Question Is a Core i5 13 generation CPU adequate for my needs?

[Moondoggy]

I'm not a gamer and I don't do anything really taxing on my system. I just use my PC to surf the internet, do email, photo editing, Office 365 stuff and home accounting. My old PC is really old but it was built with high quality parts so it would last. That being said, I'm going to build a new PC with some quality parts and was wondering if the I5 is the right processor for my needs? The sales guy at my parts shop says I could go with a Core I3 not the I5 but I think that the I5 would be better. Looking to put this 13 generation CPU into a case containing a Gigabyte Z790 UD AC motherboard.

 

[punkncat]

Short answer, more than adequate. This should be 'future proof' for some time forward. TBH the i3 would also be more than enough.

 

[Lafong]

My old PC is really old but it was built with high quality parts so it would last......................Looking to put this 13 generation CPU into a case containing a Gigabyte Z790 UD AC motherboard.

Don't know how old "really old" is; can you name the current CPU?

In all likelihood, a current generation i3 would be fine.

BUT, you have to consider that you will be exchanging apparently still OK "high quality" parts for new parts of uncertain longevity. You may have issues with the new parts within weeks or months that you would not have with existing parts.

That is always a possibility of course with new parts. You just have to make a leap of faith.

I'm in the same boat myself...7 year old CPU and motherboard still performing perfectly and more than adequate for my needs. I continue to say "leave well enough alone and don't replace them". But I fight the impulse daily.

Edit: I just checked benchmarks comparing a current generation i3-13100 against my 7 year old i5-6600K.

Single thread: 60 percent advantage to the i3-13100.

All threads: 138 percent advantage to the i3-13100; more than double.

I do the same stuff with my PC as you do. No gaming. My 6600K is more than adequate for what I do. I wouldn't think you would need a current generation i5, but budget may allow for it.

Do you already have your OS on an SSD?

 

[hotaru.hino]

While people might scoff at the idea of using a quad-core processor these days, but for basic tasks like light photo editing and office tasks, an i3 is plenty.

 

[Tac 25]

@Moondoggy

if you don't game, and it's just those activities.. an i3 should be enough. Of course, you could go for the i5 if you want.

___________

talking about longevity..

I still use an i7-2600k on a backup pc. A cpu that's more than 10 years old by now. Works just fine for light gaming. Have just finished playing Star Rail this morning.

 

[Moondoggy]

Don't know how old "really old" is; can you name the current CPU?

In all likelihood, a current generation i3 would be fine.

BUT, you have to consider that you will be exchanging apparently still OK "high quality" parts for new parts of uncertain longevity. You may have issues with the new parts within weeks or months that you would not have with existing parts.

That is always a possibility of course with new parts. You just have to make a leap of faith.

I'm in the same boat myself...7 year old CPU and motherboard still performing perfectly and more than adequate for my needs. I continue to say "leave well enough alone and don't replace them". But I fight the impulse daily.

Edit: I just checked benchmarks comparing a current generation i3-13100 against my 7 year old i5-6600K.

Single thread: 60 percent advantage to the i3-13100.

All threads: 138 percent advantage to the i3-13100; more than double.

I do the same stuff with my PC as you do. No gaming. My 6600K is more than adequate for what I do. I wouldn't think you would need a current generation i5, but budget may allow for it.

Do you already have your OS on an SSD?

My current CPU is an Intel Core I7-920 4 cores, 8M Cache, 2.66 GHz and my motherboard is an ASUS P6T with 6GB of RAM. Told you it was old (grin). The only hardware that may be worth keeping is my Nvidia GTX 950 graphics card.

 

[Lafong]

i7 920 versus i3 13100 benchmark:

single thread: more than triple advantage to the i3-13100

all threads; more than quintuple advantage to i3 13100

An i5 would be an even greater advantage; just a matter of where you want to draw a budget line.

i7 920 was introduced in the fall of 2008.

 

[Hotrod2go]

I would not consider anything "future proof" in this industry with new builds. The nearest you could get to that with regards to mobo/cpu combo would be AM5 system because AMD have promised support for that socket until 2026. Go down the socket 1700 route & you will only have the option of the Rapid lake refresh chips later this year then that's it - no more cpus for that socket.

 

[Moonstick2]

Another vote for an i3. For what you do I can't imagine you'll notice any difference between that and an i5.

In your case it's probably worth spending more on the non-F version with integrated graphics. You can still use your current GPU (it'll be better), but you'll have a fallback if the GPU fails and may well find the onboard graphics good enough not to need to buy a new card.

Are you using an SSD at the moment? If not, make sure you use one in your new system. You really will notice a difference there.

