What would be the most absolute minimal CPU upgrade for my PC?

[TukangUsapEmenq]

Current specs as below.

 

Intel Xeon E3-1225 v2 3.2 GHz 4C/4T CPU

ASRock B75M Motherboard

MSI GeForce GTX 1650 Gaming X 4G

Hynix 2x8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz RAM

480 GB Pioneer APS-SL3 SATA SSD

1 TB Seagate 2.5" HDD

be quiet! System Power 9 500 W PSU

Cooler Master T20 CPU Cooler

 

Yes, obviously that Xeon bottlenecks the whole system while I'm gaming, even only got 76-80% max usage while I game. My plan (later on) is to get a newer generation of CPU that at least can handle the GPU without bottleneck, and as I will get the CPU secondhand anyway (well, why bother to get a new one when CPU would be one of the most robust thing in PC anyway), even some (more recent) old school like Skylake if it can handle it like charm. I don't know which gen that I should look onto tbh, and perhaps I'll prefer it would be the cheapest one that can do the job fine (well, perhaps maximum at $100 for CPU only), could be Intel or AMD (must be a Ryzen though), 4 cores (with/without HT/SMT are depends if that actually affect my gaming significantly). My use case wouldn't be far than casual gaming and perhaps some video editing, and 3D modelling.

 

EDIT. The upgrade could be either changing the motherboard or, if really possible, not. I'm simply just looking for the cheapest alternative as long as the GPU won't be bottlenecking.

 

Welp, poison me of which gen/specific CPU that I can take. Thanks in advance.

[MingLee420]

3 minutes ago, TukangUsapEmenq said:

Current specs as below.

 

Intel Xeon E3-1225 v2 3.2 GHz 4C/4T CPU

ASRock B75M Motherboard

MSI GeForce GTX 1650 Gaming X 4G

Hynix 2x8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz RAM

480 GB Pioneer APS-SL3 SATA SSD

1 TB Seagate 2.5" HDD

be quiet! System Power 9 500 W PSU

Cooler Master T20 CPU Cooler

 

Yes, obviously that Xeon bottlenecks the whole system while I'm gaming, even only got 76-80% max usage while I game. My plan (later on) is to get a newer generation of CPU that at least can handle the GPU without bottleneck, and as I will get the CPU secondhand anyway (well, why bother to get a new one when CPU would be one of the most robust thing in PC anyway), even some (more recent) old school like Skylake if it can handle it like charm. I don't know which gen that I should look onto tbh, and perhaps I'll prefer it would be the cheapest one that can do the job fine (well, perhaps maximum at $100 for CPU only), could be Intel or AMD (must be a Ryzen though), 4 cores (with/without HT/SMT are depends if that actually affect my gaming significantly). My use case wouldn't be far than casual gaming and perhaps some video editing, and 3D modelling.

 

Welp, poison me of which gen/specific CPU that I can take. Thanks in advance.

a 12100f would destroy that xeon, but 4 core is kinda low so 12400f if you wanna buy new, im sure theres deals for used ones

[Dukesilver27-]

Cheapest and best budget current gen is the 12100, very good budget gaming CPU, a step above would be 12400, although looking at the prices in Indonesia, I'd get the 12400 because the difference is not significant.

But even my RX 6800 XT does not utilize the 12400 more than 60%, excluding spider-man remastered with RT on ofc.

 

I highly doubt you could find secondhand 12100 or 12400 now, because I've tried to find one on several online market places. 

You'd have to be cautious too, there are multiple instances where the CPU lid doesn't reflect the actual CPU, in other words, fake.

 

Maybe a used 5600x? When Ryzen 7000 drops, some people might sell their 5600X or any Ryzen 5000 series CPU, tho I wonder when the release would be, we usually get new releases later than the US.

[An0maly_76]

Question is, are you talking about best upgrade for the current motherboard, or are you open to swapping motherboard as well? If CPU only, LGA1155 has some interesting options, but chipset figures prominently into what will and will not work.

 

If you are open to swapping boards, I bought a used 3600X on eBay for $105 and a new ASRock B450M-HDV board for $75 recently, though I wound up swapping RAM (another $147). It was an interim build during an RMA that I've considered flipping if you're interested. No BS, ready to go. 3600X, DDR4-3600, Asus Phoenix GTX1650 OC, 500GB SN570 M.2 and a WD Black HDD, though I'm on the fence as to which I'll install (out of of 4TB, 8TB or 1TB).

