Building the GEARBOX: Take on Borderlands 2 With the Ultimate $2500 Gaming PC
The Proc: Intel Core i7-2600K
Yes, the Core i7 2600k. I know what you're thinking. Why not Ivy Bridge?
I'm glad you asked. You see, this is a gaming machine. Does that mean it shouldn't have the latest kick-ass processor? No. just the opposite. It means that by sticking with the go-to unlocked Sandy Bridge chip of the century, we spend less on the graphical improvements in Intel's HD4000 with only a 10% loss in overall performance. We also get less heat, and if there's anything we've learned with the 2600k (our review), it's that one of these overclocked to its real potential should run identically to the 2700k, while outperforming Ivy Bridge with a moderate overclock.
In short, we're building a gaming machine. Gaming machines are meant to run as fast as they can within the budget you set.
