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Best CPU for me?

523 views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  stephenn82 
#1 ·
EDIT;

So, i'm about make a few upgrades to my rig and i'm wondering what's going to be the best option for me going forward.

I'm currently running an i5 3570k at stock, 8gb 2133 RAM and a GTX 1070. I could add to my current setup but would require me to buy some better cooling to overclock and also an extra 8gb ddr3 RAM, which i don't really see as a worthwhile upgrade. I should also mention here that in order to fund my new build (if i was to basically start from scratch) i would be selling my old current components and a spare Benq XL2720Z monitor i have that i have just collecting dust. My budget would be around £300-£400

I only use my PC for gaming and everyday web browsing etc... with zero interest in any kind of productivity. I'm planning on gaming at 1080p 144hz for at least the next 3-4 years or so without upgrading. My i5 3570k is now starting to show its age in some of the newer titles, particularly AAA open world games. I'm not in that much of a rush as there's only really a handful of titles that's not running things as smoothly as i'd like, but i do however want to upgrade at some point in the near future.

What's going to be my best options moving forward? So far I've been leaning towards buying a used i7 6700k with 16gb of RAM for around £300 or potentially a ryzen 1600/1700 build. However, is it going to be worth my time to see what coffee lake comes up with as it offers the extra cores and may even drive down prices of some of the older cpus when it's released.

Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks
 
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#2 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tibz View Post

However, is it going to be worth my time to see what coffee lake comes up with as it offers the extra cores and may even drive down prices of some of the older cpus when it's released. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks
This is really a matter of your personal needs/wants for the time being; what you're saying here really adds to your choices:
  • A - Do I spend the ~£300 on the 6700k and 16Gb RAM, because I need it now and I'm tired of my current setup,
  • B - Do I spend the ~£300 on possibly a better CPU and the same 16Gb RAM, because I am willing to wait (and aspire at the possibility for even better components at the same price-point),
  • C - Do I spend even less than ~£300 on the same CPU and RAM when Coffee Lake releases, thereby saving money or allowing for possibly an upgrade somewhere else, or
  • D - Do I spend a little more than ~£300 on an even better CPU and the same RAM when Coffee Lake releases, since I'll have the time I would need to save the money for a higher budget?
Those are the possibilities I could possibly draw up based on what you're asking at the end - not to mention the progress AMD is making to further reduce Intel prices over time. Which one do you think most suits your current outlook?
 
#5 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tibz View Post

So, i'm about make a few upgrades to my rig and i'm wondering what's going to be the best option for me going forward. I'm currently running an i5 3570k, 8gb RAM and a GTX 1070. I only use my PC for gaming and everyday web browsing etc... with zero interest in any kind of productivity. I'm planning on gaming at 1080p 144hz for at least the next 3-4 years or so without upgrading. My i5 3570k is now starting to show its age in some of the newer titles. I'm not particularly in a rush as there's only really a handful of titles that's not running things as smoothly as i'd like, but i do however want to upgrade at some point in the near future. What's going to be my best options moving forward? So far I've been leaning towards buying a used i7 6700k with 16gb of RAM for around £300. However, is it going to be worth my time to see what coffee lake comes up with as it offers the extra cores and may even drive down prices of some of the older cpus when it's released. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks
You have a very modern and competitive chipset. At best you are looking at 15% gains in gaming from an upgrade, which is certainly not the worth the cost.

What games are stuttering for you? What does your CPU/RAM/GPU usage look like in those situations?

Based on your setup I'd recommend,

A) Increasing RAM to 16GB - this really should be the standard for any "performance" system these days
B) Overclocking your processor, which will put it on par or above modern chipsets at stock clocks in terms of performance.
 
#6 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by claes View Post

You have a very modern and competitive chipset. At best you are looking at 15% gains in gaming from an upgrade, which is certainly not the worth the cost.

What games are stuttering for you? What does your CPU/RAM/GPU usage look like in those situations?

Based on your setup I'd recommend,

A) Increasing RAM to 16GB - this really should be the standard for any "performance" system these days
B) Overclocking your processor, which will put it on par or above modern chipsets at stock clocks in terms of performance.
Not just quantity of RAM, if he's running older 1333 or 1600 RAM, he could benefit from getting 2400 or overclocking his RAM.
 
#7 ·
Overclock your CPU to 4.6~
and maybe buy 16gb of 2133 or 2400 if you still aren't satisfied

I would wait until coffee lake before full on upgrading in your situation.
 
