Is it okay to buy a faster processor without upgrading its cooler, like overclocking?
Is it okay to buy a faster processor without upgrading its cooler, like overclocking?
The K versions often have similar, sometimes even lower prices than non-K, just because of competition pricing. The K normally have higher boosts. The K don't just overclock, but when paired on a Z board offer the full range of settings to adjust the cpu where the non-K don't. The K versions almost always carry a higher resale value due to demand. Unless there's a solid reason, like 3rd Party bios incompatibility (Dell, Lenovo, HP etc) it's usually overall beneficial to go with a K. 10700k : $394, 10700 : $318. $76 difference. 4790k : $150, 4790 : $61. $89 difference. You'll get the difference back, $± on resale, but get to have the benefits during ownership for overall difference of $0 ±.
Yeah, technically that is correct. Even if you aren't changing those clock speeds from 5.1 GHz all the way up to match your I7-10700k's boost limit of 4.8 GHz on a lower model. In this case, taking the K version makes sense because it leaves room for future overclocking. You might think about that in the future if you want more power.
The K versions usually cost around the same or even less than non-K ones because of how the market prices things out there. The K chips get stronger boosts more often. When you pair them with a Z board, they can do everything to make the CPU run better that normal K's can't touch. These K versions almost always sell for more money later on. Unless something bad happens like a third party BIOS not working (from companies like Dell or HP), it is usually good to pick a K chip. Here are some prices: The 10700k sells for $394, while the regular 10700 only costs $318. That's an $86 gap. The 4790k hits $150 compared to $61 for the standard model. You get your money back when selling, but during ownership you get all those benefits without losing out on a dollar amount overall.
You need to buy a good cooler separately because K chips don't include one. Add another $40 to $50 for that alone. I think a Hyper 212 would work if you aren't overclocking, but it won't handle the last three generations of Intel pushing voltages and clocks high enough to squeeze out more performance on 14nm chips.
Not only does the K version get a bigger boost, it also has a higher base frequency (2.8GHz on the non-K vs 3.8 on the K version). So if you run lots of multitasking tasks at once, the K version will run faster. The lower TDP rating for the non-K version means that it might use power and cool down more aggressively. But just like any other hardware, try to do some research before buying to see how much this changes things for you. My last Intel processor was an i7-6700. For almost everything I did, it ran within spitting distance of the i7-6700K without me needing to overclock it.