Feel like my cpu is holding my rig back. Is this a good upgrade?

Benc12 · Apr 19, 2018

Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-7600 (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache

Motherboard ASUS® STRIX B250H GAMING: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs

Memory (RAM) 8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card 6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060

1st Hard Disk 2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 3.5" SSHD

Power Supply CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES

So i was thinking of upgrading my CPU and my RAM i was thinking of upgrading my CPU to a intel i7 7700k

and just putting another 8gb of RAM in, this would be done from a professional

Would this speed my system up, and considering i use 2 monitors. Monitor 1 for gaming and monitor 2 for browsing and other stuff, i watch streams browse forums and other stuff on my second monitor, when im watching a stream my frames drop from 120-140 range to the 60-80 range is this due to my CPU?

Barty1884 · Apr 19, 2018

Given the multi-tasking you described, the quad core would definitely be holding you back (assuming the games you play can utilize >2 cores... most modern titles can). Additional RAM would be beneficial too.

I wouldn't jump to a 7700K though.... while there's a clock speed benefit over the locked 7700 (3.6-4.2 and 4.2-4.5 respecitvely), there's typically a decent price jump between the two. Paired with a B250 board, you cannot overclock it so, unless the price(s) are close (I'd say within $20 myself), then the locked 7700 would likely make the most sense.

vapour · Apr 19, 2018

Yes, I5 has only 4 core 4 threads, not good for multi-tasking. Yes, 7700k will have doubled threads and help with your multi-tasking. How much will you spend on 7700k and 8gb ram? If expensive, I will suggest either Ryzen or coffee lake combo with a little bit extra cost. The 6-8 core new platform is very good to have.

Petarded · Apr 19, 2018

I'd say the RAM is holding you back, CPU can cope with your tasks. I'd buy 16gb of faster ram first, upgrade CPU later if still not good.

Benc12 · Apr 19, 2018

Barty1884 :

difference between the 7700 and 7700k is £20 which i think is around $30 and i play overwatch mainly

Benc12 · Apr 19, 2018

vapour :

For 7700k and an extra 8gb it was £300/$425 i can only have cpus that are compatible with my system suggested by the company though. i have the choice of these upgrades, i5 7600, i5 7600k, i7 7700 and the i7 7700k

Countgreen · Apr 19, 2018

I would think that it is the CPU that is bottleneck. Open task manager and check ram gpu and cpu usage while both are going at once.

vapour · Apr 19, 2018

Benc12 :

vapour :

For 7700k and an extra 8gb it was £300/$425 i can only have cpus that are compatible with my system suggested by the company though. i have the choice of these upgrades, i5 7600, i5 7600k, i7 7700 and the i7 7700k

In that case, 7700k, better base clock speed for 20 pounds, worth it imo.

Benc12 · Apr 19, 2018

Countgreen :

yeah this is why i think it was, i should of mentioned this in the first post, when im doing my multitasking, my gpu is 70-75% usage cpu is 100% and ram is using about 7.5.

When i have no other tasks im hitting my 144 frames and on both 100% for gpu and cpu usage, and ram goes down to 6-6.5

Barty1884 · Apr 19, 2018

Petarded :

The RAM probably isn't helping.... but while the the quad-core CPU can cope with the tasks, it's far from optimal.

Petarded :

For that kind of price difference, the 7700K's added clock speed would be nice, absolutely.
Remember, there's no stock cooler with the "K" sku's though, so you'd need to factor that into your decision too (expect about 30quid for something decent enough).

Double-check CPU/RAM utilization though (even Task Manager can give you a high level idea).
Have it open, and monitor it as you add in your browsing &/or watching a stream. Either the CPU or RAM usage should spike to 100% and stay there. If only one does it, you could start with that upgrade (no sense spending the money if you don't have to) and see how your performance looks.

I'd expect both are probably rocketing to 100% at that point though, meaning both aspects would be equally viable upgrades.

Benc12 · Apr 19, 2018

Barty1884 :

i already have a cooler which may be why i can only upgrade to specific CPUs i have a CoolerMaster Hyper 212X (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler and ive just checked my cpu usage and ram usage in task manager whilst going into a training arena with 6 tabs (1 being a stream) my "disk" went up to 99% first? but then it dropped back down, but my cpu stayed at 99% and my ram was at 85-90% so cpu upgrade first then

Barty1884 · Apr 19, 2018

Disk spikes happen, but not a huge concern.

If that's your "worst case" usage, then I'd look to the CPU upgrade first. BUT, at ~90% of your memory in use too.... if you commonly have >6 tabs open etc, that'll be tapping out at 100% too....

Benc12 · Apr 19, 2018

Barty1884 :

yeah i think im just going to send it in with a bunch of upgrades to make it last anyway instead of just throwing an upgrade every now and then because im going to need to send it to the company every time

Barty1884 · Apr 19, 2018

Out of curiosity, are you sending this to a company to maintain warranty support or something?

These are not overly difficult upgrades to perform and, depending on how much you're being charged for the "service" vs any reward/gain as a result.... you ma well be better off just performing them yourself...

Benc12 · Apr 19, 2018

Barty1884 :

well i have warranty but i think im able to perform the replacements myself i just dont want to risk anything, the ram i could do easy enough but the cpu fan ive never dealt with it before so i wouldnt want to risk damaging it or my cpu

Barty1884 · Apr 19, 2018

As far as CPU coolers go, the 212X is easy enough - it's 4 screws to secure. You don't need to touch the backplate etc.

If you're not inherently scared to do the upgrade yourself, I'd go for it.

The CPU cooler should remove easy enough - it's just a matter of loosening the 4 screws.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaLLmYOIQ6M

^that's installation, but you get the idea.

Provided you have some thermal paste to reapply, some isopropyl alcohol to remove/clean the old thermal paste and can keep the CPU flat during install... you should be golden!

Ie about $5 in supplies (if you don't already have alcohol around the house, $2 if you don't have thermal paste).
Vs probably $50+ you'd pay someone to perform the upgrades for you....

Benc12 · Apr 19, 2018

Barty1884 :

Thanks for all your help i will look into some more videos just to make sure i know what im doing

Barty1884 · Apr 19, 2018

For the upgrades you're looking at, it's pretty easy. Even building from scratch is relatively easy if you take your time/do your homework etc.

I dread to think how much some companies would charge for doing that kind of upgrade. In my head, it's 5-10 minutes of their time... so something like $20 would probably be "ok" if you really didn't want to do it yourself....... but I'd expect nowhere is actually going to charge you that little.

Benc12 · Apr 19, 2018

Barty1884 :

I did try to build my own probably about a year and a half ago now, but i bent the motherboard and i had to spend alot more than i had too which is why ive always been put off doing things myself, but small scale job should be fine

mdd1963 · Apr 19, 2018

Barty1884 :

Even with no overclocking, the 7700K is clocked 500 MHz faster on base clock, and 300 MHz faster on turbo....; they are not the same when run even at stock clock speeds...

Barty1884 · Apr 19, 2018

mdd1963 :

Yup, said that :lol:

Barty1884 :

Yes, the additional base/boost clock speeds are nice to have - they have to be proportionate in cost IMO.

Benc12 :

For that kind of price difference, the 7700K's added clock speed would be nice, absolutely.

Feel like my cpu is holding my rig back. Is this a good upgrade?

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