Edited September 19, 2022 by An0maly_76
Revised, more info

[Somerandomtechyboi]

Ryzen 5 5500 at 117$

 

With a B350 gaming k4 at 50$ (prob can haggle to 45 or lower since it hasnt sold in awhile)

 

Cpu is overbudget but it kills the 12100f in mobo selection (and amd mobos literally being half the price with more i/o and ocability)

 

 

Yes the single core will be meh compared to the 12100f but cheaper overall due to used b3/450 mobos (decent midrange ones at that not garbage lowend boards with barren i/o), also you can just static allcore 4.6-4.8ghz with static 1.3-1.4v vcore which will bring the 5500 closer to the 5600, ill also mention that the 5500 has insane imc due to being cezanne but thats not usable here since board is t top not daisy chain and >4400 may be a struggle (cezanne can run 2500fclk aka 5000 ddr4), doesnt really matter much though since high freq ram oc is very very painful to tune

 

Heres some cheap 2400 ddr4 thatll easily oc to 3600 cl16, make sure to ask for either samsung k4a8g085wd (d die) or prefferably micron d9vxx c9bxx (rev e) or d9wsm (rev j) ics, pretty much just set 1.35v-1.4v, set speed 3600, set tcl trcd trp 16-19-19 and auto everything else and thats easy lazy oc. And since this is a t top board you can expect 4200-4400 max for a 4x8 config if you ever want 32gb ram but again ram oc gains are questionably small until you push things real hard

[jaslion]

Honestly have a look around at a 3rd gen ryzen +b450 (+ddr4) combo online used. A lot is popping up and with ryzen 7000 I only see more coming

[An0maly_76]

4 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Honestly have a look around at a 3rd gen ryzen +b450 (+ddr4) combo online used. A lot is popping up and with ryzen 7000 I only see more coming

This is a solid thought process...

 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=ryzen+cpu+motherboard+combo&_sacat=0&LH_BIN=1&_sop=15

[jaslion]

5 minutes ago, An0maly_76 said:

This is a solid thought process...

 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=ryzen+cpu+motherboard+combo&_sacat=0&LH_BIN=1&_sop=15

Couple good ones like a 5600g + hp omen msi b stock b550 mortar board + 16gb of ram for 188$

[TukangUsapEmenq]

1 hour ago, MingLee420 said:

a 12100f would destroy that xeon, but 4 core is kinda low so 12400f if you wanna buy new, im sure theres deals for used ones

 

1 hour ago, Dukesilver27- said:

Cheapest and best budget current gen is the 12100, very good budget gaming CPU, a step above would be 12400, although looking at the prices in Indonesia, I'd get the 12400 because the difference is not significant.

But even my RX 6800 XT does not utilize the 12400 more than 60%, excluding spider-man remastered with RT on ofc.

 

I highly doubt you could find secondhand 12100 or 12400 now, because I've tried to find one on several online market places. 

You'd have to be cautious too, there are multiple instances where the CPU lid doesn't reflect the actual CPU, in other words, fake.

 

Maybe a used 5600x? When Ryzen 7000 drops, some people might sell their 5600X or any Ryzen 5000 series CPU, tho I wonder when the release would be, we usually get new releases later than the US.

I'm actually kind-of eyeballing the i3-12100F lately, heck of a CPU tbh. And yes, I can barely find any Alder Lake secondhand CPU unfortunately and... The brand new price on me... Simply too high.

 

If I could take any brand new, my best bet would be on 10105F, but obviously I rather to take secondhand Ryzen tbh, considering the performance-price ratio.

 

41 minutes ago, An0maly_76 said:

Question is, are you talking about best upgrade for the current motherboard, or are you open to swapping motherboard as well? If CPU only, LGA1155 has some interesting options, but chipset figures prominently into what will and will not work.

 

If you are open to swapping boards, I bought a used 3600X on eBay for $105 and a new ASRock B450M-HDV board for $75 recently, though I wound up swapping RAM (another $147). It was an interim build during an RMA that I've considered flipping if you're interested. No BS, ready to go. 3600X, DDR4-3600, Asus Phoenix GTX1650 OC, 500GB SN570 M.2 and a WD Black HDD, though I'm on the fence as to which I'll install (out of of 4TB, 8TB or 1TB).

I'm open of all options as long as it's 'cheap' tbh. If I even could re-use my mobo and RAM and simply get i7-3770 or E3-1270 v2.. Why not?

 

But I do know my current platform's ancient af for today's standards. So obviously I'd get something on 2018-2019 CPU era or above like Ryzen or 9-10th gen Intel.

