is there a point getting a 'K' Intel CPU even if I don't overclock?

[swapjim]

I know that CPUs that have a 'K' in their name are overclock "friendly". I'm not an overclocker. Is there any other benefit having a K CPU?

 

[Phynaz]

Only the 4790k, as there is no equivalent unlocked CPU

 

[Yuriman]

Yes - K-series CPUs have higher clockspeeds than non-K CPUs, at the expense of having higher power draw, and in the case of Skylake, not coming with a cooler.

 

[Techhog]

It's only worth it in the cases of the 4790K and 6700K. Both have such high stock clocks that you don't even really need to OC them for anything other than fun.

 

[Zodiark1593]

Only if there lacks an equal locked sku. An unlocked i5 makes little sense, but that 4790K with a turbo 4.4 GHZ stock looks quite the appealing deal.

 

[swapjim]

So the benefit is a higher clock. It's like it's overclocked from the factory. Now I need to check the temperatures, power consumpsion, and clock speeds to see if it makes sense.

Excellent! Thank you, all.

I have a few complimentary questions.

Yes - K-series CPUs have higher clockspeeds than non-K CPUs, at the expense of having higher power draw, and in the case of Skylake, not coming with a cooler.

You mean a stock Intel cooler, yes? Should I be interested in these things? Does it keep the CPU cool while being low noise? It sounds pretty low noise to me.

Also, why didn't they include their stock cooler? Do the K CPUs heat so much that the stock cooler is inadequate?

Only the 4790k, as there is no equivalent unlocked CPU

Sorry, I didn't get that. There is no i7-4790?

 

[Leyawiin]

There is no i7-4790?

Yes, there is. Its usually $10 cheaper and clocked slower (3.6 Ghz vs. 4.0 Ghz) than the "k". To me its worth $10 for an additional 400 Mhz even if you don't OC.

 

[ShintaiDK]

It's like it's overclocked from the factory.

No its not. Its validated the same way as any other chip.

Also, why didn't they include their stock cooler? Do the K CPUs heat so much that the stock cooler is inadequate?

Because pretty much everyone buying a K CPU throws it away due to wanting to overclock. And that's not good for anyone.

 

[bystander36]

I suppose you could view it as a factory OC, as it is clocked higher than the non K versions, but the reality is, current CPU's are pretty darn easy to OC. It seems like a waste not to take advantage of that. Just make sure your cooling is decent.

 

[jihe]

No, the older k-parts actually lack vt-d support compared to non-k parts, so it was actually strictly worse if you don't overclock.

 

[SPBHM]

No, the older k-parts actually lack vt-d support compared to non-k parts, so it was actually strictly worse if you don't overclock.

most people don't care about vt-d

a lot of the K CPUs have higher default clock than the non K version with the same model number (like 4770 vs 4770K, 4790 vs 4790K), on Sandy Bridge the K CPUs had the better IGP (2500K vs 2500, same clock but one had GT2 and the other GT1 IGP)

4790K made perfect sense for people who didn't overclock due to the much higher stock clock.

 

[swapjim]

most people don't care about vt-d

It's used by VirtualBox. I care about that.

 

[ShintaiDK]

It's used by VirtualBox. I care about that.

Unless you use pass through its not used. Even in VM its an extremely tiny niche. More importantly you need motherboard/BIOS support for it to work as well.

 

[Techhog]

Unless you use pass through its not used. Even in VM its an extremely tiny niche. More importantly you need motherboard/BIOS support for it to work as well.

My cheap-ass motherboard seems to support it, as it informs me that the CPU doesn't support it.