Suitable CPU upgrade from i5 2500

RunBack159 · Apr 15, 2014

Hey guys, back again.

I've recently purchased a KFA2 EX OC 760, which I overclocked further, and a new HDD. Now, it seems all that's left is to upgrade my CPU, which is an i5 2500 non K. What are some reasonable upgrades (max £200). I game a lot and it works great, but when I stream my CPU is bottlenecking my system. 1080p, 60FPS, 3000 bitrate, CPU reaches 100% usage and slows everything down.

?=CPU runs at 3.30, is there any point using the turbo boost in ET6?

? = What is a suitable CPU, which is sort of future proof.

CTurbo · Apr 15, 2014

The is my best recommendation

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/12yDJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/12yDJ/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/12yDJ/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£137.03 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£54.56 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £191.59
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-15 23:54 BST+0100)

daswilhelm · Apr 15, 2014

assuming your motherboard has a bios update available to use 3rd gen chips, an i7 3770 would be your only upgrade path. but your cpu is still very decent so the upgrade wouldnt be earth shattering in difference.

Zircoben · Apr 15, 2014

The Intel i5-4670K seems like the pretty obvious choice (with a new MoBo obviously), but it really is not much more powerful than that i5-2500. I would try reinstalling Windows and maybe getting an SSD. If you want a future-proof update that will give you a significant jump in performance, you will have to spend more than £200 and get an i7.

Good luck!

CTurbo · Apr 15, 2014

If you don't want to change motherboards, I would see if the Xeon e3-1230v2 is compatible.

RunBack159 · Apr 15, 2014

Oh, my motherboard is Z68AP-D3. I'm sort of confused. That i5 is 3.2ghz, my i5 is 3.3?

CTurbo · Apr 15, 2014

The Intel i5-4670K seems like the pretty obvious choice, but it really is not much more powerful than that i5-2500. I would try reinstalling Windows and maybe getting an SSD. If you want a future-proof update that will give you a significant jump in performance, you will have to spend more than £200 and get an i7.

I do not believe the 4670k is the "obvious choice" and there are several i7s that can be had for much less than £200 including my two favs-

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/xzN9
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/xzN9/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/xzN9/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor (£169.62 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £169.62

and

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/1VOrt
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/1VOrt/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/1VOrt/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor (£183.48 @ Aria PC)
Total: £183.48

Optimus_Toaster · Apr 15, 2014

What is your motherboard? If it is a P67/Z68/Z77 then get a i7 2600K. They can be found new with warranty on ebay for £200. The hyperthreading will help with streaming and the unlocked multiplier will help with everything!

RunBack159 · Apr 15, 2014

Optimus_Toaster :

Yup it's a z68

CTurbo · Apr 15, 2014

The 4570 is two generations newer than the 2500 and would be around 15% faster. It's about the best you can do for under £200 if you want a new motherboard too.

daswilhelm · Apr 15, 2014

CTurbo :

why recommend something thats 10% faster when he's hitting 100% usage? he's still going to hit 100%.

upgrading to a 4570 is the worst option of any that have been given.

Zircoben · Apr 15, 2014

CTurbo :

I agree. Wasn't thinking of Xeons, just the latest Haswell i-series chips. However, don't you think that the E3-1230 won't be enough of a boost from his i5-2500? It may be for now, but I don't think it is future-proof. You may want to look at more expensive chips, whether those be i7s or Xeons.

CTurbo · Apr 15, 2014

Since you have a Z68, I also recommend the i7 2600k, 2700k, or 3770k

RunBack159 · Apr 15, 2014

If there is nothing under £200 that can give a decent boost to my i5, I'll be open to any and all other options for anything under £400. Just to clarify, some of the recommended CPU's in this thread have 3.3ghz or lower, does that not matter?

CTurbo · Apr 15, 2014

upgrading to a 4570 is the worst option of any that have been given.

Like I said, it was the best option under 200 IF he wanted to upgrade motherboards too

I think the 1230v2 would be a good upgrade because it's a newer generation with a 15-20% performance boost per core and it also adds hyperthreading and more L3 cache.

daswilhelm · Apr 15, 2014

CTurbo :

how is that an option for under $200 when changing a motherboard? are there free motherboards out there?

Optimus_Toaster · Apr 15, 2014

4670 is definitely the worst upgrade, all the others offer hyperthreading or an unlocked multiplier.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-Quad-Core-i7-2600K-3-4GHz-8MB-Cache-OEM-LGA-1155-CPU-1-YEAR-WARRANTY-/370866758336?pt=UK_Computing_CPUs_Processors&hash=item565961a2c0

This was the cheapest 2600K I could find at the moment.

CTurbo · Apr 15, 2014

how is that an option for under $200 when changing a motherboard? are there free motherboards out there?

What?

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/12yDJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/12yDJ/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/12yDJ/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£137.03 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£54.56 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £191.59
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-15 23:54 BST+0100)

daswilhelm · Apr 15, 2014

oh, pounds.

still doesn't matter if that combo was had for half that price, there is no performance increase there.

CTurbo · Apr 15, 2014

If there is nothing under £200 that can give a decent boost to my i5, I'll be open to any and all other options for anything under £400. Just to clarify, some of the recommended CPU's in this thread have 3.3ghz or lower, does that not matter?

Each generation adds ~10% boost in single core performance at the same clock speed. That's why the lower clocked 4570 is still ~15% faster than the 2500 because it is two generations newer.

I completely agree that a 15% performance increase is not worth it.

I really recommend an i7 of some form on your current mobo whether it's the 1230v2 or the 2600k, 2700k, or 3770k

RunBack159 · Apr 15, 2014

OK thanks guys. So if I were to get the i7 3770K, would that be a significant increase and future proof?

Zircoben · Apr 15, 2014

RunBack159 :

That is probably a 30-40% increase, and you will feel it.

CTurbo · Apr 15, 2014

Yes it would be a very significant upgrade and would last for years.

Suitable CPU upgrade from i5 2500

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