I currently have an i5 6400 and don't plan to buy a new PC until DDR5/5nm. Is it worth upgrading to a 7700k?

[AgentL3r]

I've been running an i5 6400 since I built my PC and run it along side a 1060 6GB. I run all my games at 1080p and do a lot of CAD.

 

I don't plan to buy an entirely new PC until DDR5 RAM and AMD releases their 5nm CPUs since I don't think it's worth buying a new PC in the current climate.

 

The weakest part of my PC, the CPU, could do with an upgrade though. I've found an i7 7700k for £175. Would it be worth it? This way it's not too expensive and I can also keep my same motherboard and cooler.

 

Thanks!

[porina]

Only you can decide if it is worth the price, but I think many here will think it isn't. It's a lot of money for what will be only a little faster CPU.

 

Have a look around and see if the 6700k (and even non-K) versions are available for much less.

[Jeppes]

That is hellishly expensive. 10100f + b460 should cost about the same and you get full warranty with better upgrade path.

[LordWk]

It just depends.

 

Your 1060 wont get much better with the i7, however, newer titles would improve their performance a bit simply because 4C/4T its rather short for modern titles right now.

 

Does your motherboard support overclocking? If not, could you find a 7700 non K (or even a 6700)? (maybe its cheaper)

 

Dont know bud, if its going to last for a while, I think you would notice the upgrade in CPU intensive titles since it has 4 more threads.

 

But your 1060 is definetly not bottlenecked by that i5.

[jaslion]

175 basically allows you to almost get a better performing ryzen or new intel motherboard + cpu (ryzen 3100 or i3 10100). So no not worth at all. Bonus is that you get to sell the 6400 + board.

[Quackers101]

Agreed to some of the comments above, also that the CPU game has changed a bit since that CPU.

It also will take a bit of time or years before DDR5 might become a valid thing and if it's going to be very expensive at first, same for anything 5nm related.

So going a gen/tier up in the CPU game could be nice and future improvements.

Really depends on where you want to go, but if you find something for cheap and go that way can be good. Will take a bit before the other generation of CPUs will get lower or due to the demand of 5000 series or the new intel ones that might be "soon" released?

[Jeppes]

Just now, LordWk said:

But your 1060 is definetly not bottlenecked by that i5.

Depends on settings. 6400 is a quite slow cpu for gaming with 3.3GHz boost.

[AgentL3r]

2 minutes ago, LordWk said:

It just depends.

 

Your 1060 wont get much better with the i7, however, newer titles would improve their performance a bit simply because 4C/4T its rather short for modern titles right now.

 

Does your motherboard support overclocking? If not, could you find a 7700 non K (or even a 6700)? (maybe its cheaper)

 

Dont know bud, if its going to last for a while, I think you would notice the upgrade in CPU intensive titles since it has 4 more threads.

 

But your 1060 is definetly not bottlenecked by that i5.

No, my motherboard does not support overclocking. In regards to the bottlenecking, I've constantly seen my CPU reaching full load whilst the GPU sits in the 30% range in titles such as GTAV and Deus Ex Mankind Divided.

 

2 minutes ago, Quackers101 said:

Agreed to some of the comments above, also that the CPU game has changed a bit since that CPU.

It also will take a bit of time or years before DDR5 might become a valid thing and if it's going to be very expensive at first, same for anything 5nm related.

So going a gen/tier up in the CPU game could be nice and future improvements.

Really depends on where you want to go, but if you find something for cheap and go that way can be good. Will take a bit before the other generation of CPUs will get lower or due to the demand of 5000 series or the new intel ones that might be "soon" released?

So it'd be better just outright buying a new CPU/Mobo combo?

[Quackers101]

Could in more CPU heavy titles and more so if they are recent CPU heavy games.

Things like assassin creed (newer titles) than the older ones, but then the GPU is also going to show it's age.

Or it's just a much slower CPU than I thought.

Dunno about CAD.

[LordWk]

Just now, AgentL3r said:

No, my motherboard does not support overclocking. In regards to the bottlenecking, I've constantly seen my CPU reaching full load whilst the GPU sits in the 30% range in titles such as GTAV and Deus Ex Mankind Divided.

 

So it'd be better just outright buying a new CPU/Mobo combo?

Then go for a non-K CPU, since you will be paying the extra cost for an unlocked CPU that you cant overclock.

 

the i3 10100F is very cheap but the performance is lower than the 7700K in gaming. (Not much, but it is)

[Quackers101]

2 minutes ago, AgentL3r said:

So it'd be better just outright buying a new CPU/Mobo combo?

It could be, if you find a decent price.

You do at least get way more out of your money, if you find a good deal.

Or that above comment^

[Fasauceome]

An i7 from that generation for more than 150 quid is asking too much, if you're ready and willing to swap the motherboard.

 

The cheapest 4 core 8 thread CPU you can get your hands on, ideally close to £120, is what you should look for, but I wouldn't expect you to find that easily.

[porina]

4 minutes ago, Jeppes said:

That is hellishly expensive. 10100f + b460 should cost about the same and you get full warranty with better upgrade path.

Looking it up that seems to be possible. Possible consideration that depending on OS licence (transferable or not) that could be another required cost.

 

Also I do understand the desire to upgrade existing. No reinstall needed. That's the single biggest pain point for me when doing a new system. If you got things set up just how you like it, there will be a large time cost to get back to that state with a new build compared to an upgrade.

 

3 minutes ago, Quackers101 said:

It also will take a bit of time or years before DDR5 might become a valid thing and if it's going to be very expensive at first

I want to wait 4 days before posting so I could say "this year" instead of "next year" but DDR5 is coming. It will be the biggest thing on CPU side for quite a while, I'd rank it far bigger than PCIe 4.0/5.0 support for example as something that will benefit users in the near term.

[Quackers101]

Just now, porina said:

I want to wait 4 days before posting so I could say "this year" instead of "next year" but DDR5 is coming. It will be the biggest thing on CPU side for quite a while, I'd rank it far bigger than PCIe 4.0/5.0 support for example as something that will benefit users in the near term.

I heard it would take some time, maybe it's more for support and price?

But agreed, it is better then faster PCIe if you are not using it all anyways.