#8 ·
I would wait a few months before doing a complete upgrade. Anything in the mainstream line right now up through the 7700k is fundamentally the same thing you have just running a little faster and supporting a few newer features. With higher core count CPU's finally becoming mainstream I would wait for Coffee Lake's supposed 6 core option. Game developers seem to finally be optimizing for more than 4 threads so a 6c/12t Coffee Lake chip would probably be a sizable upgrade and remain relevant a lot longer than another quad core.

In the meantime if you haven't overclocked your current chip absolutely do it. An overclocked Ivybridge can still match a stock Skylake or Kabylake from my experience. Faster RAM might help as well if you're running slow 1333MHz or 1600. What motherboard and power supply are you using? Do you have a decent aftermarket CPU cooler?
 
#9 ·
I concur with what is being said. 16GB ddr3 2400 would really awaken that system. The 3570k is still viable for gaming and general PC use. I kind of wish I still had my setup, but I upgraded to get into VMWares and helped my buddy who REALLY needed to upgrade his old i5-760. There is no reason to jump to anyhting new yet, wait til coffee lake/ryzen/threadripper/etc dust settles and see if those performance gains are worth it before getting a whole platform upgrade. 16gb of ram and an overclock to about 4.2ghz would really, really vastly improve what you have. I could get my old 3570k to 4.2 with 1.125v. give it a try!
 
#10 ·
Okay thanks for the replies, I've updated my op to show more info. What do you guys think about potentially going down the ryzen route with a 1600/1700 and just be done with it? Do you think the extra cores will help in a year or two to come with games potentially using the extra cores?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Duality92 View Post

Have you overclocked your processor? And what speed RAM are you running?
My processor is running at stock speed and I'm running 2133 RAM

Quote:
Originally Posted by claes View Post

You have a very modern and competitive chipset. At best you are looking at 15% gains in gaming from an upgrade, which is certainly not the worth the cost.

What games are stuttering for you? What does your CPU/RAM/GPU usage look like in those situations?

Based on your setup I'd recommend,

A) Increasing RAM to 16GB - this really should be the standard for any "performance" system these days
B) Overclocking your processor, which will put it on par or above modern chipsets at stock clocks in terms of performance.
Pretty much just modern open world titles (witcher 3, watchdogs 2, fallout 4). Not always stuttering but drops into the 40's at times depending on settings. I can fix most issues by messing around with graphics options and framerates but with a 1070 i really think the cpu is holding it back. I'd prefer to be north of 60 the entire time.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DangGucci View Post

This is really a matter of your personal needs/wants for the time being; what you're saying here really adds to your choices:
  • A - Do I spend the ~£300 on the 6700k and 16Gb RAM, because I need it now and I'm tired of my current setup,
  • B - Do I spend the ~£300 on possibly a better CPU and the same 16Gb RAM, because I am willing to wait (and aspire at the possibility for even better components at the same price-point),
  • C - Do I spend even less than ~£300 on the same CPU and RAM when Coffee Lake releases, thereby saving money or allowing for possibly an upgrade somewhere else, or
  • D - Do I spend a little more than ~£300 on an even better CPU and the same RAM when Coffee Lake releases, since I'll have the time I would need to save the money for a higher budget?
Those are the possibilities I could possibly draw up based on what you're asking at the end - not to mention the progress AMD is making to further reduce Intel prices over time. Which one do you think most suits your current outlook?
The sooner i upgrade the better tbh. Waiting longer means the value of my own components will also go down in market value, and as that's where ill get part of my funding from. So with that in mind i won't really save or gain any advantage in the markets shift in prices. The reason i lent towards the i7 6700k is because i know i can get one for £200 but it's hard to find decent prices on a used i7 7700k or ryzen chip as there just isn't as many about on the used market for that kind of price to performance.
 
#11 ·
You will still be in the 49l0s if you go ryzen. Its not the magical cure. Theowing mire cores at it doesnt always equal better performance, especially just for gaming. If you have that itch for ryzen, dont go any less than a 1700 chip.

Your system will surprise younonce you overclock it. Get rid of some ofnthose lows and frame drops. And another 8gb of ram (2133 speeds are actuall decent) and see how sit goes.

If you really want to sell it, the marketplace is an option. Reddit /r/hardwareswap may sell faster. A 3570k goes for roughly 75-80 dollars

Boom have a lead for you here
https://www.reddit.com/r/hardwareswap/comments/6j2i4z/usamdh_paypal_local_w_1155_motherboard_ddr3/
 
#12 ·
What is your current cooler, by the way?
 
