[SOLVED] Is it finally time to upgrade from the i5 2500k @4.7 GHz?

[Badelhas]

I've been rocking the 2500k overclocked to 4.7ghz (a overclock champion!) for many years now, along with 8gb of DDR3 1600mhz, a nvidia 1070 and a 950 Evo SSD. I play some FPS games, with the HTC Vive or with my 1440p monitor, browse the web and watch some movies. Since the performance improvements on the CPUs launched since then have been small between each generation I've been delaying the decision to upgrade since I'm going to need new CPU, new motherboard and new RAM, which is a 500 euros investment, at least and memory prices were outrageous until now.
Did anyone here went from an overclocked 2500k to the AMD 2700x or to the Intel 9700k, for instance? Are there noticeable performance differences in real world usage?

I would love some input from someone who did a similar upgrade, please, because I don´t know if I should just wait for Ryzen 2, at this point.

Cheers

 

[DSzymborski]

Well, here's the key question: While these upgrades are significantly better, are you actually unhappy with the performance? I tend to recommend upgrades for people when they're at a point at which something is making them unhappy and the upgrade would change that something in a positive direction.

 

[13thmonkey]

if you had the i7, it'd be more marginal, with the i5 you're going to start to struggle on newer titles, parallelism can trump clockspeed sometimes.

 

[DSzymborski]

if you had the i7, it'd be more marginal, with the i5 you're going to start to struggle on newer titles, parallelism can trump clockspeed sometimes.

Yeah, I was perversely a bit sad that my 3770k held up in my main rig so well that I didn't have a real excuse to update the platform to something newer. Then the USB and SATA controllers on the motherboard were starting to have problems and I finally had an excuse!

Now, the i7-3930K in my work rig continues to show a stubborn amount of life.

 

[13thmonkey]

Yeah, I was perversely a bit sad that my 3770k held up in my main rig so well that I didn't have a real excuse to update the platform to something newer. Then the USB and SATA controllers on the motherboard were starting to have problems and I finally had an excuse!

My network port and USB are ropey on my 3570k... it's a matter of time

 

[InvalidError]

Did anyone here went from an overclocked 2500k to the AMD 2700x or to the Intel 9700k, for instance? Are there noticeable performance differences in real world usage?

When you trade IPC and clocks for more cores and threads, the performance benefits you get are heavily dependent on how well-threaded the games and software you use are.

My rule of thumb for 'when to upgrade' is not until I feel like my computer is struggling with stuff it shouldn't be or in ways that are unacceptable that an upgrade should be able to resolve. My i5-3470 is starting to show its age in some places but still within what I would consider acceptable overall, so I'm still not in any hurry to spend $500+ on a new CPU-MoBo-RAM combo.

 

[DSzymborski]

My network port and USB are ropey on my 3570k... it's a matter of time

It was very sad (and very first world problems)! All this helping Tom's Hardware users and my friends and colleagues and people who read my baseball writing and know I'm a PC guy get new builds and me still cruising along with a 2012 platform!

 

[13thmonkey]

I'm well jealous of some builds, but not yet...

 

[maziech]

It's not worth upgrading. You are still good on @4.7 2500k.
Most of the games won't use all cores of CPU, so what matters here is mostly single core speed.

If You use Your setup for gaming in 2k/4k You won't see noticable difference in most games.
Well, i mean THERE IS some difference, especially in the lowest 1% performance, but it is not worth spending 500EUR on it unless You expect top performance You can get.

If all You need is gaming pc and You want to see noticable difference, just buy 8gb extra Ram and replace your graphic's card with something faster (gtx 1070 is totally fine though).

Few days ago I just bought 1080 ti for my i7 2600k @4.4 Ghz / 16gbRam and trust me: IT IS FINE for 2k/4k gaming.
It will bottleneck CPU from time to time, but mostly at lower resolutions (like 1920x1080 and below).
The higher res You play on, the more graphic card becomes a deciding factor and a bottleneck.

Take a look at this video. I think it's the best answer for You:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dHCQOt5Nns

 

[13thmonkey]

It's not worth upgrading. You are still good on @4.7 2500k.
Most of the games won't use all cores of CPU, so what matters here is mostly single core speed.

If You use Your setup for gaming in 2k/4k You won't see noticable difference in most games.
Well, i mean THERE IS some difference, especially in the lowest 1% performance, but it is not worth spending 500EUR on it unless You expect top performance You can get.

