[SOLVED] Upgrading CPU

[aidfarrell70]

I want to upgrade my I5 4440 (2013) to a newer cpu. I was thinking I5 8400. I understand that I will be forced to also upgrade my motherboard and ram for ddr4 but I am willig to do so. Will I see much of a difference from the i5 4440 to 8400?
I have chosen to go with the Z37DP D3 motherboard and corsair vengeance LPX 2 x 4 GB RAM sticks.

If there are any cheaper options that would work well please let me know. Also if there is better cpu i should go for for around the same price let me know.

Thank you.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-8400-vs-Intel-Core-i5-4440/3939vs1993

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Better option below:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($164.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B450M GAMING PLUS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($77.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $322.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-05 16:15 EDT-0400

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Yes, you will see a big performance bump in all tasks. What are your intentions to use this cpu for?
What speed is that ram, as I would suggest 2400 or above? You do not need a z370 motherboard for that CPU, since z370 is mainly designed for overclockable CPUs. A cheaper H370 board will work with a 2666mhz ram limit.
You could also save some money and buy an AMD Ryzen 5 2600, but without a gpu this isnt an option.

 

[aidfarrell70]

Yes, you will see a big performance bump in all tasks. What are your intentions to use this cpu for?
What speed is that ram, as I would suggest 2400 or above? You do not need a z370 motherboard for that CPU, since z370 is mainly designed for overclockable CPUs. A cheaper H370 board will work with a 2666mhz ram limit.
You could also save some money and buy an AMD Ryzen 5 2600, but without a gpu this isnt an option.

I'm just going to use the CPU for everything, gaming, streaming videos, desktop use ect. I have a 970 which i will probably upgrade for the future. The ram speed is 2666 so I will change to a h370 motherboard as you suggested. I think I'm going to stick with intel because i may be allergic to amd for some reason. Will a 500w psu cover a 970 + 8400?

Will this motherboard do? https://www.amazon.co.uk/GIGABYTE-H...496248&s=gateway&sprefix=H370+,aps,140&sr=8-2

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Yes, a GTX 970 and I5 8400 should work well on a decent 500-watt power supply. They will do what you need quite well, and an I5 8400 will be a good upgrade from the older quad core I5. For streaming gameplay and heavy multitasking, the Ryzen 5 2600 is a better option since it has SMT (AMD's Hyperthreading equivalent) meaning it has 12 threads rather than the 6 of the I5. For casual use and nearly all current games, the I5 and R5 are similar, but the future may have different demands. You could go with the Igpu-less I5 9400f which actually cost less and is slightly faster, although that CPU requires a pricy Z390 board, well over $100.

 

[aidfarrell70]

And the motherboard I linked should be okay?? Also is 8GB of ram still considered enough? Would it be worth upgrading to 16gb

 

[NightHawkRMX]

That motherboard will work, but here's a list that's pretty cheap. You could go slightly cheaper, but the ram would have slower clocks or cas latency. That's the cheapest ATX h370 board and it offers a lot for the price:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8 GHz 6-Core Processor | £169.99 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard | ASRock - H370 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | £87.79 @ CCL Computers
Memory | Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory | £49.60 @ Amazon UK
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | £307.38
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-05 21:45 BST+0100 |

 

[aidfarrell70]

If I replace my motherboard will I also have to buy windows? My pc is acer manufacter and it initially came with windows 8 and I upgraded to windows 10.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Likely. I tried to use an OEM HDD that had originally had windows 8 but was upgraded to 10 in a new pc and the key it gives you is non-transferable, so it's unactivated. Call Microsoft they may transfer it to the new motherboard but it may take a few people to do it. I would buy a new key if you don't want to waste time. You can also always run unactivated windows. If you are going to overhaul the pc, I would suggest an SSD with a fresh windows 10 install.