What upgrade plan?

[Keudn]

I need to replace my aging i5-2500k with something a bit beefier. I have a nice ASUS MAXIMUS V Formula motherboard that works great and was not cheap so I am reluctant to replace it. Keep in mind I will be trying to sell whatever extra parts I have from the upgrade to recover some costs. I will also be overclocking whatever CPU I get as far as I can with a Hyper 212 EVO, so factor overclocked performance into it. My ideas for an upgrade path are...

• Buy a 2600k or a 3770k and keep the mobo
• Get a 4790k and a new motherboard
• Get a 4690k and a new motherboard
• Get a 6770k and a new motherboard and RAM
• Get a 6600k and a new motherboard and RAM

Which of these options would be the best idea in terms of performance increase from my 2500k @ 4.9GHz and cost? Obviously just getting a 2600k and keeping my motherboard would be the cheapest, but if I am able to sell my motherboard would it sell for enough to completely pay for a new 1150 motherboard? I guess the main questions are how much can I sell my Maximus V Formula and my 2500k for right now? And also if I decide to get a 2600k or 3770k, where do I find one that would be in good enough condition to heavily overclock and use?

[WoodenMarker]

Where do you find your performance lacking?

[Keudn]

3 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Where do you find your performance lacking?

Good question, mostly in games and I am diving into VR development and would like a beefier CPU for Unreal Engine. I noticed in Valley there was a few parts where my GPU usage would drop because I was being CPU limited, and in BF1 I don't ever hit 100% GPU usage and my CPU is pinned at 100%. Also my VR performance is fine so far but I can see my CPU being a problem once games start becoming a bit more involved physically

[Mr.Meerkat]

1 minute ago, Keudn said:

Good question, mostly in games and I am diving into VR development and would like a beefier CPU for Unreal Engine. I noticed in Valley there was a few parts where my GPU usage would drop because I was being CPU limited, and in BF1 I don't ever hit 100% GPU usage and my CPU is pinned at 100%

Thing is, with your 2500K OCed at 4.8GHz, upgrading to another i5 isn't going to change that much, you'll probably need at least 4.5-4.6GHz on a haswell i5 and 4.3-4.4GHz for the performance to be better than your OCed 2500k  

[Keudn]

1 minute ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

Thing is, with your 2500K OCed at 4.8GHz, upgrading to another i5 isn't going to change that much, you'll probably need at least 4.5-4.6GHz on a haswell i5 and 4.3-4.4GHz for the performance to be better than your OCed 2500k  

Its actually 4.9GHz my sig is a little old, but yeah there won't be much of a performance increase with haswell  which is why I am leaning towards getting an i7

[Sreno1]

i5-2500k to i7-3770k is a somewhat small upgrade and you would have to go through the process of buying used. The 6600k is a 20% performance increase but the cost would also be high. Though the 6600k will prolong your next upgrade if you don't want to upgrade in a year.

[Quaker]

An i7-2600K only adds Hyperthreading which won't be much of a boost.

An i7-3770K would require a new motherboard.

 

Your best bet is either an i5-6600K or i7-6700K with a Z170 motherboard and DDR4 RAM.

[Keudn]

Just now, Quaker said:

An i7-2600K only adds Hyperthreading which won't be much of a boost.

An i7-3770K would require a new motherboard.

 

Your best bet is either an i5-6600K or i7-6700K with a Z170 motherboard and DDR4 RAM.

Why would a 3770k require a new motherboard? It is 1155

[Mr.Meerkat]

5 minutes ago, Sreno1 said:

i5-2500k to i7-3770k is a somewhat small upgrade and you would have to go through to process of buying used. The 6600k is a almost 20% performance increase but the cost would also be high. Though the 6600k will prolong your next upgrade if you don't want to upgrade in a year.

4 minutes ago, Quaker said:

Your best bet is either an i5-6600K or i7-6700K with a Z170 motherboard and DDR4 RAM.

Not if his 2500K is at 4.9GHz...

 

5 minutes ago, Keudn said:

Its actually 4.9GHz my sig is a little old, but yeah there won't be much of a performance increase with haswell  which is why I am leaning towards getting an i7

Ah, that's even more than I thought, a skylake 6700K is probably the best option for the simple fact that even if you only get it to 4.4GHz, it "should" be roughly as fast if not faster than your i5 in 4 threads utilised situations  

[Keudn]

4 minutes ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

Not if his 2500K is at 4.9GHz...

 

Ah, that's even more than I thought, a skylake 6700K is probably the best option for the simple fact that even if you only get it to 4.4GHz, it "should" be roughly as fast if not faster than your i5 in 4 threads utilised situations  

I just looked at PassMark scores, and what it seems like to me is that since CPUs, even 3770k and 6700k, are so close together in performance what will affect this the most is how well they overclock. Has no one done a comprehensive "here is what each CPU performs at with the same cooler and overclocked as far as it will go" type of test? If the 2600k or 3770k overclocks higher than a 6700k then they still have a good chance of catching it or at least narrowing the gap between them, but I have yet to find actual overclock numbers on this

[Mr.Meerkat]

Just now, Keudn said:

I just looked at PassMark scores, and what it seems like to me is that since CPUs, even 3770k and 6700k, are so close together in performance what will affect this the most is how well they overclock. Has no one done a comprehensive "here is what each CPU performs at with the same cooler and overclocked as far as it will go" type of test? If the 2600k or 3770k overclocks higher than a 6700k then they still have a good chance of catching it or at least narrowing the gap between them, but I have yet to find actual overclock numbers on this

