i5/i7 and ram question

[ecchi]

Hi guys, sorry not sure where to post this. Been years since I tried pcsx2 on my e8400/hd4670. Planning to build a new pc and wanted to consider pcsx2 performance. 

I'm thinking between a i5 6600 or i7 6700. Will hyper-threading help much? For ram planning on just 8gb, is that more than enough?

As for a gpu, maybe a gtx 1070 or 1060 if its too expensive.

[FlatOut]

I believe there were/are some issues with Skylake processors and hyper-threading for PCSX2. Other than that I'd get the i7 if it fits in your budget, but the i5 would be great for PCSX2 as well.

For PCSX2 8GB is more than enough, but I suggest getting at least 16GB if you plan on playing any current and future PC games.

[refraction]

as far as I know, there is little benefit in gaming with an i7, maybe one or two fps difference, but is that worth the extra money to you? There is certainly enough power in an i5 for PCSX2, we can only make use of 3 cores, so an i7 will unlikely make any difference at all.

As you're wondering about the 1070 being too much money, I most certainly wouldn't bother going with an i7, you should only really consider it if you are going for an enthusiast level rig (with a 1080 or 1080ti when it comes out). Save yourself a good chunk of money and get a nice k unlocked i5 and spend what you save on getting that 1070

[bomblord]

i7 6700 has a slightly better single threaded performance which is important for PCSX2. I can't compare it to the i5 since I don't have one but I have not run into a single CPU limited issue with my 6700k

PCSX2 is 32bit so it can't address more than 4GB of RAM in the first place so as far as RAM for PCSX2 goes don't give it a second though. Now for actual PC gaming 16GB is starting to become recommended.

[gregory]

we can only make use of 3 cores

I disagree on this statement, driver/OS uses additional threads, so we can use 4 cores. However it doesn't change the conclusion 

[refraction]

I disagree on this statement, driver/OS uses additional threads, so we can use 4 cores. However it doesn't change the conclusion 

"We" only use 3 cores What windows uses is a different story

[ecchi]

Thanks for the replies. So the i7 doesn't add much to pcsx2 performance. Hmm guess i'll stick with the i5 so I can use the money on the 1070. For the ram, i'll get 8gb for now.

[refraction]

8gb will be fine for now, I expect in about a year you will need to think about 16 for PC gaming, but 8 will do!

[gregory]

Granted for Windows. It was just to avoid the propagation of the false rumor that PCSX2 is barely optimized and keep a core idling

Do games really use that much of memory ? RAM will surely be cheaper in the future. IMHO, Perf wise puts all your money into the GPU (might worth to wait a bit that AMD releases some GPUs to help to reduce Nvidia prices)

[refraction]

Some games use 8gb and sometimes more these days. RAM is pretty cheap at the moment, but it's always fluctuating.