Question i7-4770s to i5-12600k?

[PhotoNut2]

A friend suggested I register here for help with a possible system upgrade.

I take photos of my kids sporting events and share on Facebook. My current system is an ASUS with an Intel i7-4770s 4 core, 12gb ram and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 graphics card. I am currently using Lightroom Classic 13.2 and Topaz Sharpen AI but running into issues with the system being too slow. The budget is tight so I am looking for what would be the best way to upgrade my system so that it could last a few more years before replacing. Can the i7-4770s be upgraded with a i5-12600k (or similar) and what would be an graphics card upgrade that will work with my system?

Please understand that I am a camera guy and not a computer guy so any advice needs to be on the newbie level!:~) Any advice will be appreciated! Thanks in advance.
Jeff

 

[jnjnilson6]

A friend suggested I register here for help with a possible system upgrade.

I take photos of my kids sporting events and share on Facebook. My current system is an ASUS with an Intel i7-4770s 4 core, 12gb ram and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 graphics card. I am currently using Lightroom Classic 13.2 and Topaz Sharpen AI but running into issues with the system being too slow. The budget is tight so I am looking for what would be the best way to upgrade my system so that it could last a few more years before replacing. Can the i7-4770s be upgraded with a i5-12600k (or similar) and what would be an graphics card upgrade that will work with my system?

Please understand that I am a camera guy and not a computer guy so any advice needs to be on the newbie level!:~) Any advice will be appreciated! Thanks in advance.
Jeff

Thank you and welcome to the Forums!

You would need a motherboard with the LGA1700 socket to replace the CPU with an i5-12600K because it runs on a different socket from that of your current motherboard. A Sapphire Radeon RX 6600 would be a good upgrade on the GPU side (Sapphire is the best vendor).

 

[jnjnilson6]

A friend suggested I register here for help with a possible system upgrade.

I take photos of my kids sporting events and share on Facebook. My current system is an ASUS with an Intel i7-4770s 4 core, 12gb ram and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 graphics card. I am currently using Lightroom Classic 13.2 and Topaz Sharpen AI but running into issues with the system being too slow. The budget is tight so I am looking for what would be the best way to upgrade my system so that it could last a few more years before replacing. Can the i7-4770s be upgraded with a i5-12600k (or similar) and what would be an graphics card upgrade that will work with my system?

Please understand that I am a camera guy and not a computer guy so any advice needs to be on the newbie level!:~) Any advice will be appreciated! Thanks in advance.
Jeff

You would also need either DDR4 or DDR5 memory (RAM) depending on what the new motherboard supports. You would almost have to change the entire system. You should also make sure that you buy a fan for the i5-12600K that is compatible with the LGA1700 socket and you'd also have to make sure that the Power Supply is powerful enough to power the system nicely and that you have all the cables and that the fan is not too tall to fit in the PC Box and that everything is compatible.

 

[PhotoNut2]

Thank you for the quick replies. Based on what I am reading it sounds like the cost to upgrade the CPU would be more that just getting a better system. Perhaps I should just look for a used system.

Do you believe that just upgrading the GPU would be sufficient for a while? Lightroom uses the CPU heavily but can be changed to GPU instead. The Sharpen AI uses the GPU.

Would the Radeon RX 6600 be all that is needed or does it require the memory you mentioned above?

Thanks again!

 

[jnjnilson6]

Thank you for the quick replies. Based on what I am reading it sounds like the cost to upgrade the CPU would be more that just getting a better system. Perhaps I should just look for a used system.

Do you believe that just upgrading the GPU would be sufficient for a while? Lightroom uses the CPU heavily but can be changed to GPU instead. The Sharpen AI uses the GPU.

Would the Radeon RX 6600 be all that is needed or does it require the memory you mentioned above?

Thanks again!

Thank you!

New RAM should be obtained only if the motherboard is changed. Otherwise you can keep your current RAM without any problems. The video card upgrade does not require a motherboard change.

The RX 6600 would be a good upgrade if you have at least a 500-600 Watt Power Supply, however, I do think it would be slowed down by the processor. It may be good to wait for a while and get both a GPU faster than the 6600 (in the future such will arrive at the same or better prices) and a new CPU alongside the motherboard and everything.

If you want to you can upgrade the GPU now, but do keep in mind it will be slowed down by the current Processor.

Thank you for writing up; and if you have any questions - please pose them ahead.

 

[NedSmelly]

Lightroom is weird in the way that its performance doesn't scale proportionally with CPU or GPU upgrades. So you might be disappointed with the results of just upgrading one component.

This benchmark table might help you shop for a replacement system though: Puget benchmark Adobe CC Intel 6th Gen to 13th Gen

Topaz AI however will definitely speed up with a better GPU. Puget benchmark Topaz AI comparison