i7 6700 vs 6700k

Hey, may I ask, why nearly everyone is going with the "k" model?
The 6700 is "autoboosting" itself to the same 4GHz as the 6700k is marked for.

additionally, I figured Z-boards are more expensive, the cpu too.

What is it, that is worth the extra price?

That's a common, classic (if you were) question. If you aren't a gamer and don't overclock, than the i7-6700 is for you. The "K" version of Intel's processors are "unlocked" so one can overclock the processor. The cost difference is enough so, if you don't overclock, you can put the difference in cost toward a better graphics card or motherboard or...

So, if I don't plan to overclock, I get no other benefits?

theSkimmy said:

Hey, may I ask, why nearly everyone is going with the "k" model?
The 6700 is "autoboosting" itself to the same 4GHz as the 6700k is marked for.

additionally, I figured Z-boards are more expensive, the cpu too.

What is it, that is worth the extra price?

Click to expand...

Im not a overclocker neither i don't really game. Reason why i have a 2500k is because of the Graphics Core. But i recommend going with the non k 6700 if you're not going to overclock will also save you some money.

The i7 6700 has 3.4 GHz base clock and boosts up to 4 GHz on a single core. QuadCore boosting is limited to 3.7 GHz.

The i7 6700K has 4.0 GHz base clock and boosts up to 4.2 GHz. Additionally it can be OC'ed to ~4.5-4.7 GHz on all cores (depending on cooling).

So the 6700K will obviously be (slightly) faster even without OC, but it will only unleash its full potential if you overclock it.

theSkimmy said:

I figured Z-boards are more expensive, the cpu too.

Click to expand...

One valid reason for the Z board is to be able to run "overclocked" memory. It can load the XPM profile, so if you bought DDR4 3200 RAM it can be set to that speed. On non-Z boards if you install higher speed RAM it will be downgraded to 2133.

The 6700K is the CPU to get because it has a base clock of 4.0GHZ, not 3.4HGZ. You probably won't be able to overclock the 6700. That's a double whammy if you can't run faster speed RAM. Last I looked the K CPU was only $20 more. I'll spend a lot more than that on Noctua fans and heatsink. I usually suggest max RAM, no matter what mobo platform. And some RAM can't be gotten at the lower speed, you'll probably have to run a step or two higher, then be downgraded to 2133. But, then again, some higher speed DR4 cost less than 2133. So you have to compare mobo and RAM against another mobo and RAM - it's a package deal.