[SOLVED] Z77MX-D3H rev 1.0: CPU and MB upgrade questions

[cardpif]

Hi, is the maximum CPU upgrade on this MB really an I7-3770K?

If yes, what is the difference between 3770 and 3770K?

My next major upgrade might be in 2 years so wandering what is the smoothest MB upgrade I can go to without any issues ?

My budget is limitted because I want to upgrde the CPU and my video card. Are there MB upgrade solutions that include higher CPU as alternatives ?

 

[Barty1884]

Yes, the "best" CPU that board supports is a 3770K.

Difference?
100Mhz on the base clock (boost is the same), and the ability to overclock.
https://ark.intel.com/products/65719/Intel-Core-i7-3770-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-3-90-GHz-
https://ark.intel.com/products/65523/Intel-Core-i7-3770K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-3-90-GHz-

You wouldn't really be "upgrading" if you changed the motherboard, CPU & GPU..... that's essentialyl an entirely new system.

If you wanted to maintain your DDR3 RAM, then your only maximum "upgrade" in the consumer space would be Z97 and an i7-4790K.
While a nice CPU, it wouldn't be worth the cost for the MB+CPU vs a Z77 and 3770.

 

[cardpif]

About your comment for the DDR3 RAM, which is a 1600 by the way, you mean the maximum Gigabyte MB would be a Z97 with an I7-4790K ?

Why? MB/CPU higher then this stopped being DDR3 compatible ?

The reason for all this is because there is this game I want, which is the next version out of a long series of games I played, that came out last week but the recommended specs for it is an I7-6700 + GTX-1070. The minimum reqirements are an I5-4590 +GTX-970. So I wanted to be the closest possible to it with my restricted budget. I figure the bottleneck will be the video card because they want 3GB memory min for it. If I cannot buy my way to an I7-6700, then at least I can get a GTX-1060 + a close CPU match, without changing my MB.

 

[volkgren]

What's the game?

i7-3770K should be able to handle a game that recommends an i7-6700. And with a Z77 you should be able to overclock an i7-3770K to 4.4GHz+ with a good cooler.

Both CPUs are quad-core with hyper-threading.
https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-6700-vs-Intel-Core-i7-3770K/3515vs1317

 

[cardpif]

game is Egosoft X4. It came out on Nov-30.

When you guys say a Z77 or a Z97, you mean which MB and from which company ? I do not understand.


I was able to run the previous game X Rebirth without any issues with everything maxed out. They say they are using the same engine for X4 but now the recommended specs have gone up quiet a bit.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/392160/X4_Foundations/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2870/X_Rebirth/

 

[Barty1884]

Z77 or Z97 is just the chipset. Various motherboards, from all the different vendors use those chipsets.
They're top tier boards on older sockets (2012 for Z77, 2014 for Z97)

 

[volkgren]

Z97 is the chipset, any Z97 motherboard is what he is referring to. However, it is not recommended to go from an i7-3770K to an i7-4790K. Z97 motherboards are much like Z77 motherboards now, difficult to find for a reasonable price. All that is left is cheap low quality motherboards.

Stick with your Z77 and get an i7-3770K on eBay or other used for a good price if you must. What do you have now?

If you go buy a new motherboard and CPU you might as well get something new like a Z390 and an 8th or 9th-gen six-core i5 or six/eight-core i7. But you would need DDR4 RAM also, which is faster.