I5-650 to i7-870 Upgrade - worth it?

[threeboy]

I currently have an i5-650, and it's been great but I really bought it at the time because I just needed to get my computer back up after my old mobo bit the dust. The i5-650 cost me about $200 and I see the i7-870 costs around $280 - I can probably ebay my i5 and get about $150 so I'm wondering if switching to the i7 this is a good upgrade.

Processors in question.

Intel i5 650 @ 3.2 Ghz
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=43546

Intel i7 870 @ 2.93 Ghz
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=41315

I game a bit, use photoshop and also will be editing HD video in the near future. Will I see a substantial performance increase even though the clock speed is slightly slower? Will the increased L4 cache be better for multi-tasking?

Just wondering - thx.

 

[mi1ez]

For things like photoshop and video editing having twice the cores and twice the threads will give more of an increase in speed than what you'll lose through the clock speed.

 

[threeboy]

That's what I'm thining - games are slowly getting onto the multi-core side of things too - right?

 

[mi1ez]

They are.

 

[threeboy]

On the intel site it says the i7-870 doesn't have intergrated graphics, and also doesn't support "AES New Instructions" whereas the i5-650 does - does that stuff matter?

 

[Bacterius]

Integrated graphics is for people who don't have nor need graphics cards, it's good for most people except for gamers (read: gamers don't need it but even if they get it they still need a real graphics card). And AES is hardware support for encryption and is not really required, it just helps your computer encrypt stuff quicker.

 

[threeboy]

This chart helped alot

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/107?vs=144

 

[threeboy]

I think I'm hooped - already bought the i7 - sold the i5.

Just found out my mobo only supports 1 pcie x16, the other is pcie x8 so one of my cards is at half speed.

Last time I trust the dude at the store for advice!

 

[threeboy]

I'm a nub, lulz.

CPU-Z says 1 card is running at 738 Mhz and the other running at 300 Mhz - what's going on there?

 

[threeboy]

I have an Asus P7P55D-E PRO mobo.

I did some searching around and my SLI bridge might be on the wrong connectors - I'll give that a go.

 

[threeboy]

card still giving me trouble - gonna start a new thread.

thx for the CPU help guys.

 

[threeboy]

Best answer selected by threeboy.

 

[Wish I Was Wealthy]

I currently have an i5-650, and it's been great but I really bought it at the time because I just needed to get my computer back up after my old mobo bit the dust. The i5-650 cost me about $200 and I see the i7-870 costs around $280 - I can probably ebay my i5 and get about $150 so I'm wondering if switching to the i7 this is a good upgrade.

Processors in question.

Intel i5 650 @ 3.2 Ghz
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=43546

Intel i7 870 @ 2.93 Ghz
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=41315

I game a bit, use photoshop and also will be editing HD video in the near future. Will I see a substantial performance increase even though the clock speed is slightly slower? Will the increased L4 cache be better for multi-tasking?

Just wondering - thx.

Hi threeboy ...Your instincts are so right & you did not even have to put this thread up you know 😉 ...Core i7 870 @ 2.93GHz turbo boost up to 3.6 GHz & has hyperthreading also 😉 ...If you game a fair bit then you should know that most games if not all go better using all four cores now a days 😉 ...Also in the bios you can set it to run at a higher GHz value then letting it run it's self 😉 ...Say at the same speed what your intel core i5 650 @ 3.2 GHz does ...So easy & you worried for nothing & put up this thread ...Anyway go gaming & spend your time wisely ...