i7 875k vs i7 870

[GeforceMasterRace]

Looking to keep this processor for another year or 2. Which one would be more future proof, which one would be better and do you think any of these processors could last 1 or 2 year?

 

[synphul]

If they're similar in price, the 875k can be overclocked. If not overclocked they're identical in speed, cache size etc. Neither is future proof and it depends on what you're using it for as to whether it will last another year or two. The 875k was released almost 6yrs ago and the 870 is over 6yrs old. If used for gaming it will probably be around the same performance as an i5 2400 or a bit worse in most games. So long as you're not trying to push your cpu with brand new AAA games it may last a year or a little longer but hard to say.

 

[GeforceMasterRace]

If they're similar in price, the 875k can be overclocked. If not overclocked they're identical in speed, cache size etc. Neither is future proof and it depends on what you're using it for as to whether it will last another year or two. The 875k was released almost 6yrs ago and the 870 is over 6yrs old. If used for gaming it will probably be around the same performance as an i5 2400 or a bit worse in most games. So long as you're not trying to push your cpu with brand new AAA games it may last a year or a little longer but hard to say.

Do you think it would work with 2x Asus Radeon HD7850-V2 (2 GDDR5 each) in Crossfire, and a good measure for gaming would be GTA V at medium to high settings at 1080p

 

[synphul]

It should do ok according to tests done at techspot. The cpu is roughly a bit less than a 2500k (stock) and a single 7850 is showing to do around 44fps at normal graphics settings @ 1080p. Considering you have 2 7850's in crossfire the fps should be a little higher, probably closer to 50-55, maybe even 60fps so long as you keep the graphics settings turned down a bit. You may just have to tinker and see how much higher you can push the graphics before your fps drops too low but it should be playable at least.

gpu @ 1080p normal textures.
http://www.techspot.com/review/991-gta-5-pc-benchmarks/page2.html

cpu
http://www.techspot.com/review/991-gta-5-pc-benchmarks/page6.html

 

[GeforceMasterRace]

It should do ok according to tests done at techspot. The cpu is roughly a bit less than a 2500k (stock) and a single 7850 is showing to do around 44fps at normal graphics settings @ 1080p. Considering you have 2 7850's in crossfire the fps should be a little higher, probably closer to 50-55, maybe even 60fps so long as you keep the graphics settings turned down a bit. You may just have to tinker and see how much higher you can push the graphics before your fps drops too low but it should be playable at least.

gpu @ 1080p normal textures.
http://www.techspot.com/review/991-gta-5-pc-benchmarks/page2.html

cpu
http://www.techspot.com/review/991-gta-5-pc-benchmarks/page6.html

Would something like a i7-2600 make much of a difference?

 

[synphul]

It might make some difference but overall you're still running 7850's. I don't know exactly how well the crossfire scaling performance would work in that game, I have to guess at better than a single 7850 and somewhere around 7950 to 7970 performance. GtaV isn't overly cpu limited, there's only around 10fps difference between a 2nd gen i5 and 4th gen i7 but that's also using a titan x gpu. A 2nd gen i7 would last a bit longer than a first gen i7, sure.

The i7 2600 may help more in other games, you mentioned 1-2 years use and I'm assuming you'll want to play other games besides just gtav for the next year or two. If you had an i7 2600 your next best bet would be to sell the 7850's and get a single stronger graphics card. Not all newer games scale as well as gtav does to older hardware.

Are you building a new pc, trying to upgrade one you've currently got or? You just need to make sure whatever cpu you decide on that you have an appropriate motherboard for it, compatible ram, a strong enough power supply to handle 2 7850's in crossfire unless you've already been running your gpu's like that.

 

[GeforceMasterRace]

It might make some difference but overall you're still running 7850's. I don't know exactly how well the crossfire scaling performance would work in that game, I have to guess at better than a single 7850 and somewhere around 7950 to 7970 performance. GtaV isn't overly cpu limited, there's only around 10fps difference between a 2nd gen i5 and 4th gen i7 but that's also using a titan x gpu. A 2nd gen i7 would last a bit longer than a first gen i7, sure.

The i7 2600 may help more in other games, you mentioned 1-2 years use and I'm assuming you'll want to play other games besides just gtav for the next year or two. If you had an i7 2600 your next best bet would be to sell the 7850's and get a single stronger graphics card. Not all newer games scale as well as gtav does to older hardware.

