should i go for the i5 4440 or a i5 4670k

[Odis1987]

Hi I was just wondering if it's worth it to get the i5 4670k over the i5 4440.?

 

[Deleted member 24505]

It is, the unlocked multiplier is wonderful, just make sure you put it in a board that supports overclocking.

 

[Aquinus]

Do you plan on overclocking and is it going to be in a Z87 board? If yes, get the K edition CPU. Otherwise stick with the 4440.

 

[Nordic]

Do you plan on overclocking and is it going to be in a Z87 board? If yes, get the K edition CPU. Otherwise stick with the 4440.

Perfectly sound advice.

 

[dhdude]

Definitely if you plan on getting a Z87 board, what do you plan to do with your new cpu? i.e. Gaming or work?

 

[Odis1987]

Yes I would like to overclock, my mobo is...an MSI H87M-g43.

 

[Iceni]

Even if you don't plan on overclocking get the K variant. It will hold it's value longer. Especially when you can add to the sale "never overclocked".

If you want to overclock then the K is the only option. The non K will only give you marginal gains compared to the K been able to give you a huge lump of overclock with no negative side effects. Even if you only clock it up to 4Ghz then your gains are in the region of 600Mhz.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Yes I would like to overclock, my mobo is...an MSI H87M-g43.

Well that board does not support unlocked multiplier overclocking that I can see, so unless you change to a z87 board you may be better off getting the i5 4440

 

[Iceni]

Well that board does not support unlocked multiplier overclocking that I can see, so unless you change to a z87 board you may be better off getting the i5 4440

Thought there was a bios update that allows multiplier unlocking on those boards. I know the asus one with the same chipset has multi overclocking.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Thought there was a bios update that allows multiplier unlocking on those boards. I know the asus one with the same chipset has multi overclocking.

Not sure, but it does say you can oc, upto 26% with a K CPU, but not sure about full unlocking for the K.

 

[Iceni]

This is a video for the Asus. Intel i5 4670K Overclocking Results on an Asus H87...


You will need to open your bios and have a look and see if you have multiplier options in there. You might be lucky and have them.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

This is a video for the Asus. Intel i5 4670K Overclocking Results on an Asus H87...


You will need to open your bios and have a look and see if you have multiplier options in there. You might be lucky and have them.

Intel got on Asus and AsRock's case about overclocking k chips on non z87s boards quite a while ago, and pretty sure forced them to either release a bios locking up the ability to overclock on non z87 boards, or forced them to pull that bios from their website.

So really if you plan to overclock, do it right, and get a z87 board an a k chip.

 

[Nabarun]

Intel got on Asus and AsRock's case about overclocking k chips on non z87s boards quite a while ago, and pretty sure forced them to either release a bios locking up the ability to overclock on non z87 boards, or forced them to pull that bios from their website.

So really if you plan to overclock, do it right, and get a z87 board an a k chip.

Exactly.

I should mention that there's absolutely no benefit from overclocking in terms of fps in gaming. And overclocking a Haswell requires WAY MORE than just a z87 board. You need a GOOD water cooler, preferably custom, and a chassis to accommodate that. Also, overclocking may not be good for the chip in the long run. Very few apps benefit from the higher frequencies. So, if you don't use such apps and are dying to save a few seconds, I would suggest go for the 4430/H87 and spend your money where is actually matters - the GPU.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Exactly.

I should mention that there's absolutely no benefit from overclocking in terms of fps in gaming. And overclocking a Haswell requires WAY MORE than just a z87 board. You need a GOOD water cooler, preferably custom, and a chassis to accommodate that. Also, overclocking may not be good for the chip in the long run. Very few apps benefit from the higher frequencies. So, if you don't use such apps and are dying to save a few seconds, I would suggest go for the 4430/H87 and spend your money where is actually matters - the GPU.

I can vouch for this. I have a 4770k, on a custom water loop. I waited weeks for Cadaveca to have his guide released, and I have yet to try overclocking. Frankly CPUs are so fast these days for gaming already, that the gains from overclocking are quite small, and not really worth the hassle of overclocking IMO.

Don't get me wrong, I will try overclocking on my 4770k, but that's not because I need the speed, but rather I find it fun to overclock. The performance gains to me are an after thought.

 

[Nabarun]

...not because I need the speed, but rather I find it fun to overclock

This. And because I don't buy a new CPU/system every year. I'm still using a Core2 Duo - about 6 or 7 years old. So this one's gonna be with me for a few years, and I don't want the CPU to quickly become a bottleneck like the current one. Things cost 2 -3 times more around here...

 

[The Von Matrices]

You do realize that if you buy the "locked" i5-4440 you can still overclock it to 4 turbo bins above its max turbo or 3.7GHz? That's a guaranteed overclock and very reasonable for 24/7 use.

Back with Sandy Bridge the locked chips a bad deal due to Sandy Bridge's overclocking ability, but with the limited overclocking ability of Haswell the unlocked chips make less sense. For example my i7-4770K maxes out at 4.4GHz with tons of voltage, and I can't sustain that for 24/7 use. I regret that could have saved money and just gotten a locked i7-4771, which has a max clock of 4.3GHz.

Alternatively, buy a locked i5-4670, save money over the i5-4670K, and you can almost surely overclock that to 4.2GHz. The only reason to get the "K" version is if you can overclock to 4.3GHz or above, which is far from guaranteed with Haswell. Remember, the "K" chips aren't binned any differently than the non-K chips, so it's not like you can expect any better silicon than the locked version.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Last I heard the locked chips for Haswell do not have the 4 bin thing like Ivy or Sandy. They are fully locked down, and only have the turbo boost.