A10-5800K vs. i5 2500k

[MrDitorix]

So a bit of an odd comparison, but currently in my rig I have an AMD A10-5800k, I originally purchased it when they first started coming out to put in my rig, which at the time, lacked a dedicated graphics card. Nearly two years later I think it's finally time to upgrade especially since I put in a GTX 960 a while back.

So on craigslist in my area I found a used i5 2500k for $100, seems like a pretty good deal. I was just wondering if there would be noticeable performance gains as it relates to PC gaming. I won't purchase it if the gains are minimal or non-existent.
Also how does the GTX 960 perform alongside the 2500k?

Thanks in advance.

 

[TechyInAZ]

The I5-2500K would be a significant boost.

However, keep in mind that you need a LGA 1155 motherboard to put that i5 onto. Your current motherboard will not work with Intel CPUs. Unfortunately the good Z77 motherboards are still at least $90 so you aren't really saving too much money by going with older hardware.

If I were you, I would buy a Skylake Core i3-6100 with a B110 or H170 chipset motherboard. It's going to be just as quick if not quicker than a core i5 2500K for gaming, and you get all the new technologies along with it.

 

[dorsai]

The i5 2500k will be significantly faster than the A10-5800K as well as the Skylake Core i3-6100. Most i5 2500k's are capable of 4.5ghz over clocks and as a quad core CPU it will walk away from any dual core or any of the AMD APU chips. In modern games we are once again starting to see CPU limited titles, so I would stay away from any dual core chip at this point.

Paired with a GTX 960 the i5 2500k will make a solid mid level gaming rig.

 

[davmazin]

an i3 as good as an i5? i wonder if that is real (srry to doubt you) can you show a chart of gaming performance with that i3 and the i5 man if its not a problem

 

[MrDitorix]

The I5-2500K would be a significant boost.

However, keep in mind that you need a LGA 1155 motherboard to put that i5 onto. Your current motherboard will not work with Intel CPUs. Unfortunately the good Z77 motherboards are still at least $90 so you aren't really saving too much money by going with older hardware.

If I were you, I would buy a Skylake Core i3-6100 with a B110 or H170 chipset motherboard. It's going to be just as quick if not quicker than a core i5 2500K for gaming, and you get all the new technologies along with it.

I am aware of the fact that I would need a new motherboard to use the 2500k, but now that you mention it, it does seem more logical to get the one of the new i3's like the 6100 as you said, which would leave me with a LGA 1151 motherboard so if I ever wanted to upgrade to a 6th gen i5 or even i7, the possibility is there and would be much easier.

Thanks, I will probably do that now instead of the 2500k, don't know why I didn't think of that myself haha.

 

[MrDitorix]

hmm, so would it actually be logical to get the i3? Having second thoughts now that there's more responses.

 

[TechyInAZ]

That's ok. Second thoughts are always good.

I'll break it down to you:

The core I5 will be faster in SOME games because it has 4 cores and if you pair it with a Z mobo you can overclock it.

HOWEVER, the Core i3 will be faster than a STOCK clocked 2500K in most games because most games today only require a dual core to function. Plus, the GTX 960 is a mid range card, so a higher end CPU isn't needed. If you had a GTX 1070 or 1080, the 2500K would be necessary to prevent bottleneck.

So it's up to you, do you want slightly less performance but all the advantages of Skylake since it's new or the older Sandy Bridge...?

 

[neblogai]

Going Skylake i3 is better choice, it will run very similar to i5 Sandy with GTX960 at 1080p, but can be later easily upgraded to i5-i7 Skylake or even Kaby Lake when more performance is required.

 

[TechyInAZ]

If this helps, here is a general idea of what you would need to buy (RAM and motherboard choice are up to you):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($81.98 @ Directron)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($51.43 @ Amazon)
Total: $244.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-15 14:21 EDT-0400

 

[MrDitorix]

I think I'll go with the i3, which gives me the ability to easily upgrade my cpu to a 6th gen i5 or i7 in the future, it also means I'll get to upgrade my outdated ram, which was going to be my next upgrade anyway haha, might as well do it all in one shot.

Thanks guys.

 

[TechyInAZ]

I think I'll go with the i3, which gives me the ability to easily upgrade my cpu to a 6th gen i5 or i7 in the future, it also means I'll get to upgrade my outdated ram, which was going to be my next upgrade anyway haha, might as well do it all in one shot.

Thanks guys.

Your welcome. Also just like @neblogai said, Kaby Lake might be out when you need to upgrading. Giving you an even greater performance boost in the future.

 

[delaro]

The I5-2500K would be a significant boost.

However, keep in mind that you need a LGA 1155 motherboard to put that i5 onto. Your current motherboard will not work with Intel CPUs. Unfortunately the good Z77 motherboards are still at least $90 so you aren't really saving too much money by going with older hardware.

If I were you, I would buy a Skylake Core i3-6100 with a B110 or H170 chipset motherboard. It's going to be just as quick if not quicker than a core i5 2500K for gaming, and you get all the new technologies along with it.

You seem to have already made you choice I'd just like to show you the Comparison between a I5 2500K and a A10.
http://ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1180

A LGA1155 setup would be a improvement over a FM2+ in Average FPS and still have a few "Expensive" upgrades left but I would avoid it as it is a dead socket. The I3 6100 mentioned is a solid option with great upgrade potential and if you pick the right board you can still BLCK overclock to 4.3ghz fairly easy.