Below are the specs on my current PC. I just upgraded my GPU to the 1060 GTX and feel like I could get an even bigger boost in performance if I also upgraded my CPU. I'd like to keep things as cheap and simple as possible, but I'm not sure if I can.
Is there a CPU I can get for my 1155 motherboard that will give me a worthwhile performance boost for around $200? Or am I basically stuck upgrading my CPU, Mobo, and ram to get any kind of worthwhile increase?
I'm currently playing Battlefield One and Destiny 2, plus some older games.
Intel Core i5 3570K 3.4GHz LGA 1155 Processor
GA-Z77-DS3H LGA 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard
1060 GTX 6 GB
12 GB RAM
Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
The problem is you have the oddball 1155 socket. I have the same thing in the box I run pfSense on, and you are limited to 2nd and 3rd Gen i-series processors. I would recommend saving up and buying a complete mobo/cpu/ram upgrade with 7th gen+ and DDR4.
I don't think you're going to do anything significantly better across the board for $200. You could potentially find an i7 from the same generation on eBay for under $200. But you would only see gains in a few games that specifically utilize more than 4 cores.
If you want to see more than a few frames here or there, you're going to need a platform upgrade.
I would also say that the 3570k is a pretty fair match up with the GTX 1060. You could certainly do better. But no one would look at that pairing and think it's outrageously unbalanced. It's not like you're matching a 1080ti with g4560 Pentium. If you do upagrade your platform, you get to move up to DDR4 Memory, you can utilize m.2 NVME drives, all of your USB ports would be 3.0, maybe even usb type C, all of your Sata ports would be 6 GB/s, you could get a WiFi capable board. So there are other tangible benefits beyond pure FPS when you upgrade from a 5 year old platform.
The only logical CPU upgrade you can make is to an i7-3770K. Hyper-threading is nice, but the upgrade is actually more on-die cache. I'm not sure how much it would be worth it though. Your system would feel a little smoother, but there wouldn't be a huge difference in performance.
If you haven't overclocked your CPU, you should definitely do that.
The closest I would spend to $100 on a CPU cooler would be a Noctua NH-D15S and that's way too much cooling capacity for this processor. I would get a NH-U14S or Phanteks PH-TC12DX. Even an affordable Cryorig H7 would handle the job quite well.
I asked this same question on the Hardforums and they said I should also just overclock for now, so I will do that.
So just to be clear, I should find a used i7-3770 and a cooler. Or should I just overclock my i5-3570k? I've never overclocked before so I'm new to this whole process.
I asked this same question on the Hardforums and they said I should also just overclock for now, so I will do that.
So just to be clear, I should find a used i7-3770 and a cooler. Or should I just overclock my i5-3570k? I've never overclocked before so I'm new to this whole process.
Overclock first and decide if you need more performance. If you don't have an aftermarket cooler now, you should get one. Intel's stock cooler is not suited for overclocking. Not sure why Intel doesn't offer a good CPU cooler for overclocking with their unlocked processors.
Hyper 212+ or evo would be a cheap aftermarket cooler that would be far better than a stock cooler. I have a 2500K@4.6 with a 212+. Hits around 70c under stress test. Be sure to get a good thermal compound, not sure what is the best these days(I still have a tube I bought years ago lol)
Below are the specs on my current PC. I just upgraded my GPU to the 1060 GTX and feel like I could get an even bigger boost in performance if I also upgraded my CPU. I'd like to keep things as cheap and simple as possible, but I'm not sure if I can.
Is there a CPU I can get for my 1155 motherboard that will give me a worthwhile performance boost for around $200? Or am I basically stuck upgrading my CPU, Mobo, and ram to get any kind of worthwhile increase?
I'm currently playing Battlefield One and Destiny 2, plus some older games.
Intel Core i5 3570K 3.4GHz LGA 1155 Processor
GA-Z77-DS3H LGA 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard
1060 GTX 6 GB
12 GB RAM
Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Guys, hate to be the bearer of some bad news but I wouldn't go for a huge OC on that chip with this particular board.
There is no VRM cooling, or a lot of power phases, it was not meant to push chips much.
There are two versions of this 1.0 with only a 4-pin CPU power connector (worst case) or 1.1 which at least has an 8-pin.
If it's the latter you could get away with something mild, but it's really not worth blowing your board trying to push the chip.
If you really want to push your chip, my suggestion would be to find a decent OCing board used/cheap along with a decent cooler.
Guys, hate to be the bearer of some bad news but I wouldn't go for a huge OC on that chip with this particular board.
There is no VRM cooling, or a lot of power phases, it was not meant to push chips much.
There are two versions of this 1.0 with only a 4-pin CPU power connector (worst case) or 1.1 which at least has an 8-pin.
If it's the latter you could get away with something mild, but it's really not worth blowing your board trying to push the chip.
