Will i5 6500 handle pascal and the future?

[athleteathlete]

Im upgrading and building a new computer and Im getting an I5 6500 with a gtx 970 so I can play games at the highest setting. Will the i5 6500 last many years? Will it be able to handle Pascal? my last cpu was I5 2500 and it was amazing lasted 5 years at highest settings! Will the I5 6500 last as long? Would it be better to get a 6600 or 6700? My budget is around 900$ tho and the i5 6500 fit it well. But if I have to spend an extra $100 to get additional years out of my cpu I will.

 

[Luminary]

By "handle Pascal" I assume you mean will it create a bottleneck. It will be several years before games come out that the i5-6500 can't perform very well on, so until then it will be a good match with any card (including the Pascal).

If you wanted to ensure the best longevity of a CPU you would get an unlocked 'k' model that you could overclock. This would allow you to increase the processor frequency, and improve the overall FPS of games.

 

[1LiquidPC]

Should have no problem. I have an i5 6500 in an HTPC using a GTX 670. The 6600 and 6700 would only gain a few FPS at best over the i5 6500. I'd spend that extra $100 towards a GPU upgrade if given the choice. Also, though I haven't tried it yet, I believe the Z170 boards can OC non-k CPUs using BCLK adjustments as they're no longer linked to PCI-E as Sandy Bridge thru Broadwell are.

 

[athleteathlete]

I have a GTX 970 atm and going to use it until pascal. I just want to make sure I dont have to upgrade my cpu 2 years down the road. You mentioned k so would i5 6600k be much better?

 

[Luminary]

An i5-6600k would last you longer than the locked 6500, yes.

I honestly doubt you would need to uprade the 6500 in two years time, but the 6600k model is sure to last you longer.

 

[athleteathlete]

I bought a MSI Computer ATX DDR4 Motherboard H170A motherboard that supports skylake for my i5 6500. Will this motherboard also work for i5 6600k for overclocking? Someone said when you overclock you have to make sure motherboard can handle it...

 

[Luminary]

I'm afraid not, you'll need a 'Z170' chipset motherboard to support overclocking, such as the ASUS Z170-A.

 

[athleteathlete]

Thank you! Final question. Is overclocking important for gaming. Does overclocking increase the CPU's ability by a lot? Or just a little? My i5 2500 hs lasted forever and still works amazing so I want my new CPU to last 4 years like my last one

 

[Luminary]

Overclocking certainly does have a positive impact on FPS.

The amount of impact obviously will vary depending on how robust of an overclock is achieved and what game is being played, but generally speaking it is a very good way of extending a CPU's ability to handle games.

 

[athleteathlete]

Last question. lol! Will the i5 6500 and i5 6600k be able to handle/no bottleneck the next family of cards aka the Pascal cards? Because Im going to SLI 2 gtx 970's until Pascal come out

 

[Luminary]

Yes, they either will be a very solid pairing for the Pascal line. 😉