Upgrade 3570k to 7700k, or wait?

Phaaze88

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For gaming on a 2560 x 1440p 144hz monitor, with a 1080ti.
I've read older posts regarding similarly aged cpus, but they all seemed to be about 60hz screens.
I know that the higher the resolution, the less work the cpu has to do (to an extent, of course), but what about refresh rates?
If I were on a 4k monitor instead, I know there would be no need to upgrade this cpu, since most of the load would be on the gpu instead, but then again, there are no 120hz 4ks out yet.
Are higher refresh monitors more taxing on the cpu, is the real question? Enough to prompt an upgrade?
 
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I agree that although you would gain some processing speed. And you would gain the extra threads. But if everything is still working well, I don't know that it is worth the $650 minimum upgrade (processor+motherboard+memory). I don't think that the monitor itself is going to be that taxing on the processor regardless. That is going to be your graphics card. I wouldn't think that the I5-3570K represents much of a bottleneck.

It is the difference between a great gaming system and a bit better gaming system. I would wait, unless your wallet is itching for a new system.
Higher refresh rate monitors are a lot more taxing on the cpu if you're actually running at 100fps+++. If you're using max settings all the time and getting 60-80 then maybe not so much. I'd upgrade if you have the money, should make a pretty decent difference.
 
With all the recent Ryzen gaming coverage we have actually seen quite a few high end games exposing CPU limits when aiming for 100+ FPS with a high end GPU. One of the things that have come out of all this testing that hasn't really been talked about, is that it looks like an increasing number of games are benefiting from the hypertreading on the i7. Here on Toms recent 11 game review for Ryzen, for example, both Project Cars and Hitman shows the i7 beating the i5 7600K by significantly more than the frequency difference would account for, and that's true even at 1440P for those titles.
Note too that this is using a 1080 FE, not the 1080TI which would likely further expose a CPU bottleneck on the i5, if that's indeed what is happening.

Have you overclocked already?

Even if you have, you're going back a few generations (lower IPC) and down a few hundred Mhz, (since I'm guessing even if you have OC'd you won't get to the 4.9Ghz to 5.0Ghz most 7700Ks are achieving), and losing hyperthreading. Then yes, there will be a growing number of games that would perform better for you with an upgrade.

The difference won't be massive, and the 3570K (especially if overclocked) is still a capable gaming CPU, but I would expect there to be a significant, and sometimes noticeable difference with **some** games. Whether that makes an upgrade worthwhile for you is entirely up for debate. But it's worth considering at least.
 
I agree that although you would gain some processing speed. And you would gain the extra threads. But if everything is still working well, I don't know that it is worth the $650 minimum upgrade (processor+motherboard+memory). I don't think that the monitor itself is going to be that taxing on the processor regardless. That is going to be your graphics card. I wouldn't think that the I5-3570K represents much of a bottleneck.

It is the difference between a great gaming system and a bit better gaming system. I would wait, unless your wallet is itching for a new system.
 
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Phaaze88

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I'll say that I DO have that itch, and have some $$$ to spend, but at the end of it all, I'm going to wait a little longer.
Also forgot to mention that I currently have an OC of 4.5. Maybe I can bump it up a little more... but with a 212 evo(oh noez), I can't expect much, plus ivy bridges' aren't the best oc'ers.
Did some more searching, and hell, there are folks with sandy bridge still playing the waiting game, and my cpu is supposed to be slightly better than those!
I have an itch, but intel hasn't really made any worthwhile improvements after all this time... RIP.
 


Those D15s are amazing coolers and Noctua's quality and post-sales support is second to none IMHO, but don't expect to get much more than 4.5Ghz out of a 3570K, even with that sort of cooling. You might have a good CPU there, who knows, but from what I've read most 3570K need substantial voltage bumps to get to 4.6Ghz and above, and getting 4.8Ghz or above needs serious voltages. Even with the cooling to cope with it, it's often not worth running really high voltages just for a few extra % performance.

But sure, if you've got some money and have the upgrade itch, putting the cash into a serious cooler like the D15, which should last you years and years is a good option.
 
Noctua always ships you new mounting hardware for free if you request it, so buying a cooler like that is a pretty good investment IMO. I've installed a couple in friends' PCs and they're whisper quiet with great cooling capability. Even if you don't get any more OC out of your CPU you can still reduce the noise by a lot.
 


Putting money into DDR3 RAM is a total dead end at the moment. Maybe you could extract a little extra performance here and there with faster RAM, but it'll be useless come time to upgrade.

If you're itching to spend money, put it into things that can be reused after an upgrade:
Cooler (already suggested)
Storage upgrade? (Bigger/better SSD?)
KB + Mouse, gaming headset or speakers
(Normally I would suggest a new case, but you have a premium one already)
Even something like a new desk or chair is sometimes a better investment than any minimal and ultimately short term benefit you might get from faster DDR3.
 


On the NH-D14, I switched out the front 120mm fan with a Noctua 120mm PWM fan. I kept the 140mm fan in the pull configuration (I also control it's RPM). This gives me a little more control of the temperature and noise. With this configuration, my processor idles in the 28 - 30C range and remains cool under load. I've been quite happy with the cooler.



On the memory upgrade question, I wouldn't upgrade it (unless you have some laying around ).
 

MadSgtAlex

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Mar 17, 2017
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Could you please provide the your intended parts list? I am in a similar situation, except I am gaming on a 4k 65" tv. I plan to give my 3570k and GTX 1070 to my son (as I told my wife, I am generously upgrading so that I can donate my current rig to himd ;-). Anyway, I plan on getting an AIO watercooled MSI Seahawk GTX 1080ti when (or if) it is available. However, I don't know if I should go with the 7700k or an AMD Ryzen CPU. I haven't even thought about the case, cooling or MB at this point. I plan on reusing my 480GB PNY CS 2211 ssd and 3TB WD black drive for storage.

Anyway, I would like to know your propose setup and welcome any advice on my new build. Thanks to everyone in advance.

 


From what I've read, I would pick the I7-7700K . Although the AMD Ryzen processors are an improvement they still lag behind the Intel offerings.

Check out the CPU Hierarchy Chart as well as the current articles on the topic.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-hierarchy,4312.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-vs-intel-kaby-lake-gaming,4977.html?utm_source=th-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20170316-th
 

Phaaze88

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cpu: 3570k@ 4.5
cooler: CM 212 evo plus -> nh-d15
mobo: asus p8z77
psu: seasonic prime titanium 750w
memory: 16gb(8x2) corsair vengeance
storage: 1 x 180gb ssd, 1 x 1tb hhd, adding a 480gb ssd
gpu: gtx 680 -> gtx 1080ti
case: phantom 820