If you really want to push your chip, my suggestion would be to find a decent OCing board used/cheap along with a decent cooler.
You seem to be the only person who's made this suggestion. Everyone else here and on Hardforum has said to just buy a cooler and OC. How serious should I take what you're saying given that's the case?
You seem to be the only person who's made this suggestion. Everyone else here and on Hardforum has said to just buy a cooler and OC. How serious should I take what you're saying given that's the case?
Why no-one else has said anything likely has to do with the fact they didn't bother to look up your board.
Which revision of the board do you have 1.0 or 1.1 with the 8-pin?
There is no option in BIOS to up the v-core for the chip.
You will be able to up the multiplier on the chip until it is not stable. but that's it.
The board is like this for a reason - it's not meant to be pushed hard with limited power phases, no VRM cooling and possibly only a 4-pin connector if you have the 1st revision of it.
Why no-one else has said anything likely has to do with the fact they didn't bother to look up your board.
Which revision of the board do you have 1.0 or 1.1 with the 8-pin?
There is no option in BIOS to up the v-core for the chip.
You will be able to up the multiplier on the chip until it is not stable. but that's it.
The board is like this for a reason - it's not meant to be pushed hard with limited power phases, no VRM cooling and possibly only a 4-pin connector if you have the 1st revision of it.
I just checked and I have rev 1.0. So can you help me find a new mobo to use? I'd prefer something smaller than a full ATX if possible so that I can use a smaller case.
I will then get the H7 cooler that was recommended and OC with that.
On second thought, do you guys think I should just upgrade? I don't mind putting down like $300 for a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM if that will be easier. I just wanted to do the simplest thing in terms of getting more power, but getting a new motherboard, cooler, and now overclocking is much more complicated than I was hoping for.
Depends a lot on if you can find a used Z77 board at a reasonable price (checking forums here is your best option)
If you sell your chip ($85-90 seems to be going rate on eBay) you're in NYC so you could go to the Microcenter in Queens.
Based on your budget and (if this is strictly for gaming) you could get an i7 7600k for $180 + $30 discount on a compatible board. Then pickup some RAM and a HSF
If you wanted to go AMD and had more use for the core count you could get a R51600 for $170 and do the same kind of bundle deal.
Depends a lot on if you can find a used Z77 board at a reasonable price (checking forums here is your best option)
If you sell your chip ($85-90 seems to be going rate on eBay) you're in NYC so you could go to the Microcenter in Queens.
Based on your budget and (if this is strictly for gaming) you could get an i7 7600k for $180 + $30 discount on a compatible board. Then pickup some RAM and a HSF
If you wanted to go AMD and had more use for the core count you could get a R51600 for $170 and do the same kind of bundle deal.
I think I will just buy a new bundle from Microcenter and sell my existing CPU, motherboard, and RAM on eBay.
I'm looking on Microcenter's site and don't see an i7-7600k. Did you mean the i5-7600k? I found one for $180 and with the below motherboard it bundles to $260. Would you recommend that?
Yes, they meant i5 and not i7. It's going to be a while before you could get an unlocked Skylake or Kaby Lake i7 for under $200.
Literally any RAM kit in your budget will work. Decide which capacity and speed you want and then buy the most affordable kit with those specifications. Paying up for tighter timings isn't worth it. The only other consideration I would make is RAM heat spreader height.
I think I will just buy a new bundle from Microcenter and sell my existing CPU, motherboard, and RAM on eBay.
I'm looking on Microcenter's site and don't see an i7-7600k. Did you mean the i5-7600k? I found one for $180 and with the below motherboard it bundles to $260. Would you recommend that?
Yep typo on my part there, i5 7600K is what I meant.
That board will definitely do the trick (it's not mATX which I think you were looking for but if that's not end of the world to you it's a good deal), pair that with a decent kit of RAM + HSF and you'll be good
You'll go over $300 initially but will recoup all that by selling the current board/chip/RAM you have now.
I had a ga-z77mx-d3h motherboard and 3570k, ran 4.6ghz at 1.368vcore regularly. Gave it to my nephew, running 4.5ghz at 1.33vcore with thermalright macho.
You could add heatsinks to the vrm, or simply look for a used package deal for a 3770k or 4790k cpu and z77 or z97 motherboard... this way you don't need to buy new memory.
There really isn't that much of a difference in performances from ddr3 to ddr4, if you can get the ddr3 up above 2133-2400.
Yea your HDD will work fine with everything (eventually you should get a SSD for programs and OS, and leave the 1TB for games)
As for RAM, I'd go for a 16GB kit there are enough games now that will chew through more of it where it's not too high of a figure.
Newegg has a few kits for $140, Gskill 2666 and Gskill 2400, if you don't mind the blue head spreaders vs red going for the higher frequency is the same price.
Also as stated you'll need to get an aftermarket cooler, the one you picked out before is compatible and pretty inexpensive.
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