I7 2700K - good purchase on a budget?

[Maddix]

Okay guys so this is my first post on the forum and I'm not sure if it's for questions like this so feel free to tell me and ill delete this.

 

I am 15 so playing games is a big part of my life but currently my machine is powered by an i3  2120 Which is a dual core that sells for £2 locally. I was thinking of upgrading to an i7 2700k which would only cost me £75 used. My board is a LGA1155 socket  and I cant really afford to upgrade it.

 

My question is, should I get this? I would like to play VR and have a system that can actually run discord at the same time as a game. Id also like it to be able to see my through the next couple years until I finally get a job.

 

Thank you for any replies and as I said I'll take this down if this isn't what the forums for.

Thanks for any help,

Maddix

[Zando_]

Hell yeah, for cheap a 2700K will slap. My i5 2400 manages to struggle through 1080pkindasorta60 in Destiny 2 while running Discord in the background for voice chat, a 2700K with a higher clock and twice the threads should be a damn solid upgrade. Especially from an i3. 

[WkdPaul]

A non-k CPU would be cheaper and would perform similar (I'm assuming you're on a pre-build computer with a motherboard that doesn't support overclocking).

 

Something like a 2600 or a 2700 is probably cheaper at CeX ?

[Sauron]

1 minute ago, Maddix said:

£75

That's too much.

9 minutes ago, Maddix said:

I would like to play VR

With what graphics card? Also how come you can afford a VR headset but not a new motherboard?

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, Sauron said:

That's too much.

With what graphics card? Also how come you can afford a VR headset but not a new motherboard?

Because then they'd need a new CPU that costs more on top of that, then new RAM if they get any recent platform, which costs yet more? 

[Maddix]

10 minutes ago, wkdpaul said:

A non-k CPU would be cheaper and would perform similar (I'm assuming you're on a pre-build computer with a motherboard that doesn't support overclocking).

 

Something like a 2600 or a 2700 is probably cheaper at CeX ?

You're right about the pre-built. I really regret getting a prebuilt but I was 13 and didn't know much. And Cex do have a 2600k for less but not a 2600 or 2700. 

I will probably just go for one of those. Thank you

[Sauron]

5 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

Because then they'd need a new CPU that costs more on top of that

75£ is enough for a decent new cpu. You can buy a used ryzen 5 2600 for less than that.

7 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

then new RAM if they get any recent platform, which costs yet more? 

Yes, but the value would be much better. 75£ for a 2700k is theft.

[Maddix]

8 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

Because then they'd need a new CPU that costs more on top of that, then new RAM if they get any recent platform, which costs yet more? 

Exactly this, I would pretty much have to rebuild my system if I went for a more recent board

[Guiltyxz]

Only difference between the 2700k and the 2600k is that the 2700k is just higher binned and can often get better OCes (but not always). But that wont really affect you especially as you cant OC anyway.

[Zando_]

Just now, Sauron said:

75£ is enough for a decent new cpu. You can buy a used ryzen 5 2600 for less than that.

That you then need a new motherboard and RAM for. So around $60-70 USD for a decent B450 board, maybe up to $90, and then $80-100 for a 2x8GB 3200Mhz RAM kit. That's US pricing too, the UK and other places are usually much worse. 
 

Just now, Sauron said:

Yes, but the value would be much better. 75£ for a 2700k is theft.

Ah ye old i7 prices are usually highway robbery given their age, but that's "only" $97 USD. I've seen 1st gen i7s go for more than that. Still yeah, true to your point it is higher than it should be. I'd still argue it's much cheaper than any newer platform upgrade though lol. New hardware has 0 value at all if the OP can't afford it, or doesn't want to shell out that money and have to sacrifice somewhere else in their life. 
 

Just now, Maddix said:

Exactly this, I would pretty much have to rebuild my system if I went for a more recent board

^^^ I got a great deal on my current mobo, but it wasn't just that easy, because I then needed to spend $180 on a CPU and ended up getting RAM that was $260 (I didn't need 32GB but I didn't want to go below 8GB DIMMs, realistically at the time I could have gotten a 16GB kit for probably $150 or so, this was back when DDR4 prices were much higher than now). Point being it isn't as easy as just getting a new mobo or CPU for cheap, since you then need the other components to go with it. 
 

