Who needs Haswell
Haswell isn’t for everyone. For now, older Sandy Bridge-E Core i7 processors that use Intel’s LGA 2011 socket remain Intel’s flagship products for hardcore PC gamers. But the fourth generation of Intel Core CPUs are where it’s at for mainstream power users who crave Intel’s most advanced technology.Unfortunately, unlike second-gen Sandy Bridge and third-gen Ivy Bridge processors—which use the same LGA 1155 socket and hence play well with a broad range of new and existing motherboards—Haswell-based processors use a new socket, LGA 1150, and thus require motherboards built around Intel’s 8-series chipsets. But that problem is also an opportunity: Since you can’t just drop a Haswell CPU into your current PC, now is the perfect time to build a new, killer Haswell-based rig. And you can do it yourself for less than a grand—if you know where to look.
Component hunting
Typically, you get the best value in desktop processors a bin or two below the top-of-the-line products. For example, a Core i7-3770 costs about $40 (or 15 percent) less than a Core i7-3770K ($289 vs. $329), but it delivers roughly 98 percent of the latter’s performance. The same holds true for most Core i5 and Core i3 processors, albeit with smaller price differentials. The only differences between a Core i7-3770 and a Core i7-3770K are a 100MHz base clock deficit on the standard 3770, and the 3770’s inability to alter multipliers freely. The more expensive “K-SKU” is fully unlocked and lets users alter the CPU multipliers for easier and more flexible overclocking[[ source ]]
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