[SOLVED] i7 7700 - worth the money?

[deadalewives]

Hey guys. For a while I've been wanting to upgrade my CPU, without having to also buy a new motherboard (stuck with LGA1151 right now). I currently have the i5 6600 and I've noticed it's held me back in some areas with the more demanding games (ie: Division 2). The one I"d REALLY like to have is the 7700k, but I'm unable to spend the $530+ bucks for it, nor am I able to also get a new mobo and 8th or 9th gen CPU atm.

So that leaves me of course with the non-k 7700 - it's a much more reasonable price. However, when I compared specs it didn't seem to be a HUGE difference, of course I could be wrong. Could be way more different in practice than on a spreadsheet. So, do you guys think it would be worth the ~$360 or so to make this upgrade or not?

 

[Gmoney06ss]

No, absolutely not for $360. That money could easily buy you a new ryzen setup.

If you can find it used for $100, maybe. But I wouldn't pay anymore than that.

Depending on how fast the ram you have now is, you could keep it and go ryzen 3600/b450 for $325.

I went from 6600k to 7700 and yes, there are gains to be had. $360 worth, not imo. I got my upgrade free as my work was recycling old pcs, so of course jumped on it. So imo, free to $100, yes. Anything over that no way!

 

[deadalewives]

No, absolutely not for $360. That money could easily buy you a new ryzen setup.

If you can find it used for $100, maybe. But I wouldn't pay anymore than that.

Depending on how fast the ram you have now is, you could keep it and go ryzen 3600/b450 for $325.

I went from 6600k to 7700 and yes, there are gains to be had. $360 worth, not imo. I got my upgrade free as my work was recycling old pcs, so of course jumped on it. So imo, free to $100, yes. Anything over that no way!

Yeah I've noticed used CPU's are a lot cheaper, but I am extremely hesitant about buying a used one. Certain things, like really sensitive electronics, are something I'd really prefer buying new.

As for Ryzen....it's something to think about. I'd have to completely re-educate myself with AMD's new stuff. I'm a bit behind the times. I also had bad experience with AMD hardware back when I first built my PC. That's why I made the change over to Intel and GeForce. Of course, I've heard good things about Ryzen, so it's worth looking into.

 

[jwcrellin]

In one word, NO! It's still 4core 8thread. Max boost is like 4.6 or something and it runs fairly hot. I think you should save up and wait for the new releases this summer. You will get a bigger impact in gaming by getting a new graphics card. What GPU do you have now?

 

[deadalewives]

In one word, NO! It's still 4core 8thread. Max boost is like 4.6 or something and it runs fairly hot. I think you should save up and wait for the new releases this summer. You will get a bigger impact in gaming by getting a new graphics card. What GPU do you have now?

GTX 1070. I mean..I get pretty good performance out of a lot of games, even on ultra settings. Thing is, I've noticed some games tend to be more CPU heavy. I think Division 2 is like that, which is why I get a lot stuttering even at medium-high settings.

 

[Gmoney06ss]

Max boost on the non k is 4.2, and any ok cooler will cool it with ease. The k runs hot, non k not so much.

Here's a thread I made somewhat documenting my swap. https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/i-5-6600k-vs-i-7-7700-non-k.3487110/?view=date

Cpus are tough to kill, especially ones that cant be overclocked. No excessive voltage, and likely never overheated. I'd trust most used intel cpus. Its amd I'd have a hard time buying used, just cuz of the pins on the cpu itself.

Seriously consider and research ryzen, particularly 3rd gen. What ram speed do you have now? If better than 3000, like I said above, 3600/b450 setup. Will absolutely kill your current setup, and ne cheaper than a new i7!

 

[deadalewives]

Max boost on the non k is 4.2, and any ok cooler will cool it with ease. The k runs hot, non k not so much.

Here's a thread I made somewhat documenting my swap. https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/i-5-6600k-vs-i-7-7700-non-k.3487110/?view=date

Cpus are tough to kill, especially ones that cant be overclocked. No excessive voltage, and likely never overheated. I'd trust most used intel cpus. Its amd I'd have a hard time buying used, just cuz of the pins on the cpu itself.

Seriously consider and research ryzen, particularly 3rd gen. What ram speed do you have now? If better than 3000, like I said above, 3600/b450 setup. Will absolutely kill your current setup, and ne cheaper than a new i7!

I'm using DDR4 2133

 

[Gmoney06ss]

Slow for ryzen. So add another 50 or so bucks to that 350 and you could have a killer setup.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/yJ4v8Y
$367! With ram. No way I'd buy the 7700 for that price when I could do this.

Add a cooler if you want, but the stock cooler is OK for stock operation. A bit noisy, but it does the job. A cheap hyper 212 will work well also. Or the freezer 34 is good. Both 25-30ish. And will sufficiently cool the 3600.

 

[deadalewives]

Slow for ryzen. So add another 50 or so bucks to that 350 and you could have a killer setup.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/yJ4v8Y
$367! With ram. No way I'd buy the 7700 for that price when I could do this.

Add a cooler if you want, but the stock cooler is OK for stock operation. A bit noisy, but it does the job. A cheap hyper 212 will work well also. Or the freezer 34 is good. Both 25-30ish. And will sufficiently cool the 3600.

Hrm..the Hyper 212 Evo is still compatible? That's what I have. Interesting...

 

[jwcrellin]

I'm also still rolling with the gtx1070. I got sad when I saw that it is ranked just barely above the 1660ti now.

The backplate is not the same between Intel and AMD, but an AM4 backplate is like $12.
I would also reccomend the Ryzen 5 3600 and B450 tomahawk max mobo.

