Replace my i5 3330; Xeon E3-1240v2

[Jayzied]

Hi guys,

I've been thinking about how to upgrade my rig the next year, but I'm not sure about which one could be the best idea. First of all I though about buy a new mobo and CPU to make some OC (now I've got a basic B75 mobo with an i5 3330).

However, few days ago, I though that it could be a great idea the fact of change only the CPU and buy an Intel Xeon E3 1240 v2. I won't be able to overclock it, but I'll save some money (and I could sell the old i5). The principal usage of my rig is for playing games, but I'm not going to play with ultra graphics. I'll be happy if I can play them in medium/high.

My GPU is a GTX 680. So... Is it a good combo? Thanks in advance!

 

[Amdlova]

you will be fine... with direct x12 and AMD mantle the CPU will not be the bootle neck again. the xeon is a good cpu for many task and gaming. don't worry with OC or Crazy Mhz numbers. the xeon will be at the same power 4790.

 

[EasyLover]

For gaming only, I won't recommend Xeon here. Why even are you considering to change the CPU and Mobo? Better grab GTX 970 instead of 680.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

Agreed, that CPU and GPU combo definitely won't create a bottleneck. Overclocking can bring better gaming performance, but it's entirely dependent on the game and the extra performance is usually a few frames, nothing to write home about.

The Xeon is a great processor, but overkill for a gaming rig. You could save yourself some cash and buy a locked Haswell i5 instead, or just upgrade/SLI the GPU and keep your current processor.

 

[Montblanchill]

Whilst the Xeon is a good chip, you're honestly not going to see a huge jump in gaming performance.

Your current chip is actually very capable, and will probably keep up with a new GPU without issue. Sure, increases in clock speed as you work up the models will show an improvement, but it is not going to be huge. I very much doubt that i5 you have is bottlenecking any games at the moment, unless you're looking at bleeding edge 4k resolutions.

If you were to pop in a GTX 970 or equivalent, you'll be able to play games at ultra, 1080p with no issue on that CPU. A Xeon will make very little difference to this. The general rule for PC gaming at the moment is to grab an i5, much like your own, and then pick your GPU depending on what quality of graphics you want.