Intel Core i5-6600K Review | PCMag

Skylake Basics: New Socket, New Chipsets Home Reviews Components Processors By MattSafford October12,2015 facebook (Opensinanewwindow) twitter (Opensinanewwindow) flipboard (Opensinanewwindow) socialshare Flipboard (Opensinanewwindow) Pinterest (Opensinanewwindow) Reddit (Opensinanewwindow) LinkedIn (Opensinanewwindow) Email (Opensinanewwindow) Copied Error! CopyLink https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/intel-core-i5-6600k Comments 4.0 Excellent TheBottomLine Thoughlimitedtofourcores/fourthreads,theCorei5-6600Kisastrongpickforprice-consciousperformancehoundsandfuture-lookinggamersseekingapowerfulCPUatareasonableprice. MSRP$259.99 $220.00at Amazon $242.00 Save$22.00 SeeIt (Opensinanewwindow) PCMageditorsselectandreviewproductsindependently.Ifyoubuythroughaffiliatelinks,wemayearncommissions,whichhelpsupportourtesting. Pros Performanceisclosetothatofearlier-genCorei7chipsonmanytests. Simplifiedoverclockingoptions. ChipsetdeliversmorePCIewiggleroomforsuper-faststorage. Cons LacksHyper-Threading. Likeall"Skylake"chips,requiresanewmotherboard. SlightlyhigherTDPthanprevious-gencounterparts. Integratedgraphicsperformancelagsbehindlower-pricedAMDalternatives. Ifyou'relookingtobuildamoderatelypowerfulPCatareasonableprice,you'vegotplentyofrecentlyreleasedCPUoptionshereinlate2015—bothIntel-andAMD-flavored.WhichoneisrightforyoudependslargelyonwhatyouplantodomostoftenwithyourPC.OnonesideofthefieldresidesAMD'sself-described"acceleratedprocessingunits"(APUs,thecompany'scombinedCPUs/graphicsprocessors),whicharegearedtowardthosewhowantverygoodintegratedgraphicsperformanceatanaffordableprice.AndhavingjustlookedatAMD'smostrecenttop-endAPU,theA10-7870K,wecansaythatitpacksquiteagraphicalpunchforits$135askingprice.(ItsCPUperformancelagsbehindthatofsimilarlypricedIntelchips.) OntheothersideoftheprocessorfenceisIntel'smainstream6th-GenerationCore("Skylake")line.Atthiswriting,itwastoppedbytheCorei7-6700K,akillerchipforthosewhoprioritizeCPUmuscle.MostofIntel'schipsthesedaysalsofeatureon-chipgraphics,buttheyaregenerallyoutpacedbyAMD'son-chipgraphics. YouCanTrustOurReviews Since1982,PCMaghastestedandratedthousandsofproductstohelpyoumakebetterbuyingdecisions. (Seehowwetest.) Intel'sIrisPro-equippedCorei7-5775C($250.00atAmazonUK)(Opensinanewwindow)doeshavebetteron-chipgraphicsthananycurrentAMDAPU,butit'salsoamuchmoreexpensiveprocessor,currentlysellingforover$400.AndtheCorei7-5775CispartofIntel'snowlast-generation"Broadwell"5th-Generationline,soyouwon'tbeseeinganynew,morepowerfuloptionsthatwillworkinthatchip'ssameLGA1150socket,shouldyouwanttoupgradedowntheline.It'stheendofthatparticularroad. SimilarProducts 4.0 Excellent IntelCorei5-8400 $250.00 SeeIt atAmazon (Opensinanewwindow) ReadOurIntelCorei5-8400Review 4.0 Excellent AMDRyzenThreadripper1950X $684.47 SeeIt atAmazon (Opensinanewwindow) ReadOurAMDRyzenThreadripper1950XReview 4.0 Excellent IntelCorei7-8700K $345.00 SeeIt atAmazon (Opensinanewwindow) ReadOurIntelCorei7-8700KReview