Better for gaming i5 i7. Load “to the maximum” - insurance processor

Core i5 and Core i7- two series of processor models from Intel, widely represented today on the market of modern PC builds and laptop models. Have computer device Based on processors of these series, perhaps every user who cares about such concepts as performance, speed and stability dreams of. What is the difference between Core i5 and Core i7, and which series processor is better - this will be discussed below.

Brief overview of Intel processor series

Before getting into the comparative specifics of Core i5 and Core i7, let's take a brief look at all the popular series of processors produced by Intel. In order of increasing performance, these series will look like this:

1.1. Intel Celeron - a series of low-budget processors with x86 architecture.

1.2. Intel Pentium - a series of several generations of processors with varying performance, the name of the series has become a trademark.

1.3. Intel Core i3- a series of low-budget and mid-price processors that replaced the once popular, but over time, outdated Core 2 Duo processors.

The first three series - Celeron, Pentium and Core i3 - are processors used in simple budget builds PC. They are designed for moderate performance: thus, based on these processors, good PC builds are obtained for everyday use. office work and media entertainment at home: Internet surfing, office applications, software bases data, video, music - the processors of this series will play such content without any problems.

1.4. Intel Core i5 is a series of high-performance processors that represents the middle niche between Core i3 - less powerful and more affordable solutions - and Core i7 - super-efficient expensive processors.

1.5. Intel Core i7 is the most advanced series of Core i7 processors, the advantages and features of which will be mentioned below.

Core i5 and Core i7 series processors are ideal for gaming, complex programs, for example, for graphics processing or video editing, since they can provide maximum performance, as well as fully unleash the capabilities of the PC video card.

1.6. Intel Xeon - this is a series server processors. But sometimes they are included in the assembly regular computers. For example, on the basis Xeon processor works Mac Pro — professional computer produced by Apple.

Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7: which is better to buy?

So, the Core i5 and Core i7 series of productive processors - which is better?

If we evaluate the criterion “better” as “more productive”, then naturally better processors Core i7, because this is the most advanced series of processors from Intel today, and they don’t have many competitors on the market. If we compare the Core i5 and Core i7 series, then the processors of the latter are equipped with latest developments Intel, they provide support for higher clock speeds and also have a larger cache memory.

But everything would be fine if money fell from the sky, and you just had to get up early in the morning and collect it in a basket. Core i7 processors are serious powerful solution, but, as expected, you will have to pay for it, and pay a lot of money. The other side of the question of which is better Core i5 or Core i7 is whether it will be justified Core performance i7? Does the user really need that much power? Perhaps it would be much more expedient to invest part of the money in purchasing a Core i5 processor, and use the rest to buy some kind of powerful video card or afford more RAM.

Five best models processors from Intel for every price niche

It will help you to see the difference between Core i5 and Core i7 more clearly short review the five best models of Intel processors, selected for different financial capabilities of users separately in descending order of price.

So, let's start with the most productive solution, but at the same time, naturally, the most costly in terms of finances.

Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition

This is the best processor produced by Intel, which since 2012 has not lost its leadership position in performance, despite the fact that today there are already more powerful solutions on the market. However, even for this “beast” you will have to pay about $1000. Therefore, we will start with this price point.

This processor works with six cores, the frequency of which is 3.3 GHz. The indicators for the volume of cache memory of the 1st and 2nd levels, respectively, are as follows: 384 KB and 1.5 MB. The level 3 cache memory size is impressive, as it is as much as 15 MB. The processor performance is enough to cope with any task, and fans of extreme processor overclocking will have a particularly pleasant experience.

If the price previous model The Intel processor bites a little, but you want advanced performance, perhaps you should pay attention to this option, and it will cost much less - about $650. This is also six core processor, but with a slightly lower clock speed - 3.2 GHz. It has the same 1st and 2nd level cache indicators as the previous model, and this option is inferior only in the 3rd level cache indicator - this is 12 MB.

Choice in the average price niche of any computer product always complicated a large number models that may differ in technical characteristics aside profitable solution for the user, and vice versa - an inflated price with unjustified performance. So if there is a price limit for purchasing a processor of $350, then it is better to take a closer look at Intel models Core i7-2700K. This particular processor can safely be classified as " best performance at a reasonable price,” because these are 4 computing cores with a frequency of 3.5 GHz. As for the volume of cache memory of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd level, these indicators are as follows: 64 KB, 256 KB and 8 MB, respectively.

