CPU upgrade help

Smokeydubbs

Honorable
Feb 20, 2013
8
0
10,510
I'm looking for an upgrade to my i7 950.

So far I've looked at these two:
i5-4590

i7-3770K

Now I don't overclock and I do a variety of tasks which include video editing, light engineering drawings, and gaming. Mostly use my computer to game.

I'm looking at both of these based off of the hierarchy charts and Best for the Money articles. Now the i5 is more cost efficient but I don't know the power difference to my current CPU. The i7 is a beast, just more expensive.

Any advise on these two or a better suggestion?
 
I'd say the 4590, since you're into gaming, this CPU is good enough to play almost any latest one at Ultra with solid FPS provided you have a powerful GPU.

Video Editing and light engineering are easy tasks for both the CPUs, so again the 4590 takes lead being cost effective.

Also, the 4590 uses the new chipsets and will therefore support Broadwell if ever you want to upgrade, which you really wouldn't want to in the next 4 years atleast.

Get the i5 and invest the money saved on a better GPU :)
 

Skynet928

Distinguished
Jan 20, 2012
44
0
18,530
Well in terms of gaming, I would say go with an AMD but since you are going to be doing some editing, I would say that intel is going to be your best bet since while they are both still very good processors, I am more of a gaming addict and I always seem to have a bit of better performance when I use AMD. I had benchmarked them and I noticed that AMD does better in gaming and Intel is more of a Graphics kind of CPU. People may feel free to comment on what I mentioned here.

In terms of the processors, I think they are both good and I would say go with the i5 since it is as you said, more cost efficient but at the same time, you would be giving up some multitasking power. Honestly, I think you could really remedy that problem if you were to simply go crazy with the ram and simply add in more with higher clock speeds, considering your mobo can support that. I know mine is capable of going up to 2133 but for now, I am happy with my 1800. I can also boost the max memory since I am running about 8 gigs when I can push as far as 32.

Ram really does make a difference but I wouldn't say too much of a difference although I could be wrong. I would double check with other experts before forking over cash for new ram.

The difference that I have seen between the two processors is that the i5 is a good balance of power and price but it is not so great at multitasking for the power user. The normal person would simply say, that is fast but the power users, such as ourselves, would notice. The i7 was really only designed to be for people that claim their computer is "too slow" per say and they made it a great CPU to multitask on. Now that I think about it, I think you may want to get an i7 if you don't want to risk the slowdown that the i5 may cause, not saying it will though.

Overall, if you want to multitask like a champ, i7, if you want cost efficiency, i5
 

Skynet928

Distinguished
Jan 20, 2012
44
0
18,530


I think we have a winner. That is good chip for the price. I think that it would be the best of both worlds. I would have to change my vote to this chip here if you really want to try and get some bang for your buck.
 

Obnoxious

Distinguished
Jul 24, 2012
610
0
19,360


Agreed. :D

Note to the OP: You'll need a dedicated/discrete graphics card to run the processor, as it doesn't have integrated graphics. With a GPU you'll be able to boot with the Xeon E3-1231v3 processor recommended by logainofhades, whereby the Xeon performs similar to the i7-4770 yet is more affordable.

If you don't have a dedicated GPU, then the Xeon CPU won't boot. If you're not going to purchase a dedicated GPU and are planning on using integrated graphics, you'll need to look for another processor (either the i5 or i7 you have initially selected).

Regardless the Xeon is a winner if you're going to purchase a dedicated GPU.

All the best. :)
 

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator
Living near a microcenter is always nice. Might want to look up their motherboard bundles. It might come out a bit cheaper, or similar price, getting an unlocked i7 and motherboard bundle as getting the Xeon and a motherboard. I generally don't suggest buying overclocking setups, unless you have a microcenter nearby. Their combo deals rock.

http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/intel-processor-bundles.aspx