i5 vs i7?

[Namem]

What is the difference between the 2 performance wise? I thought maybe the i5 was dual core and the i7 was quad, but that isnt it. I ask because I am wondering if it wouldnt be a good idea to get the i5 2500 over the i7-2600 and save some money even a little, if the performace gap osnt to great? This is for a apprx $1100 intel gaming and general use computer idea that I have been thinking of doing.

Thanks!

 

[Night Fox]

i5 is all you need for gaming. The i7 has 8 cores due to its Hyper-threading. Current games don't really use more than 4 cores right now, so it's kind of a waste. If you're doing anything else with your computer that may use lots of cores (you'll have to do some research), then get the i7.

 

[patonb]

Youre almost right fox.

Most modern gameds are now quad core capible. Your smnaartest move is get a 2500k, overclock it, then up grade to a IB hexcore or quad HT when they come out finally if yhou need more power.

 

[Night Fox]

Quad core really? I must be playing old games still

 

[Yami]

Yeah, most games since like, 2008 use two or more cores.

 

[brinks]

I think the sweet spot right now is 3+ cores, dual cores are getting bottleneck now.

 

[Roark]

Found an easy comparison chart of the two's features (here), and benchmarks (here).

 

[Yami]

I think the sweet spot right now is 3+ cores, dual cores are getting bottleneck now.

Agreed, that's why last week I upgraded from a Core 2 Duo to an i5 2500K.