Worth upgrading a Core i7-940?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
FreyjasChosen

FreyjasChosen

Distinguished
Jan 8, 2009
101
0
18,680
Hello, Community!

I've been doing a lot of research into whether I should upgrade my gaming PC or buy one of the next-gen consoles, and I'm very tempted to just buy a new PC. So I'm wondering, is it worth upgrading from a Core i7-940 that I bought in 2010 to one of the newer CPUs? I'd have to get a new motherboard and maybe even some new RAM, so I'm looking at a $500+ decision here.

I wish I could find a performance comparison between the older Core i7s and the newer models, but no luck so far.

What do you guys think?
 
Solution
H
The R9 280X is a good choice :)

As for the processor here are some benchmarks:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7+940+%40+2.93GHz

In reality the gap isn't that big because games don't stress your proc for every bit of performance like benchmarking software.
Your i7-940 has four physical cores at 2.93 Ghz and hyperthreading to make 8 operating threads.
Each core is a lot slower than that of newer i5's and i7's, so your performance in applications that don't use all of them will be very low in comparison. That includes most games that have been released.

So technically, yes a new processor like the 8350, 3770k, or even the Ivy and Haswell i5's will be a very big improvement.
Sort by date Sort by votes
H

huilun02

Splendid
Feb 29, 2008
4,324
0
24,960
If you find framerate to be low or having to turn down graphic detail in games, that's a good reason to upgrade. Otherwise it's just the little guy in your pants looking for attention.

What is your graphics card anyway? The problem might not be your processor at all.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
FreyjasChosen

FreyjasChosen

Distinguished
Jan 8, 2009
101
0
18,680


Hello, huilun02! My graphics card is an Nvidia GTX 295, which I am definitely going to be upgrading, probably to the R9 280X. I am certain that I should get a new video card since I don't even have DirectX 11 right now, but I don't have any information comparing the Core i7-940 to, say, the 3820 or 3770K.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
H

huilun02

Splendid
Feb 29, 2008
4,324
0
24,960
The R9 280X is a good choice :)

As for the processor here are some benchmarks:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7+940+%40+2.93GHz

In reality the gap isn't that big because games don't stress your proc for every bit of performance like benchmarking software.
Your i7-940 has four physical cores at 2.93 Ghz and hyperthreading to make 8 operating threads.
Each core is a lot slower than that of newer i5's and i7's, so your performance in applications that don't use all of them will be very low in comparison. That includes most games that have been released.

So technically, yes a new processor like the 8350, 3770k, or even the Ivy and Haswell i5's will be a very big improvement.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
FreyjasChosen

FreyjasChosen

Distinguished
Jan 8, 2009
101
0
18,680
Thanks, that's exactly the kind of performance charting that I was looking for. I think it clearly shows I'd see a significant performance increase by upgrading.

I'll leave the thread open for a day so others can contribute, but you gave me the answer.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
H

huilun02

Splendid
Feb 29, 2008
4,324
0
24,960
As for the rest of the components, get at least 8GB of DDR3 1600Mhz

Some suggestions for motherboard and processor:
Mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138380
CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116899

Too expensive?
Mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157297
CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

Still too expensive?
Mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128519R
CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284

What is your PSU by the way? Hopefully you don't have to change it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom