I did a search for this topic title and couldn't find a topic already created.
 
I'm beginning a new computer build next week and after ready many articles on Google I'm left with nothing but a headache.  I'm not tech savvy with the lingo of computer gaming so mHz, Gflops and tessalation are like speaking jibberish to me.  I'm looking for PC gamers with experience who can break the comparisons down in laymons terms lol.  Bottom line is I want to know which processor to get for strictly gaming.  I'm not into video and music editing.  I just one a pretty decent gaming rig.  The video card I'm getting is the EVGA GeForce GTX 570 OC'd.  I just want to know which processor to go along with it.  Thanks a million!

Honestly, if you're not doing a ton of rendering and the like you won't see a huge difference between the two =) I'm personally running the 2500k and do lots of rendering and think it works perfectly for my needs, the 2600k would probably be overkill; but honestly, it's your money haha. If you think you'll eventually use all that extra HP, go for it; but I'd stick with the 2500k =)

i5 2500k doesn't have hyperthreading(4 threads, 1 for each core).  I7 2600k has hyperthreading (8 threads, each core has a virtual core thus x2 amount of threads available).   For gaming with no intentions on encoding video or music editing.  The I5 2500k will be a cheaper solution and is really beastly for gaming plus it's a nice overclocker.   2600k does excel at applications that use alot of threads like video encoding and whatnot.

That was pretty fast.  Thanks for the responses.  I was leaning towards the i5 but there was that little voice in the back saying go for the i7.    Thanks again to both of you.

i7 2600k i love it its great just get it!

Go with the i5. I have one and love it.

@TheKeyboardDemon
 
This is what the final system will look like:
Mobo: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe
CPU:  Intel i5 2500k
Memory: 8 GB Corsair Vengeance
Video Card: EVGA Superclocked GeForce GTX 570 SLI
SSD: OCZ 60 GB
HDD:  WD 1.5 TB Caviar Black
PSU: Corsair 800W Gaming Series GS800
Case: Corsair 650D
 
I haven't thought too much on the  mouse and keyboard yet.  As for the monitor I really have taking a liking to the AOC e2343Fk.  Its 23" and really thin and light.  Its native rez is 1920x1080...right where I want it to be.

the 2500K will be great , the 2600K has hyperthreading which can be useful while doing heavy computing , but its nothing the current games really benefit from.

windows is going to hog up about 30% of that ssd (my windows folder is 18 GB atm , my temp folder is empty even ) , sure you dont want a little more space on that thing?

other than that , this is a killer rig.

two 570's is almost nuts :)

@armartin812: i'd almost suggest you start out with one GTX 570 , and then add the other one at a later date if you feel like the single 570 isnt giving you enough juice , cause its alot of extra money that you might not need to burn.

I'm guessing you will be running that single AOC monitor, which a single 570 should handle pretty well , especially since its "only" a 60 Hz monitor. I'm not familiar with the AOC brand , if you are the kind of person that is picky on input lag etc , i hope you've looked up some tests on this particular monitor.

Sounds like a good rig. 
 
This thread has reminded me that I need to change my Radeon 5450 to the 5770 or something like that. Actually, what would you guys recommend? Any decent NVIDIA graphics cards that are similarly priced to the ATI 5770?

@Tsoglani: A 460. But why do you want a 5770 or equivalent? They aren't particularly good any more.

@Tsoglani: A 460. But why do you want a 5770 or equivalent? They aren't particularly good any more.

@Tsoglani: Well there is a HD6770 that is about that price. And I assume that it is just an updated 5770 replacement. As for Nvidia you might be able to scrape a 460 at that price if you're lucky. If not I would probably go for the 6770 or maybe a 5830. Would have to check out reviews and benchmarks for them though.

Cool, thanks man! Will check out some sites regarding benchmarks and performance reviews on the 6770 and the others.

To the OP -
 
I just built a i5 2500k and GTX 570 rig recently, really I don't recommend going with the SLI at this point.  One GTX 570 will handle just about everything with crazy high levels of AA except for a few games like Metro 2033.  You don't want to get into the trap of paying money for a second card just so you can run some poorly optimized game out of Eastern Europe.
 
To Tsoglani, you know Amazon ship some 3D cards to Australia, something like this would be a good bet: 
 
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-PCI-Express-Graphics-Lifetime-01G-P3-1371-AR/dp/B003VWW2KK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1310314328&sr=8-3

Oh I was going wait to get the second card but since this is the first time I'll be building a PC that can play the top tier games I wanted to spend my limit on what I could get.  The second GTX 570 much like the SSD drive can fall off the list.  And actually the SSD drive has fallen off of the list.  I'm just going to go with a Caviar Black 1TB.  

I went with the 2600k, but the vast majority of games do not make use of hyperthreading.  From a gaming only standpoint the 2500k is a better bang for the buck. 
 
You can use a 60GB SSD for windows.  I used system links to move my users folders to a raid 1 of 2TB WD Blacks and boot windows itself off of a 60GB SSD very comfortably.  Another thing to consider is using SSD Caching with a z68 chipset. 
 
I would also consider the Radeon 6950 -- it's currently the best bang for the buck IMO, especially when considering dual card scaling at high resolutions.  Read some reviews over at Hardocp.com  
 
If I could recommend a quality monitor -- the Dell U2311h is pretty spectacular for the price.