i7 4790k vs i5 4690k

[Prodigboy2]

I'm attempting my first computer with a budget. I am stuck between these two. The i5 will run me about 80-90 cheaper currently, but the i7 will be better for longer.

What I'm doing with this computer is gaming, mainly WoW but will want to play others since I will have a rig that allows it. I also will be wanting to stream the games.

For the moment I'm not gonna overclock them due to the fact it could shorten a life spam. With the hyper threading of the i7 and the future of gaming looking to go towards 8 cores (just what I've read). I was leaning towards the i7 to "future proof" the rig. My main question is would the i5 handle all games w/ streaming while maitaining high performance in the game. I really would like to save the Bucks of I can.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

I was about to recommend i5 which abides to almost all the points but then 'w/ streaming', where i7 is unbeatable, arrived. Yep i5 is plenty for now and some years more, nobody has seen the future, maybe the games start to heavily rely on HTs or more cores, maybe just the opposite, but yes, the i7 will have a better stand in either situation. And in streaming, currently, i7 is the boss, which is because of HTs, they help in streaming a lot. So yes i7 would be a better buy.

 

[InvalidError]

For gaming, i5 is fine and will remain adequate for the foreseeable future but when you throw streaming in, the i7 does become a plus.

Another option would be using a Xeon E3-1230v3: you get HT (but no OC) for about half the cost difference between i5 and i7.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I'm attempting my first computer with a budget. I am stuck between these two. The i5 will run me about 80-90 cheaper currently, but the i7 will be better for longer.

What I'm doing with this computer is gaming, mainly WoW but will want to play others since I will have a rig that allows it. I also will be wanting to stream the games.

For the moment I'm not gonna overclock them due to the fact it could shorten a life spam. With the hyper threading of the i7 and the future of gaming looking to go towards 8 cores (just what I've read). I was leaning towards the i7 to "future proof" the rig. My main question is would the i5 handle all games w/ streaming while maitaining high performance in the game. I really would like to save the Bucks of I can.

Thanks for the help guys.

The i7 does two things:

1. Hyperthreading - The OS sees 8 cores instead of 4 and that helps with multi thredaed apps like video editing.

2. The i7 (4.0 / 4.4 Ghz) is a whopping 0.5 Ghz faster than the i5 (3.5 /3.9) .... that's 14%

Now, overclocking will no more shorten your CPUs life than buying the faster i7 will..... essentially same processor, 4790k just had higher clock ..... overclocking 4690k to 4.4 GHz is the same thing as using a 4790k and the Turbo Boost to 4.4.

Overclocking at reasonable voltages may shorten the life of your processor..... possibly from 10 - 12 years to 8 - 10 years. I have always OPC'd every processors as high as it could go with in recommended temperature and voltage limits ..... none have failed and every machine's been kept, tho may be dropped down to lower demanding uses, for at least 5 years.

 

[Prodigboy2]

Great info! One more question. Would the i5 be ok while streaming or will it take a big performance hit?

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Great info! One more question. Would the i5 be ok while streaming or will it take a big performance hit?

If you're looking to play on maxed out quality and stream games like BF4 with i5, it will do the job, but the experience with i7 will be much better, the HTs will handle the job well. Can't really say i5 is bad for the purpose, but i7 will definately be better, and my choice here.

 

[NIONIT]

I would prefer you to go for an i5. Theres a very slight difference between the i5 and i7. i5 is better for itsvalue to performance ratio. You can buy an i5 with a good cabinet like the Cooler Master HAF 912 with all fans(6 fans). It will give you far better performance than an i7 in a cheap cabinet. The better the cooling, the better the performance. There is not much difference between the i5 and the i7. You can surely go for the i5 but if you can spend xtra, no doubt go for the i7. I am a +1 with @Meteors Raining