Upgrading i5 3450 to i7 3770

M

Mosie100

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
Messages
360
So I'm looking at upgrading several pieces of my rig in the next few months and since I'm limited by my MOBO was looking at upgrading my CPU first, then go for my GPU.
What do you all think? Here is my rig at the moment:

|| CPU: Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz ||
GPU: Sapphire R9 290 ||
PSU: Corsair HX850 ||
MOBO: ASRock Z75 Pro3 LGA 1155 Intel Z75 ||
Monitor: BenQ GW2760 27" ||
RAM: 4 x 4GB Corsair DDR 1333 || H
DD: Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM 1TB Hard Drive ||
Case: NZXT Source 210 Midtower ||


Do you think the i7 3770 will be a decent upgrade? I'd rather not upgrade my MOBO at the moment and milk it for all it's worth.
 
as your board support overclocking i'd say go for it.. you will be doubling the amount of threads and also will be able to overclock, those ivy bridge are still good enough if you can overclock at least to 4.4ghz. 4.5-4.8ghz would be ideal specially at 1080P which are what you using, however in any sense it will be a huge upgrade with that GPU.
 
It's a worthy upgrade that depends on how cheap you can get a 3770 for. I'm currently running a mildly overclocked i7-3770 non K myself. (4.2-4.4ghz depending on load) It's a solid CPU, but I'm not a big fan of throwing too much money at an old platform.
 
Depending on your cost of 3770...if it’s around 180-200 your much better off going haswell since at this time CPUs and boards are dipping to their lowest prices I’ve seen in a while...
 
Rashean700 said:
Depending on your cost of 3770...if it’s around 180-200 your much better off going haswell since at this time CPUs and boards are dipping to their lowest prices I’ve seen in a while...
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I second this. If you can find an IB i7 for 150 or less yes it's worth it. When it costs 180 or above your performance gain per dollar is highly diminishing. i5 is still the sweet spot for gaming, though many newer games are starting to take advantage of more cores.

I do assume you're asking in regards to PC gaming, since if this were a workstation/productivity machine you'd be looking for an entirely new outfit.
 
Rashean700 said:
Depending on your cost of 3770...if it’s around 180-200 your much better off going haswell since at this time CPUs and boards are dipping to their lowest prices I’ve seen in a while...
Click to expand...
Exactly this. I've seen entire haswell 4770 desktops go for $250'ish....and you can re-use your DDR3 as well.
 
This is just about 100% for gaming. I obviously use my rig for work on occasion but I mainly use it for gaming.

I appreciate the advise -- I'm looking at $200 for the the 3770 -- but I hear what you're all saying, it seems that I should just save my money altogether and upgrade the MOBO, CPU + GPU in a few months?
I just thought I could hold off for a couple more years on doing anything with my mobo. But mobo's are getting cheaper...
So torn on what to do.... My r9 290 is also underperforming but that's for another thread.
I just feel that this rig is old and the i5 is holding it back (as well as my GPU)...

Also can't get a haswell my MOBO socket is only for LGA 1155... Thanks for the option though.

So what's the answer here? Go for the i7 3770 or hold off and do a full rig upgrade months down the line?
 
Mosie100 said:
This is just about 100% for gaming. I obviously use my rig for work on occasion but I mainly use it for gaming.

I appreciate the advise -- I'm looking at $200 for the the 3770 -- but I hear what you're all saying, it seems that I should just save my money altogether and upgrade the MOBO, CPU + GPU in a few months?
I just thought I could hold off for a couple more years on doing anything with my mobo. But mobo's are getting cheaper...
So torn on what to do.... My r9 290 is also underperforming but that's for another thread.
I just feel that this rig is old and the i5 is holding it back (as well as my GPU)...

So what's the answer here? Go for the i7 3770 or hold off and do a full rig upgrade months down the line?
Click to expand...

the CPU for sure it's holding back that GPU at the resolution you are playing at.. those cards have a huge CPU overhead at less than 2560x1440 and your CPU at that speed won't do any help with that situation. haswell may worth only if you go with a 4790K and a good Mobo.. the 4770K sucks for overclocking way more than the 3770K due the integrated VRM on CPU die and crappy TIM both being improved on the 4790K, however I hardly believe you will find a 4790K cheaper than any other 3770K.
 