A more affordable option would be this particular processor; its cost ranges around $250. It is equipped with four cores with a frequency of 3.4 GHz and a 256 KB level 2 memory cache and 6 MB level 3 memory cache.

This is quite lucky budget option, which will cost around $180. This processor is also equipped with four cores with a frequency of 2.9 GHz. The volume indicators of its cache memory of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd levels, respectively, are as follows: 64 KB, 1 MB and 6 MB.

If you want, I can help you choose components and a processor!

Within of this material using the example of microprocessor models with indexes 8600K and 8700K, a comparison of CPUs will be made and an answer will be given. Technological features will also be considered and recommendations regarding their use will be given. In addition to this, reviews of PC owners are given based on these chip models and their real cost today.

Specialization. Purpose

Before we figure out how the i5 differs from the i7, let’s find out the scope of use of the families of these microprocessors. Both i5 - 8600K and i7 - 8700K are designed for assembling high-performance modern computing systems. These include gaming PCs, workstations or graphics stations, computers for transcoding multimedia content, and even servers entry level. The performance level of the chips in question is sufficient and allows you to run any software, including the most demanding ones, without any problems.

CPU Specifications

Now let's consider technical specifications these two microprocessors and based on them we will find key differences how i5 differs from i7. The i5-8600K and i7-8700K CPUs belong to the 8th generation of Intel chips based on the Core microarchitecture, codenamed CoffeeLake. They are manufactured according to 14 nm technology standards and are equipped with 6 computing units. The clock frequency of the first of them can vary from 3.6 to 4.3 GHz, and the second - from 3.7 to 4.7 GHz. They also have an unlocked multiplier, and due to this they can be overclocked.

An important difference between the i5 - 8600K and the i7 - 8700K is the cache organization. The first CPU has a third level of fast volatile memory of 9 MB, and the second has 12 MB. From a RAM standpoint, these two CPU models are identical. They can address 64 GB of memory and are aimed at working in combination with DDR4 modules. The recommended frequency of the latter is 2666 MHz. The chips also have an identical thermal package, which is equal to 95 W.

Technological features of microprocessors

A comparison of i5 and i7 indicates that the first of them do not support HT technology, while in the second the CPU can activate it. Due to this, on the i7 - 8700K microprocessor it is possible to process twelve logical threads on six real cores program code. This allows you to get, in some cases, a performance increase of 10-12 percent. The only one important nuance- This is software optimization. That is, it must use all twelve threads during operation. Such software today includes various packages for transcoding multimedia information.

Regarding the TurboBoost technology for automatically increasing the clock frequency of the microprocessor, it can be noted that both the i5-8600K and i7-8700K support it. Only in the second case, the algorithm of its operation is more “rigid”. That is, the first CPU model can automatically increase its frequency to 4.3 GHz, and the second - to 4.7 GHz. Therefore, the i7-8700K already has higher performance from the start. Moreover, this difference in some applications can be a significant 15%.

Stand configuration

It is most correct to compare the performance of the i7-8700K and i5-8600K with the i7-7700K, i5-7600K and Ryzen 1700X CPUs. Their cost and performance are comparable.

Configuration test bench includes the following components:

Motherboards Z270 (for chips 7 (for 8th generation CPUs) and B350 (for AMD solutions).
Branded Thermalright Archon cooler.
Graphics accelerator GTX 1080 8Gb GDDR5.
RAM standard DDR4 with a nominal frequency of 2666 MHz, 2 modules of 8 GB each.
SSD storage with a capacity of 960 GB.
Power supply 1.2 kW.

Synthetic tests. Analysis of the results obtained

Synthetic tests of i5 and i7 show a slight advantage of the second family of CPUs. In this case, the difference can reach a very respectable 30 percent.

In the CineBench R15 utility in multi-threaded mode, the following results were obtained in conditional points:

1700X - 1534.
8700K - 1392.
8600K - 1021.
7700K - 969.
7600K - 664.

The presence of 8 cores and 16 threads allows the AMD flagship to easily outperform its competitors from Intel. The difference between 8700K and 8600K is due to HT technology, increased frequencies and an increased size of level 3 cache. For the same reason, the heroes this review inferior to flagship processor devices of the previous generation. They have four physical cores and due to this they have lower performance.,

But in the single-threaded CineBench R15 test the situation changes as follows:

8700K - 198.
7700K - 194.
8600K - 184.
7600K - 173.
1700X - 155.

