Should I replace my i5 3330 with an i5 2500k?

[lswanie]

Here are my current specs

z77
i5 3330
16 gb ram
gtx 970

I use this to run most games at medium to high settings on a 2560x1080 display just fine as well as my oculus on low settings, however, in more CPU intensive games/moments it is starting to struggle a little bit. I already have a 2500k and am wondering if it is worth the cost of buying a new cooler and installing the new CPU vs just riding this rig out until I need to do an entire build.

The reason I never installed the 2500, is I bought a 212 Evo which is unfortunately way too tall for my case, and this speedbump was enough to delay the process by at least 6 months (when I received the 2500). Is there an alternative cooler that is a couple inches shorter?

Would I see a noticeable performance increase by installing this processor with the intent of OCing it to the ~4.2 ghz mark (would go higher if I can)? It is obviously much faster than the 3 (3.3 turbo) ghz 3300 I have in terms of sheer numbers, but I have no idea how that will translate to real world performance, especially when multiple cores are being used. It is my understanding the ivy bridge was a big step up back in the day.

Thanks for the help and suggestions!

 

[volkgren]

You could gain something from an overclocked i5-2500K, but I think you should go for an i7-2600K to gain the most.

 

[volkgren]

I can't edit for some reason, but it would actually be an i7-3770K to gain the most.

 

[lswanie]

I can't edit for some reason, but it would actually be an i7-3770K to gain the most.

I wish I could afford one. The reason I asked is because I already have the 2500 and am wondering if an overclocked 2500 will be significantly better than my current 3330, thus justifying another 40 bucks or so and the time/risk of breaking something while meddling factor.

 

[volkgren]

I see, sorry I missed that. If you already have the 2500K then I would certainly buy a decent cooler and give it a go. If you can fit the Hyper 212 Evo in your case I'd just go with that for $29.

You can always sell both CPUs if you don't see enough performance from them and then get the i7-2600K or i7-3770(K).

 

[lswanie]

I see, sorry I missed that. If you already have the 2500K then I would certainly buy a decent cooler and give it a go. If you can fit the Hyper 212 Evo in your case I'd just go with that for $29.

You can always sell both CPUs if you don't see enough performance from them and then get the i7-2600K or i7-3770(K).

Awesome, thanks for the input; think I will give it a go. Unfortunately I cannot fit the 212 in there. I found an alternative some months back that would fit and had great reviews...and low and behold I cannot find the darn thing haha. I will recognize it when I see it, it was white and looked kind of like a kitchen appliance...

 

[lswanie]

Well, turns out the 212 does fit in, by literally something like 2-3 mm. I have it at 4.3ghz and everything so far is noticeably faster, some things markedly so. Oculus games for example load 2-3 times faster.

Stress tests have all cores running in the mid 60s when it is under full load, so I guess it is safe to say it is relatively stable for the time being as well (apartment is also pretty darn warm today).

Anyhow, figured I would report the findings on me and my six year old processor. Very pleased.

Honestly, I am considering running another (this is my second gpu on this build) gpu gen on the z77. Maybe a 1070 if the price ever goes down