Question Upgrade i3 to i5 eighth gen for video and photo editing?

[4freedomssake]

I occasionally do some light gaming on my rig but it's mostly used for 4K video editing and photo editing. I don't use any Adobe software because of their ridiculous costs. I use Gimp 2.10 for photo editing and Shotcut for video. My i3 8100 seems to be falling behind when rendering 4K video with simple transitions. I do not have the funds to build an entirely new system at this time. So I'd like to get your input on upgrading. A picture of my rig specs is below. Thanks.

 

[rgd1101]

budget for the cpu?

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-core-i5-9600kf-deal-sale
plus a cooler

 

[logainofhades]

What is your budget?

 

[RodroX]

If you wana keep your motherboard then yeah, a Core i5 with 6 cores will be an improvement over any core i3.

I would spend money on K version only if you have atleast 16 GB of the fastest RAM your new CPU can handle and in dual channel mode. If not just get a non-k CPU and upgrade your RAM.

Storage is also important having atleast an SSD as the Windows + Apps drive and a 7200RPM HDD for the user/work data.

And if you don't have a dedicated GPU, don't buy the F version cause it doesn't come with an integrated GPU.

If your motherboard can handle 9th gen the Core i5 9600, 9600K are great choices (if you go the K way, remember you will need to budge in an aftermarket cooler sicne it doesn't come with one - There are many great options like Gammaxx 400, CoolerMaster 212 Evo, Freezer 34 eSports and so on).

 

[geofelt]

Here is a list of the processors supported by your motherboard:
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/B360I-GAMING-PRO-AC#support-cpu

Your i3-8100 now has 4 cores/threads.
It has a passmark rating of 8009. That is when all threads are fully loaded.
For your use, that is probably the most important metric.
The single thread rating is 2098. That is more applicable to games.
Apps such as rendering can usually use many threads. Verify that your app is one of those.
For 6 threads, a i5-9400f rating is 12112/2597.
For 8 threads, I7-9700F is 16486/2706.
for 16 threads, i9-9900... is possible, but they are very expensive and run hot.
You can check the passmark ratings of other options.

With your motherboard, you can not overclock a normally overclockable K suffix processor.
The F suffix units do not include graphics capability. Not important to you since you have a GTX1070.

 

[4freedomssake]

budget for the cpu?

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-core-i5-9600kf-deal-sale
plus a cooler

Max $225

 

[4freedomssake]

Motherboard only supports 8th gen CPUS. I have an nVidia GTX 1700.

.
[/QUOTE]

If you wana keep your motherboard then yeah, a Core i5 with 6 cores will be an improvement over any core i3.

I would spend money on K version only if you have atleast 16 GB of the fastest RAM your new CPU can handle and in dual channel mode. If not just get a non-k CPU and upgrade your RAM.

Storage is also important having atleast an SSD as the Windows + Apps drive and a 7200RPM HDD for the user/work data.

And if you don't have a dedicated GPU, don't buy the F version cause it doesn't come with an integrated GPU.

If your motherboard can handle 9th gen the Core i5 9600, 9600K are great choices (if you go the K way, remember you will need to budge in an aftermarket cooler sicne it doesn't come with one - There are many great options like Gammaxx 400, CoolerMaster 212 Evo, Freezer 34 eSports and so on).

 

[4freedomssake]

Could RAM speed be bottlenecking? DDR 2400. Motherboard can only handle 2666

 

[logainofhades]

Motherboard only supports 8th gen CPUS. I have an nVidia GTX 1700.

It will support 9th gen, with a bios update. For what you are doing, having only 4 cores, is what is holding you back. You just cannot overclock, as it isn't a Z series chipset. A 9600kf would work, and despite not being able to overclock, would still be faster due to higher base clocks, than locked i5's. The only issue, then, would be what cooling solution, and what case, you have now.

 

[RodroX]

Could RAM speed be bottlenecking? DDR 2400. Motherboard can only handle 2666

Not really, Intel CPUs are not like AMD when it comes to RAM speed. so don't worry too much, with 2400MHz youre on the good side.

More important thing about RAM is if you have a dual channel setup or not, that means: 2 identical sticks of 4GB (8GB total); or 8GB (16GB total), etc. As long as your RAM is in dual channel mode you are ok.

You can check if your RAM is in dual channel by using something like CPU-Z: https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html. Download the zip file and run the 64bit one. You will see a small windows with many tabs, you have to check this one: https://linustechtips.com/main/uplo...tled.jpg.3989ca205e75667fdb3be909b5e52d9f.jpg, if it saids "channel #: dual", then you are good to go.

 

[geofelt]

Max $225

A very good deal.
The KF at stock has a higher base and turbo speed 4.0/4.6 vs 2.9/4.1 for the 9400f.
By comparison, your i3-8100 is 3.6 and, I think no turbo.

You can use your current stock cooler.
It might get noisy under load.
If you find that you want something quieter, look for a tower type cooler with a 120mm fan.
Perhaps something like this for $20
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16835856005

Check your bios level.
CPU-Z will tell you.
If you need a higher level bios to support a 9400kf, update the bios before you change processors.

As to ram, do not worry about speeds. Intel performance is relatively insensitive to ram speeds.
You could not detect the difference between 2400 and 2666

 

[4freedomssake]

The only issue, then, would be what cooling solution, and what case, you have now.

Case is a Thermaltake Suppressor V1 Mini with the massive 200mm case fan. CPU stock cooler.

 

[dstln]

What do you mean falling behind on video editing? Just slow?

Yes, upgrading to more cores/threads will correspondingly increase the rendering/encoding speed of a well-optimized video editing program.

 

[4freedomssake]

What do you mean falling behind on video editing? Just slow?

Rendering time.