CPU Possible Upgrades

[mttduley]

Hello everyone, I am looking for some advice. I have a Power Spec pre-built gaming PC I'm hoping to upgrade a little bit in the near future. I'm hoping to upgrade the CPU, GPU and RAM. My current CPU is an Intel i5 7500 in a MSI B250 PC Mate motherboard. According to a quick Google search it seems the B250 PC Mate features an Intel B250 chipset and an LGA1151 socket that is compatible with Intel's Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, Pentium, and Celeron processors. Now I'm not a hardware expert by any means, haha, and there are a lot of i7's out there (which I'm assuming are the highest end of those options?). I am hoping someone with more knowledge can tell me what the best upgrade is that my current motherboard can allow. I'm looking for something that can help with better gaming performance and moderate video editing streaming. I know the MB isn't the best but any help or advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!

 

[feelinfroggy777]

You really dont need to upgrade your whole platform (CPU, RAM, Mobo). It will be pretty expensive and you have a modern rig. The performance boost would just be minimal for gaming. I would look for a good deal on a used 6700/7700. Either of those CPUs will drop right into your current mobo. The 7700 will be right there in gaming performance with all the other CPUs on the market and the 8 threads will help streaming as well.

As far as RAM, is you have 16gb, then you will be fine. But if you only have 8gb, then you should increase it to 16gb. Mixing and matching RAM does not always work, even if they are the same model. This is why RAM is sold in kits. But if you only have 8gb in there, I would try to pair it with another 8gb kit to save some money. Just get the RAM from a vendor who takes returns just in case. If it works, great. If not, then return the 8gb kit you bought and buy a 16gb kit and sell your current 8gb kit.

 

[SchizTech]

Yes, the Intel hierarchy from slowest/cheapest to fastest/most expensive is celeron / Pentium / i3 / i5 / i7. Newer platforms have added a new i9 option at the top but the highest you can get is an i7-7700k.

 

[mttduley]

You really dont need to upgrade your whole platform (CPU, RAM, Mobo). It will be pretty expensive and you have a modern rig. The performance boost would just be minimal for gaming. I would look for a good deal on a used 6700/7700. Either of those CPUs will drop right into your current mobo. The 7700 will be right there in gaming performance with all the other CPUs on the market and the 8 threads will help streaming as well.

As far as RAM, is you have 16gb, then you will be fine. But if you only have 8gb, then you should increase it to 16gb. Mixing and matching RAM does not always work, even if they are the same model. This is why RAM is sold in kits. But if you only have 8gb in there, I would try to pair it with another 8gb kit to save some money. Just get the RAM from a vendor who takes returns just in case. If it works, great. If not, then return the 8gb kit you bought and buy a 16gb kit and sell your current 8gb kit.

Thanks for the input! I currently have 16GB of Ram. The RAM was last on my list with CPU and GPU coming first. I am looking at trading out my GTX 1060 for a 1070 or even 1080 if I can afford it. I didn't want a bottleneck at the CPU, which is why I'm looking to upgrade. I'd only go to 32GB of RAM if I really needed it, which I probably don't right now.

 

[mttduley]

So I found this one on Newegg, is this the best I could get? Is a K model worth tracking down?

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117727&Description=i7%20kaby%20lake&cm_re=i7_kaby_lake-_-19-117-727-_-Product

 

[feelinfroggy777]

I would not go for a "k" model. Those CPUs support overclocking, but your motherboard does not support overclocking. So you would just be paying more for a feature you cant use.

I would look for a used one over a new one if the price is right. $300 is a little high for a 4 core/8 thread CPU. There have been changes in core counts since the 6700/7700 were released. But Intel CPUs never seem to go down in price. So I would look for a 6700 around the 200-225 range. But if you cant find one for that price or dont like used, getting a new 7700 wont be bad choice, just a little expensive.

 

[mttduley]

I would not go for a "k" model. Those CPUs support overclocking, but your motherboard does not support overclocking. So you would just be paying more for a feature you cant use.

I would look for a used one over a new one if the price is right. $300 is a little high for a 4 core/8 thread CPU. There have been changes in core counts since the 6700/7700 were released. But Intel CPUs never seem to go down in price. So I would look for a 6700 around the 200-225 range. But if you cant find one for that price or dont like used, getting a new 7700 wont be bad choice, just a little expensive.

Thanks for the advice! I wondered what the "K" always stood for. If I can save myself money by not getting something I can't use anyway, I will. haha.