Thenewer"Skylake"Corei7-6700Kwasaround$360atthetimewewrotethis,andoccasionallyabitlessonsale(ifyoucanfinditinstock,thatis).It'sstillanexpensivepartifyou'reaimingtokeepcostsdown.Andwhileit'sanimpressiveperformerformulti-threadedworkloads(think:videoeditingandmostAdobecontent-creationapps),muchofitsprocessingprowessisn'tgoingtobefeltinaverage,day-to-daycomputingtasks,includinggaming. ForthoselookingtospendlessonaprocessorforanewPC-buildingproject,butwhostillwantgoodperformanceforthosetimeswhenyoudowanttoeditvideoorthrowsomePhotoshopfiltersatyourfancynewcamera'suncompressedRAWfiles,Intel's$260Corei5-6600Kisagoodmiddlegroundintermsofperformanceandprice.Plus,itdeliversthesameeasyoverclockingoptionsasitspricierCorei7counterpart. JustknowthatHyper-ThreadingisdisabledonthisCorei5chip,whileits91-wattthermaldesignpowerrating(TDP),themeasureofhowmuchheatachipgenerates,remainsthesameasoncostliermodelsintheCoreline.ThelackofHyper-Threadingcouldbeastrikeagainstthischipifyouuseheavilythreadedprogramsthatwouldotherwisehavebeenabletomakeuseofthefour"virtual"processingthreadsthatHyper-Threadingenablesinotherquad-corechips.Butifyourcontent-creationactivitiesarecasualandnothowyoumakeyourliving,youlikelywon'tmissHyper-Threadingmuch. Alsonotethat,liketheCorei7-6700K,thischiprequiresanewmotherboardwithanLGA1151socket.Soyoucan'tdropitintoanexistingZ97-orH97-chipsetmotherboard.We'vebeenquiteimpressedwiththenewfeaturesthathavelandedonmanyofthenewLGA1151-equippedZ170motherboards.MostofthenewfeatureshavetodowithextremelyspeedystorageviaPCIExpressx4M.2SSDslotsandportsforUSB3.1Gen2,whichdoublesthetheoreticalbandwidthoverUSB3.0.Fordetailsaboutthesenewfeaturesandothers,besuretocheckourreviewoftheMSIZ170AGamingM5,asub-$200boardthatdeliverssomeofthebestofwhatthenewZ170boardshavetooffer. SkylakeBasics:NewSocket,NewChipsets Intel's5th-GenerationCorechipsarrivedlaterthanexpected—especiallyfordesktopenthusiastsandgamers.Thefirstsocketed"Broadwell"chip,theIrisPro-packingCorei7-5775C,landedinourtestbed(andonstoreshelves)nearlyayearafterthefirstlow-powerCoreM5th-GenerationchipswereannouncedinSeptemberof2014. Inteltookadifferenttackwithits6th-Generation"Skylake"parts,treatingenthusiastsandDIYbuilderstoacouplehigh-endsocketeddesktopchipsearlyinthe"Skylake"unveiling,inthesummerof2015,afewmonthsbeforeitsmore-mainstream6th-Generationlaptopchips.Thesearejuststartingtoshowupindevicesaswewritethisinmid-October2015. Specifically,Intelunveiledthefour-core,four-threadCorei5-6600Kthatwe'relookingathere,andthequad-core,eight-threadCorei7-6700K.Ratherthanrattleoffafulllistofthechips'specs,here'sachartdetailingthefirsttwoSkylakechips,directfromIntel... NotethattheCorei5chiplacksHyper-Threading,aswenotedearlier.Italsohasanotablylower3.5GHzbaseclockspeedthanthe3.9GHzoftheCorei7option.ButtheCorei5'stopclockspeedundertherightthermalconditions(the"TurboFrequency")sitsat3.9GHz—closertotheCorei7's4.2GHzspeed. Asnoteduptop,you'llneedanewmotherboardifyouoptfortheCorei5-6600K(orany6th-GenerationCoreCPU),asthechipshaveanextrapin,andsouseasocketcalledLGA1151.Whilewe'dlovetosee"Skylake"chipshavebackward-compatibilitywitholderboards,thosewithLGA1150-socket,IntelZ97-basedboards,whichcameinlateinthe4th-GenerationCoregame(withthe"Devil'sCanyon"Corei7-4790K),dohavetheoptionofinstallingaveryrecent5th-GenerationBroadwellCPUliketheCorei7-5775C.Thatchip,inparticular,hasimpressiveIrisPrographicsthat,inourtests,blewpastthenewHD530GPUintheCorei5-6600K,whileusingamuchlowerpower/heatenvelopeof65watts,comparedto91wattsontheCorei5andi7Skylakechips. That"Broadwell"desktopchip,though,comprisestheendofthatparticularline/socket.Sotherewon'tbeanymore-powerfulupgradeoptionsifyouopttostickwithZ97andtheCorei7-5775C.Ifyoudecidetolookfuture-wardandoptfora6th-Generationchip,thetop-endZ170chipsetthatworksinconcertwiththeLGA1151socketbringssomefairlysubstantivenewfeatures. Forstarters,Z170boardswillsupportupto20PCIExpress(PCIe)3.0lanes,ratherthantheeightlanesofPCIe2.0providedbystandardZ97boards.(Thatisinadditiontothe16PCIe3.0lanesprovidedbytheCPU,whichremainsthesamewith"Skylake.")TheextralanescomethankstoanupgradetotheDMIinterfacethatconnectstheCPUtothechipset,andtheyareimportant,giventherisingprevalenceofPCIe-basedstorage(viaM.2,SATAExpress,ordrivesthatplugdirectlyintoaPCIExpressslot,suchasthecardversionofIntel'sSSD750Series).Thisschematicsummarizesit.(Asyoucansee,thisslidewasproducedinconnectionwiththelaunchoftheCorei7versionofthe"Skylake"chip;italsoappliestotheCorei5.) Consideringwe'veyettoseeagraphicscardsaturateeveneightlanesofPCIe3.0(whichhastwicethebandwidthofPCIe2.0),youshouldbeabletoinstalltwographicscardsinaZ170-basedsystem,aswellasuptothreePCIex4drives,andstillhavesixlanestospareforotherperipheralslike,say,aThunderbolt-basedRAIDdriveboxortwo. ThosewhoneedmorePCIelanes,though,willstillhavetostepuptothepricierIntelX99platform,anditsdearlypricedchipsliketheCorei7-5960XExtremeEdition.Butwesuspectthatallbutthemostextremeenthusiastsanddigital-contentproducerswillbesatisfiedwiththePCIebandwidthofferedbytheZ170chipset. ThenewchipsetbringssupportforuptothreePCIe-baseddrivesinasystem(andtheoptiontoRAIDthemtogetherforevenfasterperformance),whileretainingsupportforsixSATA6Gbpsports.Forexternalstorage,Z170nowsupportsupto10nativeUSB3.0ports(upfromsixinZ97boards)and14USB2.0ports.There'snomentionofUSB3.1,eithertypeAorC,butwe'veseensupportforthatfeatureonquiteafewmidrangeandhigh-endmotherboards.Motherboardmakersarejustusingseparatechips,ratherthannativeIntel-basedsupport. It'salsoworthnotingthatthenew6th-GenerationchipstechnicallysupportbothDDR3andDDR4memory.Thatmeans,insomecases,youwillbeabletocarryoveroldermemory.ButthevastmajorityofZ170motherboardswehaveseensofaronlyhaveDDR4slots,whicharephysicallydifferentthanDDR3slots.SounlessyouspecificallyseekoutaDDR3-compatibleboard(andtherewon'tbemuchofaselection),you'llneedtospringforsomenewRAMaswell. Ofcourse,other100-familychipsetswillalsobeonofferwithlesserfeatures,orwithfeaturesdesignedforbusinessusers.WesawahostofthesepreviewedindribsanddrabsatComputex2015,andboardsbasedontheseotherchipsets(theB150,Q170,andH110,amongothers)shouldlaunchinthecomingmonths,alongwithfurtherdetailsaboutwhatfeaturestheywilloffer.ButZ170isthehighest-endchipsetinthelineup,sothoselookingforthebestfeatures,aswellassupportforhigh-endcomponents,neednotwaitforthoseotherboardsandchipsets. CPUPerformance