Help choosing the right Core I5

Westpalmdan

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Oct 28, 2013
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Looking for the best deal on a Skylake Core I5 combo for this sales holiday. I only need Cpu/Mb/ram that will play nice together. I need it for basic computing on multiple monitors while multitasking with office, mp3 work, photos, streaming, DVD burning, and multiple windows open while surfing the net.
 
Solution


Actually better, faster RAM can improve performance quite a bit in applications. I know, people say it "doesn't do anything noticeable" but that's not exactly true. Most people's thoughts are too gamer-centric on this site. Certain games even do have noticeable improvements from better RAM. Let's not forget all the non-gaming situations where the RAM has major benefits.

Tradesman, the RAM expert on this site, talks about how RAM is becoming more and more important, as its role in increasing performance is rising.
Get a cheaper motherboard. That gaming B150 is not worth the money. You can get a H170 ATX with that much money.
8gb is ok for your work. If you can get 16gb, getting it would not hurt either. Multitasking works loves ram.

I suggest this build -

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($57.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $315.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-27 12:12 EDT-0400

Even if it is not a combo deal, it is a sweet build.
 


Is it worth it at all to step up to a 6600 for $20 is my only question, otherwise looks to be a sensible build.
 
If this is all you're doing, then a Skylake isn't really worth it. If you're OK with no overclocking, an i5 4460 is a good option, paired with a cheap motherboard, definitely not a Z97. However, if you plan to overclock for best performance possible, a 4690k will do great, as long as you're prepared to shell out a bit more, not just for the CPU, but for the motherboard as well, since Z97 and Z87 are the only 1150 chipset that supports overclocking.
 


Not really. If you work with 100+ tabs with scripts running in browser then yes. Otherwise no, you will not miss i7 6700. The i7 6700 and i5 6500 is very similar. The i7 just supports hyper threading technology and has a 0.2Ghz more base clock. Hyper threading, short HT, is used in video encoding, rendering 3d animation and stuffs like that. Games rarely uses HT. The i5 is basically an i7 without HT in consumer version.

I say go with skylake. Brand new skylake and haswell builds are not that different in price. So why go with older technology? Besides the hd530, which comes with 6th generation intel cpus, is a great integrated graphics.
 

Is there another Motherboard that you would recommend that would come with 3.1 usb and run at 2400Mhz........the other part of that deal for the I5 6500 and 16GB of G.Skill RAM is a combo special this weekend for $242.98, so I am willing to pay a little more for the motherboard.
 
Unfortunately only Z170 motherboards can run rams at 2400mhz or higher. The cheapest z170 i would recommend is this one - http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz170md3h which is about $93 at newegg. It is a waste to buy Z170 motherboard without a K cpu, like i5 6600K. You would not notice any difference in performance between 2133 and 2400 ram. 2400 rams can run 2400mhz or lower, so it will run in 2133 in your motherboard.

If you want to spend some more on motherboard, get this Gigabyte Gigabyte GA-H170M-DS3H Micro ATX - $65.38 @newegg. If you want to spend more, get this - Gigabyte GA-H170-GAMING 3 ATX - $83 @newegg.
 

Do any of these support USB 3.1? And I think that I would want to stick with ATX as I have plenty of room in my ULTRA Case.
 


Yes I do know that. I just want to know if I can use a MB with 3.0 that will support a 3.1
 


Actually better, faster RAM can improve performance quite a bit in applications. I know, people say it "doesn't do anything noticeable" but that's not exactly true. Most people's thoughts are too gamer-centric on this site. Certain games even do have noticeable improvements from better RAM. Let's not forget all the non-gaming situations where the RAM has major benefits.

Tradesman, the RAM expert on this site, talks about how RAM is becoming more and more important, as its role in increasing performance is rising.
 
Solution


In my opinion it is worth the extra $20 for the I5 6600. It´s not 0.1 Ghz faster, all this processor runs at stock turbo boost most of the time, so while the I5 6600 reaches 3.9 GHz, the I5 6500 reaches 3.6 Ghz, so that makes 0.3 Ghz, well worth the extra $20, some people buy expensive K processor with expensive water coolers to get extra 0.5 Ghz on OC, so yeah, 20$ is worth it, without having the hassle of buying water cooler and be watching your temp all the time

. I have the I5 6600 and it´s running at 3.8 ~ 3.9 GHz most of the time, with a medium air cooler (Zalman CNPS5X Performa) and it wont go further than 40°C on heavy loads
 


No, none of those support USB 3.1. Get this - Gigabyte GA-H170-D3HP ATX , supports USB 3.1, ATX - $88 @Newegg. Also has a USB type-c port. Note that you will get one USB 3.1 port. Even $200 motherboards have one 3.1 port. If you want to spend $100 on motherboard, get this one - Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P ATX, can run ram at 2400 or higher.
 


Well yes, as programs are becoming more powerful they can take advantage of higher speeds, but we're still at the point where that extra 30 dollars would make a lot bigger of a difference if you bought a better processor over better RAM.