In this case, only one computing core is used, and the higher its frequency, the higher the level of performance. Therefore, the leader becomes the 8700K, which can operate at 4.7 GHz. Then comes the 7700K, operating at 4.5 GHz, and the 8600K at 4.3 GHz. Next is the 7600K, operating at 4.2 GHz. The outsider in this test was the 1700X from AMD. Its frequency is 4.2 GHz.

The advantage of i7 over i5 in multi-threaded software can reach 30%, and in single-threaded software software this gap decreases to 15%.

Gaming applications. Analysis of results

The performance of i5 and i7 differs even less in gaming applications than in synthetic tests. As a rule, such programs are optimized for one computing core. IN in rare cases they can already use two such blocks. Therefore the difference becomes even smaller.

In the Dirt Rally game we got the following number of fps at FullHD resolution and average output image quality:

8700K - 161 - 245.
8600K - 149 - 230.
7700K - 136 - 215.
7600K - 134 - 206.
1700X - 106 - 164.

The advantage of i7 chips over i5 CPUs is 10-15 frames per second. In percentage terms, this difference will be equal to 6-8%. The AMD flagship is again far behind in this case. He has a low clock frequency and this is the main limiting factor that does not yet allow it to compete on equal terms with Intel microprocessors.

CPU cost

On current moment The recommended price for an Intel Core i5 with an index of 8600K is $257. The flagship is priced at $359 by the manufacturer. But the choice in this case must be made not based on cost, but on those tasks that are planned to be implemented in the future on the computer system being assembled.

Processors of the third Intel generation Core, also known as Ivy Bridge, hit the market in the spring of 2012. For Intel Corporation, this generation was a breakthrough in production technology, allowing the creation of transistors of 22 nanometers, instead of the already familiar 32 Nm.

This made it possible to place almost twice as many transistors in the same area as in previous generations, increasing function blocks inside the processor. In addition, energy efficiency has increased and voltage has decreased.

Intel considers Ivy Bridge as its achievement not only because of the improvement production process, but also due to changes made to certain parts of the processor itself, especially the integrated graphics card.

What is the advantage of Hyperthread.

The fundamental difference between i7 and i5 processors is the Hyperthread feature. What is its advantage:

Fewer blocks. Although it is quite difficult to saturate a processor with 4 cores, it still happens sometimes.

Speed. Increased speed when working with some 3D image-generating applications, such as 3D Studio, when applying filters in programs such as Photoshop, video editing, and so on. But all these benefits will never compare with 8 cores.

What to buy i5 or i7.

If you have a modest budget and will add a powerful graphics card to the i5 processor for gaming, then it’s better to stick with it. The I7 processor is designed for those who are not limited in spending and put performance at the core.

I7 is of course an excellent processor, but to justify such high price difficult, especially if you can spend the difference in price on RAM, hard drive SSD or other useful components.

Today our article will be devoted to processors from a famous company. We will figure out which computer is better than Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7.

Let's first look at what these chips are. They both combine everything latest technologies, together with high performance.

Core i5, a processor with four cores, will allow you to work simultaneously in several applications without losing power. It was in them that technology such as RealSense appeared, thanks to which you can control the device with gestures, shoot and edit 3D videos. And the TurboBoost function allows you to automatically overclock the processor when increased loads, up to permissible frequencies. These chips great solution for gaming computers. They have very low heat generation. You can save on the cooling system. Having purchased more powerful hardware. It copes perfectly with all multimedia tasks.

Core i7, this is newer and powerful model. Here we already get two versions of chips, 6 and 8 cores, respectively. Plus, they support Hyper-Treading technology, which allows each core to perform two tasks simultaneously. If you use it when assembling a gaming computer, then the quality of the graphics will become much higher. Although it was originally designed to work in 3D programs. These processors have the latest graphics adapters Intel Iris Graphics, specifically for modeling and working with video.

In general, if you decide to assemble a computer, then we recommend installing solutions from this particular company, since their quality always remains the same. the highest level. With it you can work non-stop without fear of overheating and sudden shutdown PC. Any latest games will launch just perfectly, and gameplay will suck you in headlong.

If you still doubt your choice, remember the legendary Pentiums. They are practically eternal. There were practically no people for whom it failed.

First, let's decide why we need this or that processor. IN gaming computer We recommend taking the i5, you won't lose any performance, but you can save a lot of money.

For work, especially in “heavy” programs, such as 3D Max, etc., the i7 is perfect. It will process all your changes quickly. This will allow you to work in real time, without additional downloads that delay the work process.

That's it. Now we hope you can decide which computer is better intel core i5 or intel core i7. This concludes our article. And in the next one, we will continue to compare computers from other companies.