Question Upgrading from i5 6500 to i7 7700

[CapA1]

I am planning to upgrading my current CPU i5 6500 to i7 7700K as my 6500 is reaching bottleneck in some of the CPU intensive games. Unfortunately I'm limited by my motherboard as to what CPU I can go for and looking at options i7 7700k fits the bill. I am not to bothered with overclocking part since my motherboard does not support overclocking but still better to get 7700k then 7700 as the base speed is higher.

There are few things I want to clear up:

- I am assuming the new CPU will not come with the fan/cooler so I'll need to purchase that separately including thermal paste.
- My current motherboard is H110M PRO-VD (MS-7996) so according to manufacture's website, newer CPU is compatible with my board's 1151 slot but will need bios update since my current version of bios is 2.AO
- How do I update my bios?

Ayn feedback is greatly appreciated as I am new to hardware upgrades.

 

[Lutfij]

- I am assuming the new CPU will not come with the fan/cooler so I'll need to purchase that separately including thermal paste.
Intel stopped bundling a cooler with their unlocked processors since hey stated that people who buy unlocked processors will have or buy aftermarket cooling that's far better. You should look into a tower cooler though I'd also be wary of your case and the airflow inside said case.

H110M PRO-VD
- How do I update my bios?
Your manual has steps outlined in page 17, under the Updating BIOS header. You should download the latest BIOS file from here;
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/H110M-PRO-VD/support#bios
and then use that top update the BIOS. Using an old pen/thumb/USB drive that's FAT32 formatted is usually a good thing o have when updating a motherboard BIOS.

 

[LordVile]

I am planning to upgrading my current CPU i5 6500 to i7 7700K as my 6500 is reaching bottleneck in some of the CPU intensive games. Unfortunately I'm limited by my motherboard as to what CPU I can go for and looking at options i7 7700k fits the bill. I am not to bothered with overclocking part since my motherboard does not support overclocking but still better to get 7700k then 7700 as the base speed is higher.

There are few things I want to clear up:

- I am assuming the new CPU will not come with the fan/cooler so I'll need to purchase that separately including thermal paste.
- My current motherboard is H110M PRO-VD (MS-7996) so according to manufacture's website, newer CPU is compatible with my board's 1151 slot but will need bios update since my current version of bios is 2.AO
- How do I update my bios?

Ayn feedback is greatly appreciated as I am new to hardware upgrades.

Are you sure the 7700 will be a large enough uplift over the 6500?

 

[Aeacus]

I am planning to upgrading my current CPU i5 6500 to i7 7700K as my 6500 is reaching bottleneck in some of the CPU intensive games.

Rather than upgrading CPU for minor improvement, while running one hot chip, 300 bucks gives you new CPU + MoBo with FAR higher performance uplift.
Like so:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-14400 2.5 GHz 10-Core Processor ($169.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z790M PG LIGHTNING/D4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $289.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-03-05 17:08 EST-0500

CPU cooler comes with CPU and you can re-use your DDR4 RAM.

Performance upgrades;
i5-6500 vs i7-7700K: https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-6500-vs-Intel-Core-i7-7700K/3513vs3647
i5-6500 vs i5-14400: https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-6500-vs-Intel-Core-i5-14400/3513vsm2274632

 

[King_V]

Whether to go with the upgrade to a 7700K vs a new platform probably depends on how cheaply the 7700K (plus an adequate cooler) can be acquired.

 

[Aeacus]

Whether to go with the upgrade to a 7700K vs a new platform probably depends on how cheaply the 7700K (plus an adequate cooler) can be acquired.

Amazon has the chip for $229,
link: https://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-7700K-Desktop-Processor-unlocked/dp/B01MXSI216

And given that i7-7700K is one hot running chip, bare minimum would be mid-sized CPU cooler, while big-boy CPU cooler is preferred. Those CPU coolers start from ~30 bucks.

So, ~260 bucks for i7-7700K or ~290 bucks for i5-14400.
Double the performance over i7-7700K with only extra 30 bucks is no-brainer.

 

[King_V]

Oh, yeah, at those prices, I'd agree. I kind of wondered if maybe it were a cheap eBay deal that was scored, or purchasing from a friend or something.

I get that the Amazon seller is offering one new in box, but that price seems more like wishful thinking on the part of the seller.

 

[logainofhades]

I also agree that it is best to jump to a new platform. At least that way you can also have Windows 11 support. You will want to do a bios update, to support Intel's latest fixes.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-13400 2.5 GHz 10-Core Processor ($134.97 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B760 Pro RS/D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $244.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-03-06 11:14 EST-0500

 

[Aeacus]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-13400 2.5 GHz 10-Core Processor ($134.97 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B760 Pro RS/D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $244.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-03-06 11:14 EST-0500

My 2 cents;

Since OP has micro-ATX MoBo, i played it safe and also suggested micro-ATX MoBo. Since that, for sure, fits into OP's PC case.
ATX MoBo may or may not fit.

 

[artk2219]

If you want to give this a shot, you could try seeing if your board will boot a Xeon with similar specs to an i7. They're often not listed as supported, but I've found that more often then not, they are. They are also cheap, 20 bucks or less for a decent one, and it will help, but for any major performance changes, you'll need to swap out your platform. I've also included a link to a YouTube video that should help you with the bios update process.

Xeon E3 1270 V5

Compare Intel Core i7-7700 / Core i7-7700K / Xeon E3-1240 v5 / Xeon E3-1240 v6 / Xeon E3-1245 v6 / Xeon E3-1270 v5 / Xeon E3-1270 v6

www.cpu-world.com

View: https://youtube.com/watch?v=KdmnDQkxFx0