If all You need is gaming pc and You want to see noticable difference, just buy 8gb extra Ram and replace your graphic's card with something faster (gtx 1070 is totally fine though).

Few days ago I just bought 1080 ti for my i7 2600k @4.4 Ghz / 16gbRam and trust me: IT IS FINE for 2k/4k gaming.
It will bottleneck CPU from time to time, but mostly at lower resolutions (like 1920x1080 and below).
The higher res You play on, the more graphic card becomes a deciding factor and a bottleneck.

Take a look at this video. I think it's the best answer for You:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dHCQOt5Nns

The extra 4 threads from the i7 make a massive difference compared to the i5.

Battlefield V Multiplayer CPU Benchmark: Ryzen 7 2700X vs. Core i9-9900K

Having already tested graphics performance in Battlefield V covering a massive range of graphics cards, including a look at real-time ray tracing, we're now focusing on CPU...

www.techspot.com

The jump from 7600k to 8400, 4C4T @4.2 to 6C6T@ 4.0 is quite pronounced.

I suffered on 'The division' with only 4C4T, i'm sure if i had the 3770k i'd still be fine. The old i5's are not parallel enough any more, the mantra of single core performance is not enough, you also need parallelism.

 

[maziech]

Umm..... Yeah?... MAYBE in SOME games that MIGHT be true.
But still, even if it is, You can just buy used 2600k or 2700k for about 100$, instead of replacing the entire setup, and then sell Your 2500k for 20$ ;-)

If it is only gaming, there's no point going AMD, and good Intel setup is quite expensive.
What i'm saying is that gains will be inadequate to cost.

New gaming setup like 9600k + good mobo + new ram + good cooling for OC is like 600+EUR. It's not worth it yet.

 

[13thmonkey]

Umm..... Yeah?... MAYBE in SOME games that MIGHT be true.
But still, even if it is, You can just buy used 2600k or 2700k for about 100$, instead of replacing the entire setup, and then sell Your 2500k for 20$ ;-)

If it is only gaming, there's no point going AMD, and good Intel setup is quite expensive.
What i'm saying is that gains will be inadequate to cost.

New gaming setup like 9600k + good mobo + new ram + good cooling for OC is like 600+EUR. It's not worth it yet.

I've only quoted BFV as I can't think of anything recent TBH, division 2 will have the same results, frankly anything multiplayer will have the same results. And these are all FPS's

I agree that an i7-2xxx or 3770k will do almost as well at a lot lower cost

 

[maziech]

Yep, but if You look at the benchmarks from Your link, You should notice that in the case of GTX 1070 the graphics card is a bottleneck, not the CPU. 9900k and 2700x looks exactly the same with 1070.

Besides, the tests resolution was 1080p.
At 2k/4k gaming, I assume You wouldn't see much difference on any i5 or i7, even if it was the second gen of Intel.

 

[13thmonkey]

https://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/battlefield_v_pc_performance_benchmarks,4.html

4C4T lowest perf at 1440p. Yes the 1070 may also be close to the limit, but if you can't feed it then it can't perform either.

 

[Rodrigodrt]

Yes and no. It's an old CPU and obsolete, probably will struggle a bit with modern games and all, but doesn't means it wont run if you can accept the fact that you'll have to tone down graphics a bit.

Then, what we have currently available, 8th gen wich is also obsolete but will certainly last a few years, then the 9th gen, a frankenstein chip, the refresh of the refresh, nothing wrong with it but its certainly a mash up together to keep up with the amd threat.

if possible, wait to see what intel will unveil for the 10th gen, maybe they will finally sort out the 10nm process wich is finally the first real architecture update since kaby lake.

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

I would suggest if you are going to upgrade, hold off about 4 months or so. Ryzen 3000 series is rumored to be launching this summer around June or July. Some reports at CES were saying one of the 8 core 16 threaded parts were beating an i9.

Leaks are saying CPUs may get close to 5ghz stock. Of course those numbers aren't confirmed and are speculation, but it seems like if you can get 8 or more cores and get 5ghz or better, that should set you for a while.

 

[maziech]

I would suggest if you are going to upgrade, hold off about 4 months or so. Ryzen 3000 series is rumored to be launching this summer around June or July. Some reports at CES were saying one of the 8 core 16 threaded parts were beating an i9.

Totally agree with that. Zen 2 chips might be a good value for money.
Besides, gtx 1070 is not 2080ti. Your processor will handle it well enough. Just buy 8gb of ram for about 40-50$ and You're good with this setup for next 2+ years on acceptable/good gaming quality.

