1. #1

    Question about a CPU change

    Hi everyone,

    This is my current system:

    CPU: Phenom II x4 B50 OC to 3.6ghz.
    Motherboard: I can´t remember the model but it only supports DDR2
    GPU: Radeon HD 6870
    PSU: Thermaltake Tr2 600w

    I´m thinking about upgrade my CPU and motherboard, some friends suggested me to buy a I7 3770, but I think that a I5 3570 will be fine for me (normally I only play WoW and SC2 1920 x 1080), this also implies that I can upgrade to DDR3. I don´t want to spend a lot of money if isn´t neccesary, i have around $500 to spend on this.

    So guys what do you think.

    Which CPU should I buy? I7, I5 or check for an AMD equivalent?
    This new CPU are going to require an aftermarket cooler?
    I´m going to notice a better performance compared to my current system? or I should spend my money on something else, maybe some giant pony doll?.

    Thank you in advance.

  2. #2
    Deleted
    with a $500 budget you can easily get a i5-3570k + aftermarket cooler + mobo + 8 Gb of ddr3 ram.

    like this
    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
    CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.66 @ Amazon)
    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
    Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($92.99 @ Newegg)
    Total: $435.63
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-05 17:38 EST-0500)
    mobo and ram are quite high end even you could save some money there if you wanted to but this would be a very solid upgrade set.

  3. #3
    The Lightbringer
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    No reason to upgrade. You will get maybe 10 FPS increase. Just wait for the new tier. Maybe AMD unleashes something now or Intel something better than current. Your computer is like a table. You can't shape the two upper legs better than the lower. That will make the table unstable.

    I upgraded from a Intel duo 3,0 GHZ - 480 - 4gb ram
    Paid over two thousand dollars (norway) and my FPS increased slightly around 15-20 FPS overall. In intensive places from raids, I went from 15-20 FPS to 25-35 in 25. In my opinion not worth it.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by shroudster View Post
    with a $500 budget you can easily get a i5-3570k + aftermarket cooler + mobo + 8 Gb of ddr3 ram.

    like this
    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
    CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.66 @ Amazon)
    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
    Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($92.99 @ Newegg)
    Total: $435.63
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-05 17:38 EST-0500)
    mobo and ram are quite high end even you could save some money there if you wanted to but this would be a very solid upgrade set.
    Why the Corsair Platinums? :P Just recently bought two of the sets you linked, looks great that's why I got them but you don't need to spend 50eur more for it.

  5. #5
    Stood in the Fire slasher0161's Avatar
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    Ram clearance issues.

    Go with http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DKZK84/?tag=pcpapi-20 for ram instead and save yourself ~$30 in the process.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by belzifer View Post
    I´m thinking about upgrade my CPU and motherboard, some friends suggested me to buy a I7 3770, but I think that a I5 3570 will be fine for me (normally I only play WoW and SC2 1920 x 1080),
    i5-3570K is fine for gaming, i7-3770K for some 3d rendering jobs.

    Quote Originally Posted by belzifer View Post
    Which CPU should I buy? I7, I5 or check for an AMD equivalent?
    Intel processors do so much better in WoW that there's no real competition at the moment. If you can wait for a bit, Intel is supposed to release new processors in May/June. Upgrading then instead of now would be better idea because current motherboards will not work with the new processors.

    Quote Originally Posted by belzifer View Post
    This new CPU are going to require an aftermarket cooler?
    If you want to overclock then yes, but the processors come with basic cooler included in the box.

    Quote Originally Posted by belzifer View Post
    I´m going to notice a better performance compared to my current system?
    In 25man raids definitely, with any other content not so much.


    Quote Originally Posted by Kezotar View Post
    I upgraded from a Intel duo 3,0 GHZ - 480 - 4gb ram
    Paid over two thousand dollars (norway) and my FPS increased slightly around 15-20 FPS overall. In intensive places from raids, I went from 15-20 FPS to 25-35 in 25. In my opinion not worth it.
    Sounds like you did some poor upgrading choices or are running with silly graphics settings, gain should be much higher with i5-3570 for example.
    Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
    Trolling should be.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Kezotar View Post
    No reason to upgrade. You will get maybe 10 FPS increase. Just wait for the new tier. Maybe AMD unleashes something now or Intel something better than current. Your computer is like a table. You can't shape the two upper legs better than the lower. That will make the table unstable.

    I upgraded from a Intel duo 3,0 GHZ - 480 - 4gb ram
    Paid over two thousand dollars (norway) and my FPS increased slightly around 15-20 FPS overall. In intensive places from raids, I went from 15-20 FPS to 25-35 in 25. In my opinion not worth it.
    All those numbers you posted mean little to nothing without information such as your new system specs and what settings/res you run in game.
    i5-3570k @ 4.6Ghz | Phanteks TC14PE | Asus Sabertooth Z77 | Gigabyte GTX 1080 | 16GB Corsair Vengeance
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  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by BruceG87 View Post
    All those numbers you posted mean little to nothing without information such as your new system specs and what settings/res you run in game.
    Indeed ye :P

    IPC = single core performance, right? I mean for wow you really should look just at IPC performance & clocks.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Faithh View Post
    Indeed ye :P

    IPC = single core performance, right? I mean for wow you really should look just at IPC performance & clocks.
    IPC is one of the factors for single core performance yes.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instructions_per_cycle
    Intel i5-3570K @ 4.7GHz | MSI Z77 Mpower | Noctua NH-D14 | Corsair Vengeance LP White 1.35V 8GB 1600MHz
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  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Faithh View Post
    IPC = single core performance, right? I mean for wow you really should look just at IPC performance & clocks.
    IPC = instructions per cycle/clock, ie how many lines of code the processor runs in time x.
    IPC * clock speed is decent measure of single core performance.

