Can I upgrade to a 2500k, or only with a 2500?

k4ever

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I thought that the only difference between the 2 processors was that one could be overclocked and the other couldnt. Now after doing some googling, Im not sure anymore.
I bought an OEM HP desktop and since I still have my warranty year in effect I call them. The csr told me that according to my pc specs I could upgrade to any of these processors:

Processor upgrade information

Socket type: LGA 1155
Motherboard supports the following processor upgrades:
Processor TDP
Core i7-2600 (Sandy Bridge) quad core 95W
Core i7-2600s (Sandy Bridge) quad core 65W
Core i5-2500 (Sandy Bridge) quad core 95W
Core i5-2500s (Sandy Bridge) quad core 65W
Core i5-2500t (Sandy Bridge) quad core 45W
Core i5-2400 (Sandy Bridge) quad core 95W
Core i5-2400s (Sandy Bridge) quad core 65W
Core i5-2390t (Sandy Bridge) quad core 35W
Core i5-2300 (Sandy Bridge) quad core 95W
Core i3-2120 (Sandy Bridge) dual core 65W
Core i3-2100 (Sandy Bridge) dual core 65W
Core i3-2100t (Sandy Bridge) dual core 35W

I was concerned I may lose my copy of windows 7, that I had to reflash the bios, etc ... but the assistant told me that as long as I upgrade using one of the processors on top I will be fine. Just plug and boom, done. He tried to sell me an i5-2500s over the phone, but I told him I wasnt concerned about the power consumption since I was going to get a better one anyways.

Now my question is if I can get a 2500k and have no problems with it, and treat it like it was a "normal" 2500. The latter one is not on sale anymore anywhere, so Im not sure whats the best option for me.
 

k4ever

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I wont be able to overclock because of the motherboard? Im using the stock one that came with the desktop (carmel2).
I found the regular 2500 at tigerdirect and it sells for $10 less than the k version.
Maybe I need a specific processor-motherboard combo to overclock the 2500k?
 

InvalidError

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To unlock the multipliers on a K-chip, you need a z68/z75/z77 chipset and overclocking support in the BIOS. AFAIK, HP does not include any overclock controls in their BIOS whatsoever so it is unlikely that their motherboards are wired to support overclocking either.
 

twelve25

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What processor do you have now? If it is already one of the i5's there is no point in upgrading.

As was mentioned, you won't be able to overclock on a basic HP desktop. They are built for reliability and letting you overclock increases the odds you'll break something and want warranty repair. So they lock that stuff out.



 

k4ever

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Im using an i3-2120. It has only 2 cores, but I wanna play more advanced games in my pc hence the i5-2500 upgrade.

Thx for the overclocking clarification by the way. Ill get the regular 2500 then.
 

k4ever

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Yup I still have it, but Im gonna get a 7870 this month. I was planning in buying skyrim and playing it in ultra settings, so I thought an i5-2500 and a 1920*1080 monitor would be the perfect partners for that card. I know Ill have to buy a psu of about 550w at least, thats no problem.
 

k4ever

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I just noticed that the i3-2120 processor I have supports hyperthreading. Any i5-2500 doesnt have that feature, so will my processor be enough to play quad core recommended games like skyrim, dishonored, borderlands 2, bf3, etc ... ?
 

twelve25

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Hyperthreading lets one core run 2 threads. But there is still the same amount of raw processing power. HT just lets you use it a little more effeciently. a dual core with HT performs about like 2.5 cores. So even though the i5 doesn't hyperthread, it is still significantly more powerful because it 4 slightly less efficient cores rather than 2 slightly more effecient cores.

You can look up the benchmarks for the actual numbers.
 

InvalidError

Titan
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That depends on the quality and rating of whatever OEM PSU is in your PC.

With stock-clocked CPU and GPU, you aren't going to break 350W unless you have some exotic hardware configuration.
 

k4ever

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I feel way more educated now after all the feedback.

Since I know 100% I wont be overclocking anything, do I really need an i5-2500 gpu or maybe an i5-2400 will be enough? The first one has 3.3ghz, while the second has around 3.1ghz. Price difference is about $10~20.
 

InvalidError

Titan
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None of the desktop I5 support HT, only the mobile versions (which are actually dual-core and therefore equivalent to desktop i3) do.

As for games, most will be reasonably playable on i3. My personal recommendation would be to try them before making a definitive decision about upgrading your system or not. No point in rushing into an upgrade if you end up discovering that your current system still yields good-enough-for-you results.
 

k4ever

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Correct. Ill get the 7870 and a new psu very soon, test some games and see how they perform. If I think I need better fps numbers then Ill get a better processor.
 

twelve25

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I'd argue the opposite. Since you aren't going to overclock, you'll want to have as much stock power as possible. $20 is pretty cheap.

However, in the grand scheme the difference between i5's is pretty small. You can basically go by Ghz, so a 3.3 is 10% faster than a 3.0, but both are very fast.