Now, this isn’t guaranteed and the considerable price increase should be remembered, but the peace of mind may be worth it to many. The additional costs do not give comparable returns today, but as many tech observers predict games to get better and better at using additional cores/threads (especially as consoles move to a likely 8c/16t configuration), the investment now could lead to longer years of use later. Instead, the major reason for most users for going for an i7 (whether the 9700(KF) for eight cores, 8700(KF) for hyperthreading, or 9900(KF) for both), is for ‘future-proofing’. Streamers also have an interest in the additional cores as they can help ensure smooth video uploading for streaming. This does lead to some small increases in FPS, notably in terms of 1% lows for titles that can use the parallel computing, but it is not too appreciable in most games. The 9700(KF) is without a doubt one of the best gaming CPU’s on the market, and that’s due to its increased stock boost speed of 4.9GHz as much as the two additional cores. So for the i7, if we use the 9700(KF) as our reference example, we see an increase to the eight core/eight thread design for an additional ~$140. Having said all of that, let’s dive into the case for each of our contenders: The principles may apply to early generations or later generations, but as core counts and clock speeds have evolved each generation, make sure to look at the specifics before making a decision! Similarly, while i5 and i7 has been around as naming schemes for years, we are really thinking of the most recent mainstream CPU’s ( i5-9600(KF) and i7-9700(KF)/ i7-9900(KF). Productivity workloads often benefit quite a bit from additional cores, so moving from an i5 to an i7 may have a significant impact, depending on the exact work you do and applications you use. To be clear, this is only targeting gamers. This guide will help you decide if an i7 is worth it over an i5 for your gaming needs. Especially for Intel, where the emphasis is on single-core speed rather than high core/thread counts, buyers are often unsure if upgrading from an i5 to an i7 for the extra cores will be worth it. One of the most common questions when buying a CPU is whether or not stepping up one level in the stack will give appreciable returns.

Intel core i5 2400 vs i5 3470 vs i7 860