently looking at building my first PC build, but I need some advice when it comes to the CPU. I've done my research, but it would be nice to have the opinion of a few of you. Here are some of the CPU choices I need to narrow down. I'm also on a budget, and being in Australia, PC parts are expensive.

i5 6600 - Cheaper than all of the other CPU's here. Seems to deliver similar performance.

i5 6600k - Unlocked. More expensive, however, after buying the cooler and suitable motherboard. Is there much of a performance boost when overclocking? For what I'm doing, I don't think it's necessary.

i7 6700 - Good for editing and rendering, mostly same performance in gaming?

My intentions are to game, but I also use Photoshop (and Adobe products) a fair bit. I want to be able to edit and render videos as well, as I do that quite regularly as well. For those needs, I don't think an i7 is totally necessary, but I still want to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for your input!

 

[RCFProd]

I render videos every now and then and I'm just fine with i5-4690. For Adobe Photoshop you can still keep using the i5 processor.

Even for your purposes I think you'll be just fine with the i5-6600k.

Something to suggest is perhaps 16GB RAM to combine with the i5-6600k.

What's your budget in total excluding monitor, pheriperals and OS? Perhaps I could suggest a good build for a certain price point.

 

[Nerdasaurus]

I thought the i7 was just a little overkill. Good to hear that an i5 will be fine.
I've thought about 16GB of ram, but even that seems a little overkill. With RAM though, I can always add more, which is handy.
My budget including OS is anywhere between $1500-1600ish. So probably $1400+.
In your opinion, is it worth the extra $100-150 to overclock? Will there be a huge performance boost?

Thanks for all your help

 

[Ozikkk]

Hmmm, I'm pretty sure an i5 4690k would do you well, especially when you're looking at gaming and rendering. I've got a couple of friends who would tell you the same thing. I run the i7 4790k which is great for everything, depends as well what kind of files you render. Rendering a 1920x1080, 8,000kbps bit rate, 15 minute long footage, it wouldn't take me long I can't specify how long but it also depends on my GPU and RAM as I edit in Sony Vegas 13.

As a final answer I would get the i5-4690k.
If you need any help feel free to message me.

 

[Nerdasaurus]

I looked into the i5 4690k, but they are getting older and only support DDR3. I would like a processor that is capable of handling DDR4 so that I have the upgradability options in the future. They're also out of stock at every place that has an MSY (here in Australia). Sounds similar to me, I'll be rendering 1920x1080 from Sony Vegas with a GTX 970 and 8-16 gb of RAM.

What are your thoughts on OC'ing? Is there a huge performance boost? Thanks for your help, makes the process much easier.

 

[RCFProd]

Base components list MicroATX - Corsair 350D Windowed case (No GPU):
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zLfBXL

Base components list ATX - NZXT H440 Case - White/black finish (No GPU):
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/F7yzJx

You can fit up to a GTX 980 Ti in this build and it will cost 1500 dollars. But this is a choice that's up to you, so I've kept it open.

Overclocking is an option to take into account atleast. You don't have to OC, but It's nice to have that option when you want to. It can help a good bit in improving performance.

 

[Nerdasaurus]

Very nice build options. I'll have to downgrade the case to an S340 and the graphics card to a 970, as the parts in Australia are much more expensive, but definitely some good options there. I'll definitely consider overclocking then. Thanks for all your help. I'm still a noob when it comes to this stuff seeing that I haven't built before, so it is much appreciated.

 

[Nerdasaurus]

I think I am going to go with the 6600k.
That way I am sure it will last even just a little longer in the future, and I can get good performance out of it when I am ready to overclock.
Thanks for all your help, it was very much appreciated.

 

[RCFProd]

Good luck building. I'm not really familiar with component availability in Australia so I'm not sure what to suggest.

For example you can't probably get the Cryorig H7 in Australia, but what about the Asus Z170-A?

I guess the Hyper 612 ver.2 is the solution to the Cryorig H7 not being available:

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 612 Ver.2 44.2 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler ($57.00 @ IJK)
Total: $57.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-19 21:54 AEDT+1100

 

[Nerdasaurus]

That's okay. Most parts we can get here, others we can't though. Australian prices for PC parts are more expensive, unfortunately.
I'll definitely look into that cooler though, and I can get the Asus motherboard here too.
Thanks for all your help RCFProd

 

[Nerdasaurus]

I would leave that a few days. Asrock, M.S.I. and asus have this week found a way to overclock locked skylake cpu's by usually 27%, so buying the official unlocked 6600K may not be the cheapest option.
The (non 'K') i5 6500 is looking pretty good bangs/$.
http://www.techspot.com/review/1108-intel-locked-skylake-cpu-bclk-overclocking/

😱 Okay, I'll definitely read up on that. Thanks!
Interesting. Is it reliable, and will it give enough performance boost to outweigh the K edition processors? 6500 or 6600?

 

[Nerdasaurus]

What I meant by '6500 or 6600' is what one out of the two would you go for? 😛
Sorry for the confusion.

 

[RCFProd]

i5-6500, It's best price/performance ratio based.