Confused about upgrading from i3 4130 to i5 4xxx on H81M-DS2V mobo

[Nick_216]

HI there,

With the latest games requirements, I am noticing the i3 being ruled out even for minimum settings, while my R9 270x GPU seems to still be OK (only just). I think I need to get a better CPU so I just have some questions before I get bidding on ebay and would be extremely grateful for any advice.

For games like The Witcher, Doom, Dying light: would I get a noticeable improvement upgrading to an i5 4th while keeping the r9 270x?

I would quite like to get a new cooler, as this one is a bit whiny, although still seems to work OK. Is it possible to use my existing cooler/heatsink with an i5? I am not sure if it's "stock", but it's certainly an intel fan.

So yeah, money's tight, and was wondering if I could simply get a new chip, or I should buy an i5 that comes with original stock cooler/heatsink

Thanks in advance, and I know there are plenty of other threads on it, but we all have individual situations and levels of knowledge.

Many many thanks.
Nick

 

[jowen3400]

If your i3 is a Dual Core you will see a small upgrade. But it will not be like OMFG LOOK AT THIS!. Some FPS gains from 2 core to a 4 core. and if your Clock Speed is faster.

 

[Nick_216]

If your i3 is a Dual Core you will see a small upgrade. But it will not be like OMFG LOOK AT THIS!. Some FPS gains from 2 core to a 4 core. and if your Clock Speed is faster.

Thank you. Yes, it's a dual core but 4 threads. I am not expecting anything huge in performance, but I do want to keep myself "fairly" updated, especially now that I see the i3 not even getting onto minimum system requirements now,

 

[jowen3400]

Yeah the 4 threads on 2 cores is not as 4 on cores. But that i3 has a high clock speed. I would look into a i7 if you can to make a upgrade worth much.

 

[Eximo]

The cooler for an i3 is rated for the 54W TDP of the 4130. If you upgrade to an i5, many are rated at 65W, and the higher end ones at 84W.

It would be best to pick up an aftermarket cooler while you are at it.

I also agree that the jump to an i5 won't be huge. If you can swing an i7 it would be a better investment and last you longer before you need to upgrade again.

With AMD on the scene with the cheap quad core with SMT, the lowest common denominator just got a lot better.

 

[synphul]

Since you're on haswell you have the option of substituting your cpu with a xeon cpu. You might consider an a 1231v3 xeon which is slightly more than an i5 but is basically an i7 4770 without the integrated gpu. It's 3.4ghz (up to 3.8ghz), only 100mhz slower than a 4690/4690k stock and has hyper threading like an i7. That would be a pretty solid step up from an i3. The xeons can't be overclocked but not a concern since you're running an h81 board and can't overclock anyway so nothing lost.

It depends which i5 you're comparing it to, the i3 4130 is decent for a budget cpu but it's not exactly 'fast' either. It runs at 3.4ghz and might be faster than an i5 4440 but the 4590, 4670/k 4690/k and xeon 1231v3 are all faster, offer 4 true cores which can make a difference over 2c/4t especially for intensive games like witcher. The xeon has the benefit of 4c/8t.

 

[Nick_216]

Thanks for all your replies. Do I need to click "solved" or something?

I live in the UK, and I tried searching that Xeon CPU on ebay and nothing showed up locally. It also sounds like it's out of my price range, so I will probably go for an i5 with a new cooler designed for it's power. I wasn't looking for a "huge" upgrade, just wanted to stay a little up-to-date with things. I am getting closer to playing the Witcher and Doom, which has made me reconsider upgrading from i3. I have to admit, rather surprised to hear that my i3 4130 might be more powerful than an i5 4440. Nothing makes sense with computers! Thanks for all your advice. Much appreciated.

 

[synphul]

I'm not sure the 4130 is more powerful than the 4440. It's difficult to say since each game is different in regards to what sort of hardware performance it needs from the cpu and gpu. The cores of the 4130 are faster but there's only 2 of them. Hyper threading helps in that it keeps more data fed to the cores but in the end it still only had 2 cores processing data.

