Buying a new high end rig...thoughts?

[krysto]

I have the HAF 932 myself and honestly loving it. Even with new hardware I'll be able to use this case in the future.

Yeahh man! I have one as a desktop and one hooked up to the TV. The handles are nice for carrying the TV one over to my desk to work on it. I can just stack them on top of each other. (My apartment is really small)

[jlwmanagement]

The case was chosen to allow for airflow. I have used smaller cases in the past and airflow was an issue and heat built up in the case. The link to the CPU is wrong...its the 4690K. No idea how I screwed that up.

[NarooN]

That PSU would help in sustaining the load on overclocking but, it would be still advisable to get a cheaper PSU and get a unlocked haswell I7.

That PSU is overkill even for overclocking and a Haswell i7 would be another pointless waste of money. Those SMT threads aren't worth the $100 price premium.

[ssakash]

He can still use the money saved from getting a weaker PSU (suitable for the build) and can get any cheap Haswell I7 since, the Haswell I5 wouldn't be much of an upgrade from his previous rig. though, it still depends on what the op prefers, Conserving money (or) getting a head start future proof upgrade.

[NarooN]

Haswell offers a fairly significant boost over Sandy Bridge in PCSX2, and there's no such thing as a "cheap" i7. If he went with the unlocked i7 Haswell, that's $340 as opposed to $240 for the i5 equivalent. Just for some lame-ass SMT threads that won't really affect PCSX2 or actual PC games in any appreciable fashion (outside of the handful of cases where extra threads give you a somewhat noticeable framerate increase in the software renderer, but is that really worth $100?)

He could get a smaller PSU and just stick with the i5 to save his money for something else rather than just blowing it just because he can. Also, the concept of future-proofing is kinda stupid for the most part since no matter what, you'll always have something new and better coming out to replace what you've already got. In this case, the i7 wouldn't be any more future proof than the i5 is since they have the exact same STP clock-for-clock and those SMT threads wouldn't ever be a case of "my PC is barely able to do anything" vs "my PC can somewhat do things", and if it DID get to that point somehow, he'd be better off just building a new rig altogether.

[Nobbs66]

Besides, I would turn the HT off if I had an i7, just to reduce heat and increase overclocking potential

[ssakash]

First of all, you have provided great points on showing the merits of the i5 processor comparing to the i7 processors. and, you have my respect for that.

and there's no such thing as a "cheap" i7.

I was expecting someone to say this

they have the exact same STP clock-for-clock

nope, The STP of i7 processor's are still fairly higher than the i5 processors. (The word similar would have better suited your sentence)

If he went with the unlocked i7 Haswell, that's $340 as opposed to $240 for the i5 equivalent.

while true, the unlocked Haswell i7 Gains more STP when overclocked compared to the Haswell i5 processors.

Just for some lame-ass SMT threads that won't really affect PCSX2 or actual PC games in any appreciable fashion (outside of the handful of cases where extra threads give you a somewhat noticeable framerate increase in the software renderer, but is that really worth $100?)

The worth of it is depended on the person, there are some games which are near to unplayable on hardware mode. hence, software mode is the only viable option and The i7 processors get a better performance out of it compared to the i5 processors thanks to the extra threads.

Overall, I think the i7 processor also has it's benefits for the Extra 100$ like the Extra cache , Hyperthreading and a little extra STP. though, the worth of the difference is actually depended on the person (based on his capital and interests). Even if the i5 has a better performance/price ratio it doesn't make it better than an i7 in any sections.

There also other noticeable Improvements on getting an i7 like, performing better in cases where the cpu is bottlenecking compared to the i5 (mostly in higher resolution native pc games) and media encoding.

Though, most of it's advantages are completely overshadowed by it's relatively higher price for most normal peoples. but, it's definitely OP's call to declare whether he is interested in getting the little advantages for the given price range.

[NarooN]

nope, The STP of i7 processor's are still fairly higher than the i5 processors. (The word similar would have better suited your sentence)

The only reasons that *websites* report the STP being higher on i7 models is because i7 models are clocked higher out the box. If an i3, and i5, and an i7 are set to the same clockspeed, they will all perform the same when it comes to actual core execution. The only thing even remotely close to an advantage that the i7 has is that it has more L3$ than the others, and that doesn't translate to any noticeable performance increase in consumer apps anyway.

while true, the unlocked Haswell i7 Gains more STP when overclocked compared to the Haswell i5 processors.

No it doesn't. That's not how it works. There are no magical extra resources that the i7 has on its floorplan to even make such a thing happen.

There also other noticeable Improvements on getting an i7 like, performing better in cases where the cpu is bottlenecking compared to the i5 (mostly in higher resolution native pc games) and media encoding.

There aren't any cases in gaming where an i5 would bottleneck a GPU but an i7 magically wouldn't. Media encoding is about one of the only things those extra SMT threads would be any good since that's an inherently parallel-bound task.

[ssakash]

The only reasons that *websites* report the STP being higher on i7 models is because i7 models are clocked higher out the box. If an i3, and i5, and an i7 are set to the same clockspeed, they will all perform the same when it comes to actual core execution. The only thing even remotely close to an advantage that the i7 has is that it has more L3$ than the others, and that doesn't translate to any noticeable performance increase in consumer apps anyway.

No it doesn't. That's not how it works. There are no magical extra resources that the i7 has on its floorplan to even make such a thing happen.

No, I don't think same clockspeed between them could produce the same single thread performance. since, the Intel Core i7-4790S clocked at 3.2 GHZ has an higher STP compared to the Intel Core i5-4690K which is clocked @ 3.50GHz.

There aren't any cases in gaming where an i5 would bottleneck a GPU but an i7 magically wouldn't.

There are many situations for this to happen on high resolution, http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digita...90k-review

[Coma]

My thoughts : go to proper hardware forum because here I can read so many bullshits...

My advice :
Take the 970 msi gaming, I tested 3 of them and its one of the best card I ever had, super quiet and one of the best overclock, thats why I took the 980 msi gaming after. Evga is good when you want to add a custom rad and oc like a mad, their rma is amazing, but thats all.
A 520w psu is far enough.
The rest is standard, an i5 will do it.

Another advice... you could keep you 2500k, overclock it to 4,5 and just buy a gtx 980. Thats what I did, maybe you wont even see the changes with a 4960k. You should keep your cpu one years or 2... the next gen of intel cpu are useless too.

edit : don't forget an ssd, its a must-have.
If you keep your money and your 2500k you can buy a gsync monitor with your 970/980, I strongly advice the acer predator 24".
Thats all