Question i3-7100 upgrade recommendations

[dontdisobeyy]

Hi guys!

So I am currently looking for an upgrade for my CPU, as it has been holding me back in performance for the games I play, as well as having it for 2 years+ I think it is starting to wear out. So currently I am thinking of 2 options.

Option 1:
To get an i5-7400 or 7500 as well as an extra 8gb stick of RAM, as the price of the ram in my system has dropped significantly. Also, with this upgrade will it just be as easy as a replacement? Or wil I need to do some extra stuff such as BIOS updates and such (I am not that knowledgable on the BIOS or motherboards so if this is the case I may need guidance).

Option 2:
Get a new motherboard that supports 8th gen processors and go for a i5-8400. With this option I may also need help picking the cheapest motherboard that supports this processor as well as my other components, as I stated before i'm not knowledgable on motherboards and chipstets etc lol. Also, depending on the price I may have to skip out buying the extra ram.

I would also appreciate any other suggestions that im missing out on which may give the same if not a better performance boost in gaming than what i suggested for a similar or cheaper price, for exmaple AMD cpu's as i have 0 to no knowledge about AMD and there products.

My current specs:

CPU

Intel® Core™ i3 7100 CPU (Dual Core, 3.9GHz, 3MB Cache)

RAM

Crucial 8GB DDR4 2400MHz UDIMM (1x8GB)

Graphics Card

Asus GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti Phoenix 4GB GDDR5

Motherboard

Asus H110M-R/C/SI (Socket-1151, 2x DDR4, Micro-ATX)

Operating System

Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit EN (OEM)

Storage HDD / SSHD

Seagate BarraCuda 1TB 3.5" SATA III HDD

Power Supply Unit

AeroCool® Integrator 500W — 500 Watt 80 PLUS® Bronze PSU (OEM)

 

[logainofhades]

Search the net. I found a website where a i3 8100 was running a 2080 series GPU at high fps

The i3 8100 is a pure quad core, like the i5 7500. The i3 7100 is a 2c/4t cpu. Totally different animal.

 

[dontdisobeyy]

As budget allows, I'd probably make the following upgrades in this order:

RAM
Storage SSD
CPU
Power Supply
Graphics Card

I realize you only have around £250 to spend right now, so just start with the RAM and the SSD. Given how finicky RAM can be to upgrade, I'd probably just replace what you have with the suggested kit.

PCPartPicker Part List

Memory: Crucial 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£63.18 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£74.80 @ PC World Business)
Total: £137.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-09 21:09 BST+0100

When you can, consider the following additional upgrades in the order of CPU, Power Supply, and then Graphics Card:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-7500 3.4 GHz Quad-Core Processor (£174.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB AERO ITX Video Card (£434.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£75.46 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £685.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-09 21:11 BST+0100


-Wolf sends

Thanks for the suggestion Wolf. I forgot to mention i already have a 120gb kingston ssd, which i use to for storage of the main games that i play, do you think i would get more out of it if i was to put my operating system onto it instead? Does this mean i can skip the ssd upgrade you suggested and go straight for ram and cpu for now? and then upgrade the psu and gpu in the future?

 

[Ziadul87]

The i3 8100 is a pure quad core, like the i5 7500. The i3 7100 is a 2c/4t cpu. Totally different animal.

Notebookcheck.net says 1050ti gets 36fps on farcry 5 ultra wher my i3 6100+gtx1650 gets 40+fps. That makes me think that his CPU is NOT the problem

 

[dontdisobeyy]

An AMD approach. The i5 6c/6t cpu's suffer from frametime variance in modern titles.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (£115.33 @ Box Limited)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M Pro4-F Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£66.21 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport AT 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (£75.59 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £257.13
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-09 21:17 BST+0100

Thanks for the alternative approach mate. As i lack knowledge in AMD cpu's, how would you comapre this cpu you recommended to an intel cpu? Also do I have to completetly replace the ram? rather than just add the exact stick i already have again to save money?

