Used i7 3970x a worthwhile upgrade in 2016?

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Manu Suriadas

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Aug 16, 2014
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Hi, My current rig is :

Fx 6300 3.5 ghz
Gigabyte R9 390 8gb
16 gb ram..

I game on 1080p monitor.

So, I've decided its time for a CPU upgrade so i have got my eyes on a used i7 3970x extreme Cpu for 185$ and an ASUS PX79 mobo for 180$ from eBay..

Is this a wise choice? I am perfectly happy with my new 1080p monitor and i dont intent to upgrade my monitor anytime soon.
 
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synphul
The 212 evo may work so long as the cpu isn't under too much load. If it works the 212 evo will be running pretty hard most likely. The 212 evo's rating for cooling capacity is 180w tdp, that cpu has a 150w tdp output which pushes it awfully close to its max cooling design. It would probably end up a case where if left at stock the 6 core i7 would do fine in situations where a handful of cores were heavily loaded, all 6 is where the issue may crop up.

Despite being used, in the day it was the highest end cpu and pairing it with one of the most low budget coolers seems a bad idea. I've seen people have issues keeping it cool with a mugen 4 which is a touch better than the 212 evo.

Since many people tend to overclock it I tried...
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Manu Suriadas

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Aug 16, 2014
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Yeah I know it is an overkill... Still fx 8350 is barely the recommended CPU for most of the new games. If i buy an fx 8350 now I am pretty sure that I would have to upgrade it again in a year or so. Whereas, If i buy the i7 now and as i am gaming at 1080p only , it will be sufficient for a few years as i have already got a R9 390...

Plus i thought a LGA 2011 mobo for only 185 $ is a steal considering the fact that those are lot more expensive elsewhere.
 
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Multipack

Multipack

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Sep 5, 2016
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It's not overkill, it's underkill. Games wont utilise tht many threads and the chipset/RAM version are old, plus the single core speed isn't great, which is most important when it comes to games.
 
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synphul

synphul

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Mar 11, 2011
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It would do ok for gaming but doesn't seem like a good investment especially for gaming. Perks to that platform were greater number of cores, the ability to support high amounts of ram (not needed for gaming) etc.

You'd be better off investing the budget into a more recent quad core i5 or i7 like the i5 6600k or 6700k if looking to do additional things like stream. Skylake uses ddr4 ram though so if looking to keep your ddr3 ram a better choice than the 3970x would be an i7 4790k.

That i7 you mentioned is already 4 years old. Not to mention the cooler needed for it, current i5/i7 quad cores are around 88-91w tdp. That extreme edition is a 150w tdp cpu so either high end air cooling or aio liquid cooling like an h100i which adds around $100 to the cost. A low cost cooler like the 212 evo won't really cut it.
 
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Manu Suriadas

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Aug 16, 2014
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Hmm , i see .. Ok let me give it a thought..

 
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bicycle_repair_man

bicycle_repair_man

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It's cheap, sure, but it doesn't offer value for money in my opinion. An FX-8350 is cheap, may not require a new motherboard and can be overclocked (motherboard and PSU notwithstanding). It's also a decent gaming CPU.

The 3970X and indeed a modern i5 will likely give you better performance, but is the cost worth it?
 
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Manu Suriadas

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Aug 16, 2014
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Ok , valid points there. I already own 4 * 4gb DDR3 rams, got a 750watt psu, and a cooler master hyper 212 evo.. But are you sure a water cooler is a must for this cpu?
 
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Manu Suriadas

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Aug 16, 2014
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I understand your points. What attracted me the most was that this cpu is superior to i7 6600k in terms of performance despite additional 60watt consumption.. It's way above the recommended specs for the current AAA games, i means almost 30% extra....

I considered FX 8350 but i am sure that i will not be sufficient after a year or so...

AND : an LGA 2011 mobo , even a used one costs more than 300$ in most sites till yesterday.. Today i saw a listing of two such mobos for only 180 $ each... So naturally i thought about grabbing the golden opportunity..

Still i appreciate your suggestion.. I definitely think over it

 
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synphul

synphul

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Mar 11, 2011
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The 212 evo may work so long as the cpu isn't under too much load. If it works the 212 evo will be running pretty hard most likely. The 212 evo's rating for cooling capacity is 180w tdp, that cpu has a 150w tdp output which pushes it awfully close to its max cooling design. It would probably end up a case where if left at stock the 6 core i7 would do fine in situations where a handful of cores were heavily loaded, all 6 is where the issue may crop up.

Despite being used, in the day it was the highest end cpu and pairing it with one of the most low budget coolers seems a bad idea. I've seen people have issues keeping it cool with a mugen 4 which is a touch better than the 212 evo.

Since many people tend to overclock it I tried finding cooling solutions for people using that cpu at stock. Some were using custom cooling loops (they managed temps in the 60's C), another a havik 140 (much larger than the 212 evo) and were getting temps into the mid/upper 80's C running p95 and so on. Based on those type of temps I think the 212 evo will struggle a bit and like I said may run the fan higher than usual trying to keep the 6 core i7 cool. You can always try it with a 212 evo and if it doesn't work buy a better cooler.

Honestly I think you'd be better off with a more recent mainstream i5/i7. Some games are starting to use additional threads/cores but the majority still rely on single core speeds. A newer cpu with higher ipc and faster core speeds would be better for gaming and unless streaming while playing the 6 cores won't do much in games if anything.
 
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