Are you building a new pc, trying to upgrade one you've currently got or? You just need to make sure whatever cpu you decide on that you have an appropriate motherboard for it, compatible ram, a strong enough power supply to handle 2 7850's in crossfire unless you've already been running your gpu's like that.

I don't have a whole lot of budget at the moment, currently running an ancient core 2 quad q9400s @2.66GHz so really any performance upgrade is good. Also due to the core 2 quad I'm currently experiencing a massive bottleneck for my GPUs, which I got used of a friend for $195. And from a little research the best GPU you can get for $200 here down under is AN Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti and it seems like the performance for a GTX 750 Ti and a hd7850 are about the same, skewed sometimes a little in favour of the Radeon card.

 

[synphul]

I don't know if it would improve the price any for you but have you considered an i5 2500k? It lacks the hyper threading but ht isn't used in most games. A lot of times an upper end i7 will show a bit better performance in say the case of a 4790k simply because it comes clocked faster out of the box than a 4790. Ht can help in some games but the vast majority are still running about the same on an i5 as an i7. Unless you do a lot of video editing or live streaming where the extra threading will help you.

I have no idea what used cpu prices are running in Australia, if the prices are really close between a 2nd gen i5 and i7 then sure go for the i7. That's a good price on the gpu's, I'm currently running a single 7850 1gb version but in all fairness I'm not playing brand new AAA games on it either. Games I play are a bit older, fc3, cod ghosts, skyrim etc. I imagine loading up gtav I'd see my graphics card pretty well strained.

Just keep in mind whatever cpu you go with you'll need a matching motherboard. Your current mobo won't run a 2nd gen i5/i7 and not sure whether you're running ddr2 or a board with ddr3 support. If ddr2, you'll need to pick up some ddr3 ram to go with.

 

[GeforceMasterRace]

I don't know if it would improve the price any for you but have you considered an i5 2500k? It lacks the hyper threading but ht isn't used in most games. A lot of times an upper end i7 will show a bit better performance in say the case of a 4790k simply because it comes clocked faster out of the box than a 4790. Ht can help in some games but the vast majority are still running about the same on an i5 as an i7. Unless you do a lot of video editing or live streaming where the extra threading will help you.

I have no idea what used cpu prices are running in Australia, if the prices are really close between a 2nd gen i5 and i7 then sure go for the i7. That's a good price on the gpu's, I'm currently running a single 7850 1gb version but in all fairness I'm not playing brand new AAA games on it either. Games I play are a bit older, fc3, cod ghosts, skyrim etc. I imagine loading up gtav I'd see my graphics card pretty well strained.

Just keep in mind whatever cpu you go with you'll need a matching motherboard. Your current mobo won't run a 2nd gen i5/i7 and not sure whether you're running ddr2 or a board with ddr3 support. If ddr2, you'll need to pick up some ddr3 ram to go with.

I am aware of the mobo, cpu and ram matching (its why I'm limited on what CPU as i need to buy a whole new set). But at the moment here there is only one 2500k being sold in all of Australia (weird I know there is usually more) but it is going for the same price as the i7 so that kinda rules that one out. Really the main thing i need to know is if I get the 2600 would it suit my GPU in terms of a bottleneck, and whether it is going to last a year or two (and I'm kinda the same as you in terms of games where apart from GTA V I don't really play that many ultramodern game, mainly stick to some TF2, Skyrim occasionally Gmod) and even then i don't play those games at high setting.

 

[synphul]

The i7 would be a good choice then if they're the same price or if you're faced with an unusual availability issue. Just trying to find ways to help you spread your budget further if possible. I would say a 2600 should get you through a year or two, it will be better than the core2 quad you're using and for skyrim you should be able to bump it up in the settings. You could probably turn skyrim up to ultra without any issues.

 

[GeforceMasterRace]

The i7 would be a good choice then if they're the same price or if you're faced with an unusual availability issue. Just trying to find ways to help you spread your budget further if possible. I would say a 2600 should get you through a year or two, it will be better than the core2 quad you're using and for skyrim you should be able to bump it up in the settings. You could probably turn skyrim up to ultra without any issues.

Cheers mate