i5 6600K or i7 6700K for gaming?

Sebubble

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Sep 28, 2016
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Just making some final decisions on what parts to get for my new PC and I just wanted some clarification on this. Wherever I go, there seems to be people claiming one or the other are better for gaming.

My new build will be for a 1080p 60hz monitor to begin with but I do plan to upgrade to a 1440p 144hz one in the future (if that helps).
I'll probably be going with GTX 1070 as my video card although again, I may upgrade to 1080 in the far future when I can afford to splash cash.
I don't have any plans to go into OCing but it's not off the table.

My real question is will the i5 be good enough for max settings smooth gaming without having to OC or is it vital I get the i7 for that?

Thanks for any replies.
 
Solution
the I5 should be good enough for gaming since most games are not CPU intensive these days but if you are looking for future proofing then the I7 will be able to give you a few more years of gaming down the road
With 144Hz in mind I would go 6700k. The 6700k has been shown to help by a material amount in high (>100 fps) with many modern games and looks likely to continue. For 60Hz the 6600k makes more sense. However are you really going to spend all that money on a 1070 and then a 1080? Seems a very expensive route but I agree you want a 1080 for 1440p 144Hz
 

snurp85

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May 6, 2009
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If you arent going to overclock, then there is no need to get a K version of the CPU.

For gaming the i5 is more than you will ever need. CPU dependent games tend to have ridiculously high frame rates to begin with, so the extra couple frames you "may" see from an i7 wont be relevant. The real advantage of the i7 is multi-threading which comes in handy for video rendering and such (but again, isnt necessarily worth the extra price)
 
Another example of material gains with an i7 in a modern game. If you have the money for a 1440p 144Hz monitor and GPU to power it the extra cost of an i7 is insignificant and will allow your setup to reach its full potential.

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