Araxie said:
the CPU for sure it's holding back that GPU at the resolution you are playing at.. those cards have a huge CPU overhead at less than 2560x1440 and your CPU at that speed won't do any help with that situation. haswell may worth only if you go with a 4790K and a good Mobo.. the 4770K sucks for overclocking way more than the 3770K due the integrated VRM on CPU die and crappy TIM both being improved on the 4790K, however I hardly believe you will find a 4790K cheaper than any other 3770K.
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Thanks for that.
Yeah I'm running 1920x1080
And just to reiterate I'd be getting the 3770, not the k version. It's $165 and thought it'd be a good deal instead of going for the full overhaul of the MOBO and GPU.
At this point it looks like I should just save up to get a new motherboard and cpu altogether right?
Any thoughts on that?
 
Yeah if it were me I’d upgrade to Haswell....don’t keep investing in old hardware. Don’t listen to the peeps who only buy a cpu to overclock it for a small bump. 4770k or non would be fine. I would recommend a 1246v3 cpu as they are cheaper thank the 4790k. It’s also the refresh and you can still use your old ddr3. 180 for a Xeon 1246v3
 
Rashean700 said:
Yeah if it were me I’d upgrade to Haswell....don’t keep investing in old hardware. Don’t listen to the peeps who only buy a cpu to overclock it for a small bump. 4770k or non would be fine. I would recommend a 1246v3 cpu as they are cheaper thank the 4790k. It’s also the refresh and you can still use your old ddr3. 180 for a Xeon 1246v3
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So this would mean I'd need to upgrade my mobo because my mobo isn't compatible with a haswell.
 
Yeah look at the fs/ft section and you can get a Haswell set for well under 300 bucks....best move for what your looking for while staying within reason of price.
 
Mosie100 said:
Thanks for that.
Yeah I'm running 1920x1080
And just to reiterate I'd be getting the 3770, not the k version. It's $165 and thought it'd be a good deal instead of going for the full overhaul of the MOBO and GPU.
At this point it looks like I should just save up to get a new motherboard and cpu altogether right?
Any thoughts on that?
Click to expand...

Upgrading your GPU at that resolution and with that CPU will be a waste of money, considering that everything you will buy will be severely bottlenecked, so you will be spending money to gain basically NO performance as you are already wasting performance on your current GPU with that CPU.

your current GPU it's actually still quite capable of 1080P gaming, with a nice overclock it should provide ultra-settings level of performance at high enough FPS. I have an R9 390X in a secondary box with a 3770K and still at 4.5ghz I get some bottlenecks in certain games, so with a CPU with 2 less mb of cache, half the threads and 35% less clocks I can guarantee the bottlenecks are Huge.. my [email protected] was even a minor overclock (about 5% performance) with my old r9 280X on some games

even if you are planing to go with a 3770 non K you should be entirely able to overclock it to 4.3ghz because up to ivy bridge, intel always gave 4 extra turbo multiplier for free.. so from 3.9ghz with a overclocking capable motherboard you should be able to overclock to a max turbo of 4.3ghz providing a noticeable bump in performance to your current GPU it will allow you to hold your system for a longer time before a complete overhaul.

side note, haswell is not compatible with your mobo, anyone advising and encouraging you to buy GPU first with that CPU, is on drugs.
 
Araxie said:
Upgrading your GPU at that resolution and with that CPU will be a waste of money, considering that everything you will buy will be severely bottlenecked, so you will be spending money to gain basically NO performance as you are already wasting performance on your current GPU with that CPU.

your current GPU it's actually still quite capable of 1080P gaming, with a nice overclock it should provide ultra-settings level of performance at high enough FPS. I have an R9 390X in a secondary box with a 3770K and still at 4.5ghz I get some bottlenecks in certain games, so with a CPU with 2 less mb of cache, half the threads and 35% less clocks I can guarantee the bottlenecks are Huge.. my [email protected] was even a minor overclock (about 5% performance) with my old r9 280X on some games

even if you are planing to go with a 3770 non K you should be entirely able to overclock it to 4.3ghz because up to ivy bridge, intel always gave 4 extra turbo multiplier for free.. so from 3.9ghz with a overclocking capable motherboard you should be able to overclock to a max turbo of 4.3ghz providing a noticeable bump in performance to your current GPU it will allow you to hold your system for a longer time before a complete overhaul.

side note, haswell is not compatible with your mobo, anyone advising and encouraging you to buy GPU first with that CPU, is on drugs.
Click to expand...
I appreciate that advice -- I feel like I keep repeating myself on the Haswell hahaha!

So correct me if I'm wrong but you're saying I should go for the 3770 upgrade?
Do you think the price at $165 for the non k version is worth it?
 
Mosie100 said:
I appreciate that advice -- I feel like I keep repeating myself on the Haswell hahaha!

