i5-2500k system, upgrade CPU only?

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devil_trigger

Gawd
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Jan 24, 2007
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Hey guys, I'm running the "main rig" system in my sig for gaming, and I'm curious about upgrading my 2500k. I looked around and it looks like the best CPU I can get for my current mobo is the i7-3770k, which a Microcenter near me has for $250.

Now I know what you're going to say, its a marginal improvement for gaming, I know! But the game that has most of my attention right now is BeamNG Drive, which is very heavily CPU dependent. I've tried OCing my CPU, getting to 4.4 GHz and it allows me to add 2 or 3 more vehicles while keeping the FPS around 25fps or more, but I can never get a stable OC and I don't know why, so I just go back to stock. I've followed guides for my CPU and mobo combo with no luck. Look the game up if you haven't heard about it to know what I'm talking about.

I'm just curious if you guys think this is a worthwhile move or if I should just wait for my next system overhaul. Thanks guys.
 
I'm still running an i5 2500K crazily enough. I was wondering how long have you owned this CPU for and why don't you consider upgrading your whole system?

I think I've gone longer with my current system then any other computer in my life or in the last 20 years of computer use.
 
Ah. Wait until your next system overhaul in 2016 and keep trying to overclock your 2500K.

Apparently, this document shows the benchmark results for the BANANA bench that comes with BeamNG with various different CPUs:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LpqZMpEgnsgFND3PMxTy2XEGko3ruMQ9JMxD9rDe2mo/pubhtml

According to the rather unscientific results, a stock 2500K will get you 41.808 MBeams/s. Assuming that your overclock issue is motherboard related, you would be looking at a stocked clocked Core i7 3770 or 3770K which will get you 59.818 MBeams/s. Not even sure how to translate that into FPS or how many extra cars but it may mean that you might get a 30% performance improvement by going with the Core i7 3770K or 3770. With that said, you can get close to that same level of performance by trying to get your 2500K stable at 4.5Ghz which will get you 57.579 MBeams/s.

Again the data is rather shaky and could be full of errors but that's the best I could come up with for that specific game. But considering that you could get basically the same level of performance as a 3770K upgrade for $250 less as long as you can keep a stable OC, I'm not seeing a strong reason to upgrade to the 3770K
 
eddie500 said:
Why wait for a system overhaul in 2016?
Click to expand...
Two reasons:
1) That's when Intel's Skylake CPUs will be released to the market. Right now, there really aren't any mainstream Intel CPUs that would be worth upgrading from the 2500K. Especially if it's overclocked. The Intel Skylake CPUs should be provide just enough of a performance increase to justify the costs of upgrading

2) Intel Skylake will mainly use DDR4 RAM. In 2016, DDR4 RAM prices should be a lot cheaper than they are today.

EDIT: Oh and a 3rd minor reason: The Skylake platforms should also come with a few extra new features that would make the costs of upgrading worthwhile.
 
Makes ZERO sense from a cost or performance standpoint to upgrade your CPU. those i5s overclock easily to 4.5-4.8 from a gaming standpoint even the current best gaming CPU ( i5 -4690k devils canyon) would only get you a few frame difference. Im running an i7-2700k overclocked to 4.8, which is basically the same chip as yours only with hyperthreading.

Bottom line is WAIT for Skylake hands down and save you scratch for a mobo, CPU and DDR4
 
Personally couldn't wait that long for Skylake. 2016... soooooo far

Getting a stable 2500K at 4.0GZ IS a bit of work. I would just prefer to avoid the 'joy' of over clocking the CPU.. been there done that. .

Do this.. Go buy a 3770 NOW, and be happy today! You WILL see a FPS gain in game. After you sell your old proc you will be out a small sum $150.

Well worth the upgrade in my expert opinion.
 
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"Intel Skylake will mainly use DDR4 RAM.

How does a CPU 'mainly' use DDR4 memory?
 
Well, if you can't overclock...

I don't know what to tell you - either suck-it-up and wait a year for Skylake, or go spend proper cash on a 4790k. Microcenter is selling them for nearly the same price as the 3770k in-store, and according to that benchmark you get double the performance of your 2500k if you overclock it.

You might as well dump the 3770k idea, because at thew end of the day you really don't know if it's your motherboard or 2500k that's holding-back your overclock. And I have to tell you, this is one top-end game where overclocking is necessary to get good performance for low cost.

Your only other value option would be a i7-5820k, since this game seems to eat as many cores as you can throw at it. But that's gonna mean new memory, which adds a whole lot to the cost.

Devil's Canyon is really your only path forward here, if you're already talking about spending $250 and want to get the most performance for your dollar.
 
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Thanks for all the responses guys. I guess I'll wait for a whole system refresh.

@eddie; I've had the system since February of 2012, and to be honest, BeamNG Drive is basically the only game that pushes my system, mainly the CPU. I don't actually play that many games, and I just recently started playing Far Cry 4, and with my 1080p monitor I can max that out with 30-60fps no problem, so there has been no real reason to upgrade.

Like I said, I've tried OCing and I can get it to run at 4.4GHz just fine, pass all benchmarks but the system will randomly blue screen just sitting idle. Like overnight I'll come back and the computer will be locked up, even though it passes all benchmarks, so I gave up lol.
 
Dangman said:
There's rumors going about that Intel Skylake might support DDR3 RAM as well.
Click to expand...

Not rumors, it's real. This is the first time Intel has had to deal with a memory tech transition since they released their IMC, and the last time AMD had to deal with that transition, they made the Phenom II support both DDR2 and DDR3 (which also allowed it to run on AM2+ motherboards, as a bonus).

The Skylake DDR3-only low-power mobile parts are no surprise, since early iterations of faster memory tech tend to gulp power. And the option is there for the desktop boards to go DDDR3 as well, so expect makers to segment the tech mostly to higher-end boards.
 
Finally retired my i5 2500k last month for a new i7 4790k build, I don't regret it at all.
 
defaultluser said:
Not rumors, it's real. This is the first time Intel has had to deal with a memory tech transition since they released their IMC, and the last time AMD had to deal with that transition, they made the Phenom II support both DDR2 and DDR3 (which also allowed it to run on AM2+ motherboards, as a bonus).

The Skylake DDR3-only low-power mobile parts are no surprise, since early iterations of faster memory tech tend to gulp power. And the option is there for the desktop boards to go DDDR3 as well, so expect makers to segment the tech mostly to higher-end boards.
Click to expand...

Ahh I was wondering about that. Thanks for the info.
 
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