WestartedourtestingoftheCorei5-6600KwithahostofCPU-centrictrials.OurIntelcomparisonchipsweretheaforementionedCorei7-6700K,the4th-Generation,high-endCorei7-4790K"Devil'sCanyon"andCorei7-4770Kchips,andthemorerecent5th-GenCorei7-5775C(whichhaslowerclockspeedsbutwaymoremuscularIrisPrographics).AsforAMD,weincludedAMD'stwotopchipsinitsFXline(theFX-8370andFX-9590,andthenewtop-endAPU,theAMDA10-7870K,whichismoreaffordablethananythingelsehere,currentlysellingforabout$135. Forperspective(andkicks!),wealsoincludedtheuber-powerful,eight-coreIntelCorei7-5960XExtremeEdition,a$1,000chipthat,liketheAMDFXprocessors,isaCPUonly—noon-chipgraphicsacceleration.Itrunsonitsownplatformandsocket. Beforewegetintothebenchmarkingnitty-gritty,it'sworthnotingthatwhileAMD'sFXchipsarepower-hungrier,theFX-8370stilloffersafairlyimpressiveamountofrawCPUperformanceforitscurrent$200askingprice,solongasyoudon'tneedintegratedgraphics.AlsonotethatwetestedtheCorei5-6600K,aswellastheotherchipshere,underWindows8.1,notWindows10.WhilesomeuserswillhavemovedtoWindows10bynow(thanksinlargeparttothefactthatit'safreeupgradeforthefirstyear),thenewOSwilllikelydeliverquitesimilarresultstoWindows8.1whenitcomestoCPUperformance. Plus,we'llneedtodoquiteabitofback-testingofprocessorsandgraphicscardsbeforeweofficiallyswitchtoWindows10onthebenchmarkfront—ataskthatwehaven'thadachancetotacklejustyet. CinebenchR15 InCinebenchR15,anindustry-standardbenchmarktestthattaxesallavailablecoresofaprocessortomeasurerawCPUmuscle,theCorei5-6600Kdidn'tstartoutlookinggreat,comparativelyspeaking. It'snosurprisethatthenewCorei5chipwasleftbehindbytheCorei7-5960X(whichcostsroughlyfourtimesasmuch).Andwe'dexpecttheCorei7chipsheretosurpassitaswell,consideringtheycanhandletwiceasmanythreads.Butthe$260IntelCorei5wasslightlybestedherebythe$200AMDFX-8370. Keepinmind,though,thattheAMDFXprocessorlacksanyon-chipgraphics,andithasahigher125-wattTDP,comparedtotheCorei5-6600K's91watts. iTunes10.6ConversionTest WethenswitchedovertoourvenerableiTunesConversionTest,usingversion10.6ofiTunes.ThistesttaxesonlyasingleCPUcore,asmuchlegacysoftwaredoes. Musicencodingdoesn'texactlypushamodernCPUtoitslimits.Butthisteststillillustratesthatforolderprogramsandthosethathaven'tbeenwrittentotakeadvantageofmultiplecores,theCorei5chiphasaseriousadvantageoversimilarlyclockedAMDofferings.TheCorei5-6600Kalsomanagedtostickcloseheretothemuch-pricierCorei7-5775C. WindowsMediaEncoder Nextupwasourvery,verywell-agedWindowsMediaEncoder9video-conversiontest.Wecontinuetousethistestandreportitsresultsbecause,liketheiTunestest,itgivesawindowontoperformancewithlegacysoftwarethatisn'tfullythreaded. Here,werenderastandard3-minute-and-15-secondvideocliptoaDVD-qualityformat... Mostrecenthigh-endCPUschewthroughthismulti-threadedtestinwellunderaminute.Butbecausethisisanolderpieceofsoftware,it'snotfullythreadedtomakeuseofallavailablecores.TheIntelCorei5continueditsmomentumhere,easilybestingalltheAMDchips.AndtheCorei7modelsweren'timpressivelyspeedierhere,consideringtheyhavetwiceasmanyavailablecomputingthreadsandcostquiteabitmore. Handbrake0.9.9 Thesedays,ourtraditionalHandbraketest(rununderversion0.9.8)nowtakeslessthanaminutetocompletewithhigh-endchips.