Question Old i7 3gn or new i3 9gn. ?

[Aehassan]

Hi.
I've an legacy machine:
H61 ,i5 2400 ,12 gb ddr3 ,rx 570 ,psu 500w
I decided stay with rx 570
But, i want to upgrade other parts
So, what is better if I'll gaming

• Changing cpu to i7 3770
• Changing platform(mb,cpu,ram) to i3 9gn.
• Any other suggestion

Thanks all

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums and a Happy New Year, newcomer!

Your question is somewhat vague. Obviously, if you have the funds, go for something concurrent and avoid wasting resources towards hardware that's about a decade or so old. Older hardware can work for a science project but for long term use, they often end up being a money pit and when you calculate how much you've spent if and when you need to troubleshoot, it equates to buying a brand new system with concurrent or a few generations old platform.

If the rest of your hardware, aren't going to conk out, then the cheapest path would be the i7-3770. If the system goes kaput after the 3rd Gen i7 goes in, then you're left troubleshooting. Just curious, what is the make and model of your PSU and the ram? Model for your H61 chipset motherboard?

 

[logainofhades]

I wouldn't go below an i3 12100, with a b660 board, and ddr4 ram, for a new platform. At least then you have some solid future upgrade options. Intel just also released the i3 13100, but that one would cost more, due to needing a board that supports bios flashback, to update bios to support it.

 

[Aehassan]

If the rest of your hardware, aren't going to conk out, then the cheapest path would be the i7-3770. If the system goes kaput after the 3rd Gen i7 goes in, then you're left troubleshooting. Just curious, what is the make and model of your PSU and the ram? Model for your H61 chipset motherboard?

Thanks for your effort and welcome
My parts is :
Mb. Gigabyte h61m-s2p rev 2
Cpu. Intel core i5 2400 run @ stock 3100 ghz
Ram. Kingston 4gb + hynix 8gb, both run @ 1333
Gpu. Sapphire nitro+ AMD rx 570 4gb
Psu. Vtx 500w
Hdd. Wd 500 gb + seagate 500gb

I don't facing any problem with this setup and i can run any game @900p with different settings and no problem, but i want to feel some upgrade , my budget about 150$ , so witch better go with it and changing only cpu or change all parts?

 

[Aehassan]

I wouldn't go below an i3 12100, with a b660 board, and ddr4 ram, for a new platform. At least then you have some solid future upgrade options. Intel just also released the i3 13100, but that one would cost more, due to needing a board that supports bios flashback, to update bios to support it.

Thanks for answer. but, my current budget only 150$

 

[Lafong]

If you have only $150, you are very limited in what you can do.

Any significant CPU upgrade would require a new motherboard and new RAM, which might cost 400 or more for those 3 pieces.

Honestly, I'd probably do nothing until I could afford to replace CPU, motherboard, and RAM. Otherwise, you would be buying oats for a very old horse.

 

[Aehassan]

If you have only $150, you are very limited in what you can do.

Any significant CPU upgrade would require a new motherboard and new RAM, which might cost 400 or more for those 3 pieces.

Honestly, I'd probably do nothing until I could afford to replace CPU, motherboard, and RAM. Otherwise, you would be buying oats for a very old horse.

So i need to collect more money to go with new setup ,but what about used parts it well be under 400$ i think so.

 

[logainofhades]

First thing to do is better power supply. I would follow that up with an SSD and then an i7 or Xeon 1230, or higher, that is compatible with your motherboard. Often you can find the i7 equivalent Xeons, for less than an i7.

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-H61M-S2P-rev-20/support#support-cpu

PCPartPicker Part List

Storage: TEAMGROUP CX2 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX650M (2021) 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Corsair)
Total: $124.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-01-05 08:31 EST-0500

 

[Lafong]

So i need to collect more money to go with new setup ,but what about used parts it well be under 400$ i think so.

Used parts are certainly an option.

I'd be more inclined to buy a used CPU and used RAM than a used motherboard....but you do what you have to do considering your circumstances.

You definitely need to move to DDR4 RAM to be compatible with any fairly recent motherboard/CPU combination.

 

[Aehassan]

First thing to do is better power supply. I would follow that up with an SSD and then an i7 or Xeon 1230, or higher, that is compatible with your motherboard. Often you can find the i7 equivalent Xeons, for less than an i7.

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-H61M-S2P-rev-20/support#support-cpu

PCPartPicker Part List

Storage: TEAMGROUP CX2 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX650M (2021) 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Corsair)
Total: $124.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-01-05 08:31 EST-0500

Thanks about good suggestions, I'll see what can i do soon

 

[Aehassan]

Used parts are certainly an option.

I'd be more inclined to buy a used CPU and used RAM than a used motherboard....but you do what you have to do considering your circumstances.

