Want to upgrade my Core2Duo E7400: Go with a Ivy Bridge config or the latest Haswell config?

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propcsanu

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Sep 24, 2013
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Hi
I am faced with a true dilemma.I have been using a 4 year old Core 2 Duo E7400 with 2 GB ram and no GPU.I am on a drive for upgradation now but I have a major doubt.I have been looking at Core i5 Ivy bridge for quite some time and almost decided on i5- 3570 ( no O.C) when the Haswell released . Now 4th gen has all new architecture and socket so I guess I have to decide on new motherboard and all. Now I am torn between i5 3rd gen + b75 mobo vs I5- 4th gen + z87 mobo . Now What I am sure of is a 4 GB DDR3 Ram / AMD HD 6670 or better GPU /1 TB HDD .Well I am not a hard gamer I might not be able to play games more that 1-2 hrs a day. But I do some average office work , some very light photoshop / video editing ( all personal use ),and mostly listen to music or HD movies of different formats. Please help me suggest from the above.
Thanks Sanu
 
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There is no dilemma, you are drastically over thinking it.

Both the 3rd or 4th gen i5's will need a new motherboard as they use different sockets than the e7400 you have now.

Going off the fact that you have a 4 year old PC and that there is little performance difference between the 3rd/4th gen (~10% at same clock speeds) so as long as you get the 3570&motherboard for less than the compariable 4th gen/mobo you'll be very happy with it.

I'd recommend increasing the ram and getting at least 2x4GB (and using a 64bit OS) as any video editing/photoshop work greatly benefits from more ram.

A 6670 isn't a bad light duty gaming card, many here will laugh at it as it's not a 6990, but for $75 it's a lot better than not having it. Just don't...
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logainofhades

logainofhades

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Apr 27, 2009
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Ivy and z87 would cost quite a bit more than ivy and B75. There are B85/H87 options though if you want to go with haswell. Personally, if you are not an overclocker, plan on using that discrete gpu, and are going to keep your system for awhile, this is a great Intel option for the $$$.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $289.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-24 10:11 EDT-0400)
 
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menetlaus

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Jul 19, 2007
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There is no dilemma, you are drastically over thinking it.

Both the 3rd or 4th gen i5's will need a new motherboard as they use different sockets than the e7400 you have now.

Going off the fact that you have a 4 year old PC and that there is little performance difference between the 3rd/4th gen (~10% at same clock speeds) so as long as you get the 3570&motherboard for less than the compariable 4th gen/mobo you'll be very happy with it.

I'd recommend increasing the ram and getting at least 2x4GB (and using a 64bit OS) as any video editing/photoshop work greatly benefits from more ram.

A 6670 isn't a bad light duty gaming card, many here will laugh at it as it's not a 6990, but for $75 it's a lot better than not having it. Just don't pay over $75 for it, otherwise there are better options.
 
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