Gaming CPU upgrade.

[crewealexboy]

Hello, all.

I'm looking to upgrade my gaming computer some, particularly the CPU as I believe it is holding my system back. I am currently equip with a GTX 770, however I have a very old CPU which is an i3.

Basically I would just like some advice on which processor to upgrade to, I have been looking online and found some however the sockets are not compatible. So my options are quite limited and such.

Here is a screenshot from CPU-Z of my current specs for the motherboard and my i3. However would it also be recommend instead of just a processor, I also upgrade the motherboard to open up my options?

Thank you in advance, if any more info is needed feel free to ask.
(Motherboard is Asus P7H55-M)

 

[crewealexboy]

It will depend on where you are but generally the i5 750's are cheap and about 25% faster than your i3 for gaming. You are limited by that platform for new games and if you cannot get a 750 sensible price its time to think about a re build.

Yeah thanks, I think I will upgrade my motherboard so I can get a better i5 or i7. Got any recommendations for a motherboard, this is the CPU I wish to get after hearing good reviews for gaming.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KPRWB9G/?tag=georiot-pcg-21&ascsubtag=bestcpu

 

[iSwearSheWas18]

It will depend on where you are but generally the i5 750's are cheap and about 25% faster than your i3 for gaming. You are limited by that platform for new games and if you cannot get a 750 sensible price its time to think about a re build.

Yeah thanks, I think I will upgrade my motherboard so I can get a better i5 or i7. Got any recommendations for a motherboard, this is the CPU I wish to get after hearing good reviews for gaming.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KPRWB9G/?tag=georiot-pcg-21&ascsubtag=bestcpu

Thats a really good cpu but if you have the money go for i7k-z97(you can find one for around 400-500£) bundle.You will notice a hugeeeeeee difference.Furthermore you will futureproof your pc for at least 6-7 years.I would suggest you NOT to go with a i5 because an i5 at 3-4 years at max,will be outdated.

 

[crewealexboy]

It will depend on where you are but generally the i5 750's are cheap and about 25% faster than your i3 for gaming. You are limited by that platform for new games and if you cannot get a 750 sensible price its time to think about a re build.

Yeah thanks, I think I will upgrade my motherboard so I can get a better i5 or i7. Got any recommendations for a motherboard, this is the CPU I wish to get after hearing good reviews for gaming.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KPRWB9G/?tag=georiot-pcg-21&ascsubtag=bestcpu

Thats a really good cpu but if you have the money go for i7k-z97(you can find one for around 400-500£) bundle.You will notice a hugeeeeeee difference.Furthermore you will futureproof your pc for at least 6-7 years.I would suggest you NOT to go with a i5 because an i5 at 3-4 years at max,will be outdated.

Alright thanks, do you have a link to this i7 you were discussing? Thanks

 

[LucoTF]

i5 becoming outdated? I doubt that will happen anytime soon:

http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/

50% of steam account pcs surveyed are still on dual core, as of march 2015.

 

[LucoTF]

Dead cheap upgrade for your pc would be an old i7, or xeon equivalent. there's one on ebay for £54 or best offer:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-Xeon-X3450-2-66-GHz-Quad-Core-Like-i7-850-860-870-Socket-1156-Processor-/201323658127?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2edfd33b8f

That xeon should pretty much eliminate any bottleneck you're experiencing, especially if you overclock it a bit. But if you do want to upgrade the whole thing (mobo and cpu) then this is what I'd recommend:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£165.89 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: RAIJINTEK THEMIS 65.7 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£19.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£104.99 @ Novatech)
Total: £290.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-15 14:27 BST+0100

 

[crewealexboy]

Dead cheap upgrade for your pc would be an old i7, or xeon equivalent. there's one on ebay for £54 or best offer:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-Xeon-X3450-2-66-GHz-Quad-Core-Like-i7-850-860-870-Socket-1156-Processor-/201323658127?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2edfd33b8f

That xeon should pretty much eliminate any bottleneck you're experiencing, especially if you overclock it a bit. But if you do want to upgrade the whole thing (mobo and cpu) then this is what I'd recommend:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£165.89 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: RAIJINTEK THEMIS 65.7 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£19.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£104.99 @ Novatech)
Total: £290.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-15 14:27 BST+0100

Thank you so much, I think I will go for the full upgrade in order to make it last longer and such. However, when I replace my motherboard. I would be required to reinstall Windows? I couldn't find a straight up answer online, and I just assumed you had to.

 

[LucoTF]

Thank you so much, I think I will go for the full upgrade in order to make it last longer and such. However, when I replace my motherboard. I would be required to reinstall Windows? I couldn't find a straight up answer online, and I just assumed you had to.

It's not necessary, but is advisable.

Do you have windows 7 or windows 8.1?

 

[crewealexboy]

Thank you so much, I think I will go for the full upgrade in order to make it last longer and such. However, when I replace my motherboard. I would be required to reinstall Windows? I couldn't find a straight up answer online, and I just assumed you had to.

It's not necessary, but is advisable.

Do you have windows 7 or windows 8.1?

Windows 7 64bit Ultimate

 

[LucoTF]

With windows 7 you would need to use a tool called sysprep to strip hardware drivers off your hdd before you changed the motherboard:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/286053-system-preparation-tool-use-customize-windows.html

Alternatively you can just swap out the motherboard and run a system repair, but this doesn't always work. As I said, a fresh install is usually best as it's cleaner

 

[crewealexboy]

With windows 7 you would need to use a tool called sysprep to strip hardware drivers off your hdd before you changed the motherboard:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/286053-system-preparation-tool-use-customize-windows.html

Alternatively you can just swap out the motherboard and run a system repair, but this doesn't always work. As I said, a fresh install is usually best as it's cleaner

Yeah, I agree. Would be much simpler so when I do go to upgrade, I will just put a fresh copy on. Thanks anyways for the help though!

 

[LucoTF]

no problem

 

[sora]

Dead cheap upgrade for your pc would be an old i7, or xeon equivalent. there's one on ebay for £54 or best offer:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-Xeon-X3450-2-66-GHz-Quad-Core-Like-i7-850-860-870-Socket-1156-Processor-/201323658127?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2edfd33b8f

That xeon should pretty much eliminate any bottleneck you're experiencing, especially if you overclock it a bit. But if you do want to upgrade the whole thing (mobo and cpu) then this is what I'd recommend:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£165.89 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: RAIJINTEK THEMIS 65.7 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£19.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£104.99 @ Novatech)
Total: £290.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-15 14:27 BST+0100

+1; The i5-4690k is probably the most you will need haha.