 

34 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Ryzen 5 5500 at 117$

 

With a B350 gaming k4 at 50$ (prob can haggle to 45 or lower since it hasnt sold in awhile)

 

Cpu is overbudget but it kills the 12100f in mobo selection (and amd mobos literally being half the price with more i/o and ocability)

 

 

Yes the single core will be meh compared to the 12100f but cheaper overall due to used b3/450 mobos (decent midrange ones at that not garbage lowend boards with barren i/o), also you can just static allcore 4.6-4.8ghz with static 1.3-1.4v vcore which will bring the 5500 closer to the 5600, ill also mention that the 5500 has insane imc due to being cezanne but thats not usable here since board is t top not daisy chain and >4400 may be a struggle (cezanne can run 2500fclk aka 5000 ddr4), doesnt really matter much though since high freq ram oc is very very painful to tune

 

Heres some cheap 2400 ddr4 thatll easily oc to 3600 cl16, make sure to ask for either samsung k4a8g085wd (d die) or prefferably micron d9vxx c9bxx (rev e) or d9wsm (rev j) ics, pretty much just set 1.35v-1.4v, set speed 3600, set tcl trcd trp 16-19-19 and auto everything else and thats easy lazy oc. And since this is a t top board you can expect 4200-4400 max for a 4x8 config if you ever want 32gb ram but again ram oc gains are questionably small until you push things real hard

Considering my UMR salary (welp you definitely get what I mean) and obviously I wouldn't go too deep on Ryzen 5xxx either... But noted on your point on AMD mobos and your item recommendations though.

 

32 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Honestly have a look around at a 3rd gen ryzen +b450 (+ddr4) combo online used. A lot is popping up and with ryzen 7000 I only see more coming

Duly noted. Will either compare it with Intel's counterparts either.

[jaslion]

Just an fyi a i3 12100 is good enough for now but the moment the ps4 and xbone leave the concole cycle that 8bthread cpu is not going to remotely cut it. Its why taking a hit in single core performance but getting a 12 thread 5500 or similar is a good idea

[An0maly_76]

1 hour ago, TukangUsapEmenq said:

 

I'm open of all options as long as it's 'cheap' tbh. If I even could re-use my mobo and RAM and simply get i7-3770 or E3-1270 v2.. Why not?

 

But I do know my current platform's ancient af for today's standards. So obviously I'd get something on 2018-2019 CPU era or above like Ryzen or 9-10th gen Intel.

 

Considering my UMR salary (welp you definitely get what I mean) and obviously I wouldn't go too deep on Ryzen 5xxx either... But noted on your point on AMD mobos and your item recommendations though.

 

 

My thoughts and recent experience...

 

Revamped an H61 LGA1155 with an i7-2600 recently. An i7-3770 was preferable, but the factory Lenovo board and H61 chipset were a question mark and only the 2600 was a sure thing. Combined with a $21 SATA M.2 / adapter combo, twice the cores and twice the threads was worth $30, I guess, but the intended basic media recording / playback use was still laggy and shaky with 4GB of DDR3-1333. Worthy RAM upgrades start at $30 up to $330, so over $100, it becomes questionable.

 

By contrast, the interim stand-in for my 5900X (3600X, ASRock B450, DDR4-3600, totaling $325) smoked that 2600 like a halibut on a barbecue with the 1TB M.2, 4TB HDD, 3060ti and RM850x PSU from my 5900X build. But that's 10X the cost, and after the 5900X was reunited with its GPU, PSU and storage, another GPU, PSU and storage cost $800 collectively.

 

For a 1650, there is nothing wrong with even a 1400, 1500X or 1600 Ryzen or equivalent. And I'm sure such a motherboard / CPU / RAM combo can be had quite cheap on eBay or CL, the only risk is whether it's still operable or the previous owner fried it. A good 2018-2019 processor would be a 3600 or 1700. But 1700 / 1700X are quite known for insane OC, becoming a hot ticket -- and at $200-$300, a 5600 starts making more sense in the same price range.

 

However, on the 5000-series argument. Others are entitled to their opinions on the 5000-series and AM4's status. However, more AM4s (likely 3D) are rumored to be in the works, and AMD has said the AM4 is not going anywhere. That said, running PBO with an 8GB OC RTX3060ti and PCie3 storage with DDR4-3200, my 5900X has yet to breach 5% CPU usage. I simply don't see the AM5 being cost-effective or necessary for a good while yet, so while I could see waiting until the 7000s come out for a hypothetical (but unlikely) price drop on the 5000-series, they still are not a bad buy these days if you have the budget. But I wouldn't run a 95W or 105W chip on anything less than a B550.

