Z270-A vs B250M -- what's the tradeoff?

[freswinn]

I am aiming at either an Intel Core i5-7600 or 7600k.

From Newegg, I'm eyeing the MSI Z270-A Pro for $115. Paired with the processor, it'll either be a total of $330 (for the 7600) or the $350 (for the 7600k). I know that you would only really need a Z-chipset if you're aiming to overclock, which would imply it'd be a better idea to go with the 7600k. But that's a chunk of change.

Conversely, from a local store, I can get a 7600k in a bundle with a motherboard for $219 (roughly $242 with tax, and then back down to $232 after rebate). That's a huge price difference! BUT. The motherboard it's bundled with is an ASRock B250M Pro4. And.. I don't know anything about motherboard chipsets.

In saving a bit more than a hundred dollars, what could I expect the trade-off to actually be?

 

[vapour]

Do you have the ram already?
Why not coffee lake?
What did you pick other components?
total budget on needed components? Own any components already?
Major usage?

On your question: B250 can not OC CPU and lock ram speed. So B250 is kind of mismatch with a 'k' version CPU.

 

[freswinn]

My primary usage is going to be gaming, but I'm also studying 3D modeling and programming. I'm running 2 monitors each in 1920x1080, but not dualscreen gaming -- so I don't need a monster.

Coffee Lake seems like a big jump in price for a single generational difference, with easily a $60 delta without even considering the motherboard that would go with it.

I'm going with 2x8GB DDR4-2400, but I haven't bought it yet.
I'm eyeing the EVGA Geforce 1060 SC, but I've been waiting for the price to come back down; until then, I have a 950 GTX to plug into it (which will belong to the current system when I get the new card, so that's not a permanent solution).

The budget is pretty loose, mind; I'm just trying to keep the price a bit lower than the $1200 mark I keep hitting, if I can. And I'm not in a huge rush to buy, so I can afford waiting for deals.

 

[vapour]

My pick:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.55 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B350 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($179.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Samsung)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB GAMING Video Card ($294.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT - S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $962.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-19 14:04 EDT-0400

Or go with 2600 is fine too. 1600 vs 7600k in gaming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0oSYTP24rU
not to mention AM4 lasts until 2020.

 

[madmatt30]

As vapour said.

Either ryzen or coffee lake , a skylake/kabylake setup makes no sense whatsoever .

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i3-8100 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($118.80 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - B360 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($97.01 @ Newegg)
Total: $215.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-19 14:12 EDT-0400

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($178.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - B360 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($97.01 @ Newegg)
Total: $275.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-19 14:13 EDT-0400

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($94.79 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - X370 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $174.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-19 14:15 EDT-0400


CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.55 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B350 PC MATE ATX AM4 Motherboard ($70.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $244.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-19 14:14 EDT-0400


All better choices

 

[freswinn]

Why would kabylake make no sense, though? Why would I pick a lower clocked i5 processor just to get the new gen and spend more for it in the end?

 

[vapour]

that 2.8 is not the whole story and coffee lake has best IPC so far.
Some comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzVrm5FmeSM
Also, 3xx chipset may allow some upgrades, unlike Kaby lake.

 

[freswinn]

Right on. That was very helpful, cheers!