[Sorenson]

3 minutes ago, Sauron said:

75£ is enough for a decent new cpu. You can buy a used ryzen 5 2600 for less than that.

Yes, but the value would be much better. 75£ for a 2700k is theft.

that would require an entire core system upgrade that would push it way out of his price range. You have to account for new ram, new motherboard, and if the new mobo will fit in the prebuilt. You're right it would be much better but it would also cost a lot more. 

[Sauron]

1 minute ago, Zando Bob said:

That you then need a new motherboard and RAM for. So around $60-70 USD for a decent B450 board, maybe up to $90, and then $80-100 for a 2x8GB 3200Mhz RAM kit. That's US pricing too, the UK and other places are usually much worse. 

 

2 minutes ago, Sorenson said:

that would require an entire core system upgrade that would push it way out of his price range. You have to account for new ram, new motherboard, and if the new mobo will fit in the prebuilt. You're right it would be much better but it would also cost a lot more. 

Not my point - I'm not saying that he should buy a new ryzen system if he's strapped for money; I'm saying buying a 2700k for that price is a bad idea.

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, Sauron said:

Not my point - I'm not saying that he should buy a new ryzen system if he's strapped for money; I'm saying buying a 2700k for that price is a bad idea.

Ah yeee that's solid. Does OP really have a better option though? An old i3 like that is massively limiting, if there's no better priced 2600/2700K or non-K (assuming not a Z series board) chips available than that may be the best they can do. 

[Sorenson]

6 minutes ago, Sauron said:

 

Not my point - I'm not saying that he should buy a new ryzen system if he's strapped for money; I'm saying buying a 2700k for that price is a bad idea.

75 euro for a better experience or around 235 euro. It is a fair price for a product that is no longer sold, especially when you consider your solution would cost over 3x more. 

[Sauron]

4 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

Does OP really have a better option though?

Waiting, or finding a better deal on a sandy i7. I wouldn't want to be scammed, particularly if I were short on money.

Just now, Sorenson said:

75 euro for a better experience or around 235 euro.

75 pounds. And I'm talking about used chips, as the i7 would be.

 

Spoiler

 

they're barely any more expensive while being much better. yes, you need a new platform, but at least you're getting what you're paying for.

[dizmo]

Definitely go for the 2600, they're available for 50 gbp instead of 75 and realistically you'll see the same performance.

You should be able to get them on eBay significantly cheaper than that. I see them sell for around 35USD.

 

1 hour ago, Sauron said:

That's too much.

With what graphics card? Also how come you can afford a VR headset but not a new motherboard?

Who said he was buying the VR headset? People get gifts.

1 hour ago, Sauron said:

Waiting, or finding a better deal on a sandy i7. I wouldn't want to be scammed, particularly if I were short on money.

75 pounds. And I'm talking about used chips, as the i7 would be.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

they're barely any more expensive while being much better. yes, you need a new platform, but at least you're getting what you're paying for.

It's not a scam if people are willing to pay it, it's called fair market value. If that's what CeX is charging, chances are that they're able to get that amount on a pretty consistent basis. Getting what you pay for also makes no sense. You get a 50ish% improvement from the i3 to the i7. You only get another 50% improvement from that i7 to a 1600 (at most), but it costs significantly more.

1 hour ago, Zando Bob said:

That you then need a new motherboard and RAM for. So around $60-70 USD for a decent B450 board, maybe up to $90, and then $80-100 for a 2x8GB 3200Mhz RAM kit. That's US pricing too, the UK and other places are usually much worse. 
-snip-

That's....not exactly true. UK pricing includes VAT, and if you take the currency at face value without conversion it's about the same as the US. eg minimum wages are about the same numerical value.

[bomerr]

Can you get a cheap Xeon from aliexpress? E3-1275?

[Sauron]

9 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Who said he was buying the VR headset? People get gifts.

Fair enough, still just getting a better cpu won't help him if he doesn't have a very good gpu already.

10 minutes ago, dizmo said:

It's not a scam if people are willing to pay it, it's called fair market value.

No, scams wouldn't work if people weren't willing to pay for them...

10 minutes ago, dizmo said:

You get a 50ish% improvement from the i3 to the i7.

