CPU upgrade advice

[ManuMitra]

Well recently my motherboard died, so I looked around for LGA1155 boards but sadly no such boards are available anymore here in my city in India. So I will have to let go of my i5-2500K. Now I have selected 3 CPUs that are in my budget as I cant go beyond it, first is AMD FX 8370E I know its old but still economical but the thermal issue of AMD is pulling me back, 2nd is i5-6400 and 3rd is i5-6500. and I am confused between overclocking or not so keeping in mind no OC I chose a B150 Gigabyte g1.sniper b7 board as its value for money. but if I have to OC then I will have to cheap out on CPU to get a Z170 chipset. So please help me, as to what should I do go for a old architecture AMD 8370E for raw power and less cost or should I get intel, in intel should I get 6400 and get a Z170 board to OC or should I get 6500 and B150 Board for no OC. My budget is really tight as I have already spent on SSD, GPU and HDD upgrade. Please guide me . and ya I have to get a DDR4 memory so that also adds up to cost.

[NojusTechTips]

Get the 6500 or the 6400, they're newer.

[ManuMitra]

2 minutes ago, NojusTechTips said:

Get the 6500 or the 6400, they're newer.

Ok thanks a lot. What about the board, shall I go for 6400 with a Z170 board for OC or get 6500 with the B150 sniper board if I don't wish to OC?

[NojusTechTips]

 

Just now, ManuMitra said:

Ok thanks a lot. What about the board, shall I go for 6400 with a Z170 board for OC or get 6500 with the B150 sniper board if I don't wish to OC?

If you want to overclock the CPU , get the Z170 .

[ManuMitra]

2 minutes ago, NojusTechTips said:

 

If you want to overclock the CPU , get the Z170 .

well which one will be a better option?

[Imakuni]

12 minutes ago, ManuMitra said:

Well recently my motherboard died, so I looked around for LGA1155 boards but sadly no such boards are available anymore here in my city in India. So I will have to let go of my i5-2500K. Now I have selected 3 CPUs that are in my budget as I cant go beyond it, first is AMD FX 8370E I know its old but still economical but the thermal issue of AMD is pulling me back, 2nd is i5-6400 and 3rd is i5-6500. and I am confused between overclocking or not so keeping in mind no OC I chose a B150 Gigabyte g1.sniper b7 board as its value for money. but if I have to OC then I will have to cheap out on CPU to get a Z170 chipset. So please help me, as to what should I do go for a old architecture AMD 8370E for raw power and less cost or should I get intel, in intel should I get 6400 and get a Z170 board to OC or should I get 6500 and B150 Board for no OC. My budget is really tight as I have already spent on SSD, GPU and HDD upgrade. Please guide me . and ya I have to get a DDR4 memory so that also adds up to cost.

If you have a 2500k, then you have DDR3 already. And possibly a cooler as well.

 

As such, I vote for none of those options. Instead, you can get an i5 4670k / 4690k + a Z97 mobo. Should be in the same price bracket as a Skylake option, once you factor RAM costs.

 

Alternatively, you could choose a non-OC mobo (H81 / B85) and pair it with an i7 4770/90 non k or a Xeon 1230/1 v3. That's an option as well.

[NojusTechTips]

Just now, ManuMitra said:

well which one will be a better option?

Get the Z170 . Z170 tends to survive longer. 

[typographie]

The 8370E might be worth getting if this PC is almost entirely for video editing work.

 

For literally anything else, get one of the i5's. The i5-6500 is 500 MHz faster than the i5-6400, and in the U.S. usually less than $20 more expensive. If the pricing is that close in India too, get the 6500.

[Clanscorpia]

2 minutes ago, Imakuni said:

If you have a 2500k, then you have DDR3 already. And possibly a cooler as well.

 

As such, I vote for none of those options. Instead, you can get an i5 4670k / 4690k + a Z97 mobo. Should be in the same price bracket as a Skylake option, once you factor RAM costs.

 

Alternatively, you could choose a non-OC mobo (H81 / B85) and pair it with an i7 4770/90 non k or a Xeon 1230/1 v3. That's an option as well.

RAM is basically the same

[ManuMitra]

5 minutes ago, Imakuni said:

If you have a 2500k, then you have DDR3 already. And possibly a cooler as well.

