Wanting to upgrade from my 2500k - any suggestions?

[Gibpls]

I'm building a new gaming rig, and I'd like to do so without breaking the bank on a new CPU. I've heard that the new generations of processors have diminishing returns, so what would be the best possible upgrade from my 2500k when factoring both price and performance?

 

[Metalauxilia]

They do but will still offer a bit of a boost plus you don't have to go crazy and get the top of the line cpu. Plus most of the skylake boards use DDR4 so faster RAM too.

 

[Gibpls]

They do but will still offer a bit of a boost plus you don't have to go crazy and get the top of the line cpu. Plus most of the skylake boards use DDR4 so faster RAM too.

What about a 4690k?

 

[SkyMembrane]

They do but will still offer a bit of a boost plus you don't have to go crazy and get the top of the line cpu. Plus most of the skylake boards use DDR4 so faster RAM too.

What about a 4690k?

The i5-4690k is a great processor, I use one myself and I think it's great. However, both the 4690k and the 6600k will require you to purchase a different motherboard. With the 6600k, you could take a motherboard that supports DDR4 ram, which would make your build more futureproof. The price difference between the 6600k and the 4690k isn't massive (About 40$ here in Canada) and if you're going to upgrade, I would choose the 6600k.

 

[Metalauxilia]

Not to mention the performance gain between your 2500k and the 6600k is a larger gap than the 4690k. And as Sky and I said faster RAM with DDR4 usually 2400mhz speed or higher

 

[Gibpls]

They do but will still offer a bit of a boost plus you don't have to go crazy and get the top of the line cpu. Plus most of the skylake boards use DDR4 so faster RAM too.

What about a 4690k?

The i5-4690k is a great processor, I use one myself and I think it's great. However, both the 4690k and the 6600k will require you to purchase a different motherboard. With the 6600k, you could take a motherboard that supports DDR4 ram, which would make your build more futureproof. The price difference between the 6600k and the 4690k isn't massive (About 40$ here in Canada) and if you're going to upgrade, I would choose the 6600k.

Sounds like a good call. However, I've got a few parts from my previous build that are relatively new, particularly my DDR3 RAM, and I'd like to keep that in the system build since Canada's dollar isn't the greatest as of right now. My main priority is a new GPU (970) so I'd like to put the price difference towards the additional parts. Every dollar counts for me right now.

 

[Metalauxilia]

well what is your current GPU? It might be better to get the 970 and then save up for the new skylake and ddr4

 

[SkyMembrane]

The I5-2500k currently isn't a Bottleneck to the GTX 970 when it comes to gaming. While certain recent games might recommend something more recent, and Overclocked I5-2500k can usually keep up with those specs. Given the current situation, I would strongly suggest that you wait and get an LGA1151 motherboard with a skylake chip and DDR4 ram when you're ready instead of rushing it and getting an older processor.

However, if you can get a really good deal on an I5-4690k because of a sale or something, it's definitely not going to be outdated tomorrow, so it is a viable option.