Upgrade CPU? Or am I good for another year.

[needssdasap]

I am running a Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHz, 3601 Mhz 4 cores. Is this good enough to play the current AAA titles paired with a GTX 1060 6GB? Should I just reapply thermal paste (haven't done that in like 5 years) or should I upgrade it? Any tips would be greatly appreciated  Thank you and have a nice day.

[PigWithAMustache]

Wait for zen to release and get a bit cheaper, because you still have a good CPU

[manikyath]

it's probably still just fine, dont upgrade for the sake of upgrading, upgrade when you notice it no longer fullfills your needs.

[scottyseng]

10 minutes ago, needssdasap said:

I am running a Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHz, 3601 Mhz 4 cores. Is this good enough to play the current AAA titles paired with a GTX 1060 6GB? Should I just reapply thermal paste (haven't done that in like 5 years) or should I upgrade it? Any tips would be greatly appreciated  Thank you and have a nice day.

Probably should change the thermal paste. I would overclock it though.

 

I run a 2500K with a 1070 and probably have some performance loss (I don't game though...I 3D Model). My brother's PC is a 2500K as well with a 1060 6GB and it keeps up just fine, though CPU intensive games will drag it down .

 

It really depends on what you play.

[KnightSirius]

3 minutes ago, needssdasap said:

I am running a Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHz, 3601 Mhz 4 cores. Is this good enough to play the current AAA titles paired with a GTX 1060 6GB? Should I just reapply thermal paste (haven't done that in like 5 years) or should I upgrade it? Any tips would be greatly appreciated  Thank you and have a nice day.

I think you're fine for the time being honestly the 2500K is still pretty powerful all things considered.

You'll definitely have to upgrade in the next year or two but I think you can get by with it for awhile longer!

Definitely Reapply TIM if you feel you need it, though that won't affect performance if that's what you're getting at... (Unless your thermal throttling which you would have noticed a long time ago). 

What will affect performance however is overclocking the chip a bit. You're running it at stock and you have an unlocked K version! You can definitely get a bit of free performance out of it with even a small overclock.
Even if you're feeling a bit intimidated about doing it there are many guides that can walk you through the process!

 

Quick Google search for a guide gave me this which looks pretty promising!


 

[mark_cameron]

17 minutes ago, needssdasap said:

I am running a Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHz, 3601 Mhz 4 cores. Is this good enough to play the current AAA titles paired with a GTX 1060 6GB? Should I just reapply thermal paste (haven't done that in like 5 years) or should I upgrade it? Any tips would be greatly appreciated  Thank you and have a nice day.

Given Kaby Lake apparently is no great increase over Skylake, you can wait and get a cheap upgrade in 6 months or so.

[Mooshi]

28 minutes ago, PigWithAMustache said:

Wait for zen to release and get a bit cheaper, because you still have a good CPU

Ain't nobody got time for a slideshow to be released! 

 

On a real note, Sandy Bridge is still viable. The GF is using the 2500k from my old rig and performance is alright. 

[needssdasap]

Awesome, I'll apply new paste and then start looking into some overclocking and see how it'll perform, and then I guess I can upgrade when I feel that it's actually needed. Thanks so much for all of the replies, really helped a lot