CPU Upgrade

[Pegason]

In a bit of a bind. While my i-5 2500 has served me well over the last 4 years I believe it's time to upgrade to the i-7 series. While I would like to get a whole new motherboard as well and case my current funds do not allow for this at the moment.

What would be the best i-7 processor I would be able to put in my machine as it is?

I was also thinking of a GPU upgrade in a little while but I don't think anything better will fit into my current case/motherboard setup as this one barely made it in as is. Thanks for any and all help!

Specs:
Motherboard - Asus P8 P67-M Pro (Rev 3.0) socket: 1156/1155
Processor- Intel i5-2500 3.30
RAM - 8 gb (2x4gb)
Graphics- Nvidia GeForce GTX 660
HDD- 250 gb ssd 1tb (standard) 500gb (standard)
PSu- Antec EarthWatts 650w Extra Quiet ATX Power Supply SLI & X-fire ready
Case: Antec Sonata IV

[Kagthul]

i7 CPUs for your socket are no longer being produced. You could get the i7 2600K, if you can find one, but it would likely cost more than a new i5 and motherboard.

The only i7 i can even find to fit your socket is the (locked) i7 2600, at 360$. It wouldnt perform any better than your i5, as the only difference between an i5 and i7 is that the i7 is Hyperthreaded; most games dont take any serious advantage of Hyperthreading anyway.

[Pegason]

What about the Intel i7-3770? I think it will work in my board just not sure if its worth getting as it was going for about $450 or saving up for a new case, cpu and mobo later. It would be a few months though.

[chazus]

Out of curiosity, why do you think you need to get an i7? An i7 is not a direct upgrade from the i5. It serves a different purpose/audience.

If your current i5 is lacking in performance, simply going to an i7 won't resolve that.

[Lathais]

The only differences between the i5 and the i7 are Hyperthreading and a larger cache. For gaming and most consumer grade tasks, the bigger cache will not make a difference. Games do not use Hyperthreading either. Really, unless you are doing a lot of video encoding or other high level things, there is not difference between the 2.

Not to mention that the 2500 is still one of the strongest CPUs on the market. It's an excellent CPU. We're talking maybe a 15% increase if you went to a Skylake 6600. It's not much.

What is it that makes you think it's time to upgrade? What is it that you are having problems doing?

[Sigo]

Upgrade your gpu with something like this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-Gra...ywords=r9+nano
if your case is on the tight side

[Warrax]

Not really an upgrade unless you REALLY need the extra 4 virtual threads (Hyperthreading) and both the 2000 and 3000 series of Intel CPUs are discontinued so you'll have to buy them used.

If it's for playing games, upgrade your GPU instead, an i5 is the recommended CPU for gaming.

You can always overclock if you have a K model.

[Nellah]

Even the non-K can bump another 4 bins on the multiplier I think.

OP, your CPU is fine, upgrade your GPU if you're looking to get a gaming boost in just about anything. You can (with a new power supply) fit an R9 Fury X in just about any case, for example, so you're not really limited by size. With 11 inches of clearance you can fit just about any GPU that doesn't use a three-fan cooling solution in that case.

[Pegason]

Most of the urgency for the cpu upgrade was because I was considering starting to stream games and possibly do some video editing (gaming and non gaming) but was advised to consider a stronger cpu if I was going to do so.

Apart from games like WoW I'm not running into anything other than some lower frame rates (40s) though the higher specs for Fallout 4 got me thinking I should get a new system and do some future proofing within the next year. I was thinking of holding off until the next socket comes out originally.

As for a new gpu my space inside the case is limited as the the gtx 660 I have just barely fits in there. I was looking at getting a newer desktop case down the road so I have more room to work when upgrading/swapping stuff out but haven't really looked at anything yet. Not looking for anything overly tall though.

[Deleted]

Most of the urgency for the cpu upgrade was because I was considering starting to stream games and possibly do some video editing (gaming and non gaming) but was advised to consider a stronger cpu if I was going to do so.

MY GOD JUST STOP!!! I see this every day, people worrying about stuff before even trying it out. Sure listen to advice and keep it in mind in case you encounter issues. But don't go looking for new cpu just because somebody said so, not before you see if you need it.

Common sense:
1. Think about what you want to do
2. Learn about it
3. Try it out
4. Consider whether or not you had any issues
5. Look for a way to solve issues

See how point 5 is the last on the list? that's where it's place is