i5 7600k - upgrade from i5 3450?

[ThomasReck]

I've got an i5 3450 that's pretty worn and giving me troubles every now and then, and I need to upgrade. I've been looking alot at the i5 7600k, but I can't figure out if it's worth the money as I also have to buy a new motherboard, and new RAM (can't find a decent motherboard that supports 7th gen and also DDR3 RAM), so I'm looking at around $440 in total.

Would it be better for me to get a 6th gen and a motherboard supporting 6th gen?

For the record, the motherboard I'm looking at is the MSI B250 PC MATE

 

[LucoTF]

Just get an i7 3770, much cheaper and easier

 

[ThomasReck]

Just get an i7 3770, much cheaper and easier

It's also about $90 more and appears to be worse than the i5 7600k according to userbenchmark (don't know if that site is reliable or not.)

 

[rhysiam]

How do you know it's the CPU specifically that's giving you the troubles? While it is possible for a CPU to fail or die of old age, in my experience a locked CPU like that is one of the least likely points of failure. I agree that a 3770 might not be a bad idea, but that assumes that the rest of your system is fine and your "troubles" are related specifically to the CPU. That seems like a big assumption to me.

If you're considering sticking with the bulk of your current hardware, it's worth spending some time isolating the issue before you spend money.

 

[ThomasReck]

How do you know it's the CPU specifically that's giving you the troubles? While it is possible for a CPU to fail or die of old age, in my experience a locked CPU like that is one of the least likely points of failure. I agree that a 3770 might not be a bad idea, but that assumes that the rest of your system is fine and your "troubles" are related specifically to the CPU. That seems like a big assumption to me.

If you're considering sticking with the bulk of your current hardware, it's worth spending some time isolating the issue before you spend money.

Well specifically, it hardly takes anything for my CPU usage to go 80% and above, Chrome alone can easily be using 10-20%. Even a fresh windows installation uses up 7%-14% while idle.

The rest of my hardware is a GTX 1060, HyperX 1600MHz 8GB RAM (DDR3), 3x SSD's, and the motherboard is a p75 pro3 (asrock).
The only old component, is the CPU. (4+ years old)

 

[rhysiam]

Well specifically, it hardly takes anything for my CPU usage to go 80% and above, Chrome alone can easily be using 10-20%. Even a fresh windows installation uses up 7%-14% while idle

That's not necessarily indicative of a problem. Windows is often doing stuff in the background and 10% -ish isn't out of the question there. High CPU usage is more likely a software issue, with random software chewing up resources in the background.

Again - you could well be right, but a failed/failing CPU still doesn't quite explain those symptoms.

It's worth downloading something like Cinebench - or any other widely used CPU benchmark, running it, and comparing your results with others.
You can download it here: http://www.techspot.com/downloads/6709-cinebench.html
Here's the ranking list - you can find an i5 3450 on page 4: https://us.rebusfarm.net/en/tempbench?view=benchmark

While that stress test is running, you should monitor temps with something like HW-Monitor.
And watch your CPU clock with CPU-Z or similar. Watch closely for any significant fluctuations in CPU frequency. If temps are under control the whole time, the multithreaded test should have your CPU should sit at or above the 3.1Ghz base clock for the duration of the test.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

Check eBay for a used i7-3770, I just saw some for as low as $155. As previously stated, locked Intel CPUs are very reliable and eBay has a 30-day money back guarantee. I've bought 4 CPUs on eBay in the last year, including an i5-4690K and i7-4790K. All were in working order.

I know from experience a GTX 1060 can be bottlenecked by an i5-4690(k) playing Battlefield 1, so I'd expect an i5-3450 to as well. Not sure what games you play, but the extra threads of the i7 will help out a lot.

 

[ThomasReck]

Well specifically, it hardly takes anything for my CPU usage to go 80% and above, Chrome alone can easily be using 10-20%. Even a fresh windows installation uses up 7%-14% while idle

That's not necessarily indicative of a problem. Windows is often doing stuff in the background and 10% -ish isn't out of the question there. High CPU usage is more likely a software issue, with random software chewing up resources in the background.

Again - you could well be right, but a failed/failing CPU still doesn't quite explain those symptoms.

It's worth downloading something like Cinebench - or any other widely used CPU benchmark, running it, and comparing your results with others.
You can download it here: http://www.techspot.com/downloads/6709-cinebench.html
Here's the ranking list - you can find an i5 3450 on page 4: https://us.rebusfarm.net/en/tempbench?view=benchmark

While that stress test is running, you should monitor temps with something like HW-Monitor.
And watch your CPU clock with CPU-Z or similar. Watch closely for any significant fluctuations in CPU frequency. If temps are under control the whole time, the multithreaded test should have your CPU should sit at or above the 3.1Ghz base clock for the duration of the test.

