Currently have i5 2500k and need a huge upgrade. Which route should I take?

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cbt13

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As title says I have i5 2500k and I'm in need of a CPU upgrade. When I did my research in the past, I kept reading i5 2500k is as good as more expensive i7 CPUs when it comes to gaming (don't exactly know why). Even though it really is a good processor I found out that I actually do a lot more than gaming.

For example I often write scripts on various programming languages like AutoIt and need them to run fast. Or (the main reason I decided I need an upgrade) I run multiple virtual machines and run different OSs in them. Now, for tasks like these should I be looking for an i7 or i5?

And since my MB is socket 1055, I need to change that too for a 2011 one and that is kind of expensive. The cheapest I could find is 'MSI X79A-GD45plus X79'. My budget is around $500 and I want to upgrade my CPU and get a 128gb SSD. Maybe I should just look for the best 1055 socket CPU? What is the fastest 1055 socket CPU I can buy within my budget?

Considering I want a noticeable change in performance, should I go for the best CPU my outdated MB socket can handle or should I increase my budget a little and go different MB + CPU? (I'm not considering x99 because it is too expensive for me right now. I can maybe push my budget to $650, but even that is not enough for DDR4s and brand new x99 MB.)

Please help me with these questions.. Thanks a lot in advance :)

Edit: Lowered prices by ~35% because prices in Turkey is a lot higher than US :(
 
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MeteorsRaining

MeteorsRaining

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You can take the Haswell route for i7 or Xeons. They'll handle this well. Also, for $900, you can get LGA 2011-3 platform with DDR4:

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($384.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($74.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock X99M Extreme4 Micro ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($226.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($194.99 @ Adorama)
Total: $881.90

Upgrade the MoBo too, to Z97 and CPU to i7 if you wanna OC or Xeon if you want a more budget system with more or less equal performance, you'd get them under $500, MoBo included.
 
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cbt13

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Thanks a lot for the answer and the links, I appreciate it but since I'm in Turkey, the prices are a lot higher actually. (I should have probably said that earlier, sorry)

For example the cheapest i7-5820K I can find is $430 + taxes = $511

The same goes for all the products, and there is literally no DDR4s around at the moment.

So, considering all these, can you perhaps advice me another combo?
 
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MeteorsRaining

MeteorsRaining

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Oh ok, nevermind then. Can you provide me with the site you'll be using to get the components?

Considering everything is tad more expensive there, I'll give you some options:

OCing build:
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($338.95 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.52 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $505.46

Non OCing build:
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1241 V3 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($270.94 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $408.93
 
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cbt13

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The website is this: http://www.vatanbilgisayar.com

When you click the link of a product you can see the price of it in dollars on the top right side of the page, excluding taxes. And the money I'm planning to spend is ~1600 TL, that could make your job easier to compare prices. The TL prices are tax included.

I'll be checking the prices of the products you posted! Thanks a bunch mate!
 
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MeteorsRaining

MeteorsRaining

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The budget got everything I mentioned covered:

OCable build:
CPU: http://www.vatanbilgisayar.com/core-i7-4790k-soket-1150-44ghz-8mb-cache-22nm-islemci.html
MoBo: http://www.vatanbilgisayar.com/msi-z97-gaming-5-intel-z97-soket-1150-ddr3-3200mhzoc-dvidp-anakart.html
^That MoBo is better than the one I suggested.
CPU cooler: http://www.vatanbilgisayar.com/hyper-212-evo-lga775_1155_1156_1366_2011--am2_am2-am3_am3-_fm1-islemci-sogutucu.html
Total: ~1600 TL.

I couldn't find Xeons on those sites. So using i7 non-K:
CPU: http://www.vatanbilgisayar.com/core-i7-4790-soket-1150-36ghz-8mb-cache-22nm-islemci.html
MoBo: http://www.vatanbilgisayar.com/asus-z97-k-intel-z97-soket-1150-ddr3-3200mhzoc-hdmidvivga-anakart.html
Total: ~1250 TL.

 
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cbt13

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Yeah man, you're awesome, I couldn't imagine this kind of effort from a user!
The first combination looks doable, but I wonder how much of a change will I feel? I couldn't find comparisons between my 2500k and the 4790k except on gaming performance. Do you think I should ditch my 2500k for that amount of money?
What is the next more powerful CPU than 4790k?

