Real world upgrade advice

B

botw

Gawd
Joined
Jan 13, 2007
Messages
593
I use my machine mostly for photo editing work and an occasional game. I am currently running a 965BE with an MSI 785 AM3 board, and feel like it's getting bogged down in lightroom and photoshop. I am running an OCZ SSD as my primary drive and a number of others as storage drives, including an intel 80gb SSD as my main image processing dump (final images/catalogs get moved), 8gb ddr3 (can't remember the exact speed), with a 6950 for graphics.

I haven't been terribly active on the boards recently and can't get a good feel from online reviews what sort of upgrade I can expect if I were to switch systems. So, how much real world performance increase would a switch to an i2500k, 2700k, or 3550 bring (or other processer in the $160-250 range). Thanks!
 
As unlikely as it is that we will have a huge surprise on our hands I'd wait for the next round of amd chips in case they come close to 2500k speeds for a few bucks less. otherwise i'd go with a 2500k now and oc it, even if just a little bit.
 
Applications like Adobe CS are one of few programs that can take advantage of as many threads as you have. So the Intel® Core™ i7's like the Intel Core i7-3770K are going to be your best performance choice for your needs.
 
I believe you will see that a Z68 motherbaord is pretty reasonable in both price and performance and can help keep the cost of the upgrade down a bit.

You're most likely looking at spending over $200 on a chip. So, to keep this in the sub-$300.00 realm, Z68 is probably the way to go. If you can stretch the budget a bit, the Z77 boards are worth the upgrade, based on what I seen. The price to performance is there for about $40 - $50 more.
 
Start keeping your eyes peeled for a 2600k or 2700k on sale, or check the FS/FT forum here for one. If you can't find a z77 board to suit your budget, look for a mid-high end z68 board. You won't be missing out on much (aside from better overclockability). CS6 is one of the only apps/suites that I've ever had show a noticable improvement with HT turned on so you'll most likely notice a pretty hefty difference in how your workflow moves.
 
Id go with a 3820. Its the same as an ivy bridge, and future proof. The mobos are a bit more pricey, but give you better options imo.

Good luck.
 
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