#13 ·
Hrm... You should do some research before making any moves...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tibz View Post

Okay thanks for the replies, I've updated my op to show more info. What do you guys think about potentially going down the ryzen route with a 1600/1700 and just be done with it?
Waste of money IMO. You are really looking at 15% gains (i.e. 46fps vs 40fps).
Quote:
Do you think the extra cores will help in a year or two to come with games potentially using the extra cores?
Maybe but who knows (consoles are holding back development more than cores)
Quote:
Pretty much just modern open world titles (witcher 3, watchdogs 2, fallout 4). Not always stuttering but drops into the 40's at times depending on settings. I can fix most issues by messing around with graphics options and framerates but with a 1070 i really think the cpu is holding it back. I'd prefer to be north of 60 the entire time.
I do not think your CPU is holding back the GPU much:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17VRKPjyiTBx9Ewc2xkmaMZD2tA3gSOG3rNtH4OEiz3g/edit#gid=0
https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/luke-hill/amd-ryzen-7-1700x-cpu-review/8/ - here you can see the advantages of OC'ing your CPU.

Have you checked your CPU usage to verify? Again, OC'ing will help relieve this.
Quote:
The sooner i upgrade the better tbh. Waiting longer means the value of my own components will also go down in market value, and as that's where ill get part of my funding from. So with that in mind i won't really save or gain any advantage in the markets shift in prices. The reason i lent towards the i7 6700k is because i know i can get one for £200 but it's hard to find decent prices on a used i7 7700k or ryzen chip as there just isn't as many about on the used market for that kind of price to performance.
I dunno, you're looking at ~$200 for your setup. If I were you I'd just upgrade the CPU off of eBay, overclock it, and get some more RAM.
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by claes View Post

Hrm... You should do some research before making any moves...
Waste of money IMO. You are really looking at 15% gains (i.e. 46fps vs 40fps).
Maybe but who knows (consoles are holding back development more than cores)
I do not think your CPU is holding back the GPU much:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17VRKPjyiTBx9Ewc2xkmaMZD2tA3gSOG3rNtH4OEiz3g/edit#gid=0
https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/luke-hill/amd-ryzen-7-1700x-cpu-review/8/ - here you can see the advantages of OC'ing your CPU.

Have you checked your CPU usage to verify? Again, OC'ing will help relieve this.
I dunno, you're looking at ~$200 for your setup. If I were you I'd just upgrade the CPU off of eBay, overclock it, and get some more RAM.
The cpu (3770k) still sell for quite a bit. Its the only viable option other than a 2600k (downgrade)
 
#15 ·
3570k - goes for around $100, 3770k would be the upgrade
smile.gif
 
#16 ·
#17 ·
A 6700K is actually a good enough processor depending on your uses. Its single core performance is still top notch and its faster than any of the 4 core Ryzen 5s and competitive with the 6 cores in poorly optimized programs.

However this is going to be your big upgrade and waiting is not a bad idea since your parts have depreciated already. You can also get Ryzen 7 if you want to be future proofed. But for gaming a 6700k can handle anything.
 
#18 ·
Lets see this argument from a cost stand point.

Brand new 6700k 289-329 depending where you buy
Motherboard 129-240 depending on features wanted
New ram 16gb 115 (ddr4 cost is rising for r&d)
Total, 533 on low end, 680 upper end.

Used 3770k 160 avg
More ram 16gb is about 80 bucks for new ddr3 2400mhz. One could use 2133 without issues and save a frw bucks. Used 8gb of similar spec would be like 40 bucks to add a second 8gb kit. Reuse same board free

Cost 200 low end 240 upper end.

Difference in total cost 330-345.
Performance dofference?
Less than 15%.
Worth it? Up to the OP and their wallet.

I dont think its worth it for that much cost.

Main stream titles with 16gb of ram on a 3570k is still good enough at OC speeds. Not for much longer, but another payday or two to sock away money for a 3770k makes it easier.
 
#19 ·
Unless you're just itching to upgrade I'd ride it out until coffee lake releases. The Coffee Lake 6/12 is supposed to release in the same price bracket as current i7's 4/8.

I'd also avoid dropping anymore money into your current platform.
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chargeit View Post

Unless you're just itching to upgrade I'd ride it out until coffee lake releases. The Coffee Lake 6/12 is supposed to release in the same price bracket as current i7's 4/8.

I'd also avoid dropping anymore money into your current platform.
Agreed. If he wanta to do anything tontide over say until september, a measily 40-50 bucks would be worth it for the time being.
 
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