I actually have a spare z77 sabertooth knocking around from my disastrous upgrade, I can sell it to you cheap.

is the 3570 the sweet spot right at moment ( in terms of value) much like the 2500k ? (I chose the g850 over this but find while games ok..performs like a dog for multitasking)

Depending on the retail price , the sweet spot is probably found somewhere between the 3470 , the 3570 and the 3570k. Here, the 3470 retails for 170 €, the 3570 for 190 and the 3570k for 195 . Overclockers would probably go for the 3570k, others go for a 3470 ( 10% cheaper, 5% less perfs vs the 3570 )

Another reason to consider the 3570K is if you regularly use the integrated GPU. Most gamers won't, but some might.

The 3570K has the 16-processor HD 4000 GPU; lesser Core i5's have the 6-processor HD 2500.

But if the integrated GPU is important to you, consider the AMD A-series instead.

I just popped in to say that most of the advice here is good. I haven't read them all so might be missing something and I'm sure I'm being redundant but really wanted to second some of the good advice.

The choice depends upon your use, and if this is going to be strictly a gaming rig then IMO the i5 is plenty. I have been told (but am not a techie so don't know if true) that the only difference between the i5 and i7 version of Intel's CPU's is the i7's use threading which is not taken advantage of in almost all games (I have heard that some of the flying simulations utilize the additional "processors" but that's the only one I've heard.0

Anyway, sorry for being redundant but wanted to share the advice I got when I asked too.

Then, of course, I ignored the advice and went ahead and got the i73770k. :)

Most games are still optimized for 2 cores. And the vast majority of others is meant to use up to 4 cores.. BF3 and Crysis 3 are amongst the few that would benefit from a 3770k. On the other hand, hyperthreading may cause performance issues in some other games. Of coutse, HT can be disabled, but a 3770K with HT disabled is little more than a 3570K;..


It's so hard to resist the "needs" created by the industry, isn't it ? We all succumb to that, and it is amazing how we manage to rationalize it ( future proof, etc. ) :-)

If you want to play MMOs, no CPU is "too strong" or "waste of money". I don't regret buying i7-3570K. The better you get, the more you can do...

Oh, and by the way: another nice bonus for getting a higher-spec CPU would be to do things like recording gaming sessions through Fraps while playing with strong FPS performances.

Or it would be one of the many qualifying reasons I would spend my hypothetical spare money on a Core i7 CPU+Prolimatech giant cooler, anyway :-P

Yup yup. I agree. If you want to use integrated graphics, go with AMD A-series for desktop. You can still get decent CPU speed and good value of integrated graphics with it. plus I think you will save more money.

But if it is already decided, what can we do ? :D

Yip

LOL, How the hell did you get 24 processors? One of the 6 core models with threading two times or something (thread the already threaded)????

2 x Xeon 6 Cores + threaded = 24 core.

What setup do you have there ? An AMD opteron 6000 platform ? A dual Xeon 6-cores ?

See above.

ninja'ed


Nice setup for rendering and the like. Maybe a bit above the specs envisaged by the OP though...