    Lately Intel has increased ICP while AMD increased clock speed. In theory both ways should end up with same results if you can increase clock speed infinitely. In practice Intel tried it with Netburst processors (Pentium 4 line) decade ago and decided it was a fail, so it's rather curious AMD is repeating the same mistake today.
    Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
    Trolling should be.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by vesseblah View Post
    IPC = instructions per cycle/clock, ie how many lines of code the processor runs in time x.
    IPC * clock speed is decent measure of single core performance.

    Lately Intel has increased ICP while AMD increased clock speed. In theory both ways should end up with same results if you can increase clock speed infinitely. In practice Intel tried it with Netburst processors (Pentium 4 line) decade ago and decided it was a fail, so it's rather curious AMD is repeating the same mistake today.
    I think AMD is pretty much forced to do so, they are stuck at 40% or so behind Intel when it comes to IPC so their only choice is to go for higher clock speed or they won't be able to compete at all.
    Intel i5-3570K @ 4.7GHz | MSI Z77 Mpower | Noctua NH-D14 | Corsair Vengeance LP White 1.35V 8GB 1600MHz
    Gigabyte GTX 670 OC Windforce 3X @ 1372/7604MHz | Corsair Force GT 120GB | Silverstone Fortress FT02 | Corsair VX450

  12. #12
    The Patient Wrestler10307's Avatar
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    I just upgraded from a B50 as well, but I was using ddr3 and a gtx 470. I upgraded to the build in my sig and don't really see a huge difference in anything outside of games like Skyrim and other intensive games. If I were you, save up and go for a whole new build.
    Desktop: Antec Twelve-Hundred v3| ASUS VH236H | i5-3570k @ 4.5 | MSI 660ti PE | AsRock z77 Extreme4 | 16GB G.Skill 1866 | Havik 140 | Vertex 3 90gb Boot ssd | Kingston 240gb ssd | 620w Antec | Logitech G500, G510, G930
    Laptop: ASUS U36JC-B2B Tablet: HP Touchpad 16gb | Asus Infinity 32gb
    Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with 18-55mm IS & 75-300mm
    Armory: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/characte...en/Cc/advanced

  13. #13
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Faithh View Post
    Why the Corsair Platinums? :P Just recently bought two of the sets you linked, looks great that's why I got them but you don't need to spend 50eur more for it.
    just managed to fit em in while still having plenty of room in the budget was more like "aah hell why not"
    any other low low profile ram should also work fine. (but not a must with the evo 212 )
    other options for the budget could else include either an ssd or a higher end cooler perhaps?

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Wrestler10307 View Post
    don't really see a huge difference in anything outside ... intensive games.
    That's the whole point and don't require anybody to be a rocket surgeon to figure it out.
    If you play old games you don't need new computer. If you play new games or games that push the hardware, the upgrade gives bigger benefit.


    And in addition to people who still fail to understand it: WoW can not be counted as old game, it's graphics engine is as new as the latest expansion. Only some art assets from original release like vanilla races makes it look old.
    Last edited by vesseblah; 2013-02-06 at 08:37 AM.
    Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
    Trolling should be.

  15. #15
    Thank you for your advices guys, I´ll wait a bit to see the new Intel processors and then check price and performance. if they are to expensive probably I´ll take the I5 instead.

    One more thing, a friend of mine is selling me a cheap GTX 660ti, do you think that it will be a good upgrade from my 6870 or its better to save that money for other things?

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by belzifer View Post
    One more thing, a friend of mine is selling me a cheap GTX 660ti, do you think that it will be a good upgrade from my 6870 or its better to save that money for other things?
    It is a nice upgrade performance wise, though I'm not sure if you would notice it with only WoW and SC2. How much is he asking for it?
    Intel i5-3570K @ 4.7GHz | MSI Z77 Mpower | Noctua NH-D14 | Corsair Vengeance LP White 1.35V 8GB 1600MHz
    Gigabyte GTX 670 OC Windforce 3X @ 1372/7604MHz | Corsair Force GT 120GB | Silverstone Fortress FT02 | Corsair VX450

  17. #17
    He wants $250 for the GTX 660ti.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by belzifer View Post
    He wants $250 for the GTX 660ti.
    You can get a new 660Ti for that. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&SID=

    I wouldn't pay more than $180 for a used one.
    Intel i5-3570K @ 4.7GHz | MSI Z77 Mpower | Noctua NH-D14 | Corsair Vengeance LP White 1.35V 8GB 1600MHz
    Gigabyte GTX 670 OC Windforce 3X @ 1372/7604MHz | Corsair Force GT 120GB | Silverstone Fortress FT02 | Corsair VX450

  19. #19
    Well I suppose that I´m going to stick with my 6870 a little longer.

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