 

So it really comes down to what you want to spend and what makes more sense. $315 gets you a brand-new 5500, MSI B450, 16GB Patriot Viper DDR4-3000, stock AMD Wraith cooler, and 250GB SN570 PCIe3 M.2, that will smoke any $100-$150 combo you can get on eBay. So the eBay combo makes a little less sense from that standpoint. See for yourself.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/An0maly1976/saved/fLgjnQ

Edited September 19, 2022 by An0maly_76
Revised, more info

[Ebony Falcon]

5600 on cheep b550 board 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

2 hours ago, An0maly_76 said:

So it really comes down to what you want to spend and what makes more sense. $315 gets you a brand-new 5500, MSI B450, 16GB Patriot Viper DDR4-3000, stock AMD Wraith cooler, and 250GB SN570 PCIe3 M.2, that will smoke any $100-$150 combo you can get on eBay. So the eBay combo makes a little less sense from that standpoint. See for yourself.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/An0maly1976/saved/fLgjnQ

5500 comes with a stock cooler but the 117$ one i showed doesnt, and no a b450 isnt worth >60$ till its a higher end board like the b450 tomahawk not some crappy pro vdh 

 

Heres the cooler at 17$, a beefier 4 heatpipe tower, you may be able to get some cheaper towers but unless if you are saving >5$ not worth it, there is a used gamaxx 400 at 11$ used if you search up hsf, first result that comes up but thatll be gone pretty quick

 

And if op already has an ssd why bother going for an nvme one? Not exactly noticable for normal or gaming use

[An0maly_76]

1 hour ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

5500 comes with a stock cooler but the 117$ one i showed doesnt, and no a b450 isnt worth >60$ till its a higher end board like the b450 tomahawk not some crappy pro vdh 

 

Heres the cooler at 17$, a beefier 4 heatpipe tower, you may be able to get some cheaper towers but unless if you are saving >5$ not worth it, there is a used gamaxx 400 at 11$ used if you search up hsf, first result that comes up but thatll be gone pretty quick

 

And if op already has an ssd why bother going for an nvme one? Not exactly noticable for normal or gaming use

One thing I don't like about that cooler is the way the pipes flatten out as they enter the base. Really chokes down airflow. My Mugen 5 has nice round full diameter piping full circuit. And a VDH is just fine for any 65W chip. For a 65W chip that I don't plan to OC, I'm not spending any more on a board than I have to. And I don't think anyone else would either.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

8 minutes ago, An0maly_76 said:

One thing I don't like about that cooler is the way the pipes flatten out as they enter the base

Oh now i get what the hell was up with a ton of coolers having weirdly bent heatpipes as they enter the base

 

9 minutes ago, An0maly_76 said:

And a VDH is just fine for any 65W chip. For a 65W chip that I don't plan to OC, I'm not spending any more on a board than I have to. And I don't think anyone else would either.

Not the point, vdh is worth <50$, perfectly fine board but def not for 75$, though b450 pro4 is like 53$ if that b350 gaming k4 sells out, theres not much lower than that aside from garbage a320 boards going <30$ but those are bottom tier trash with barren af i/o so not worth it

[An0maly_76]

4 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Oh now i get what the hell was up with a ton of coolers having weirdly bent heatpipes as they enter the base

 

Not the point, vdh is worth <50$, perfectly fine board but def not for 75$, though b450 pro4 is like 53$ if that b350 gaming k4 sells out, theres not much lower than that aside from garbage a320 boards going <30$ but those are bottom tier trash with barren af i/o so not worth it

So you'd rather spend $150 on a Tuf B550-PLUS just because you think $75 is too much for a B450M-VDH, is that what you're saying? Totally flawed logic if it's not necessary for the chip, methinks...

[Somerandomtechyboi]

2 minutes ago, An0maly_76 said:

So you'd rather spend $150 on a Tuf B550-PLUS just because you think $75 is too much for a B450M-VDH, is that what you're saying? Totally flawed logic if it's not necessary for the chip, methinks...

Tuf b550 is garbage for its price, didnt even mention that pos, gets demolished by b550m aorus pro p and b550 aorus pro ac i/o wise and literally everything including even the b550mh at ram oc, b450 tomahawk also crushes it but thats to be expected (higher end board)

 

Yes 75$ is too much for a crappy b450 vdh and 150$ is too much for a b550a pro equivalent but laughably bad ram oc and an asus sticker

[An0maly_76]

4 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Tuf b550 is garbage for its price, didnt even mention that pos, gets demolished by b550m aorus pro p and b550 aorus pro ac i/o wise and literally everything including even the b550mh at ram oc, b450 tomahawk also crushes it but thats to be expected (higher end board)

 

Yes 75$ is too much for a crappy b450 vdh and 150$ is too much for a b550a pro equivalent but laughably bad ram oc and an asus sticker

Good to know I have a POS board.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

1 minute ago, An0maly_76 said:

Good to know I have a POS board.

