No clear justification exists for purchasing 10700 versus 10700k.
No clear justification exists for purchasing 10700 versus 10700k.
Both models support MCE to reach 4.6 and 4.7ghz, but the difference isn't worth it unless you have a good cooler. One can be overclocked while the other can't. Costs: i7 10700 costs around $314, i7 10700k about $362, and i7 10850k roughly $398 (for those who are ready to get frustrated).
According to what I understand, the main difference between K and non-K lies in overclocking
It makes more sense to save money rather than overclocking. A 10700 (non K) would be a great pick. You won’t have the overclock feature available. A Z series board is ideal for this situation, so if you’re not getting a Z board, opt for the non K 10700 and enjoy gaming!
There's a 50$ difference between the cpu's, and considering that most people won't overclock their cpu's it's a better idea to either save that 50$ or put it towards more storage/ram, better case, more fans, better cooling, more rgb etc., not to mention that if you get a k series cpu and you want to overclock, you also need z series motherboard which costs at least 60$ more which results in a 110$ difference between an i7 10700 with a B or H series motherboard, and an i7 10700k with a Z series motherboard, and that 110$ could potentially go towards a better GPU.
If you skip overclocking, I'd opt for the 10700. When targeting the 10700k, I'd allocate the extra budget to the 10850k. Just keep in mind you probably won't require top-tier cooling—this model handles heat well and most cases can manage it. Budget motherboards typically offer limited RAM support.
The 10700 is labeled as a "65 W" CPU whereas the 10700K runs at "125 W." This indicates stricter power constraints for the 10700. With a solid motherboard, these limitations are often manageable; however, on OEM systems you should anticipate the all-core turbo and AVX capabilities being notably reduced compared to the stock 10700K.
I just shared some ideas about using the extra cash for your PC, but it wasn't really a suggestion. If you're thinking about adding RAM slots, my view remains the same. A B460M DS3H (the most affordable motherboard with four RAM slots) is still 50 dollars cheaper than the Z490M Pro4 (the cheapest board in the Z series). In the US it works that way, but in the UK the gap widens—about 60 pounds (80 dollars) more between the B460M DS3H and the lowest-priced Z series board.
Consider the motherboard type when choosing RAM speed. A non-Z board supports your memory at 2933, which works well with this i7 and i9. This pace is sufficient, but avoid overspending on extremely fast RAM for an H470 board—it can save you money. For a Z490 or K-SKU CPU, you might want faster memory, though it's not necessary.