Skylake apparently overclocks better than Haswell, Ivy overclocked worse than Sandy and I'm pretty sure Haswell OCed worse than ivy  

[Keudn]

Just now, Mr.Meerkat said:

Skylake apparently overclocks better than Haswell, Ivy overclocked worse than Sandy and I'm pretty sure Haswell OCed worse than ivy  

So basically the older the CPU is the better it overclocks, meaning they all end up at about the same performance when overclocked since the older chips make up their age in higher overclocking headroom..? Someone who has access to all of these chips should really do a test that finds

• The single and multi-threaded performance when they are all at the same speed, say 3.6GHz
• The best they can perform when fully overclocked on the same cooler

Has this seriously not been investigated by anyone? *ahem* @LinusTech *ahem*

 

[Mr.Meerkat]

2 minutes ago, Keudn said:

So basically the older the CPU is the better it overclocks, meaning they all end up at about the same performance when overclocked since the older chips make up their age in higher overclocking headroom..? Someone who has access to all of these chips should really do a test that finds

• The single and multi-threaded performance when they are all at the same speed, say 3.6GHz
• The best they can perform when fully overclocked on the same cooler

Has this seriously not been investigated by anyone? *ahem* @LinusTech *ahem*

 

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9483/intel-skylake-review-6700k-6600k-ddr4-ddr3-ipc-6th-generation/9 This is however at 3Ghz  

[Keudn]

1 minute ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9483/intel-skylake-review-6700k-6600k-ddr4-ddr3-ipc-6th-generation/9 This is however at 3Ghz  

Thank you, it isn't exactly what I need but it at least shows the generational differences that are hidden by the fact every i7 has a different base clock 

[Mr.Meerkat]

6 minutes ago, Keudn said:

Thank you, it isn't exactly what I need but it at least shows the generational differences that are hidden by the fact every i7 has a different base clock 

I just looked at the gaming tab and I just realised how anyone still on an unlocked sandy CPU is not missing out at all  

[WoodenMarker]

Getting a 3770k, 6700k, or hopping onto x99 seem to be the most viable solutions. 

It will come down to how much power you actually need. If you're not sure and don't have a similar system to test on, going with x99 and a 5820k would be your safest bet.

[Keudn]

6 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Getting a 3770k, 6700k, or hopping onto x99 seem to be the most viable solutions. 

It will come down to how much power you actually need. If you're not sure and don't have a similar system to test on, going with x99 and a 5820k would be your safest bet.

Interesting idea, how well do 5820k's overclock? Also, if I went with either the 5820k and 6700k I would have to sell my CPU, mobo, RAM, and cooler. How much do you think I can sell those for since they are so old? Also, a nice black/red x99 is not cheap at all . Would the performance gain from 6700k -> 5820k be worth spending an extra $150 on a mobo plus the bit more for the cpu? PassMark says there is about 3000 points between the two CPUs but if the 6700k overclocks a lot better than the 5820k then it could narrow that down

[WoodenMarker]

Just now, Keudn said:

Interesting idea, how well do 5820k's overclock? Also, if I went with either the 5820k and 6700k I would have to sell my CPU, mobo, and RAM. How much do you think I can sell those for since they are so old? Also, a nice black/red x99 is not cheap at all 

They don't oc as spectacularly as the 2500k. With a 212 Evo, expect 4.3-4.4ghz. 

Where are you shopping/located?

[Keudn]

3 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

They don't oc as spectacularly as the 2500k. With a 212 Evo, expect 4.3-4.4ghz. 

Where are you shopping/located?

Lol well unfortunately I don't think anything is going to lol, and Kansas City area. The concern I have is that is going to cost significantly more than going to a 6700k because I would need a new cooler as well, and I have always wanted to water cool and if I decide to go that route it doesn't make sense to buy another air cooler while I wait on water

 

Edit: I suppose I don't NEED a new cooler, but its gonna be warm with my 212 EVO

[WoodenMarker]

1 minute ago, Keudn said:

Lol well unfortunately I don't think anything is going to lol, and Kansas City area

On a site like hardwareswap, you can probably do $250 for the cpu/mobo/ram considering how well the cpu oc's. It might make sense to also bundle the 212 Evo along with it.

Unless you're set on using an atx board, a red/black board isn't that expensive. http://pcpartpicker.com/product/CVnG3C/gigabyte-motherboard-gax99mgaming5

It's a bit more if you want a larger board: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/8KZ2FT/msi-motherboard-x99agaming7

[Keudn]

28 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

On a site like hardwareswap, you can probably do $250 for the cpu/mobo/ram considering how well the cpu oc's. It might make sense to also bundle the 212 Evo along with it.

Unless you're set on using an atx board, a red/black board isn't that expensive. http://pcpartpicker.com/product/CVnG3C/gigabyte-motherboard-gax99mgaming5

It's a bit more if you want a larger board: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/8KZ2FT/msi-motherboard-x99agaming7

I haven't heard about hardwareswap, I will go look into that

 

Edit : I looked at prices between going to 6700k and 5820k, it looks like the 5820k will be about $125-$150 more. Don't really know if I want to spend that much more but I am getting quite a large performance increase so idk 

[Napalm360]

25 minutes ago, Keudn said:

I haven't heard about hardwareswap, I will go look into that

Try ebay i found  a 5820k for £300 instead of usual £380

and 5930k for £380