i7 3770k or i5 3570k for future proof

wianthesnaar · Oct 19, 2013

Hi, I bought an ivy bridge system after haswell was released (I was not willing to spend even $1 extra for 5%- no performance boost) I have a radeon 7750 at the moment, I can buy an i5 and upgrade to a radeon 7870 2GB. Or I can get an i7 an some extra RAM.
Which upgrade will give me more performance? Also would like to be as future proof as possible.
(PURE GAMING SYSTEM, NOTHING ELSE)

aznricepuff · Oct 19, 2013

For gaming, the i5-3570k + 7870 will give you more performance.

wianthesnaar · Oct 19, 2013

Will I see ANY performance difference with an i7?

aznricepuff · Oct 19, 2013

Not likely in gaming. Maybe in the future when games start leveraging multiple cores better (but then those games would probably need something better than the 7750 on the GPU front as well).

In any case with an i7-3770k and 7750 you have too little power in your GPU and too much in your CPU. i5-3570k with 7870 is a better balance.

wianthesnaar · Oct 19, 2013

Which GPU wont bottleneck the i7? I have an old 775 system to sell and can maybe get enough money there

aznricepuff · Oct 19, 2013

Honestly the i7-3770k is fast enough that very few (currently-available) games will ever put it under full load unless you are running triple surround with SLI/CFX. At this point the question you should be asking is "what is the best GPU I can get for my money?" I don't know your exact budget, but the R9 280x is probably the best mid-budget GPU ($300 range) out there now. If you want to go a bit lower on the price scale then the GTX 760 or GTX 660 Ti are good options at $250. The 7950 is another option that you can find for $200-250 depending on what version/manufacturer you pick.

Lord_Kitty · Oct 19, 2013

wianthesnaar :

The 3570K cannot be bottlenecked with a single card. Even for two cards, its unlikely. It may start bottlenecking the system with triple cards system. There are a few rare games that have a performance benefit with the i7, but that's nothing to big.

Its not worth the jump to the 3770K. By the time you will need that kind of processing power, there will be newer, better CPUs on the market.

A 3570K on a good Z77 motherboard will be good for 2 or more years if you overclock.

wianthesnaar · Oct 19, 2013

I have a cheap MSI H61 G3 motherboard, I reckon its a sandy bridge with bios update. Would an i5/i7 still function optimally?

Lord_Kitty · Oct 19, 2013

wianthesnaar :

Yes, it would work, but you won't be able to overclock an unlocked CPU.

If you don't want to buy another motherboard, you might go for a non-K CPU.

wianthesnaar · Oct 19, 2013

Ok thanks, I think i'll be able to get the non K i7 3770 and still get a 7870.

wianthesnaar · Oct 19, 2013

I live in South Africa and the components obviously somewhat more expensive. I can get a 7870 for roughly $230, Do you think its a good deal?

Lord_Kitty · Oct 19, 2013

wianthesnaar :

If you will be just gaming, I suggest going for the i5 3470 or better. But if you really want the i7, then its your choice.

As for the graphics card, I would wait for the R9 series to be available. The R9 270X is basically a faster 7870 at around the same price. Plus there might be a price drop on the currently available cards.

wianthesnaar · Oct 19, 2013

www.landmarkpc.co.za Can you select a cpu and graphic card from there? Its the most up to date shop available here and I see they already have the R9 series

wianthesnaar · Oct 19, 2013

I dont want to upgrade for a a few years, thats why i'm planning on the i7. I'll upgrade my graphic card if i need to

Lord_Kitty · Oct 21, 2013

wianthesnaar :

Sorry for the late reply. I didn't have time to get back on the forums.

Anyways, if you don't want to buy a new motherboard, go for an i7 3770 (non-K). Another thing you could do is buy a 3770K and upgrade to a Z77 motherboard later when you can afford it.

As for the graphics card, the 7870 is a good enough card for 1080p gaming. The R9 270X is basically a faster 7870. But I think you don't have the Never Settle bundle with it.

wianthesnaar · Oct 21, 2013

Do you think the 1155 socket components will still be available for some time?

wianthesnaar · Oct 21, 2013

Also, what would i need other than the Z77 board to OC?

Lord_Kitty · Oct 21, 2013

I see your shop doesn't keep stocks of old motheboards. If you can find LGA 1156 or even 1336 motherboards now, chances are you will find 1155 mobos later.

That was only a suggestion. If you feel you won't be able to find a good Z77 motherboard later, don't do that.

wianthesnaar · Oct 21, 2013

I believe they removed the 1156 and 1366 listings about 4 months ago, if I remember correctly. Do you think I wasted my money on getting Ivy bridge? There is no upgrade path

Lord_Kitty · Oct 21, 2013

wianthesnaar :

No, not really. I went with Ivy Bridge too, very close to the release of Haswell. Intel changes socket with every new thing they add to their CPU.

If you don't plan to upgrade every 2 years, (shouldn't need to, given that games are less CPU bound nowadays), you will likely need a new motherboard anyway.

Plus, there are rumors that current LGA 1150 motherboards will be electrically incompatible with upcoming CPUs despite being on the same socket.

Even if you did go for a Haswell CPU, by the time you will need a new CPU, there will almost surely be a new socket available.

wianthesnaar · Oct 21, 2013

Ok thanks. I'm then thinking of spending most of my money ($500) on a graphic card then (at least they tend to use the same port for more than a year). I've got a Pentium G2020 at the moment and I would really like to play more intensive games. Anyway, Thanks for all the help.

i7 3770k or i5 3570k for future proof

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