In games like witcher 3 where some areas can be more heavily threaded, even with lower clock speeds the 4440/4460 are able to process 4 threads at the same time, each with their own core. That could still result in overall smoother gameplay where the 2 physical cores of the i3 may result in more stuttering or fps drops during intensive scenes.

Many factors are involved which makes it harder to say there's a clear winner. Switching from one game to another like witcher 3 to cs:go, it requires a new evaluation. If you do go with an i5 because that's what is available they'll likely be priced similarly to one another. Because of lower clock speeds I'd personally try to avoid the 4440 and 4460 and shoot for a 4590 or 4690. A quick look on ebay's uk site I saw a 4590 for only around 10-15 gbp more than the 4440.

 

[Nick_216]

I'm not sure the 4130 is more powerful than the 4440. It's difficult to say since each game is different in regards to what sort of hardware performance it needs from the cpu and gpu. The cores of the 4130 are faster but there's only 2 of them. Hyper threading helps in that it keeps more data fed to the cores but in the end it still only had 2 cores processing data.

In games like witcher 3 where some areas can be more heavily threaded, even with lower clock speeds the 4440/4460 are able to process 4 threads at the same time, each with their own core. That could still result in overall smoother gameplay where the 2 physical cores of the i3 may result in more stuttering or fps drops during intensive scenes.

Many factors are involved which makes it harder to say there's a clear winner. Switching from one game to another like witcher 3 to cs:go, it requires a new evaluation. If you do go with an i5 because that's what is available they'll likely be priced similarly to one another. Because of lower clock speeds I'd personally try to avoid the 4440 and 4460 and shoot for a 4590 or 4690. A quick look on ebay's uk site I saw a 4590 for only around 10-15 gbp more than the 4440.

Everything you're saying makes sense. I am suspecting with my current setup, that I could only achieve a high frame rate while playing Witcher with settings and res on low. Just perhaps the i5 might enable medium settings. Smooth fps is more important to me than graphics, but it would be nice to run it on medium, even if lower than 1080p. (I upgraded to r9 270x 10 months ago). I will indeed shoot for a 4590 or 4690, so is the 4690 the best i5 available? I only learned today that whether an i3 i5 or i7, the numbers must start with 4xxx according to my mobo. Research is so important. I will get bidding then, and thanks alot for your advice including others that replied to me. I will try and sell my i3 afterwards, I am sure it has some value

 

[jowen3400]

Thanks for all your replies. Do I need to click "solved" or something?

I live in the UK, and I tried searching that Xeon CPU on ebay and nothing showed up locally. It also sounds like it's out of my price range, so I will probably go for an i5 with a new cooler designed for it's power. I wasn't looking for a "huge" upgrade, just wanted to stay a little up-to-date with things. I am getting closer to playing the Witcher and Doom, which has made me reconsider upgrading from i3. I have to admit, rather surprised to hear that my i3 4130 might be more powerful than an i5 4440. Nothing makes sense with computers! Thanks for all your advice. Much appreciated.

Yeah you would pick the best answer that will "close" or Solve the post.

 

[synphul]

Most graphics settings for a game are related to the gpu, not the cpu. If you're struggling to play on 'medium' or 'high' vs 'low' then it's probably your gpu holding you back. Try using something like msi afterburner and the on screen display when you're playing to show cpu usage and gpu usage in real time. If gpu usage isn't maxed out and you're playing at low settings, try turning them up to medium. You'll probably find your gpu usage increases and your fps will be around the same. If your gpu is maxed out on high settings and fps are low, try reducing the graphics settings and see if fps improve.

You still might not achieve a real high frame rate on witcher with an i3 just because it's an i3. There are some areas that tax the cpu harder than others so you may be playing fine in one location then notice stuttering or fps drops in other places. An i5 should help with those fps drops.