 

[thestryker]

My current CPU is an Intel Core I7-920 4 cores, 8M Cache, 2.66 GHz and my motherboard is an ASUS P6T with 6GB of RAM. Told you it was old (grin). The only hardware that may be worth keeping is my Nvidia GTX 950 graphics card.

I have one of these that has run 3.8-4ghz for its entire life and it still runs fine. Though it hasn't been a primary machine for about 7 years. We have a core 2 duo system in the other room that my dad used for just emails and browsing also still works fine as well. Unless there's a specific reason to upgrade you could just put a SSD in your existing system if you don't already have one and it'll be like using a new machine.

If you're planning on long term ownership on Intel's LGA1700 platform I'd highly recommend getting a contact frame (personally I used a Thermalright one on my server box and it was very easy to do). That will lower the bending of the CPU and in turn the socket which could potentially be an issue for a very long life machine.

 

[TerryLaze]

My current CPU is an Intel Core I7-920 4 cores, 8M Cache, 2.66 GHz and my motherboard is an ASUS P6T with 6GB of RAM. Told you it was old (grin). The only hardware that may be worth keeping is my Nvidia GTX 950 graphics card.

If you want your new system to last that long then why not go for the i5, the i3 will be fine for many years but the i5 will be fine for even longer.

 

[geofelt]

If you are not already using a SSD for your C drive, that would be my first upgrade.

I3/I5/I7/I9 no longer mean what they used to.
No longer does that designate the number of cores and the presence of hyperthreading.
It is now more of a capability level.

Single thread performance is what is most important for desktop work.
Run the cpu-Z bench on your I7-920. You should get a score like 381

CPU-Z Benchmark for Intel Core i7 920 (1T) - CPU-Z VALIDATOR

Best CPU performance - 64-bit - May 2025

valid.x86.fr

I recently upgraded a second ITX pc to a I3-13100 and ddr5 ram.
Let me tell you it is quick.
My cpu-z bench single thread score is 680.

Z class motherboards are not needed. B760 will be fine, and MATX size is cheaper.

Ram is cheap enough, a 2 x 8gb DDR5 4800 speed is what I used.

 

[wyliec2]

My wife had an I5-10600K which I changed to an I3-13100 (Microcenter had them at $99 for a while). It beats the 10600K and my 10700K in Cinebench R23 single core and is very close to the 10600K multi core score.

I'm swapping my 10700K for an I5-13500 - BestBuy and Amazon had the 13500 for $210 for a few days which is a great deal - cheaper than Microcenter has the 13400!!

My wife's 13100 is running DDR4 RAM with a Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB NVMe and she keeps commenting how fast it is..

The 13100 should work great but if you can find the 13500 for $210, that's pretty hard to pass up....

 

[TerryLaze]

I3/I5/I7/I9 no longer mean what they used to.
No longer does that designate the number of cores and the presence of hyperthreading.

No longer?! Why, when did it ever do that?!

 

[Misgar]

What photo editing software do you use?

I noticed a distinct improvement running the Topaz DeNoise plugin in Adobe Photoshop on my new rig with a faster PCIe GPU card. Render times for a single image dropped from 30 seconds per photo with an RX580 card (old system) to 12 seconds with 3060 GPU (new system).

If you're not applying any complex filters or editing video, a quad core CPU with iGPU will suffice, but more complex image manipulation or video work benefit from a fast NVidia GPU and a multi-core CPU.

Buy what you can afford and stop worrying. It'll be much faster than your old rig.

 

[Moondoggy]

What photo editing software do you use?

I noticed a distinct improvement running the Topaz DeNoise plugin in Adobe Photoshop on my new rig with a faster PCIe GPU card. Render times for a single image dropped from 30 seconds per photo with an RX580 card (old system) to 12 seconds with 3060 GPU (new system).

If you're not applying any complex filters or editing video, a quad core CPU with iGPU will suffice, but more complex image manipulation or video work benefit from a fast NVidia GPU and a multi-core CPU.

Buy what you can afford and stop worrying. It'll be much faster than your old rig.

I just have Adobe Photoshop Elements 2023

 

[Moondoggy]

It's been a while since I posted my initial query and thought I would give a final update. I did go with a Intel Core I5 13600K Processor for my new build. I was originally thinking that I should go with a Core I7 since my old processor was a Core I7 but today's I5 was a much better fit.

My rig now consists of a MAG Z790 Tomahawk motherboard, 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD in a Silverstone case as I had a height restriction on the case. with the 3 Noctua ultra quiet fans I can tell that the fans run but so far I've never heard the fans speed up so the system is very quiet and very fast.