And I already have this cooler:
http://www.vatanbilgisayar.com/x6-intel-lga-775_1155_1156_1366_2011-amd-am2_am2-_am3_am3-_fm1-islemci-sogutucu.html?srt=PU
 
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logainofhades

logainofhades

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Why not check bios support, for your current motherboard, and if it supports it with a bios update, just upgrade to an i7 3770k? That would be the most cost effective upgrade. A 3770k @ 4.0ghz, is going to perform within 5-10% of a 4790k. I have yet to see a K series chip that can't do 4.0ghz with ease.
 
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MeteorsRaining

MeteorsRaining

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Check out CPU benchmarks, not gaming, of 4790k, its considerably faster and better than any i5. A worthy upgrade.
The next step is hexa core i7, like 3930k, which'd not be feasable considering the budget.
You can minus the cooler then, yours is fine.
PS: Oh man, it just slipped from my mind completely to ask for the current MoBo, damn! Thanks logain, for suggesting the most appropriate thing in case his MoBo supports i7!
 
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logainofhades

logainofhades

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Making the move to Haswell, just to upgrade the CPU, is a waste of money, if you have an ivy capable system though.
 
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MeteorsRaining

MeteorsRaining

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Umm yeah I mentioned that in PS :/
 
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cbt13

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What I have (most probably) is this;
http://www.vatanbilgisayar.com/gigabyte-z97x-sli-intel-z97-soket-1150-ddr3-3000mhzoc-hdmidvi-anakart.html

Is it possible? I have 2500k and it is 1155 socket, right? so I have to have a 1155 MoBo? Even if the linked one isn't what I have, it isone of those ultra durable ones. (I don't have my PC right now unfortunately :( )
 
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cbt13

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Damn. Than I'm an idiot for posting a question like this when I don't know what my MoBo is.. :)

4790k seems really nice, but if 3770k doesn't require a MoBo change than I think it's better I go with that because it seems close enough to 4790k.

Thank you both for your answers, really. I'll get back to my PC in a day or two, and when I do I'll update this thread with the MoBo info. Any chance you'll help me again? :)
 
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cbt13

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I made a call to Vatan Computer and turns out I have
-Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H

I couldn't get the revision info though but I highly suspect it was 1.0 because both it was a new card and Vatan never actually brings in newer revisions.

So tell me gentlemen, is 3770k possible? :)
 
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MeteorsRaining

MeteorsRaining

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You're very lucky there, a great MoBo which supports i7 3770k! You absolutely don't need to upgrade now. Rev 1.0 supports that i7 since BIOS F8, and its highly likely you already have that from factory since the update was implemented just a month after the initial release.
Check if your BIOS is F8 or F7, it should be 8. If not, you can get the required update here as well, you'll need to install it:
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4153#bios
 
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cbt13

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Great! But from some recent reviews I've read, the 3770k don't have VT-d (Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O) enabled. So it may not be the best choice for running multiple VMs. But again it should still perform much better than my i5 considering it is slightly faster on single thread and it supports hyper threading, am I right?

Currently my plan is to buy a 3770k and about a year later (when the prices are lower) make the transition to x99 and DDR4s.

But if you think I won't get much of a difference on VMs, and on some other tasks that utilize HT maybe I should still invest in 4790k. What are your final thoughts on this?
 
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MeteorsRaining

MeteorsRaining

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This thread discusses this very topic in detail:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/339858-28-3770-3770k-virtual-machines

You can go for non-K version to get that tech enabled, won't make much difference in performance though. The official Intel representative there said:

Back in the early 90s Creative Labs wanted their sounds cards to always have DMA 9 (I forget which one). The issue that came up is that at times other components would want that same DMA which would cause a conflict and a crash. While this won't cause that same type of crash today the issue is with VT-d you make sure that your VM goes to the first of the line on getting access to that hardware (i.e. NIC ports, Graphics etc.). This doesn't mean that you have to have VT-d it just means that there are some VMs that may need this type of support to be as effective as possible.

So most of the time it is just a matter of performance but check with the virtulization software that you are using to see if demands assigned hardware for the VMs.
Click to expand...

IMHO, I'd get the K version, altough VMs won't get VIP treatment to be first in line for hardware, it'll still make considerable difference over i5. The difference is not noticible, that's what I get from the discussion.
 
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cbt13

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I wish I asked a few questions here before I initially bought my current PC. I did not expect this kind of help. I sometimes ask around on reddit but.. Compare them to you guys, they are the devil himself! :D

I can't thank you enough. Is there anything I can do for you?
 
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