Best CPU for $150 AUD

[Lk4583]

Hi, all I've recently upgraded to a GTX 980, and was planning to upgrade my I5 2500k to something newer (the I7 3770), But I misjudged my budget, so I'm in a situation do I just keep the I5 2500k or do I upgrade to something newer? REMEMBER AUD

Thanks

[Jurrunio]

If you sell your i5 2500k and add in your 150aud budget then a 3770 (maybe even 3770k?) should be within reach.

[Billy_Mays]

See how much the average i5-2500K goes for then see how much you're off of a i7-3770(K) 

[Raintech]

What will you be using the computer for? Also, most cpu's worth $150 dollars from a retailer will likely not match the performance of a GTX980, which is fine because if you're gaming, most games are more GPU intense than CPU.
 

Just so you know, the sample CPU that you can buy, brand new, for 150 dollars is the i3-7100 which is being sold by MSY for $154.
http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-2500K-vs-Intel-Core-i3-7100/619vs3891
The budget i3 losing out to your 6+ year old i5.

Your only options are:
1)  To either look for a 2nd hand CPU on cragslist or gumtree, in which case prices will vary wildly to your bargaining skills, and patience of finding good deals. You'll be susceptible to some shady deals if you hunt for prices that are too good to be true though, like dead or faulty chips, or chips that have had their lid's de-soldered and and lids swapped with one that claims it's a different processor.
2) Save up more money to purchase a more expensive CPU.
3) Just stick with your 2500k, invest in a good cooler if you don't already have one and overclock it.

 

Intel chips have only improved by about 5% performance per year for the last 7-8 years, making upgrades barely worth it. AMD has made extremely good progress in the last decade, and they've usually been strong in the budget-performance arena.
Also, don't forget you'll need a different socket to house a different pin CPU, so your options are fairly limited unless you want to expand to some really old parts, which are extremely hard to find.

Edit: 
You may be interested in their performance difference
http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-3770K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-2500K/1317vs619
Quoting a +5% effective speed difference if you upgrade to a 3770k. Unless your worload somehow benefits greatly from hyperthreading, then I'd say not to bother, if you need more performance, overclock.

[Lk4583]

Ok, First of all $150 is including the re-sell value, And my I5 2500k is overclocked but is only stable at 4.2. I'm interested in hyper threading maybe try and lowball someone for a I7 2600k?

[Raintech]

A quick search on gumtree returns that people are selling 3770ks for around the 200-250 dollar mark, and 2500k's for about 75-100 dollars, based on the first 2-3 results per search.
It's viable to upgrade to a 3770k, but you'll likely have to go a few days without a computer, unless you can line up both your sale and your purchase in the same day

[Lk4583]

Just now, Raintech said:

A quick search on gumtree returns that people are selling 3770ks for around the 200-250 dollar mark, and 2500k's for about 75-100 dollars, based on the first 2-3 results per search.
It's viable to upgrade to a 3770k, but you'll likely have to go a few days without a computer, unless you can line up both your sale and your purchase in the same day

I would have to fork out another $50 

[Damascus]

4 minutes ago, Lk4583 said:

Ok, First of all $150 is including the re-sell value, And my I5 2500k is overclocked but is only stable at 4.2. I'm interested in hyper threading maybe try and lowball someone for a I7 2600k?

Here in Canada we have a similarly weak currency and seemingly similar second hand market.  Try and get a 2600 (k or non k) Or an equivalent Xeon. 

[Lk4583]

Just now, Damascus said:

Here in Canada we have a similarly weak currency and seemingly similar second hand market.  Try and get a 2600 (k or non k) Or an equivalent Xeon. 

Well thats what i was going to do but the cheapest I7 2600k is $170 

[Lk4583]

3 minutes ago, Raintech said:

A quick search on gumtree returns that people are selling 3770ks for around the 200-250 dollar mark, and 2500k's for about 75-100 dollars, based on the first 2-3 results per search.
It's viable to upgrade to a 3770k, but you'll likely have to go a few days without a computer, unless you can line up both your sale and your purchase in the same day

I can't find any I7 3770ks at all! can you send me a link??

[Damascus]

Just now, Lk4583 said:

Well thats what i was going to do but the cheapest I7 2600k is $170 

How about a 2600 non k?  Or try and throw in like a vase fan or something to sweeten the deal.

[Lk4583]

Just now, Damascus said:

How about a 2600 non k?  Or try and throw in like a vase fan or something to sweeten the deal.

Sorry my vase fan was thrown out to a charity, cheapest non k is 130 

[Raintech]

You can try to upsell your i5 and lowball for an i7 - It seems doable, but watch out for shady chips as there was an abundance of lid-swapped chips on the 2nd hand market 4-5 years back, when CPU's weren't soldered with tin.
As with most discussions about getting good deals on the 2nd hand market - You're pretty much gonna have to fend for yourself here. Folks can give you performance comparison numbers but anything to do with prices is just too volatile for us to help you out with.
Like i said, the 3770k should be a 5% effective performance increases, and with hyper threading included, probably about a 15% increase in performance per core.
Just search on gumtree and craiglists - I should mention my results were based on past listings as i was more interested in researching what people had sold in the past. If you're shopping 2nd hand, you'll need to monitor the listings daily, and be ready to pounce on good offers. They aren't always going to have the product you desire for the price point you wish for.

[Lk4583]

3 minutes ago, Raintech said:

You can try to upsell your i5 and lowball for an i7 - It seems doable, but watch out for shady chips as there was an abundance of lid-swapped chips on the 2nd hand market 4-5 years back, when CPU's weren't soldered with tin.
As with most discussions about getting good deals on the 2nd hand market - You're pretty much gonna have to fend for yourself here. Folks can give you performance comparison numbers but anything to do with prices is just too volatile for us to help you out with.
Like i said, the 3770k should be a 5% effective performance increases, and with hyper threading included, probably about a 15% increase in performance per core.
Just search on gumtree and craiglists - I should mention my results were based on past listings as i was more interested in researching what people had sold in the past. If you're shopping 2nd hand, you'll need to monitor the listings daily, and be ready to pounce on good offers. They aren't always going to have the product you desire for the price point you wish for.

Alright thanks Man

[Lk4583]

Thanks everyone that should be it for now!