 

[logainofhades]

Ryzen needs fast ram. The 2600 is a 6 core/12 threaded CPU, so it is better for multitasking, and will not suffer from the frametime variance issues, that the i5's suffer from. Newer titles are starting to finally take advantage of these higher core count/threaded CPU's.

 

[logainofhades]

Notebookcheck.net says 1050ti gets 36fps on farcry 5 ultra wher my i3 6100+gtx1650 gets 40+fps. That makes me think that his CPU is NOT the problem

It is the problem when their little 2c/4t cpu is maxing out, and the GPU is not. I originally thought GPU also, but with the usage they are seeing, that is not the case here. Modern titles are simply too much for a dual core cpu to handle, even with hyperthreading.

 

[Ziadul87]

Hi guys!

So I am currently looking for an upgrade for my CPU, as it has been holding me back in performance for the games I play, as well as having it for 2 years+ I think it is starting to wear out. So currently I am thinking of 2 options.

Option 1:
To get an i5-7400 or 7500 as well as an extra 8gb stick of RAM, as the price of the ram in my system has dropped significantly. Also, with this upgrade will it just be as easy as a replacement? Or wil I need to do some extra stuff such as BIOS updates and such (I am not that knowledgable on the BIOS or motherboards so if this is the case I may need guidance).

Option 2:
Get a new motherboard that supports 8th gen processors and go for a i5-8400. With this option I may also need help picking the cheapest motherboard that supports this processor as well as my other components, as I stated before i'm not knowledgable on motherboards and chipstets etc lol. Also, depending on the price I may have to skip out buying the extra ram.

I would also appreciate any other suggestions that im missing out on which may give the same if not a better performance boost in gaming than what i suggested for a similar or cheaper price, for exmaple AMD cpu's as i have 0 to no knowledge about AMD and there products.

My current specs:

CPU

Intel® Core™ i3 7100 CPU (Dual Core, 3.9GHz, 3MB Cache)

RAM

Crucial 8GB DDR4 2400MHz UDIMM (1x8GB)

Graphics Card

Asus GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti Phoenix 4GB GDDR5

Motherboard

Asus H110M-R/C/SI (Socket-1151, 2x DDR4, Micro-ATX)

Operating System

Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit EN (OEM)

Storage HDD / SSHD

Seagate BarraCuda 1TB 3.5" SATA III HDD

Power Supply Unit

AeroCool® Integrator 500W — 500 Watt 80 PLUS® Bronze PSU (OEM)

Just go to GPUcheck website and you'll find a lot of CPU-GPU combinations benchmarks and chose the one that suits you best:

GTX 1660 Ti with i3-7100 1080p, 1440p, Ultrawide, 4K benchmarks at Ultra Quality - GPUCheck United States / USA

We benchmark GTX 1660 Ti and i3-7100 at Ultra Quality settings in 56 games and in 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. With a review of specifications, price, power, temperature, and CPU bottlenecks.

www.gpucheck.com

I3 7100+1660ti gets an average of 76.8fps on 1080p ultra

GTX 1050 Ti with i5-8400 1080p, 1440p, Ultrawide, 4K benchmarks at Ultra Quality - GPUCheck United States / USA

We benchmark GTX 1050 Ti and i5-8400 at Ultra Quality settings in 64 games and in 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. With a review of specifications, price, power, temperature, and CPU bottlenecks.

www.gpucheck.com

But i5 8400 + 1050ti gets only an average of 42fps on 1080p ultra.



I hope this answers your questions regarding whether a GPU upgrade comes first lr a CPU upgrade

 

[dontdisobeyy]

You'd need a new motherboard as well.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-9400F 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor (£142.38 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: ASRock B365M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£84.84 @ More Computers)
Total: £227.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-09 21:08 BST+0100

Thanks for this recommendation WildCard. Out of curiousity why is this CPU cheaper than the i5-8400? Also is it overclockable with the matching motherboard?