More like 70%

10 minutes ago, dizmo said:

You only get another 50% improvement from that i7 to a 1600 (at most), but it costs significantly more.

Only if you consider the platform cost. Which exists, sure, but at least the price is fair.

[dizmo]

On 2/12/2020 at 11:20 AM, Sauron said:

Fair enough, still just getting a better cpu won't help him if he doesn't have a very good gpu already.

No, scams wouldn't work if people weren't willing to pay for them...

More like 70%

Only if you consider the platform cost. Which exists, sure, but at least the price is fair.

All but the most demanding VR games will run fine on older hardware. I've played quite a few games perfectly fine on a Vive with a 7970.

Ok, so you just don't understand how market value works. Nothing I can really do about that.

The reviews I watched didn't show 70%.

Why wouldn't you consider the platform cost? It's required. That's like saying electric cars are cheaper and everyone should switch without considering the cost of the vehicle. $50 is more than fair for an, as you claimed, up to 70% performance improvement.

[Sauron]

10 hours ago, dizmo said:

Ok, so you just don't understand how market value works. Nothing I can really do about that.

I understand how market value works, it seems to me like you don't understand the difference between what something costs and how good of a purchase it is.

10 hours ago, dizmo said:

Why wouldn't you consider the platform cost? It's required.

Because I'm comparing the price to performance ratio of a processor, not of a whole platform. It's also worth noting that eventually they'll have to upgrade the whole platform too and then the i7 will just be extra sunk cost into a very old machine.

10 hours ago, dizmo said:

$50 is more than fair for an, as you claimed, up to 70% performance improvement.

Where did you get 50$ from? We're talking about a 75£ 2700k, which is almost 100$... are you just trolling?

[reservoir_dog]

I used 2500K @4.4GHz up until yesterday when I changed it to 3950X. And still 2500K was not that bad, while playing PUBG at 4K my fps are almost the same, I get less freezes on new processor, but 2500 did just fine. It's a bit different for CPU intensive games like BF5. 2700K overclocks well, it's a good buy considering price per performance.

[dizmo]

On 2/14/2020 at 3:14 AM, Sauron said:

I understand how market value works, it seems to me like you don't understand the difference between what something costs and how good of a purchase it is.

 

Because I'm comparing the price to performance ratio of a processor, not of a whole platform. It's also worth noting that eventually they'll have to upgrade the whole platform too and then the i7 will just be extra sunk cost into a very old machine.

 

Where did you get 50$ from? We're talking about a 75£ 2700k, which is almost 100$... are you just trolling?

A 50% improvement for $50, or a 150% improvement for $220. Hmmmm. Math seems pretty obvious to me.

 

Yes, but if he doesn't have 4x the money to shell out now, it makes sense to just buy the processor he can afford. It makes no sense at all to consider only one cost in an upgrade.

 

For the 2600 that was mentioned after the 2700k. Even then, though, the currency (pound vs dollar) doesn't really matter. Wages are similar (since he's likely working minimum wage, of which the value is the same regardless of which you pick) so the conversion really doesn't mean much.

[Sauron]

1 hour ago, dizmo said:

For the 2600 that was mentioned after the 2700k.

That's not what I'm talking about. I even said that finding a cheaper i7 would be a good option.

1 hour ago, dizmo said:

Even then, though, the currency (pound vs dollar) doesn't really matter.

Yes it does. Maybe not for long given Brexit but for now the difference is significant. For € you may have a point but £ still have more purchasing power within Europe. 75£ is worth about 90$ in terms of how much you can buy with it.

[dizmo]

1 minute ago, Sauron said:

That's not what I'm talking about. I even said that finding a cheaper i7 would be a good option.

Yes it does. Maybe not for long given Brexit but for now the difference is significant. For € you may have a point but £ still have more purchasing power within Europe. 75£ is worth about 90$ in terms of how much you can buy with it.

Even 75 pound beats the ratio of performance for your complete system upgrade.

Sure, except the value is gone once you calculate shipping.

[Sauron]

1 minute ago, dizmo said:

Even 75 pound beats the ratio of performance for your complete system upgrade.

Yes, but it's still a bad purchase. A full system upgrade doesn't just get you a new cpu for your troubles.

1 minute ago, dizmo said:

Sure, except the value is gone once you calculate shipping.

Uh no.