Xeon i5 or i7?

MPipitone

56 months ago

So right now my plan is to use a Xeon 1231 v3 in my gaming build but I recently got a little more money for it and an i7 could be possible. My question is would it be worth a little extra money for an i7 or will a Xeon be good?

56 months ago
2 points

The lower end Xeon E3's are great alternatives to i7's. In fact I go as far to say that if you aren't planning on getting a K-series overclockable i7, then you're much better off getting a 1231 V3 and that non-K i7's are usually a waste of money unless the iGPU is necessary. It's been that way for a few generations now and it is great to see that people are becoming more aware of it.

Basically get the Xeon if you:

Need hyperthreading
Don't want to overclock
Don't want a K-series i5 for around the same price
Don't need integrated graphics

If you can answer at least 2 of those questions as 'yes' then you should get the Xeon and save yourself a bit of cash.

Note that Xeons below the 1230 and 1231 V3 do NOT have hyperthreading, and that if you want integrated graphics you can also get it from Xeon models that end in the number 5 or 6 and still save money over a stock i7.

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MPipitone
submitter
1 Build

56 months ago
1 point

That's why I switched to the Xeon from an i5. I knew I wasn't getting a k-series i5 so that was a big step up for roughly the same price. But now that I could get an i7 would it be worth it? Now I'm basically deciding between getting an i7 or a better Xeon. What are your thoughts on that?

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56 months ago
1 point

If you want to overclock I would get a i7 otherwise I would save your money and get a Xeon.

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MPipitone
submitter
1 Build

56 months ago
1 point

Is there a better choice than the e3 1231 v3? I don't get the xeons as much as i5s and i7s. Never considered one til this build

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56 months ago
1 point

The reason why everyone gets the 1231 v3 is because its the cheapest Xeon that has hyper threading. So really no reason to spend more for a slightly higher clock speed, because you wont notice much or anything at all. The E3-1231 v3 is just a better 4790 (non k cpu) . Its built to run 24/7 and run pretty much 100% all the time, this is a reason why they are considered server processors. So this CPU is built really well and really stable!

Id get the Xeon over a 4790k if you arent planning to get a 4.5 ghz overclock. If you plan to overclock that i7 then save up. But if you dont want a 4.5 + overclock just get the xeon, you will be good for years!

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MPipitone
submitter
1 Build

56 months ago
1 point

So you believe the 1231 v3 is the best choice if I'm not going to overclock? I dont think I will as I don't necessarily see the point. But even for gaming it would be a good CPU?

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Moop1337

56 months ago
1 point

Well the i7 (as long as we're talking about the 4790k) is nice because the out of the box clock speed is so much faster. Are you doing the type of applications that would benefit from such, to include the hyperthreading? You might also get a good deal if you buy a combo with the CPU and MoBo at the same time - I got my 4790k + MoBo from Micro Center for not a whole lot more than a 4690k and non-combo MoBo doing that.

i7 and i5 also has integrated graphics, if that's a consideration. Even if you don't need it for the graphics, you might end up wanting to give Quick Sync a try. The Xeon supports ECC, though I suspect that might not be a route you were considering anyways.

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FH100

56 months ago
1 point

Uhh... Xeon i5? Never heard of it... I have heard of Xeon E3, E5 & E7...

Only reason to switch to the i7 is if you were interested in overclocking the CPU.

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MPipitone
submitter
1 Build

56 months ago
1 point

Should've been a comma between the two

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FH100

56 months ago
1 point

Ah. If you currently (or were) planning to use the Xeon, there's no point in dropping to an i5. As for Xeon vs i7, that's been discussed by a few people.