TR Forums

Hey Guys,

I'm planning to purchase a processor for my new system but I can't decide between the two. I know that the 875k processor is very nice but didn't see its performance vs. value on that list. Also it is unlocked and not sure what that means. Was wondering if anybody know can explain.

unlocked refers to the CPU multiplier, you can raise it above the stock setting, most of intels processors are locked and you can only lower the multiplier. This is a valuable feature if you are overclocking. If not the unlocked multiplier is going to be a waste, and I doubt you'll ever truely benefit from the potential of that processor. It uses the same core and FSB as a i5 and they are cheaper on average so you can go with one of those.

The 875K also has hyperthreading where the 760 does not. This will make a difference if you plan on doing a lot of encoding or rendering or anything that requires many cores.

Oh Ok. I see, Great. Thanks for the insight. So unless I'm overclocking, then it is a waste to get the I7 875k then? I don't plan on overclocking since I heard it kills the lifespan of your processor and of course you are creating more heat inside the system case. I was told by someone a while back that there will be a new platform of new sockets and CPU coming out early next year, does any of you know much or anything about it and if it is a greater jump in performance? The main use of this processor is really to play games. I almost purchased AMD for that purpose but someone said that Intel I5/I7 are better and worth it, having Six core makes no increase performance when you are gaming.

Thanks All

As already mentioned, the i7 875K will also be better if you plan on performing video encoding / transcoding operations. The 875K has Hyper-Threading, allowing your CPU to process 2 threads per core, per cycle. It's almost like having an 8 Core CPU, and Windows will treat it as such.

For direct comparisons though, the i7 875K is more similar to the i7 960 from a performance point of view. Only major difference being the wider memory path on the 960 (Triple Channel).


I would not worry about over-clocking killing off your CPU early neither. As long as you can keep the temperatures within safe limits, the CPU will live on for just as long. The 875K will be better for this because of the unlocked multiplier, and it will save your system RAM taking a pasting. Usually over-clocking the CPU will cause the RAM to over-clock too. Tweaking the multiplier and clock ratio of the CPU can prevent this from happening, and is more desirable (unless you have some RAM you can push to 2.2 Ghz+ or something. The 875K is a fantastic over-clocker - You can get them to 4 Ghz pretty easily.)


Intel do have some new CPU goodness due out in weeks, and it's widely anticipated to be very good. You might want to wait.


As for 6 Cores - You are right about them being of limited use in gaming, but they ex-cell really well in wildly multi-threaded programs . Intel's processors on a clock-per-clock basis are better than AMD's, but it does not mean AMD's 6-Core CPU's are bad at all. Many people are attracted to AMD's CPU's because of the lower platform costs overall. You seen how cheap an AM3 motherboard is compared to an i5/7 compatible one?

AMD's 6 Core Phenom is about as fast as Intel's quad core i5 line-up in the real world. I would lean towards a 6-Core Phenom 1055T for the same money as an i5 760 personally, but each to their own.

SandyBridge goodness is the way to go unless you already have a 1156 board, in which case i dont see a reason to upgrade at all. If your going from stratch then the new 2x00 series CPU's is all you need at that performance level.