Upgrade from i3 3220

[Billy_1]

Hello guys!

So i was thinking about upgrading my i3 3220 since i recently bought a gtx 960 and want to get the most out of it. My first thought was getting an i5 with 1155 socket, but these don't come out anymore and in my country there are very few models left that don't worth the upgrade. So obviously the upgrade is more gaming oriented.
I am on a pretty tight budget so upgrading to AMD is probably (a better?) option.
If possible anyone who suggests AMD please include a good budget motherboard too.
Any help you be appreciated!

My pc specs right now:
Cpu: i3 3220 3.3Ghz
Mobo: Gigabyte B75M-D3H
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8Gb (2x4Gb)
Gpu: Palit GTX960 Jetstream 2Gb
PSU: 600W 80PLUS Bronze
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500Gb
SSD: Sandisk Ultra II 240Gb


Thank you in advance!

 

[Onus]

You may not need an upgrade. Think of upgrading only if there is something that does not run as well as you like. Your current CPU will not bottleneck a GTX960, especially at 1920x1080 (or higher) using high to ultra settings.

 

[CN Shana]

i dont know your country but I found this for reference if it helps you out

http://pcpartpicker.com/guide/xfmPxr/i5-4460-gtx-960-gaming-pc

 

[geofelt]

On a budget, your best option is to try to find a used I5 such as the i5-3550.
A change to amd requires a motherboard change, and you are unlikely to get any performance improvement at all.
Here is one set of tests which includes a i3-3220 going against a FX-8350.
spoiler... FX loses.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-processor-frame-rate-performance,3427-9.html

I suggest you see how your GTX960 upgrade goes.

If you are going to upgrade a cpu and a motherboard, save up a bit more for skylake, likely i3-6100.

 

[Billy_1]

You may not need an upgrade. Think of upgrading only if there is something that does not run as well as you like. Your current CPU will not bottleneck a GTX960, especially at 1920x1080 (or higher) using high to ultra settings.

Well it's not that there is something that doesn't work right but i have the CPU&motherboard for about 3 years and was thinking was about time.
Anyway thank you for the fast reply!

 

[Billy_1]

i dont know your country but I found this for reference if it helps you out

http://pcpartpicker.com/guide/xfmPxr/i5-4460-gtx-960-gaming-pc

Thank you for your fast reply. Most shops don't ship where i live and this seems to be a combo so i am not interested in that! Thanks anyway! 😀

 

[Billy_1]

On a budget, your best option is to try to find a used I5 such as the i5-3550.
A change to amd requires a motherboard change, and you are unlikely to get any performance improvement at all.
Here is one set of tests which includes a i3-3220 going against a FX-8350.
spoiler... FX loses.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-processor-frame-rate-performance,3427-9.html

I suggest you see how your GTX960 upgrade goes.

If you are going to upgrade a cpu and a motherboard, save up a bit more for skylake, likely i3-6100.

I was thinking of upgrading to AMD because of cheaper 6 core cpus but i see there is no reason to do that since the performance doesn't differ that much .
I see that most of suggest that i stay with the current build. So i guess i will because i don't really trust used cpu's.

Thank you for the fast reply and the helpful information!

 

[CN Shana]

i dont know your country but I found this for reference if it helps you out

http://pcpartpicker.com/guide/xfmPxr/i5-4460-gtx-960-gaming-pc

Thank you for your fast reply. Most shops don't ship where i live and this seems to be a combo so i am not interested in that! Thanks anyway! 😀

It wasn't for your to buy the entire thing, it was a pretty close example of your other parts with a cheaper processor and motherboard you could get.

What is your country, I know newegg ships to these: United Kingdom, Australia, India, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore.

Are you in a country without access to amazon?

 

[Billy_1]

i dont know your country but I found this for reference if it helps you out

http://pcpartpicker.com/guide/xfmPxr/i5-4460-gtx-960-gaming-pc

Thank you for your fast reply. Most shops don't ship where i live and this seems to be a combo so i am not interested in that! Thanks anyway! 😀

It wasn't for your to buy the entire thing, it was a pretty close example of your other parts with a cheaper processor and motherboard you could get.

What is your country, I know newegg ships to these: United Kingdom, Australia, India, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore.

Are you in a country without access to amazon?

I found out it wasn't a combo later, sorry for that. I live in greece and things are a little bit complicated regarding online shopping from amazon/ebay etc. as you may know. That's why it's not really an option (sadly) for me.

 

[geofelt]

FWIW, I have no problem buying a used cpu.
They do not wear out or fail.
If you buy used on ebay from a seller with good feedback and pay with paypal, you are well covered.
If the processor should prove unsuitable, you can return it and get a refund.
Ebay sides with buyers in disputes.

 

[Billy_1]

FWIW, I have no problem buying a used cpu.
They do not wear out or fail.
If you buy used on ebay from a seller with good feedback and pay with paypal, you are well covered.
If the processor should prove unsuitable, you can return it and get a refund.
Ebay sides with buyers in disputes.

Well maybe it's because i've never done it before that i am so insecure about it. CPU's are so delicate that you're never sure enough. ^_^
And it's that i don't want to go into the process of returning it and then searching for a new one in case of a problem.

 

[geofelt]

FWIW, I have no problem buying a used cpu.
They do not wear out or fail.
If you buy used on ebay from a seller with good feedback and pay with paypal, you are well covered.
If the processor should prove unsuitable, you can return it and get a refund.
Ebay sides with buyers in disputes.

Well maybe it's because i've never done it before that i am so insecure about it. CPU's are so delicate that you're never sure enough. ^_^
And it's that i don't want to go into the process of returning it and then searching for a new one in case of a problem.

The cpu itself is not very delicate.
If anything, it is the motherboard pins that can be easily damaged.
One needs to be careful to drop the cpu into it's place without smooshing it around and bending a motherboard pin.