[SOLVED] Upgrading DDR3 System

[Yosef Marcera]

I am gaming on my computer and streaming on my laptop to lift some of the stress off of the pc. With how my audio is configured for streaming, I am required to keep OBS running in the background of my gaming pc to transfer my mic and game audio over NDI to my streaming pc, which consumes some CPU usage. When streaming VALORANT or GTA V, my CPU usage usually maxes out causing some performance drops. Which is why I am looking to upgrade my CPU, to allow for more breathing room.

Specs:
CPU: Intel Core i5-3470
GPU: Sapphire R9 270X 2GB Vapor-X OC
RAM: 1x8GB DDR3-1600 CL9 HyperX 10th Anniversary
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H77-DS3H (LGA 1155)
SSD: 240GB Kingston A400
HDD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM
PSU: Gigabyte P550B 550W 80+ Bronze

The likelihood of me getting an upgrade from DDR3 to a more modern platform any time soon is really low, so I will just have to make the most out of my current system. For months I have been thinking of upgrading my i5-3470 to an i7-3770, and recently I stumbled upon Xeon processors which apparently have similar performance with the i7 and are available at a significantly lower price.

To be specific, I have been looking at the E3 1230 v2 and the E3 1240 v2. The E3 1230 v2 costs $51.7, while the E3 1240 v2 costs $54.6 (prices converted from PHP), is it worth the extra $3 for the E3 1240 v2? The only difference is that the E3 1240 v2's clock speeds are higher by +0.1 GHz, I'd like to spend as little as possible. In terms of motherboard compatibility, my board seems compatible with both the Xeon processors. I would just like to ask if a BIOS update is required? It states that my BIOS version is "American Megatrends Inc. F7, 8/21/2012".

Now, addressing the single channel RAM. I am aware that for dual channel, both the RAM sticks need to have the same capacity and speeds. My current RAM stick is CL9 and the RAM I am looking to buy is CL11. Would both the sticks just go down to CL11 to allow for dual channel, or would dual channel not work at all?

In the far future, I will be using my current system as my streaming pc replacing my laptop.

Thanks!

 

[Lutfij]

You'll be able to drop in an i7-3770(non-K suffix) processor into that board but you shouldn't expect much out of the entire platform since;
a| the PSU is something I wouldn't work with.
b| that platform is already too long in the tooth
c| changes are your motherboard might croak after you put a higher performing processor in there.

I wouldn't get the Xeon's regardless of what they cost, and even if they were supported since budget builds benefit a lot out of having an iGPU when troubleshooting. For a system as old as yours, you can and will fall victim to your system being unreliable and end up with troubleshooting.

Please don't mix and match sticks of ram. Look at ram upgrades as you would with buying a pair of shoes. Buy a kit! 2x8GB DDR3-1600MHz 1.5v. Before you set about the ram and processor upgrade, make sure you're on the latest BIOS version for your motherboard.

 

[SamirD]

I wouldn't personally look at the xeons versus the 3770 non-k, but I do understand being on a budget--just be sure that whatever processor you get is a genuine used processor and not some shady fake or knockoff stuff with malware from the ccp. They flood the markets in asia with this junk and not only is it dangerous, but will more than likely not give you the performance boost you want.

Another processor to consider is the i5-3570k, which will give you the increased single thread performance of the xeons/3770 series without the hyperthreading. It might end up being the cheapest route:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...770-vs-Intel-i5-3570K/1189vs1190vs2vs896vs828

As far as ram, DDR3 can be quite forgiving and I believe technically what you want to do should be possible, but just recently someone tried the exact same thing with some 4GB modules and they would never be stable together. If the module you currently have was bought around the time you made the system, a newer module's design would be quite different and lead to compatibility issues. What I would do is look for a used one of your old module--should be cheaper and should work with the other one too. If not, see if you can get a set of 16GB (2x8GB) as those are pretty cheap used as well if you look in the right places.