i5-2500k to i7-3770k

[explodatron]

I'm trying to decide if it's worth upgrading from my i5-2500k to an i7-3770k. In the past I have always been of the opinion that hyperthreading is not used for gaming and that my i5-2500k is about the best I can get for gaming. Well it looks like many of these next-gen games are starting to make use of hyper threading, take Battlefield 4 as an example.

My buddy and I have a very similar set up;
2x 670s in SLI
16GB DDR3
Windows 8.1

The main difference is he's using an i7-4770k and I'm using an i5-2500k. Up until recently he was also using an i5-2500k (He works for Intel, got his 4770k for free ) and he said he noticed a really substantial FPS gain in BF4.

The 3770k and 4770k are almost identical in specs and their performances reflect that. The 3770k is still a better price to performance cost anyways. At the very least I think upgrading to the 4770k is NOT worth the cost considering I would also need a new motherboard.

It's not like I'm hurting in FPS in any game out right now. BF4 I still average probably 80 FPS on ultra, with the occasional dip into mid 50s and 60s. According to my friend with the 4770k his CPU pretty much eliminated those drops and put the bottleneck back on his GPUs netting him 20+ higher average FPS.

Besides gaming I do a good amount of photoshop work as well as video rendering and would love to cut my rendering times down with a better CPU. I know having the extra threads would do that for me, but by how much? I can't find figures comparing the 3770k and the 2500k in these regards.

I would love some input from those of you with similar experience and set ups!

 

[Jenish J]

Well, i7-3770K is a better option, and will be even better if you overclock it to a good point.

 

[inzone]

For gaming the switch to a 3770k would not make all that much difference since once you pass 60fps the difference becomes un-noticeable , 60fps, 80fps or 100fps there is no difference that you can see and the only thing that does tell you the difference is the fps counter.
If you having constant dips down to below 60fps and it's noticeable and annoying then that would be something for you to decide if you want to get rid of that. What do you have the CPU overclocked to?

For rendering you can look at the charts that we have here at TomsHrdware and compare the two CPUs.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/cpu-charts-2013/-03-Blender,3162.html

 

[centaurius]

I agree... you see any major difference in gaming related. Unless in CPU boundign games. I believe BF4 actually take a bit more advantage of hyper threading. thats why your buddy with an I7 says he has got a better feeling... But other games wont doesnt really happen.

Only advantage here would be in enconding, of course time woudl reduce. But if u mainly game and can hold off a bit more... hold it, not worth teh cost atm.

 

[RobCrezz]

Have you overclocked? I would bet if you overclocked your 2500k to 4.5Ghz with a good cooler, you will perform better than the 4770k at stock clocks.

 

[blade of grass]

If you do alot of things that can actually use the extra threads that the i7 will give you, I would say go for it (you mentioned rendering). If you really want to lower render times, and are willing to spend extra money, it's a good option. Along with upgrading to the i7, I would also suggest overclocking it, since you're basically getting 'free' performance.