You definitely need to move to DDR4 RAM to be compatible with any fairly recent motherboard/CPU combination.

you are right, thanks
I'll be patient to collect more budget then go with upgrade all parts
Thank you all

 

[geofelt]

As far as processors go, the strongest upgrade available on your motherboard would be a I7-3770K.
They sell for $60 or so on ebay. Probably a decent cpu upgrade.
4 more threads and a single thread boost of perhaps 30%

But, what you really would notice is to upgrade Windows C drive to a ssd.
You can get a 1tb samsung 870 EVO for $85.
https://www.newegg.com/samsung-1tb-870-evo-series/p/N82E16820147793?Item=9SIBGHXJCS2872
500gb is half that, but you should want room for expansion.
You WILL notice how quick everything feels.
There are cheaper ssd devices out there, but not quite as reliable as Samsung.
Samsung has a ssd migration aid that will move your C drive to a ssd easily.
The nice thing is that a ssd is easily transportable to a new build in the future.

As noted above, your psu is questionable and should be upgraded if/when you upgraded the graphics card.
Do not be seduced by a low priced cheap psu.
A cheap PSU will be made of substandard components. It may not have all safety and overload protections.
The danger is if it fails under load, it can destroy anything it is connected to.
It will deliver advertised power only at room temperatures, not at higher temperatures found when installed in a case.
The wattage will be delivered on the 3 and 5v rails, not on the 12v rails where modern parts
like the CPU and Graphics cards need it. What power is delivered may fluctuate and cause instability;
issues that are hard to diagnose.
The fan will need to spin up higher to cool it, making it noisy.
A cheap PSU can become very expensive.

Do not buy one.
The simplest way to estimate quality is to look at the warranty.
Some with 5 years are ok, but look for 7 years or more and you very likely will get a good quality unit.

 

[punkncat]

A couple of things to consider here. First off, think that @geofelt has some great information regarding a possible plan for updating that platform. I would personally change a few of the suggestions to a smaller SSD and a matching set of RAM for at least 16GB if not 32. DDR3 isn't as cheap, used, as it has been...

I would consider this another way as well. There are basically two years left of W10 support as of right now. It doesn't seem as if MS is going to back away from this EOL. What this means is that for the money spent, in two years it will be moving forward on an unsupported OS. This isn't the end of the world, there are mitigations that can be brought to bear...however:

IDK how long it takes you to save money, and it's not my business, but something for you to ponder.
You can get a 12100 for as low as ~$105. The lowest of the B660 motherboards run between $100-120. You can find DDR4 as little as $36 for a Crucial kit of 2x8. As far as the drive, you can consider options as low as sub $20 and up. I would recommend starting with a 240GB class option and utilize your HDD for storage. All of this could be done for less than $250 and leaves you with a good upgrade path, better performance, and a supported OS option.

.02

 

[geofelt]

On W10 support ending, that is not the end of the world.
It means that new features and hardware support will not be retrofitted to w10. You should continue to get security updates.

12th gen, as good as it was is now replaced by 13th gen.
If buying new, I would look towards 13th gen.

Yes, $250 would allow a good performance upgrade, but the budget is $150.

 

[Aehassan]

A couple of things to consider here. First off, think that @geofelt has some great information regarding a possible plan for updating that platform. I would personally change a few of the suggestions to a smaller SSD and a matching set of RAM for at least 16GB if not 32. DDR3 isn't as cheap, used, as it has been...

I would consider this another way as well. There are basically two years left of W10 support as of right now. It doesn't seem as if MS is going to back away from this EOL. What this means is that for the money spent, in two years it will be moving forward on an unsupported OS. This isn't the end of the world, there are mitigations that can be brought to bear...however:

IDK how long it takes you to save money, and it's not my business, but something for you to ponder.
You can get a 12100 for as low as ~$105. The lowest of the B660 motherboards run between $100-120. You can find DDR4 as little as $36 for a Crucial kit of 2x8. As far as the drive, you can consider options as low as sub $20 and up. I would recommend starting with a 240GB class option and utilize your HDD for storage. All of this could be done for less than $250 and leaves you with a good upgrade path, better performance, and a supported OS option.

.02

I decided that well earn and save more money then go upgrade all setup except gpu rx 570 and case cm k 380
Thank you very mutch

 

[punkncat]

Yes, $250 would allow a good performance upgrade, but the budget is $150.

Lol, I seem to recall reading quite a few threads where budget was "X" and options were offered beyond it for good reason. This one warrants a bit of forethought considering the age of the platform.

The single best thing that could be done on the current platform is to buy an SSD. The second would be a matched set of RAM, but less important.
A 3770K is not game changing faster than the 2400. I would be willing to bet that in the same system and without being told no one would be able to tell a difference, unlike (for instance) what that SSD would do for it. That platform change though? Even with the least expensive parts that could be found is going to be a whole new universe of performance.

 

[logainofhades]

An i7 could prove useful in newer games. 4c/4t gaming is effectively dead. 4c/8t is on life support, but still useful, for the moment.

 

[geofelt]

FWIW, some passmark ratings:
I5-2400 4 3819/1576
I7-3770 8 6371/2074
I3-12100 8 14540/3550