 

As such, I vote for none of those options. Instead, you can get an i5 4670k / 4690k + a Z97 mobo. Should be in the same price bracket as a Skylake option, once you factor RAM costs.

 

Alternatively, you could choose a non-OC mobo (H81 / B85) and pair it with an i7 4770/90 non k or a Xeon 1230/1 v3. That's an option as well.

well yes I have a brand new 16 gig hyper X kit, which I really don't want to let go

[ManuMitra]

5 minutes ago, NojusTechTips said:

Get the Z170 . Z170 tends to survive longer. 

coz of budget constraints I have to then cut on CPU to get a Z170, thus have to settle for 6400, will that be a good option?

[Imakuni]

1 minute ago, ManuMitra said:

well yes I have a brand new 16 gig hyper X kit, which I really don't want to let go

So skylake is out of question. Go for the Haswell i5 OC route or the i7 non-OC.

[ManuMitra]

5 minutes ago, typographie said:

The 8370E might be worth getting if this PC is almost entirely for video editing work.

 

For literally anything else, get one of the i5's. The i5-6500 is 500 MHz faster than the i5-6400, and in the U.S. usually less than $20 more expensive. If the pricing is that close in India too, get the 6500.

well video rendering is one of the task that I will do but not on large scale. well the price diff between 6400 and 6500 is 2k here

[Imakuni]

9 minutes ago, typographie said:

The i5-6500 is 500 MHz faster than the i5-6400

Only if you disable Turbo Boost. Because if you let it on (which you always should), then the difference is only 300mhz in single thread usage and 200mhz with 2~4 cores boost.

 

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/processors/000005647.html

[typographie]

9 minutes ago, ManuMitra said:

well video rendering is one of the task that I will do but not on large scale. well the price diff between 6400 and 6500 is 2k here

Even for casual video editing I'd still recommend one of the i5's between the three options given. I think the 8370E is just too deficient everywhere else to be worth it for mixed usage.

 

The option to go with an older Haswell i5 or i7 is a good one, since it would let you keep your DDR3 memory. There's also the Xeon E3 1231 V3, it's also compatible with DDR3 and often much cheaper than an i7.

[Zyndo]

Why is everyone talking about getting him a Z170 for overclocking when no one is talking about getting him a k skew processor, hasn't Intel locked overclocking for non-k processors? get a I5 (6400, 6500, or 6600 depending on your exact budget) and then pick up an H170 chipset board for much less than a z170, sell your DDR3 ram, and use that cash + the saved on motherboard for your DDR4 needs.

[ManuMitra]

1 hour ago, Zyndo said:

Why is everyone talking about getting him a Z170 for overclocking when no one is talking about getting him a k skew processor, hasn't Intel locked overclocking for non-k processors? get a I5 (6400, 6500, or 6600 depending on your exact budget) and then pick up an H170 chipset board for much less than a z170, sell your DDR3 ram, and use that cash + the saved on motherboard for your DDR4 needs.

A great advice. And yes I have already sold my ddr3 kit and I already have a cooler master AIO. So that cost is saved.

[Zyndo]

There is one catch with H170. You cant SLI with it (compared to Z170). You can crossfire just fine (two AMD cards into the board), but you're not going to be dropping dual 1080's into a board like that.

[ManuMitra]

6 minutes ago, Zyndo said:

There is one catch with H170. You cant SLI with it (compared to Z170). You can crossfire just fine (two AMD cards into the board), but you're not going to be dropping dual 1080's into a board like that.

Well yes I dont intend to have a multi gpu setup. Please can you solve my important query? I will be really greatful. So both B150 and H170 chipset are within my reach so which one is better and why. And tell me finally which chipset to go for , H170 or B150

 

[Zyndo]

Well the B150 is a business class chipset and the H170 is a consumer class chipset. largely speaking these would be quite similar. the H170 would come with better/more USB 3.0 support, native Raid capabilities, more PCIE lanes and the like. the B150 whilst aimed at being a business class chipset, since its so cheap and shares many similar features to the H170, it has also been remodeled by some companies as a "gaming" chipset. For the purposes of gaming, the H170 is definitely the better choice, but in alot of cases it will be more expensive (but not by much) for the features you get. people who (typically) use the B150 set are making low end budget gaming builds, but if you're making a medium to high end gaming build, the H170 would be the way to go.

