i5 i7 How much is too much?

[lieutenantfrost]

Building a gaming pc.
I've read countless threads about bottlenecks and wasted processing power many of which contradict each other. Currently Im looking at an i5 6600 as I was told that anything beyond that is really a waste based on current gaming demands and whats handled by the GPU.

Do I have that right ? and if not what would be the preferred choice?

 

[BadActor]

It's not an easy answer because it depends. Some games rely more on the CPU than others, so all things being equal, the stronger CPU will have an advantage in those. If budget wasn't a concern, I would say get an unlocked i7 and the best card you can find. But since it usually is for most people, you have to find the best balance of CPU and GPU power. Since most games don't benefit from more than four cores and are more affected by the single core performance, the i5's are great for gaming. Even the hyper threaded i3's make a strong showing. If faced with a tight budget, it's better to save money with the locked parts and apply the savings to a better video card. This will get you more FPS in the long run.

 

[why_wolf]

yes that is correct. For just gaming (and not being extreme about it) an i5 the all you need. The i7 gives some benefit but randomly game by game so its a diminishing return for more money. This all might change in the next few years if DX12 and Vulcan catch on and developers start using all the available processing power. But its not like the i5 will become useless anytime soon either.

 

[ZachyBeat]

In 99% of games you want strong single core performance (4690k or 6600k overclocked; an i7 for strictly gaming isn't necessary, AMD FX is lower on the spectrum, similar to an i3 but more cores). You'll need to weigh you budget and needs.

If strictly gaming any i5 will do you good but a K series that you can overclock is ideal. I5s are also 4 core CPUs which is the sweet spot for gaming as more cores aren't necessary and less can bottleneck you. If you plan to do 3D rendering, video rendering, streaming while gaming then you can consider a Xeon or i7 CPU because of the hyperthreading perks. I would recommend either a Haswell or Skylake i5 for gaming. If you have the option to buying used you could even get cheap Sandy or Ivy bridge that will do perfectly well in gaming.

It doesn't make sense to pair a $400 GPU with a $100 CPU just as much as it doesn't make sense to pair a $300 CPU with a $100 GPU. Balance your budget, get a 4 core CPU (i5 ideally), and allocate ~40% of your budget to the GPU. If you can afford an i5, you should be in the neighbourhood of an R9 380x, 390, or 970. Hope this helps.