Intel Skylake: Core i5 6500 review - The best value quad-core CPU for gamers?

Digital Foundry:
Intel maybe didn't plan for things to happen this way, but the Core i5 6500 is a highly compelling buy for gamers. The unofficial overclocking has obviously received plenty of attention and can produce blistering results, but even at stock frequencies it's capable of some excellent performance.

And as our tests have demonstrated, there are actually two overclocking routes going forward to yield increased throughput in gaming - faster memory and higher base clocks (which in itself also demands faster RAM for best results). Together, it's a remarkable combination that partially solves the cost and availability issues with the 6600K and can bring down the cost of a highly potent gaming PC.

[kraenk12]

My 5 year old 2500K (overclocked to 4.2 GHz) is still fast enough for all games (teamed up with my 970). I really wait for a reason to upgrade but there is none.

[GRiMLiNX]

Sure, it's sufficient and I can't contradict you on that.
But if you want better performance out of all your computer's components, having a better core allows you better bus speed, fits in better motherboards that open a full new spectrum of possibilities.

But alas for gaming as you said, any processor with proper clock is good as long as you have a decent GPU.

[RedDeadLB]

Any processor with a decent enough IPC, aka any quad core or more Intel CPU since Sandy Bridge is perfect for gaming.

I do agree that the 6600k is more powerful than his 2500k or my 3570k clock per clock, but there was no important change in motherboards since then and the performance difference is not significant enough to merit that kind of investment. Plus, with DX12 on the horizon, CPU performance will shoot up in games anyways.

[kraenk12]

Of course, the moment I'd want to switch to 4K gaming or VR I will need an upgrade, at least in some games CPU performance still is a factor and some advancements in terms of RAM have been made as well , but as long as I stick with my good old 1080p on monitor and TV I doubt I will have to upgrade before the end of this gen, unless Star Citizen gets a release earlier that is ;)

@RedDeadLB below

Yeah, that's a viable option without having to change the rest of my system, although I don't think the I7s have a huge advantage on my i5 for gaming purposes. Also I doubt it will give me a bigger boost than a 6600K with faster RAM or how did you mean that exactly?

[escott013]

@RedDeadLB

I remember seeing some benchmarks somewhere showing that DX12 on Windows 10 didn't actually give us any jaw dropping improvements in performance. I really hope that is not the case.

If you've seen anything in the last 3 months that proves me wrong please show me, because I may have missed something! (:

[RedDeadLB]

If you really are desperate for an upgrade, find an i7 2600k/2700k/3770k. That will give you a bigger boost than the 6600k for more than half the price.

[Tzuno]

try to stream and play with the same cpu and look at cpu usage, then look at the power of skylake on encoding, it's far far more powerfull.

[Tehcnala]

We need more articles like this on n4g

[JamesBondage]

If you want PC related news I would suggest pcgamer.com

[Peace_Love_and_FPS]

I like them but there's not as much content as N4G from their writers alone. Sometimes I'll see their articles on here though, good site.

[Tehcnala]

I'm just now thinking about PC gaming and considering building one. Right now I'm sitting at $1300 with moniter. Im on this site just about everyday so scrolling past this article was pleasantly surprising.

[I3loggs24]

Be careful man, pc building can become addictive, I've built 3 gaming rigs now and im itching to build another.

[JamesBondage]

I've built one, and have no desire to do it again.

[Hypnotic]

@Tehcnala If you haven't already, check out pcpartpicker.com. It helped me tremendously finding the parts I wanted/needed to build my PC.

[Tehcnala]

That's exactly what I'm using,lol. An incredible site.

[Voids]

Yes if you don't plan on streaming. I5's can't perform as well when streaming since there's no hyper threading.

Other than that, sure - awesome CPU.

[escott013]

That's fairly true. If you read this and you think you'll ever be streaming, definitely invest in a hyperthreaded i7. Makes the world's difference.

[Hypnotic]

I recently built a new computer and I have this CPU. I have been more than pleased so far.

[escott013]

I just passed the one year mark on the PC I built around New Year 2015.
I'm running the Devil's Canyon i5 4690k paired with a GTX 970 (I knoww, I knoww, cookie cutter build!)
It still feels so new to me even though Broadwell and Skylake are already out.
Considering I have the unlocked version of the i5, I will probably not upgrade it for some years to come. I usually upgrade my CPU when it begins to bottleneck even after an OC.

[bokharij]

Hi, could someone recommend a CPU and Motherboard for a total cost of under $200 CAD maybe $300 CAD(if possible). I currently have an amd 7970 Gpu, but my i7 860 is holding it back. I'm looking on the Intel side, but if it's still a big improvement over my CPU I'm willing to try amd. Thanks.

Ps: I have a 600Watt power supply and I technically need a case too, as I currently have the power supply outside the case.

[Hypnotic]

As up above, I suggest using PCpartpicker.com. I'm not sure if it will be as useful for Canada though.

[bokharij]

Thanks I'll check it out.