But the big thing at the end of the day is price, and whatever is within your budget is what you should get. I would recommend the H170 over the B150 because it has features that I consider useful (such as native RAID). However if you think the H170 has a bunch of unnecessary fluff that you wont use in comparison to the B150, then there is no reason for you to spend the little bit of extra cash to get a H170.

Here is a link to a quick and dirty rundown of the two chipsets (and actually all 6 skylake chipsets). Whilst your individual motherboards will put their own bells and whistles onto these chipsets, this should give you at least a starting point of what to look for. another thing to keep in mind is some features will differ from board to board. A high end B150 board MIGHT have more usb ports or m.2 or things like that than a mid-low end h170 board (IF the manufacturer decides to make a board like that)

 

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Z170-H170-H110-B170-Q150-Q170---What-is-the-Difference-635/

If you're looking for a simple "what do I buy", I would personally recommend the H170 (but again, that's because there are features on it I would use and I deem valuable). However, as you said your budget is tight, and there is NOTHING wrong with a B150 board if it has everything you think you need.

On www.newegg.ca Your suggested Gigabyte G1.Snuper B7 B150 board costs 139.99 CAD (Canadian Rupees)
A similarly priced H170 gigabyte board like the Gigabyte G1 Gaming 3 H170 board is 129.99 CAD (Canadian Rupees)

 

In this comparison, the H170 G1 gaming matches every feature the B150 has or surpasses it. This H170 board is directly better in every way (unless you're really into green and black aesthetics) and its 10$ cheaper (at least in Canada, your mileage may vary on that one)


TL:DR

 

I would HIGHLY recommend getting this motherboard if you can afford it. There are certainly some cheaper options if you're really strapped for cash, but this quite inexpensive as motherboards go, and has everything you could possibly need. There is also nothing wrong with your choice of the B150 Sniper board you mentioned, looks like a fine board (although the one I linked is better and cheaper, at least in Canada at the moment).

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/product/wBZ2FT/gigabyte-motherboard-gah170gaming3

 

If you need something cheaper, let me know and I'll do further research into some REALLY cheap skylake boards and see what gold nuggets I can find.

[ManuMitra]

11 hours ago, Zyndo said:

Well the B150 is a business class chipset and the H170 is a consumer class chipset. largely speaking these would be quite similar. the H170 would come with better/more USB 3.0 support, native Raid capabilities, more PCIE lanes and the like. the B150 whilst aimed at being a business class chipset, since its so cheap and shares many similar features to the H170, it has also been remodeled by some companies as a "gaming" chipset. For the purposes of gaming, the H170 is definitely the better choice, but in alot of cases it will be more expensive (but not by much) for the features you get. people who (typically) use the B150 set are making low end budget gaming builds, but if you're making a medium to high end gaming build, the H170 would be the way to go.

But the big thing at the end of the day is price, and whatever is within your budget is what you should get. I would recommend the H170 over the B150 because it has features that I consider useful (such as native RAID). However if you think the H170 has a bunch of unnecessary fluff that you wont use in comparison to the B150, then there is no reason for you to spend the little bit of extra cash to get a H170.

Here is a link to a quick and dirty rundown of the two chipsets (and actually all 6 skylake chipsets). Whilst your individual motherboards will put their own bells and whistles onto these chipsets, this should give you at least a starting point of what to look for. another thing to keep in mind is some features will differ from board to board. A high end B150 board MIGHT have more usb ports or m.2 or things like that than a mid-low end h170 board (IF the manufacturer decides to make a board like that)

 

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Z170-H170-H110-B170-Q150-Q170---What-is-the-Difference-635/

If you're looking for a simple "what do I buy", I would personally recommend the H170 (but again, that's because there are features on it I would use and I deem valuable). However, as you said your budget is tight, and there is NOTHING wrong with a B150 board if it has everything you think you need.

On www.newegg.ca Your suggested Gigabyte G1.Snuper B7 B150 board costs 139.99 CAD (Canadian Rupees)
A similarly priced H170 gigabyte board like the Gigabyte G1 Gaming 3 H170 board is 129.99 CAD (Canadian Rupees)

 

In this comparison, the H170 G1 gaming matches every feature the B150 has or surpasses it. This H170 board is directly better in every way (unless you're really into green and black aesthetics) and its 10$ cheaper (at least in Canada, your mileage may vary on that one)


TL:DR

 

I would HIGHLY recommend getting this motherboard if you can afford it. There are certainly some cheaper options if you're really strapped for cash, but this quite inexpensive as motherboards go, and has everything you could possibly need. There is also nothing wrong with your choice of the B150 Sniper board you mentioned, looks like a fine board (although the one I linked is better and cheaper, at least in Canada at the moment).

