Time for a CPU upgrade

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Coldfire17

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Sep 20, 2012
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I currently have an Intel i5 2500k, which I've had for a couple years now. I'm looking to upgrade it for better performance while gaming. I was looking at some of the new 4th gen Intel processors, namely the 4770k. Would a 4770k be the best option available right now, or should I go for one of those 5 ghz AMD processors? I'm just looking for solid gaming performance and don't care if I go AMD or Intel, so please don't be biased with your responses based on brand alone. Price is no object (within reason).

This:

http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3856#ov

is my current motherboard. I may need to upgrade that as well if it can't handle a better CPU. I'm not quite sure, so any assistance would be appreciated.
 
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Maxime506

Maxime506

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Apr 22, 2013
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The 5Ghz AMD FX-9590 is based on same process and architecture of FX-8350 but just clock higher so don't waste a dime on that. Plus 220W TDP will tear your mobo and PSU down.

i5-2500K is still strong. What u need to do is just overclock it w/ a good CPU cooler. There is no reason and no need to buy a 4770K CPU except u'r going to do some rendering or video editing. P.S 4th Intel CPUs are notorious of producing more heat than its predecessor.
 
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Coldfire17

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I currently have it clocked at 4.4 ghz, but it just doesn't seem to be cutting it in some games. I have two Titans installed so I don't think the bottleneck is there.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Few games use more than 2-3 cores, so today a 4670K with some sort of an overclock is about as good as it gets. It is a nice jump over a 2500K, but not huge.
If $550 or so is within reason, a 6 core 3930k with an overclock is reasonable.
The AMD architecture does not have the same performance per core that Intel does, so they do better in lower cost builds.
If you have not upgraded to a SSD, that would be my first suggestion.
For gaming, look at a Modern Graphics card like a GTX780 if you are using a single monitor.
If you are using a single monitor, are you using a 2560 x 1600 monitor?
If you are into triple monitor gaming, then you should be looking at a sli graphics implementation.
And... 4k monitors are coming. They should be reasonable in price in about a year.

The 4770K and a Z87 motherboard might be about the best upgrade for now.

 
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Coldfire17

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I have two Titans sli'd, two 1080p monitors, and a 500 GB SSD. Does your suggestion still stand with this updated info?
 
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KrazyKap

KrazyKap

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What do you mean by not cutting it in games? If you have low frame-rates, you might want to check all your hardware is running fine first.
Further than that, a 3930K would be very nice in such an expensive overall computer
 
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trekinator

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To make the best of two Titans you need a high-end CPU. Anandtech has an excellent article on the effect that different CPUs had on GPU-heavy system configurations:

http://anandtech.com/show/6985/choosing-a-gaming-cpu-at-1440p-adding-in-haswell-/1

The takeaway is that the i5-2500k is essentially as good as Intel's newest. At worst, you're leaving 10% FPS on the table (CIV 5). Looking forward, I would make sure to get a CPU with a fair amount of parallelism - four cores, at least. Games released for Xbox One and PS4 will be targeted at an AMD part with eight relatively slow cores, so getting a dual-core CPU to play their PC ports would be a mistake.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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I have two Titans sli'd, two 1080p monitors, and a 500 GB SSD. Does your suggestion still stand with this updated info?[/quotemsg]

A lot will depend on how cpu bound your games are, and how well they are multicore enabled. The two that need a lot of cpu are BF3 multiplayer, and FSX.
Few games play on dual screens, more on three.
If some three screen games appeal to you, you might add a third monitor.
There is really not a lot of benefit to triple sli on a single screen.

I think you might find the larger 2560 x 1600 monitors are a nice improvement visually.

With your graphics capability and budget, Go ahead and buy the current best, the 3930K and give it a nice overclock.

Here are a couple of things
To help clarify your options.
Run these two tests:

a) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 50%.
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.


Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
set to 50% and see how you do.


If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.


 
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