 

[Wolfshadw]

You should definitely be running your OS from the SSD, but 120GB is rather small these days. I could get the essentials on there (Windows, Firefox/Chrome, LibreOffice, MalwareBytes, Acrobat Reader) and that would take up a hefty chunk of your SSD. Now consider your add-ons (printer software, media players like VLAN, Application Files like Steam or Teamspeak) and you're running real low on space already. And who knows how large the next Windows update is going to be.

No. I'd probably opt to keep the 500GB SSD upgrade, but you could probably get away with swapping the order with the CPU.

-Wolf sends

 

[dontdisobeyy]

Ryzen needs fast ram. The 2600 is a 6 core/12 threaded CPU, so it is better for multitasking, and will not suffer from the frametime variance issues, that the i5's suffer from. Newer titles are starting to finally take advantage of these higher core count/threaded CPU's.

If i was to only add the exact 8gb stick instead of what you recommended for the ram in the meantime, what will be the repercussions? will it affect my gaming experience? as that is what im more worried about atm.

 

[Ziadul87]

Hi guys!

So I am currently looking for an upgrade for my CPU, as it has been holding me back in performance for the games I play, as well as having it for 2 years+ I think it is starting to wear out. So currently I am thinking of 2 options.

Option 1:
To get an i5-7400 or 7500 as well as an extra 8gb stick of RAM, as the price of the ram in my system has dropped significantly. Also, with this upgrade will it just be as easy as a replacement? Or wil I need to do some extra stuff such as BIOS updates and such (I am not that knowledgable on the BIOS or motherboards so if this is the case I may need guidance).

Option 2:
Get a new motherboard that supports 8th gen processors and go for a i5-8400. With this option I may also need help picking the cheapest motherboard that supports this processor as well as my other components, as I stated before i'm not knowledgable on motherboards and chipstets etc lol. Also, depending on the price I may have to skip out buying the extra ram.

I would also appreciate any other suggestions that im missing out on which may give the same if not a better performance boost in gaming than what i suggested for a similar or cheaper price, for exmaple AMD cpu's as i have 0 to no knowledge about AMD and there products.

My current specs:

CPU

Intel® Core™ i3 7100 CPU (Dual Core, 3.9GHz, 3MB Cache)

RAM

Crucial 8GB DDR4 2400MHz UDIMM (1x8GB)

Graphics Card

Asus GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti Phoenix 4GB GDDR5

Motherboard

Asus H110M-R/C/SI (Socket-1151, 2x DDR4, Micro-ATX)

Operating System

Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit EN (OEM)

Storage HDD / SSHD

Seagate BarraCuda 1TB 3.5" SATA III HDD

Power Supply Unit

AeroCool® Integrator 500W — 500 Watt 80 PLUS® Bronze PSU (OEM)

Just go to GPUcheck website and you'll find a lot of CPU-GPU combinations benchmarks and chose the one that suits you best.

I3 7100+1660ti gets an average of 76.8fps on 1080p ultra

But i5 8400 + 1050ti gets only an average of 42fps on 1080p ultra

I hope this answers your questions regarding whether a GPU upgrade comes first or a CPU upgrade

 

[WildCard999]

Thanks for this recommendation WildCard. Out of curiousity why is this CPU cheaper than the i5-8400? Also is it overclockable with the matching motherboard?

The 9400F lacks a iGPU so without your dedicated GPU (1050 ti) you won't get a display however it does run at a higher boost speed and would be slightly better then the 8400. It isn't overclockable, would also need to be a K series paired with a Z370 (updated BIOS) or Z390 board.

 

[dontdisobeyy]

The 9400F lacks a iGPU so without your dedicated GPU (1050 ti) you won't get a display however it does run at a higher boost speed and would be slightly better then the 8400. It isn't overclockable, would need to be a K series paired with a Z370 (updated BIOS) or Z390 board.

Thanks for the info. This is a recommendation i am leaning towards, thanks again 😀.