Whoops forgot you had one, terrible for the price and terrible for ram oc but aside from price the board itself is ok, high freq ram oc is painful anyways

 

My logic is why the hell buy a 75$ b450 vdh when i can get a better b350 gaming k4 or b450 pro4 for 17-20$ less

[An0maly_76]

3 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Whoops forgot you had one, terrible for the price and terrible for ram oc but aside from price the board itself is ok, high freq ram oc is painful anyways

 

My logic is why the hell buy a 75$ b450 vdh when i can get a better b350 gaming k4 or b450 pro4 for 17-20$ less

*shrugs* Only real issue I've had is the first kit wasn't QVL'd, apart from that, the QVL'd kit I got required manual timings because DOCP wouldn't detect the recommended timings. But boy, were the issues that first RAM kit caused some doozies!... I may never buy Ballistix again.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

1 minute ago, An0maly_76 said:

the QVL'd kit I got required manual timings because DOCP wouldn't detect the recommended timings

Docp doesnt just use the xmp profile off the ram?

 

Thats really dumb especially for ppl that just want the thing to run without any tuning aka plug and play, and ram is the most painful thing to tune due to the craptons of timings so double whammy

[An0maly_76]

2 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Docp doesnt just use the xmp profile off the ram?

 

Thats really dumb especially for ppl that just want the thing to run without any tuning aka plug and play, and ram is the most painful thing to tune due to the craptons of timings so double whammy

The RAM is actually certified for multiple timings values, this board recommends 16-18-18-36, but DOCP saw it as 20-20-20-43 or something oddball like that. And the manufacturer actually lists an entirely different set of timings for it. I think what it boils down to is that...

 

1) Ryzens are fussy AF about RAM.

2) Bx50 boards are fussy AF about RAM.

3) DOCP is smoking crack half the time.

4) Some RAM has to be run at different timings than expected to work properly.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

4 minutes ago, An0maly_76 said:

DOCP is smoking crack half the time.

Mostly this

 

5 minutes ago, An0maly_76 said:

Ryzens are fussy AF about RAM.

Bx50 boards are fussy AF about RAM.

Some RAM has to be run at different timings than expected to work properly

Maybe abit of this too, but ryzens and boards are mostly fussy when rams have incompatible subtimings like older corsair stuff

 

For the ram has to be run at diff timings i assume xmp not working, that also ties into incompatible subtimings but can also tie to bad binning like apparently some corsair rams suffer from

[TukangUsapEmenq]

21 hours ago, An0maly_76 said:

For a 1650, there is nothing wrong with even a 1400, 1500X or 1600 Ryzen or equivalent. And I'm sure such a motherboard / CPU / RAM combo can be had quite cheap on eBay or CL, the only risk is whether it's still operable or the previous owner fried it. A good 2018-2019 processor would be a 3600 or 1700. But 1700 / 1700X are quite known for insane OC, becoming a hot ticket -- and at $200-$300, a 5600 starts making more sense in the same price range.

 

----

 

So it really comes down to what you want to spend and what makes more sense. $315 gets you a brand-new 5500, MSI B450, 16GB Patriot Viper DDR4-3000, stock AMD Wraith cooler, and 250GB SN570 PCIe3 M.2, that will smoke any $100-$150 combo you can get on eBay. So the eBay combo makes a little less sense from that standpoint. See for yourself.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/An0maly1976/saved/fLgjnQ

I personally tried 1500X + 1050 Ti (on my bro's computer) and it's kind-of a solid choice either.

Although... I don't know if I 'would use' that extra power either, as my usage isn't exactly that demanding. But we'll see though, noted on your suggestion.

 

18 hours ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Heres the cooler at 17$, a beefier 4 heatpipe tower, you may be able to get some cheaper towers but unless if you are saving >5$ not worth it, there is a used gamaxx 400 at 11$ used if you search up hsf, first result that comes up but thatll be gone pretty quick

I already have a CM T20 so.....

 

Spoiler

 

Definitely needs an anti-surge device/UPS though. Oh also, I already put loads of fans so that GPU won't suffocate.

[bal723]

core i3 10105f would be perfectly fine for its price, only 100$ and u get best price/performance cpu