So correct me if I'm wrong but you're saying I should go for the 3770 upgrade?
Do you think the price at $165 for the non k version is worth it?
Click to expand...
If your Mobo supports mce, multiple core enhancement /all core turbo. And you sell your current cpu for at least $50 profit then I think it's a go
 
Speedeu4ia said:
If your Mobo supports mce, multiple core enhancement /all core turbo. And you sell your current cpu for at least $50 profit then I think it's a go
Click to expand...
It does support that :D
Looks like I'm going for the 3770 -- thanks for the advice everyone!
 
Great messages!

Araxie said:
Upgrading your GPU at that resolution and with that CPU will be a waste of money, considering that everything you will buy will be severely bottlenecked, so you will be spending money to gain basically NO performance as you are already wasting performance on your current GPU with that CPU.

your current GPU it's actually still quite capable of 1080P gaming, with a nice overclock it should provide ultra-settings level of performance at high enough FPS. I have an R9 390X in a secondary box with a 3770K and still at 4.5ghz I get some bottlenecks in certain games, so with a CPU with 2 less mb of cache, half the threads and 35% less clocks I can guarantee the bottlenecks are Huge.. my [email protected] was even a minor overclock (about 5% performance) with my old r9 280X on some games

even if you are planing to go with a 3770 non K you should be entirely able to overclock it to 4.3ghz because up to ivy bridge, intel always gave 4 extra turbo multiplier for free.. so from 3.9ghz with a overclocking capable motherboard you should be able to overclock to a max turbo of 4.3ghz providing a noticeable bump in performance to your current GPU it will allow you to hold your system for a longer time before a complete overhaul.

side note, haswell is not compatible with your mobo, anyone advising and encouraging you to buy GPU first with that CPU, is on drugs.
Click to expand...

Mosie100 said:
eBay seller has an i7 3770 for $150 . Non k though
Click to expand...
Have you guys considered leading him to a Xeon Processor? I have not done the research on this but when I had my Gigabyte x58 920 o/c to 4.4ghz, I got the xeon x5660 proc and it breathed whole new life into my system.

I saw a Xeon E3-1275 for $100 wouldn't that be an even BIGGER upgrade for him?
 
Lol I was typing that about an hour ago but he mentioned he’s sticking with the 3770 so I didn’t bother. I myself would let drop 150 for a middle of the road upgrade if I could add 50 and make a high end Xeon or a 100 and grab a Haswell cpu/motherboard combo.
 
dpoverlord said:
Great messages!




Have you guys considered leading him to a Xeon Processor? I have not done the research on this but when I had my Gigabyte x58 920 o/c to 4.4ghz, I got the xeon x5660 proc and it breathed whole new life into my system.

I saw a Xeon E3-1275 for $100 wouldn't that be an even BIGGER upgrade for him?
Click to expand...

I’d grab the 1290v2 for 210 as it’s the fastest in the 1155 socket.
 
Rashean700 said:
Lol I was typing that about an hour ago but he mentioned he’s sticking with the 3770 so I didn’t bother. I myself would let drop 150 for a middle of the road upgrade if I could add 50 and make a high end Xeon or a 100 and grab a Haswell cpu/motherboard combo.
Click to expand...
I dont think he made a decision yet based on what he wrote. However if I am correct the Xeon E3-1275 can't be overclocked now that I think about it right? Unless I am wrong, I have been trying to read up on it since my expertise only stems on the x5660 on an x58 mobo
Rashean700 said:
I’d grab the 1290v2 for 210 as it’s the fastest in the 1155 socket.
Click to expand...
I checked his mobo https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z75 Pro3/index.asp#CPU
Seems he can only go up to the E3-1275 have we seen that chip being used on his motherboard anywhere?

Having a hard time myself looking for benchmarks or people who had an overclock on it. The people who said they could overclock wrote in threads about 3/4 years ago...

But $100-$200 for a Xeon strikes me as a very good deal. Also, reading above and now reading ASrocks website he should be able to use a I7-2700K or i7-3770k am I wrong in this?
 
Yes your correct! But the 1275v2 seems higher priced than the 1290v2 lol. Not sure why it is.
 
I haven’t purchased anything yet!
I’m deciding between an i7 3770 (non k) for $148 or i7 3770k for $175?
Advice?
 
I’m am not sure if your board supports the e3-1290v2 cpu and I’m not sure why it wouldn’t but since it’s not listed I would go e3-1270v2 instead of the 3770. Or even the 1275v2 if you have the extra funds
 
I just bought the 3770k for $165 with an unused stock cooler.
Done!
Thanks for all of your help everybody!
 
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