(Itinvolvedtherenderingofa5-minutevideo,Pixar'sDug'sSpecialMission,toaniPhone-friendlyformat.)So,we'veswitchedtoamuchmoretaxing(andtime-consuming)4Kvideo-crunchingtest. Inthistest,weswitchedtothelatestrevisionofHandbrake(version0.9.9)andtaskedtheCPUstoconverta12-minute-and-14-second4K.MOVfile(the4KshowcaseshortTearsofSteel)intoa1080pMPEG-4video… There'snodenyingthattheCorei5-6600Kwasleftbehindherebythechipsthathavemorecoresandthreads,liketheCorei7-6700Kandthei7-5960XExtremeEditionchip(whichhaseightcoresand16threads).Butthe6th-GenerationCorei5stillmanagedtostickfairlycloseonthistesttothemuch-pricierCorei7-5775C,whilefinishingaminutesoonerthanthefastestAMDchipinourcharts. PhotoshopCS6 Nextup,inourPhotoshopCS6benchmark,theCorei5-6600Klookedevenbetter,finishingdead-evenwiththe$1,000ExtremeEditionprocessor(whichsacrificesclockspeedformorecores).Inthistest,werunaseriesof11filters,insequence,onalabs-standardhigh-resphoto,timinghowlongittakesthesystemtorendertheeffect. TheCorei5-6600KlookedgoodhereagainsttherecentCorei7offerings,aswell,laggingslightlybehind,butstayingfairlyclosetothe4th-and5th-Generationoptions. POVRay3.7 ThiswasthelastofourCPU-centrictests.Usingthe"AllCPUs"setting,weranthePOVRaybenchmark,whichchallengesallavailablecorestorenderacomplexphoto-realisticimageusingraytracing. Here,theCorei5-6600Klookedsomewhatlessimpressive,bestingtheAMDFX-9590,butonlylandingevenwiththeless-expensiveAMDFX-8370.TheCorei7-6700Kfinished30secondssooner,whiletheExtremeEditionchipfinishedthesametestinnotmuchmorethanhalftheCorei5'stime.Thistest,aswellasHandbrake,provesthebenefitofhigh-endchipswithlotsofavailablethreadsfortaskslikevideoeditingandotherCPU-intensivemedia-creationtasks. Overclocking EarlyprocessorsinIntel's"Haswell"4th-Gendesktoplinedidnothavegreatreputationsasoverclockingcandidates.Asaresult,Intelmadeafairlybigdealaboutitsimprovedthermalinterface(betweenthedieandthechip-topheatspreader)with2014'sCorei7-4790K"Devil'sCanyon"CPU.Evenso,we(andmostreviewers)achievedmiddling-at-bestresultswhenattemptingtooverclockthatchip. Thistimearound,wehadbetterluckwiththenew6th-Generationchips,achievinganimpressive4.85GHztopboost-clockspeedwiththeCorei7-6700KusingAsus'automaticAITweakerOCsettingsandaThermaltakeWater2.0Prosingle-radiatorcooler. UsingthesamemotherboardandcoolerwiththeCorei5-6700K,weachievedaslightlylowertopclockspeed,4.5GHz.ButconsideringtheCorei5chiphasalowerbaseclockspeedthantheCorei7chiptostartwith,thisceilingwasn'tsurprising.Wealsodidn'tupthevoltage,sothosewhodaretodosoandspendmoretimetweakingmayachievebetterresults. Plus,ofcourse,overclockabilityoftenvariesbetweenindividualchipsamples,soyourmileagemay(andprobablywill)varysomewhat.Andifyoudon'tpaycloseattentiontoyourtemperatures,youcandamageyourprocessor,sobesureyouknowwhatyou'redoingbeforeaimingforhighclock-speedandvoltagesettings. Withthetopclockspeedhoveringaround4.5GHzinourbestoverclock,wesawourCinebenchR15scorejumpfrom602atstockto732(anearly22percentincrease),whileshavingnearlythreeminutesoffthestock-clockedCorei5'stranscodingtimeonourHandbrake4Ktest(anotherimprovementofroughly20percent).Thatdoesn'tquitepushtheoverclockedCorei5tostockCorei7levels,butitgetsthelesserchipsignificantlyclosertoitscostliercousin.Butofcourse,theCorei7-6700Kiseasilyoverclockedaswell,soit'salljustaquestionofhowmuchyoucare,andhowmuchyouarewillingtospend. GraphicsPerformance You'llnoticesomechangestothecomparisonCPUsbelowinourgraphicstests,versustheonesinourprecedingCPUPerformancesection,toreflectcurrentCPUsthathavebuilt-ingraphicsacceleration.