 

[logainofhades]

If i was to only add the exact 8gb stick instead of what you recommended for the ram in the meantime, what will be the repercussions? will it affect my gaming experience? as that is what im more worried about atm.

You could do that, short term. Yes there will be a bit of a hit, to gaming performance, but you will still be better off, than you are now, due to much better multi-threaded capability. You also get an upgrade path, to 3rd gen Ryzen. You might want to consider stepping up to one of MSI's B450 max line of motherboards. They come with Ryzen 3000 support, out of the box, and have a larger bios chip, so the chance of being able to do a 4th gen Ryzen upgrade, with said board, is much higher. The current 8th/9th gen platform is a dead end, as next gen Intel will definitely bring a new socket/chipset.

 

[WildCard999]

Thanks for the info. This is a recommendation i am leaning towards, thanks again 😀.

If it where me I'd go CPU/MB first, memory next, then PSU then GPU, then SSD.

There's also Ryzen but it's going to cost a bit more initially as you'll want faster memory in dual channel.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (£115.33 @ Box Limited)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M Pro4-F Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£66.21 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (£84.09 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £265.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-09 21:54 BST+0100

 

[dontdisobeyy]

You could do that, short term. Yes there will be a bit of a hit, to gaming performance, but you will still be better off, than you are now, due to much better multi-threaded capability. You also get an upgrade path, to 3rd gen Ryzen. You might want to consider stepping up to one of MSI's B450 max line of motherboards. They come with Ryzen 3000 support, out of the box, and have a larger bios chip, so the chance of being able to do a 4th gen Ryzen upgrade, with said board, is much higher. The current 8th/9th gen platform is a dead end, as next gen Intel will definitely bring a new socket/chipset.

Good to know man and i will seriously consider your recommendation also as I have been always curious about AMD's lineup on cpu's, thanks again 😀

 

[dontdisobeyy]

If it where me I'd go CPU/MB first, memory next, then PSU then GPU, then SSD.

There's also Ryzen but it's going to cost a bit more initially as you'll want faster memory in dual channel.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (£115.33 @ Box Limited)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M Pro4-F Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£66.21 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (£84.09 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £265.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-09 21:54 BST+0100

So would I HAVE to purchase the 3200Mhz ram and completely replace the ones I have now? Or could I getaway with buying the same stick I already have in the system to save cost?

 

[WildCard999]

So would I HAVE to purchase the 3200Mhz ram and completely replace the ones I have now? Or could I getaway with buying the same stick I already have in the system to save cost?

You would need to replace them. The difference between 2400mhz & 3200 is quite drastic (can be as high as 25 FPS difference or at the very least the difference between stability & frequent FPS dips).

 

[TJ Hooker]

FYI Intel CPUs can also benefit from fast RAM as much or more than AMD CPUs. So I wouldn't necessarily view it as a strict 'requirement' for building an AMD system (unless you also consider it a requirement for a new Intel system).

 

[Ketchup79]

Thanks for the suggestion mate. I forgot to mention i have a 120gb kingston ssd already in my system, do you think putting the operating system onto the ssd would be better rather than my games. Also, is it an issue that my cpu runs at 80-100% on all cores and threads while im playing games whith my gpu only running at only 60 - 70%?

Depends on the game. You gotta remember also that you have 2 cores but 4 threads, so if a game/app uses "both" cores, it would also use "all cores/threads." As for the game, some are more CPU-dependent than others, so tell us what games are being held back. And give us top CPU temp from both cores under load from a program like HWMonitor.

 

[Ziadul87]

But remember that,GPUcheck website has a lot of CPU-GPU combinations benchmarks and according to it:

I3 7100+1660ti gets an average of 76.8fps on 1080p ultra

But i5 8400 + 1050ti gets only an average of 42fps on 1080p ultra

The choice of upgrading GPU over CPU is obvious

I hope this answers your questions regarding whether a GPU upgrade comes first or a CPU upgrade