[SOLVED] Can I upgrade too a i5 2500k? or i5 2500

Apr 21, 2020
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hey, can i upgrade my currenty cpu (i5 2400) too an i5 2500k? or an i5 2500

my motherboard is a OM5DCD, and my case is a OptiPlex 390

or, what is the best cpu i can upgrade too in general.

my pc specs:

Intel i5 2400
GTX 1050Ti
1TB Hard drive
OptiPlex 390
0M5DCD Mobo
CX450 PSU
8gb ram
 
Solution
If you are going to be tossing your current computer in a few months, I wouldn't bother burning money on it now unless you need to replace a dying CPU and need to bring your existing system back to life until then, though this could also be an argument for upgrading immediately instead.

A used i7-2600 still costs ~$100, may not necessarily be in great/usable condition, could even be fake. Great if you get a good one on the first try, not so much if you don't. Worst case, a bad CPU could ruin your motherboard.

My i5-3470 is rock-solid (107 days of uptime, a bit overdue on updates) and I wouldn't risk sacrificing stability for a few months of ~30% better performance in multi-threaded workloads. (I have an i7-2600k sitting on a shelf...

beorn

Distinguished
Nov 23, 2010
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18,565
hey, can i upgrade my currenty cpu (i5 2400) too an i5 2500k? or an i5 2500

my motherboard is a OM5DCD, and my case is a OptiPlex 390

or, what is the best cpu i can upgrade too in general.

my pc specs:

Intel i5 2400
GTX 1050Ti
1TB Hard drive
OptiPlex 390
0M5DCD Mobo
CX450 PSU
8gb ram
Well...you probably could, but it wouldn't exactly be much of an upgrade. Waste of $$
 
Apr 21, 2020
98
1
35
Well...you probably could, but it wouldn't exactly be much of an upgrade. Waste of $$
you think id be better off upgrading too a i7 2600? an i7 on ebay cost like 85 and on other sites it cost atleast 80 or more.. the i5 2500k is like 30 on ebay, and on userbenchmark it says the i5 2500k is better
 

Wolfshadw

Titan
Moderator
Maybe when it was new back in 2011, it was worth $30 more than the I5-2400, but today? No. Wasted money. Yes, it's marginally better, but I'd feel better putting that $30 towards pizza and beer for a couple of friends on Football Sunday.

-Wolf sends
 
Apr 21, 2020
98
1
35
Maybe when it was new back in 2011, it was worth $30 more than the I5-2400, but today? No. Wasted money. Yes, it's marginally better, but I'd feel better putting that $30 towards pizza and beer for a couple of friends on Football Sunday.

-Wolf sends
i dont really care how much it costs, 30$ isnt really alot. aslong as its better, it works, and wont use 100% usage when playing games like the 2400 does, i'll be good
 

Turtle Rig

Prominent
BANNED
Jun 23, 2020
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104
590
hey, can i upgrade my currenty cpu (i5 2400) too an i5 2500k? or an i5 2500

my motherboard is a OM5DCD, and my case is a OptiPlex 390

or, what is the best cpu i can upgrade too in general.

my pc specs:

Intel i5 2400
GTX 1050Ti
1TB Hard drive
OptiPlex 390
0M5DCD Mobo
CX450 PSU
8gb ram
I say keep what you have. When your ready for a CPU MOBO and RAM upgrade then we can help you with that depending on your budget. 🙏✝💯🖐🤷‍♀️
 
Apr 21, 2020
98
1
35
I say keep what you have. When your ready for a CPU MOBO and RAM upgrade then we can help you with that depending on your budget. 🙏✝💯🖐🤷‍♀️
im getting a new pc in the next couple of months, i just need a new cpu for now. do you think an i5 2500k would be better than an i7 2600?
 

InvalidError

Titan
Moderator
If you are going to be tossing your current computer in a few months, I wouldn't bother burning money on it now unless you need to replace a dying CPU and need to bring your existing system back to life until then, though this could also be an argument for upgrading immediately instead.

A used i7-2600 still costs ~$100, may not necessarily be in great/usable condition, could even be fake. Great if you get a good one on the first try, not so much if you don't. Worst case, a bad CPU could ruin your motherboard.