 

[Badelhas]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I am now considering upgrading my setup to the new AMD Ryzen 3600, along with the MSI B450 Tomahawk Max and 16gb Ddr4 3200 CL16 RAM. But the first answer I got from DSzymborski is very wise. Of course I'll see performance improvements in games but do I REALLY need them? With two young kids I get less and less time to game. I've bought the HTC Vive 2 years ago and I've played 20 times, if that much. Of course you only notice that you had a sluggish tech when you try a new one but I'm not noticing my pc slow for everyday tasks like browsing and such.
Will a upgrade to the 3600 bring me a much faster system for those kind of tasks? Would a upgrade from my Samsung 850 Evo 512gb SSD to a 1Tb NVME SSD help much?
Cheers

 

[DSzymborski]

For these kinds of tasks, I don't think you'd get a large benefit from a 3600. It's great hardware, don't get me wrong, but doing everyday tasks and the occasional game, it's hard to say you'll get your money's worth. I'm an aggressive spender on PC things because my various computers are livelihood and hobby to me (plus, I'm 41, make a good living, and have no children).

Even an upgrade to an NVME is not something from which I'm sure you'll get a benefit. The big upgrade is going from a traditional hard drive to an SSD, which you've already done. In your situation, you very well may just be happier hanging onto the cash and not upgrading. Or you could focus on quality-of-life upgrades like a nice mechanical keyboard to type on or a nicer monitor or a high-end set of headphones to listen to media with.

 

[Badelhas]

For these kinds of tasks, I don't think you'd get a large benefit from a 3600. It's great hardware, don't get me wrong, but doing everyday tasks and the occasional game, it's hard to say you'll get your money's worth. I'm an aggressive spender on PC things because my various computers are livelihood and hobby to me (plus, I'm 41, make a good living, and have no children).

Even an upgrade to an NVME is not something from which I'm sure you'll get a benefit. The big upgrade is going from a traditional hard drive to an SSD, which you've already done. In your situation, you very well may just be happier hanging onto the cash and not upgrading. Or you could focus on quality-of-life upgrades like a nice mechanical keyboard to type on or a nicer monitor or a high-end set of headphones to listen to media with.

Thanks for your honesty. I'm also 41 and breathe, eat and live technology but having two kids changed everything and I'm afraid that spending 500 will give me the same result when I spent 900 euros on the HTC Vive and 500 on the Nvidia 1070... Practically none, apart from the reading reviews and choosing what to buy. I think I'll wait until I truly feel my PC is unbearable to use. It's a pity because the Ryzen 2 release as got me pumped after almost 10 years of Intel stalling the CPU market and innovation and I'm having the "upgrade bug" but the fact is that I don't really NEED to upgrade. Cheers

 

[mdd1963]

If a gamer, upgrading from the 2500K to something with more threads and cores is now wayyyy overdue, as 4 threads don't cut it for WIndows gaming any more...(for that matter, even 4 cores/8 threads is becoming dated by comparison, and, I'd honestly start my choice with 8 cores if I were building a new system today, or 6 cores/12 threads if on a budget. Eventually, perhaps in another year or two (maybe Intel will have processors on 10 nm then?), I'll re-purpose my 7700K to living room NAS duties

Given the availability now of R7-3700X through 3800X or i7-9700K/9900K, those would be my primary choices if wanting another system to potentially last several more years. (No point in upgrading until what you are using is not sufficient for what you are using it for---; my former office only 'upgraded' to someone else's 7 year old hand-me-down i5-3570-based computers for e-mail and MS Office, having used Dell's from 2006 (Core2 Duo) for more than a decade prior...

Enjoy your new build, whatever it turns out to be!

 

[DSzymborski]

Thanks for your honesty. I'm also 41 and breathe, eat and live technology but having two kids changed everything and I'm afraid that spending 500 will give me the same result when I spent 900 euros on the HTC Vive and 500 on the Nvidia 1070... Practically none, apart from the reading reviews and choosing what to buy. I think I'll wait until I truly feel my PC is unbearable to use. It's a pity because the Ryzen 2 release as got me pumped after almost 10 years of Intel stalling the CPU market and innovation and I'm having the "upgrade bug" but the fact is that I don't really NEED to upgrade. Cheers

Look at it this way: if you upgrade to something later than Ryzen 2, it'll be even better than Ryzen 2, which is already quite good!