 

[Nick_216]

Most graphics settings for a game are related to the gpu, not the cpu. If you're struggling to play on 'medium' or 'high' vs 'low' then it's probably your gpu holding you back. Try using something like msi afterburner and the on screen display when you're playing to show cpu usage and gpu usage in real time. If gpu usage isn't maxed out and you're playing at low settings, try turning them up to medium. You'll probably find your gpu usage increases and your fps will be around the same. If your gpu is maxed out on high settings and fps are low, try reducing the graphics settings and see if fps improve.

You still might not achieve a real high frame rate on witcher with an i3 just because it's an i3. There are some areas that tax the cpu harder than others so you may be playing fine in one location then notice stuttering or fps drops in other places. An i5 should help with those fps drops.

Thanks again for your words of wisdom. Great idea with the on screen CPU/GPU usage. That sounds like a great tool to keep anyway. Think I will do that this evening and get an idea with the doom demo and see what is being taxed the most. Interestingly, we have warm weather here at the moment and I was playing Alan Wake last night, (which tends to run fans very high as normal), I checked the temps, and my core temps went upto 85! Those annoying twist n pull rods never make me feel confident after applying new paste. Perhaps a new fan cooler will make that easier, Just ranting now

I will select your earlier reply as best answer, but I hope it doesn't close the conversation down if others wanted to chip in.

Obliged to you

 

[Nick_216]

I'm not sure the 4130 is more powerful than the 4440. It's difficult to say since each game is different in regards to what sort of hardware performance it needs from the cpu and gpu. The cores of the 4130 are faster but there's only 2 of them. Hyper threading helps in that it keeps more data fed to the cores but in the end it still only had 2 cores processing data.

In games like witcher 3 where some areas can be more heavily threaded, even with lower clock speeds the 4440/4460 are able to process 4 threads at the same time, each with their own core. That could still result in overall smoother gameplay where the 2 physical cores of the i3 may result in more stuttering or fps drops during intensive scenes.

Many factors are involved which makes it harder to say there's a clear winner. Switching from one game to another like witcher 3 to cs:go, it requires a new evaluation. If you do go with an i5 because that's what is available they'll likely be priced similarly to one another. Because of lower clock speeds I'd personally try to avoid the 4440 and 4460 and shoot for a 4590 or 4690. A quick look on ebay's uk site I saw a 4590 for only around 10-15 gbp more than the 4440.

 

[synphul]

I'm not a fan of the stock intel fan retention system either. I'd almost rather just use zip ties, generally I use aftermarket coolers. If nothing else than the mounts are much more secure and don't feel like they'll break. 85c is getting fairly warm but still within the safe limits of the cpu. Especially if there are additional circumstances like warmer than usual weather raising ambient temps.

 

[Nick_216]

I'm not a fan of the stock intel fan retention system either. I'd almost rather just use zip ties, generally I use aftermarket coolers. If nothing else than the mounts are much more secure and don't feel like they'll break. 85c is getting fairly warm but still within the safe limits of the cpu. Especially if there are additional circumstances like warmer than usual weather raising ambient temps.

Thanks for helping me upgrade my cpu. While I may still have your attention, could I ask about coolers?
I'm on ebay now following some auctions for the i5 4th gen series, so I am not sure which one I will end up with. Sounds like all of them will perform better than my i3, so I can't really go wrong. (I am assuming quad core @ 3.2ghz is faster over all than my i3 dual @ 3.4ghz) I may even pick up a bargain with an i7 if I am lucky.

Coolers though...
I have accepted the fact I will need a new cooler, as someone mentioned the wattage difference, and this one is a little whiny when it revs up anyway. So, what do I need to look out for to make sure it's compatible? The heatsink on this stock cooler is of the circular variety, with fins going out from center, so am I able to use this heat sink, or just go for a cooler that comes with it's own?

( I don't know how much longer I can go on asking questions, but it's too hard to resist talking to the experts for free lol )