My i5-3470 is rock-solid (107 days of uptime, a bit overdue on updates) and I wouldn't risk sacrificing stability for a few months of ~30% better performance in multi-threaded workloads. (I have an i7-2600k sitting on a shelf because it crashes every few days on my Asus H77M. Thankfully, I got the i7 for free as compensation for attempting to unbrick my friend's motherboard, which I couldn't do because his EEPROMs were completely burnt out from a failed flashing attempt - thousands of cells were either stuck or intermittent.)
 
Solution
Apr 21, 2020
98
1
35
If you are going to be tossing your current computer in a few months, I wouldn't bother burning money on it now unless you need to replace a dying CPU and need to bring your existing system back to life until then, though this could also be an argument for upgrading immediately instead.

A used i7-2600 still costs ~$100, may not necessarily be in great/usable condition, could even be fake. Great if you get a good one on the first try, not so much if you don't. Worst case, a bad CPU could ruin your motherboard.

My i5-3470 is rock-solid (107 days of uptime, a bit overdue on updates) and I wouldn't risk sacrificing stability for a few months of ~30% better performance in multi-threaded workloads. (I have an i7-2600k sitting on a shelf because it crashes every few days on my Asus H77M. Thankfully, I got the i7 for free as compensation for attempting to unbrick my friend's motherboard, which I couldn't do because his EEPROMs were completely burnt out from a failed flashing attempt - thousands of cells were either stuck or intermittent.)
like i said i dont really care about how the money, my i5 2400 is not really working out and i need a new cpu. you think im better off at the i5 2500k at 30 or the i7 2600 at like 70+
 

InvalidError

Titan
Moderator
like i said i dont really care about how the money, my i5 2400 is not really working out and i need a new cpu. you think im better off at the i5 2500k at 30 or the i7 2600 at like 70+
As others have already pointed out, the 2500k is utterly pointless and even the 2600 won't necessarily feel that much faster.

If you are at the point where your current system is unbearably slow, upgrading it to a ~30% faster CPU like the 2600 will only be 30% less unbearable.

BTW, since you have only 8GB RAM, you may want to keep an eye on your HDD/SSD LED or activity in Task Manager. If it is almost constantly lit or near 100% when your PC is exceptionally sluggish, swapping is killing your system's responsiveness and a RAM upgrade would likely be far more beneficial than any CPU upgrade you could toss at your motherboard.
 
Apr 21, 2020
98
1
35
As others have already pointed out, the 2500k is utterly pointless and even the 2600 won't necessarily feel that much faster.

If you are at the point where your current system is unbearably slow, upgrading it to a ~30% faster CPU like the 2600 will only be 30% less unbearable.

BTW, since you have only 8GB RAM, you may want to keep an eye on your HDD/SSD LED or activity in Task Manager. If it is almost constantly lit or near 100% when your PC is exceptionally sluggish, swapping is killing your system's responsiveness and a RAM upgrade would likely be far more beneficial than any CPU upgrade you could toss at your motherboard.
my ram is always at under 60 its never went higher than 60, same with everything except my cpu, when i play my cpu is always at 100 - which cpu do you think wont get 100% all the time
 
6 cores is the minimum these days for a good experience while gaming. 4 cores and 8 threads can still get by in a pinch but I wouldn't upgrade to it at this point. Doing this upgrade now would be akin to throwing $30 in the toilet and flushing it down the drain.

Sorry to say it but you need a new computer.
 

InvalidError

Titan
Moderator
which cpu do you think wont get 100% all the time
Definitely not the 2500k and very likely not the 2600 either. As I wrote earlier, if the i5-2400 is unbearable, the i7-2600 will only be ~30% less unbearable assuming your game is sufficiently heavily threaded to make use of all of the extra performance HT can provide.

What game are you playing that is bringing a 2400 to its knees yet only brings system RAM usage to 60%? Most games that are sufficiently threaded to hit 100% usage on quad cores will push system memory usage beyond 8GB when available.

Also, your RAM may "never be above 60%" simply because Windows is swapping other stuff out to keep some RAM available for the file system cache, in which case part of the reason why your CPU is "always at 100%" could be swapfile (de)compression.