Need a new cpu for gaming but the guy wont install it in my pc for me?

jds94

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Jul 8, 2012
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im 17, saved up enough money for a i5 2500k and a new mobo, i havent ordered the parts yet but when i told my dad about it he said he'll ask the computer expert guy who owns a store to see if i really need a upgrade or not. my current cpu is a amd phenom 9150e 1.8ghz. well the expert said i dont need to upgrade my cpu its perfectly fine for gaming and other stuff but i feel other wise.. and i said well i still would like to upgrade my cpu and the expert said he won't install a new cpu and mobo in my computer because it would be a waste of money and time and i wouldnt see a difference. well.... would i see a performance boost or not? what should i do now?.. thanks you guys! ps i play games like skyrim, battlefield 3, left 4 dead 2, company of heroes, starcraft 2 , diablo 3, dawn of war 2. and my gpu is a gtx 560 ti 448 cores.
 

akxpckwb

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Jan 24, 2012
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You're kidding right? You will see a huge difference upgrading to a 2500k however notice that you will also have to buy DDR3 memory sticks (if you don't already have them) and that if your GPU is weak the difference will still be significant but may not be what you were expecting.

If this is your first time switching/replacing hardware and you don't feel very confident about it there are a ton of tutorials and guides (including youtube videos) that will help you. Despite being an easy proceed you might wanna have someone who knows how to do it around just in case
 
You tell this so called expert that an Intel cpu will blow away any AMD cpu when it comes to gaming and that it's your money and you should be able to choose what you want to do with it. You have a very good video card and the 2500K will make a big performance difference from the Phenom 9150e.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html

This is a gaming cpu ranking chart and it starts at the top with the best and finishes at the bottom with the worst , so take a look and see where your current cpu is and where the 2500K is and you tell me if your local expert is smoking something funny.
If you run into a brick wall over this and can't get the new cpu and MB that you want then consider an alternative. The ne 660Ti from Nvidia just came out and when it comes to gaming nothing make more of a performance increase then a new video card. You can take out the 560Ti that you have and sell it and replace it with the new 660Ti , you may have to overclock the Phenom some so you don't have a bottleneck but this could be an option for you and only as a last resort.
 

jds94

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Jul 8, 2012
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yeah ive purchased 8 gb of ddr3 already i forgot to mention it. my dad is so worked up on what this computer guy says.. he says that intel has been having problems and that they have i3s that are better than i5s and i5s better than i7s... and my dad wont let me install the components in myself and hes not willing to take business anywhere else.. starting to sound like im SOL.
 
Show them both any number of benches (if the "expert" knows anything at all, he'll see the error of his opinions with those).

As far as your dad is concerned, he may not understand all of what he sees in the benches, but the fact that one is so far ahead of the other can't be disputed, by any logic.

And Intel has problems? LOL That's just pure gold right there...

i3's are not better than i5's, nor are i5's better than i7's, in general. The confusing part is, that, for gaming and most other uses, at least, an i5 is just as good as an i7 (and an i3 isn't far behind).

i7's pull ahead in uses that need the extra threads, though.
 
I suspect you are right, but why don't you run some tests:

a) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If it stays the same, you are likely cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 50%. This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.

Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
set to 50% and see how you do.

Share the results with your dad.

Most games only use 2 or 3 cores, so the extra cores of a quad or greater may not be that useful.
Intel cores are more efficient on a clock for clock basis. That is why a good Intel dual core will be better in most games.
But, there are a few games which are fully multi core aware. Don't know if any of your games are in that category.
 
Show your dad this thread and then maybe he'll see how much you want it and that your trying to get some help to do it. Maybe he'll realize he should be the one helping you instead of a bunch of strangers. I have kids and I always try to help them in any way that I can and would rather be the one helping them instead of someone else.
 

jay_nar2012

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And by 'expert' you mean a guy working in a computer shop.

Most of the time they don't know what they are talking about ( like filling up more than 50% of your hard drive causes windows to stop working, or thermal paste won't make a difference in cooling).

Show the guy this thread, its enough proof that you will see a big performace in most games, maybe he will thing the same who knows.

One test to give him, ask him what is the difference between a core and a thread, what HT stands for, what BGA, PGA and LGA stand for, what does AMD stand for, if he doesn't know the answer to one of these then he is not an expert, he is a beginner.
 

shanky887614

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Feb 5, 2010
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ignore that computer guy


you don't need to know anything about computer to sell computers

if you use google maps you can find some computer shops near you, give them a call and im sure one would put it together for you if your not confident
 

jay_nar2012

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No, you need to know something about computers if you work in a computer shop, not a retailer, in a computer shop you repair, build, install parts, buy and sell computers and parts and give advice and instructions.

If you know nothing about computers internally then you could damage something inside if you try fixing it if you get what i mean or you could mislead people and make them buy a new part or computer unnecessarily and get easy money or or say to them nothing is wrong with the computer when there is when you didn't touch the computer.