i3-6320 vs i7-6700K power use

[Paul Anderegg]

I have a Media Center PC built around an i3-6320, which works perfectly well for what I typically use the PC for, watching TV. Sometimes, I have the need to transcode video files using Handbrake, and that is where the 2 core limit shows itself. If I were to upgrade to an i7-6700K, could I expect the same idle and TV/Bluray watching (iGPU) power consumption and performance, but be able to utilize the extra speed of the 4 cores with a subsequent power consumption penalty when needed? I don't know if I would want to add the i7 to a 24/7 HTPC if it were a power vampire under normal operations compared to my i3.

Paul

 

[Ecky]

Basically, yes. It will idle around the same.