My score is 376 on Cinebench (318 on second test), the temperature seems to be averaging on 55-60 on all cores during the Cinebench test, 40 being the minimum 59 being the maximum. The core speed stays at 3292MHz during the Cinebench test.

Also another issue, when my computer starts up after being turned off for a few hours, it takes 30+ seconds for Windows to load after the bios screen.

Check eBay for a used i7-3770, I just saw some for as low as $155. As previously stated, locked Intel CPUs are very reliable and eBay has a 30-day money back guarantee. I've bought 4 CPUs on eBay in the last year, including an i5-4690K and i7-4790K. All were in working order.

I know from experience a GTX 1060 can be bottlenecked by an i5-4690(k) playing Battlefield 1, so I'd expect an i5-3450 to as well. Not sure what games you play, but the extra threads of the i7 will help out a lot.

I'm willing to go for the i7-3770 for sure, but is it worth it if it's worse than the i5 7600 (again according to userbenchmark.com), and if I have to get another motherboard anyway? As for the games, it's mostly games like overwatch, world of warcraft, arma 3 and player unknown's battlegrounds.

 

[Karadjgne]

My i5 3570k doesn't struggle with anything that's on it, my i7-3770K sees even less of a struggle and its running considerably more. I got my i7 on ebay for $50.
There's very little difference between the 2 i5's for the most part, granted you'll show ability to get higher fps, but my i7 already gets 300fps on cs:go, heavily modded (138 4k/8k, flora/fauna, cities, enb, 4k DSR) skyrim barely gets my i7 to 55% on max ultra settings, MGS:V at max settings gets 54% with gpu at 98%. Honestly, Ivy Bridge are still very much viable as a cpu base even put up against modern titles and gpus.

Cpus are notoriously hard to kill except by heat, there's enough components and circuitry between the cpu and psu that voltages are very rarely an issue. You'll fry a mobo before destroying a cpu. So if you haven't had your fingers in the socket, that basically leaves software of some sort, be it apps you approve of, or the malware you don't.
My old standby is spybot - search and destroy. It'll do the one thing that most all other vifus/malware won't, and thats lock up the hosts file. The other is malwarebytes. Quite often 1 will pick up on something the other missed, no software being perfect.
I'm not so sure temps are the issue, that's usually reserved for throttling, which slows the cpu clocks, not add high % usage. Sounds much more like a malicious software problem, jacking up cpu % with additional information being broadcast on the net to multiple fishing sites.

 

[ThomasReck]

My i5 3570k doesn't struggle with anything that's on it, my i7-3770K sees even less of a struggle and its running considerably more. I got my i7 on ebay for $50.
There's very little difference between the 2 i5's for the most part, granted you'll show ability to get higher fps, but my i7 already gets 300fps on cs:go, heavily modded (138 4k/8k, flora/fauna, cities, enb, 4k DSR) skyrim barely gets my i7 to 55% on max ultra settings, MGS:V at max settings gets 54% with gpu at 98%. Honestly, Ivy Bridge are still very much viable as a cpu base even put up against modern titles and gpus.

Cpus are notoriously hard to kill except by heat, there's enough components and circuitry between the cpu and psu that voltages are very rarely an issue. You'll fry a mobo before destroying a cpu. So if you haven't had your fingers in the socket, that basically leaves software of some sort, be it apps you approve of, or the malware you don't.
My old standby is spybot - search and destroy. It'll do the one thing that most all other vifus/malware won't, and thats lock up the hosts file. The other is malwarebytes. Quite often 1 will pick up on something the other missed, no software being perfect.
I'm not so sure temps are the issue, that's usually reserved for throttling, which slows the cpu clocks, not add high % usage. Sounds much more like a malicious software problem, jacking up cpu % with additional information being broadcast on the net to multiple fishing sites.

Well as I said, the high CPU usage is even on clean windows 10 installations, so bad software isn't the issue

I can also see that the i7 6700k goes pretty cheap on ebay, cheaper than the i5 7600k. Wouldn't that be a very good choice?

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

I don't think there is anything wrong with your i5-3450, it just can't keep up with the GTX 1060 in CPU intensive games. K series i5s that are overclocked are a different story, but a locked i5 (unless it's newer) isn't fast enough for a GTX 1060 in every situation.

*Those cheap i7-6700K's on Ebay, one is not working and the other is an engineering sample, meaning locked at 2.6GHz. The others are closer to $300.

 

[ThomasReck]

I don't think there is anything wrong with your i5-3450, it just can't keep up with the GTX 1060 in CPU intensive games. K series i5s that are overclocked are a different story, but a locked i5 (unless it's newer) isn't fast enough for a GTX 1060 in every situation.