 

[Gmoney06ss]

I'm also still rolling with the gtx1070. I got sad when I saw that it is ranked just barely above the 1660ti now.

The backplate is not the same between Intel and AMD, but an AM4 backplate is like $12.
I would also reccomend the Ryzen 5 3600 and B450 tomahawk max mobo.

The 1070 is still an awesome card!! Still plenty capable of 1080 and most 1440.

Depending on when you grabbed the 212, you may have the backplate. I believe it ships with the am4 bracket now, and has since 1st gen ryzen.

You may even contact cooler master directly, see if they'll hook you up. If not, $12 is cheap and you get to keep your cooler.

Another thought, you'll be able to recoup a decent chunk of the upgrade by selling your current setup. Depending on board and ram size you'll probably fetch anywhere between 75-150.

 

[deadalewives]

The 1070 is still an awesome card!! Still plenty capable of 1080 and most 1440.

Depending on when you grabbed the 212, you may have the backplate. I believe it ships with the am4 bracket now, and has since 1st gen ryzen.

You may even contact cooler master directly, see if they'll hook you up. If not, $12 is cheap and you get to keep your cooler.

Another thought, you'll be able to recoup a decent chunk of the upgrade by selling your current setup. Depending on board and ram size you'll probably fetch anywhere between 75-150.

If I did have another back plate somewhere it's long gone by now lol. 12 bucks isn't bad.

Selling is a good idea. I might even know some people in person who might be interested. It's something to think about. As for Ryzen...I was doing some research and it seems that even the 7 series fails in some aspects to match the 7700 or 7700k. So...would it even be worth it to do a complete rebuild with mobo and cpu? Because it seems I'd be spending about the same as just getting another, better Intel cpu.

 

[Gmoney06ss]

The 3600 has 2 more cores/4 more threads. The same boost clock as the 7700, but with better ipc. It will outperform the 7700 in all tasks. The 7700k may get better max fps, but will still lose in avg, lows and 1% lows. Making ryzen a smoother overall experience. The added cores will also prove beneficial in the future. Most likely, at least.

So a complete rebuild with cpu/ram/mobo vs just a cpu. An old outdated cpu. Easy choice imo.

Dont get me wrong the 7700 is a good cpu, it's just not $360 good. It's a dead platform with no room for any future upgrades. It's starting to show its age in several titles, but still chugging along ok. I'm certainly not complaining but mine was free.

Moving platforms you will get future upgradeability. You'll start with better ram also. The b450 I linked should support even the 3950x. It will(most likely) also support the 4th gen ryzen when it comes. You'll also get a fairly solid boost in performance right away. Just something to think about before you drop near enough 400 bucks on an old cpu that will get outshined by CPUs costing half as much.

 

[deadalewives]

The 3600 has 2 more cores/4 more threads. The same boost clock as the 7700, but with better ipc. It will outperform the 7700 in all tasks. The 7700k may get better max fps, but will still lose in avg, lows and 1% lows. Making ryzen a smoother overall experience. The added cores will also prove beneficial in the future. Most likely, at least.

So a complete rebuild with cpu/ram/mobo vs just a cpu. An old outdated cpu. Easy choice imo.

Dont get me wrong the 7700 is a good cpu, it's just not $360 good. It's a dead platform with no room for any future upgrades. It's starting to show its age in several titles, but still chugging along ok. I'm certainly not complaining but mine was free.

Moving platforms you will get future upgradeability. You'll start with better ram also. The b450 I linked should support even the 3950x. It will(most likely) also support the 4th gen ryzen when it comes. You'll also get a fairly solid boost in performance right away. Just something to think about before you drop near enough 400 bucks on an old cpu that will get outshined by CPUs costing half as much.

You've given me a lot to consider, man. I'll definitely look into it. Thanks for the help.

 

[Gmoney06ss]

Of course, always happy to provide info where I can. Just so happens I have some personal experience in this situation. Hate to see you feel you wasted money.

Check out gamersnexus review of any of the newer ryzen stuff, the 7700k usually makes his graphs, for comparison sake.

Hardware unboxed also has good comparison videos with graphs. And usually easier explanations than gamersnexus.

And of course there's always google and "7700 vs 3600". Just remember its comparing the 7700 which is a bit(a fair bit) better than your 6600. Also keep in mind most of these comparisons are going to be using faster ram with both. 3000 on average for intel and 3200 or faster for ryzen. If you read my post linked above you'll see the rather significant difference that 900ish mhz can make to the 7700. At least in cinebench and firestrike.

Happy researching!

 

[gameoverman2016]

No, absolutely not for $360. That money could easily buy you a new ryzen setup.

If you can find it used for $100, maybe. But I wouldn't pay anymore than that.

Depending on how fast the ram you have now is, you could keep it and go ryzen 3600/b450 for $325.

I went from 6600k to 7700 and yes, there are gains to be had. $360 worth, not imo. I got my upgrade free as my work was recycling old pcs, so of course jumped on it. So imo, free to $100, yes. Anything over that no way!

I could be wrong but doesnt the i5 6600 support ddr3 and that 3600 is ddr4? Hes going to need a new cpu, mobo AND ram if he follows your suggestion, will be hard on a $360 budget

 

[DSzymborski]

I could be wrong but doesnt the i5 6600 support ddr3 and that 3600 is ddr4? Hes going to need a new cpu, mobo AND ram if he follows your suggestion, will be hard on a $360 budget

Which was addressed in a follow-up post.

 

[gameoverman2016]

At Op I thin

Which was addressed in a follow-up post.

Sorry I missed that.