Which Processor

[Jbrown4124]

Hi everyone,


I am undergoing a new build and my last part which I have not decided on is the CPU

first I will give the specs of my system which i plan to have finished in the next month or two

CASE-800D, (getting 900D whenever that is available day one)

CPU- currently i5-2300

Memory- currently 4 GB g.skill ripjaws (getting 8gb crucial ballistix elite for xmas)

Heatsink- Currently h60 in push/pull (will be getting h80i in the next couple of months)

Mobo- currently Msi p67a-gd65 (getting Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 for xmas)

PSU- thermaltake Black widow 850w (upgrading to seasonic X850 in the same time frame as other parts)

Storage-getting a G.Skill 120gb SSD for xmas for OS drive, currently have 2 750gb Hitachi HDD, 2 Seagate 300GB HDD and a 150gb seagate as OS drive (will be adding two more 1TB Hitachi in the next month or two and the only reason for that is my two 1 tb seagates fryed at the exact same time).

GPU-HD 6950 (Flashed to 6970) i do not plan on upgrading gpu currently as I do not see anything majorly better than what I have, if anything I will buy another 6950 and xfire before buying another series GPU.

fan controller- getting NZXT sentry Mesh for xmas

okay now to my question as you can see I am getting the top of the line gigabyte mobo for xmas and my current CPU is fine for now but in the next month or two i want something with more potential (i will prob just clock the i5-2300 to 3.5 or 3.6 if I am lucky and run it like that until I make the change) I am looking at the i7-2600k or the i7-3770k, price is not important to me and this has nothing to do with gaming or the purpose of my computer (which the focus is not gaming anyway just normal usage and slight adobe Photoshopping).

Which CPU would you guys reccomend

 

[JMer806]

I'd get an i5 3570k. Best CPU for the money IMO. You won't need the power of the i7 for the usage you're describing.

 

[Jbrown4124]

I'd get an i5 3570k. Best CPU for the money IMO. You won't need the power of the i7 for the usage you're describing.

Okay thank you straight to the point .

 

[Jbrown4124]

Another question for everyone is it possible to get my i5-2300 to at least 3.5ghz? (considering the mobo ill be using I am hoping it is possible).

 

[xFriarx]

I agree with JMer806. The i5 3750k is a great all around processor. Probably a little overkill for what your describing, but you did say money didn't matter. The i7-3770k will help if you do a lot of photoshopping/rendering/encoding/ect.

As far as oc'ing the 2300. I believe (cough, believe) non-K CPU's are locked to within four steps of their max default multiplier. So you should be able to set it at x35 multiplier, as x31 is the max turbo multiplier. As to will it run at that clock is a matter of cooling and system stability. Every CPU/system is different and may not experience the same results.

 

[loresr97]

3570k if you're overclocking, if not the 3470. Your processor is not overclockable as it doesn't have the "k".

 

[xFriarx]

I thought even non-k intels could be OC'ed, but they are locked to within 4 steps of their turbo multiplier.

 

[Jbrown4124]

I agree with JMer806. The i5 3750k is a great all around processor. Probably a little overkill for what your describing, but you did say money didn't matter. The i7-3770k will help if you do a lot of photoshopping/rendering/encoding/ect.

As far as oc'ing the 2300. I believe (cough, believe) non-K CPU's are locked to within four steps of their max default multiplier. So you should be able to set it at x35 multiplier, as x31 is the max turbo multiplier. As to will it run at that clock is a matter of cooling and system stability. Every CPU/system is different and may not experience the same results.

Okay, thank you for that.

 

[Jbrown4124]

3570k if you're overclocking, if not the 3470. Your processor is not overclockable as it doesn't have the "k".

thanks for the feedback

 

[Jbrown4124]

Thank you guys for the suggestions, I will go with the 3750k.

 

[loresr97]

Remember to get a z77 mobo for overclocking, aftermarket cooler such as the 212 EVO, and low profile ram as the g.skill ares.

 

[Jbrown4124]

Remember to get a z77 mobo for overclocking, aftermarket cooler such as the 212 EVO, and low profile ram as the g.skill ares.

I put the parts in my question

Mobo-Gigabyte z77x-up7 (xmas gift)
Memory-8GB Crucial Ballistix Elite(xmas gift)
cooler-H60 push pull (upgrading to h80i early next year).

 

[JMer806]

I put the parts in my question

Mobo-Gigabyte z77x-up7 (xmas gift)
Memory-8GB Crucial Ballistix Elite(xmas gift)
cooler-H60 push pull (upgrading to h80i early next year).

Should be solid!

 

[Jbrown4124]

Best answer selected by Jbrown4124.