*Those cheap i7-6700K's on Ebay, one is not working and the other is an engineering sample, meaning locked at 2.6GHz. The others are closer to $300.

The i5 7600k actually costs $300 brand new here, so I'll gladly pay $300 for an used i7 6700k if it really is worth it.
Incase I do get the 6700k, would my i5 3450 fan work with it (thinking size and everything)?

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

I don't think there is anything wrong with your i5-3450, it just can't keep up with the GTX 1060 in CPU intensive games. K series i5s that are overclocked are a different story, but a locked i5 (unless it's newer) isn't fast enough for a GTX 1060 in every situation.

*Those cheap i7-6700K's on Ebay, one is not working and the other is an engineering sample, meaning locked at 2.6GHz. The others are closer to $300.

The i5 7600k actually costs $300 brand new here, so I'll gladly pay $300 for an used i7 6700k if it really is worth it.
Incase I do get the 6700k, would my i5 3450 fan work with it (thinking size and everything)?

I wouldn't use a stock Intel CPU heatsink w/ a 4790K, 6700K, or 7700K. They simply run too hot for the stock heatsink. That's why they stopped selling the K series i7s with the stock heatsink, because it wasn't good enough too keep them cool.

 

[ThomasReck]

I don't think there is anything wrong with your i5-3450, it just can't keep up with the GTX 1060 in CPU intensive games. K series i5s that are overclocked are a different story, but a locked i5 (unless it's newer) isn't fast enough for a GTX 1060 in every situation.

*Those cheap i7-6700K's on Ebay, one is not working and the other is an engineering sample, meaning locked at 2.6GHz. The others are closer to $300.

The i5 7600k actually costs $300 brand new here, so I'll gladly pay $300 for an used i7 6700k if it really is worth it.
Incase I do get the 6700k, would my i5 3450 fan work with it (thinking size and everything)?

I wouldn't use a stock Intel CPU heatsink w/ a 4790K, 6700K, or 7700K. They simply run too hot for the stock heatsink. That's why they stopped selling the K series i7s with the stock heatsink, because it wasn't good enough too keep them cool.

Could you recommend me one that won't give issues?

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

Best budget cooler on the market.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $34.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-18 20:54 EDT-0400

 

[ThomasReck]

Best budget cooler on the market.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $34.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-18 20:54 EDT-0400

Thank you Going to order me that 6700k and looking forward to trying it. Hopefully I won't have any issues, I'm a bit skeptical buying used stuff. Also, I don't want to be a bother but could you by any chance recommend a good motherboard that supports it along with the GTX 1060?

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

Just be sure to check the seller if ordering on eBay, make sure they have a good reputation.

This is a good motherboard that I would buy, it's on sale. But you may want to go with a newer Z270, they have some newer technologies that I'm unfamiliar with.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($129.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $129.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-18 21:32 EDT-0400

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

If you must get something cheaper, this one looks good to me. But you can't overclock if you don't get a Z series.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: MSI B150M BAZOOKA PLUS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($64.29 @ Amazon)
Total: $64.29
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-18 22:11 EDT-0400

 

[valeman2012]

Just get the Intel i5 7500 or Intel i7 7700 (which is 65 Watts and comes with stock cooler) (No overclocking enabled for those Cpu) and buy a B250 and your set. (Use DDR4 Memory)

 

[Karadjgne]

When you say clean windows install, are you referring to a total wipe/format of all drives and a brand new install? Or are you retaining data on the hdd and just reinstalling a fresh windows over the top of the prior OS?

There are now games that will bog down any i5, be it top line kaby-lake or old Ivy. It's in the nature of thread usage. Those games are optimized for upto 8 thread usage, 4 threads being a minimum requisite. GTA:V, BF1, Ashes of the Singularity, even WoW on heavy servers will all suffer fps loss with the use of an i5, an i7 or R5/7 is highly recommended, simply due to available cores/HT.

 

[ThomasReck]

When you say clean windows install, are you referring to a total wipe/format of all drives and a brand new install? Or are you retaining data on the hdd and just reinstalling a fresh windows over the top of the prior OS?

There are now games that will bog down any i5, be it top line kaby-lake or old Ivy. It's in the nature of thread usage. Those games are optimized for upto 8 thread usage, 4 threads being a minimum requisite. GTA:V, BF1, Ashes of the Singularity, even WoW on heavy servers will all suffer fps loss with the use of an i5, an i7 or R5/7 is highly recommended, simply due to available cores/HT.

A total format of all the drives and a brand new installation, yes. Anyhow, I decided to order the i7 6700k