(TheIntelCorei7-5960XExtremeEditionandAMDFXchipsfromthepreviouschartslackit.) Also,notethattheIntelHD530graphicsintheCorei5-6600Kisidentical(inbothsiliconandclockspeed)tothatfoundontheCorei7-6700Kchip.Sotheresultsbetweenthosetwo"Skylake"chipsarenearlyidentical,withtheCorei5occasionallyfallingslightlybehind,likelyduetoitslowerclockspeedontheCPUside. NoteaswellthattheHD530graphics(anewnamingschemeforIntel,whichlargelyseemstoinvolvedroppingthelastzero)ontheCorei5-6600KandCorei7-6700Kisn'tmeanttocompetewiththecompany'sfastestIrisPrographics,foundontheCorei7-5775C.ButHD530doesshowimprovementsovertheHD4600graphicsfoundontheCorei7-4790K. 3DMarkFireStrike WestartedoutourgraphicstestingoftheCorei5-6600K'sHD530graphicswiththe2013versionofFuturemark's3DMark,specificallyitshigh-endFireStrikesubtest,whichisdesignedtomeasureasystem'soverallgraphicscapabilities. Bythismeasure,particularlythegraphicssubscore(whichattemptstoisolatethegraphicscapabilitiesfromtherestofthesystem),theCorei5-6600Koutpacedthe"Haswell"-basedCorei7-4790Kbynearly16percent.TheCorei7-6700Kdidabout2percentbetterhere,likelythankstoitshigher-clockedCPUportion. TheIrisPrographicsintheBroadwell-basedCorei7-5775Cperformedmuchbetter,though(asweexpected),eclipsingtheHD530inthe"Skylake"chipbyaverylargemargin(67percent).AndAMD'sA10-7870Khelduphereasagoodvaluepropositionforthosewhowantaffordableintegratedgraphics.The$135AMDAPU'sgraphicsbestedthe$260"Skylake"Corei5chip'sHD530byahealthy69percent. AliensVs.Predator Switchingovertoouraging-but-taxingDirectX11AliensVs.Predatorgamebenchmark,wegetourfirstsenseofwhatkindofframeratestheCorei5candeliver… Here,thetwo"Skylake"chipsperformedessentiallythesame,bothoutperformingthe"Haswell"Corei7shere.Again,though,Intel'sCorei7-5775Cwastheonlyoptionthatgotevenclosetoplayableframerates.Again,though,theAMDA10-7870Kistherealwinnerifgamingperformance(andvalue)isapriority,deliveringverysimilarperformancetothepriciestIntelchipinthischart,whilecostingmorethan$200less. TombRaider&SleepingDogs InmorerecentgametitlessuchasTombRaiderandSleepingDogs,wewereabletoattainplayableframerateswiththeCorei5-6600Katnormal/mediumgraphicssettingsandaresolutionof1080p—thoughjustbarely.Still,withtheCorei7-4790KorCorei7-4770K,you'dhavetodipdowntoalowerresolutionaltogethertogetsmoothperformance.Again,theAMDA10heldastrongleadoverallthechipsheresavefortheCorei7-5775CanditsIrisPro,whichdidsubstantivelybetteronthesebenchmarks. TombRaider'sUltrasetting,though,provesthatintegratedgraphicsarestillapoorchoiceforthosewhowanttoplaymoderndemandingtitlesatanythingmorethanmiddlingsettings.EventheIrisProandAMD'sbestA10couldn'tdeliversmoothframeratesat1080pwiththosesettings. Conclusion WeliketheZ170chipset'sadditionofmorePCIelanesfornext-generationstoragethattakesmatters(well)beyondthelimitationsofSATA.AndnewIntelZ170-basedboardshavebroughtotherinterestingfeaturestothetable,includingmultipleM.2slotsandsupportforUSB3.1Gen2andUSB-Cconnectors. ThenewchipsetandmotherboardfeatureshelpmakeIntel'schipsgenerallymoreappealingthanAMD'scurrentchips,despitestrongperformance-for-thepriceofferingsliketheAMDA10-7870KandAMDFX-8350. TheIntelCorei5-6600K,specifically,isaninterestingpickforprice-consciousperformancehounds.It'sasolidperformerthat'sagoodfitforthoselookingtojumpintotheZ170platform,whostillwantfastCPUperformanceforgeneral-purposecomputingandgames,butwhodon'twanttospendmorethan$300fortheCorei7-6700K. Butmakenomistake:ThisisstillapowerfulCPU,andpossiblywellmorepowerfulthanyoureallyneed.IfyourarelyperformtasksthatleanheavilyontheCPUandallofitsavailablecores,it'sprobablyoverkill.Youcouldoptinsteadforadual-core,four-threadIntelchipsuchastheIntelCorei3-6320(Opensinanewwindow),whichhassimilarlyhighclockspeedsand,accordingtoIntel,shouldsellforabout$100lessthantheCorei5-6600Kwe'relookingathere. Wesay"should,"becausetheCorei3chipdoesn'tseemtobeforsaleyet.TheCorei3chiphasbeenofficiallylaunchedbyIntel,though.Sobythetimeyoureadthis,the"Skylake"Corei3maywellbeavailableatyourfavoritePCpartsseller.Ifnot,whileit'sacompletelydifferentplatform,theAMDA10-7870KdeliversverygoodintegratedgraphicsperformanceandenoughCPUhorsepowerformainstreamcomputingtasks,andit'sreadilyavailablenowforabout$135.IfyourchoiceofCPUcancoincidewithachoiceofplatforms,youshouldweighthatAMDAPUchip,too,ifonboardgraphicsisyourkeybuyingpoint. Foragoodmixofmuscle,relativesavings,andforward-lookingarchitecture,though,theCorei5-6600Kcomesrecommended.JustremembertofactorthecostofasupportingmainboardandnewDDR4RAMintoyourbuyingformula. IntelCorei5-6600K 4.0 (Opensinanewwindow) SeeIt $220.00atAmazon (Opensinanewwindow) MSRP$259.99 Pros Performanceisclosetothatofearlier-genCorei7chipsonmanytests. Simplifiedoverclockingoptions. ChipsetdeliversmorePCIewiggleroomforsuper-faststorage. Cons LacksHyper-Threading. Likeall"Skylake"chips,requiresanewmotherboard. SlightlyhigherTDPthanprevious-gencounterparts. Integratedgraphicsperformancelagsbehindlower-pricedAMDalternatives. ViewMore TheBottomLine Thoughlimitedtofourcores/fourthreads,theCorei5-6600Kisastrongpickforprice-consciousperformancehoundsandfuture-lookinggamersseekingapowerfulCPUatareasonableprice. LikeWhatYou'reReading? SignupforLabReporttogetthelatestreviewsandtopproductadvicedeliveredrighttoyourinbox. 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Signupforothernewsletters Advertisement DigDeeperWithRelatedStories TheBestCPUCoolersfor2022 By MichaelJustinAllenSexton TheBestCPUsfor2022 By JohnBurek & ChrisStobing PCCooling101:HowtoBuytheRightAirorWaterCoolerforYourDesktopCPU By ThomasSoderstrom & MichaelJustinAllenSexton HowtoChoosetheBestLaptopProcessorin2022 By CharlesJefferies PCMagStoriesYou’llLike {X-htmlReplaced} Editors'Choice AboutMattSafford Mattisaself-describedNetnerd,gadgetgeek,andgeneralconnoisseurofoff-kilterculture.AgraduateofthefirstclassoftheCUNYGraduateSchoolofJournalism,hisworkhasappearedinPopularScience,ConsumerReports,Smithsonian,andelsewhereintheether.You'lloftenfindhimwritingwhilewalkingonhistreadmilldesk,surroundedbyheapsofconsumertech.(Butreally,heprefersthelow-techsceneryoftheScottishHighlandsandthehillsofJapan.) ReadthelatestfromMattSafford IntelOptaneSSD900PSeries(280GB)Review NvidiaGeForceGTX1070Ti(FoundersEdition)Review ToshibaTR200(480GB)Review IntelCorei7-8700KReview IntelCorei5-8400Review MorefromMattSafford TableofContents IntelCorei5-6600K $220.00atAmazon IntelCorei5-6600K $220.00atAmazon SeeIt (Opensinanewwindow) ReturntoTheTop SkylakeBasics:NewSocket,NewChipsets CPUPerformance CinebenchR15 iTunes10.6ConversionTest WindowsMediaEncoder Handbrake0.9.9 PhotoshopCS6 POVRay3.7 Overclocking GraphicsPerformance 3DMarkFireStrike AliensVs.Predator TombRaider&SleepingDogs Conclusion