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/product/wBZ2FT/gigabyte-motherboard-gah170gaming3

 

If you need something cheaper, let me know and I'll do further research into some REALLY cheap skylake boards and see what gold nuggets I can find.

well I am really grateful to you for your such detailed explanation it clears many of my confusion. so H170 its is right? so thus on looking I found the gigabyte and ASUS H170 gaming board offerings, the thing is the diff that matters to me at least is the RAID feature  which the B150 g1 sniper lacks, but rest the boards are same with m.2 and other sata express and other features, the price diff between the B150 and H170 offering here is around Indian Rupees 4,000 which is approx. $60 so the price diff is quite  a bit, thus I am stuck between the 2. So please help me choosing the right one, like which will be money well spent price to performance ratio aspect. I am giving links to both the boards so that you can check.

 

Gigabyte G1.Sniper B7- http://www.gigabyte.in/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5526#ov

ASUS H170-PRO- https://www.asus.com/in/Motherboards/H170-PRO/

MSI- http://mdcomputers.in/products/motherboard-939319153/intel-platform/msi-motherboard-h170a-pc-mate-intel-socket-1151-6-generation-series-cpu-max-64gb-ddr4-2133mhz-memory.html

Please go through these. I would appreciate if you could help me with this. Thank you

[maxtch]

I wonder if you can give me your i5-2500K if it still works. I am willing to pay a price up to a certain amount.

[ManuMitra]

1 hour ago, maxtch said:

I wonder if you can give me your i5-2500K if it still works. I am willing to pay a price up to a certain amount.

Lol I wish I could if we were in same city or country at least. I am from India so yeah logistical cost will add up

[maxtch]

7 minutes ago, ManuMitra said:

Lol I wish I could if we were in same city or country at least. I am from India so yeah logistical cost will add up

I am in China. Maybe I can pay the postage?

[Zyndo]

Well there are many other features H170 gives you. It gives you Intel SRT (Smart Response Technology) which can allow you to set up hybrid storage solutions (pairing a SSD with a HDD to create, essentially, a SSHD out of two, larger drives. It then shows up as a single drive in windows, but will automatically take the most used files/most important ones and place them on the SSD for faster operation, and take the lesser used or less important ones and keep them in HDD storage). It gives you more chipset PCIE lanes (this wont affect your Graphics card) but will affect pretty much everything else in your computer. now, odds are on a budget system the B150 will have more than enough chipset lanes for your needs, but you would have to keep this in mind if you're the kind of guy who likes to saturate every PCIE port possible, run SATAe/M.2 drives, and/or other things that run off the PCIe bus.

There ARE more reasons, its why I linked that page for you, so you could make up your own mind. But if you're unaware of the reasons then chances are you wont know that you're missing out on anything.

I didn't mean to confuse the matter for you. Your G1.Sniper B7 will do well for your needs and budget. Of the boards you listed it has the best on board audio, and all around features. If you need on board USB type C connector, then the go with the Asus board (that its only unique feature, also keep in mind it has only 2 chassis fan headers on the board). If you want the most USB connectivity, get the MSI board. The MSI board also has chassis intrusion detection, although this is something I find entirely useless for me, perhaps its something you could find useful. the MSI board also comes with the most fan connectivity. If you're the kind of guy who likes a bunch of fans in his system, you may want to steer away from the asus board.

But honestly, out of the ones you listed, the Gigabyte board is probably the one you want. You could also go for the MSI board (it IS slightly better), but just get whichever is more affordable. Motherboards don't really affect performance the say way CPU's, GPU's, and RAM does. a $500 vs a $50 board will, as far as raw performance goes (assuming you aren't overclocking) pretty much identical. getting a cheaper board won't slow down your computer. It will just mean that you may miss out on some features, or connectivity options. However a lot of times people  don't actually NEED, or even use, these features or connectivity options.

So after ALL this back and forth in this thread, it looks like you probably picked the best board for your needs without any help from us lol. Go with the gigabyte board