CPU Upgrade (Under $200)

[creatorjohn]

I currently have an Intel Core i7 3770 @ 3.40GHz. 

 

What do you think I should upgrade this to?

 

EDIT: I'm fine upgrading my MoBo and RAM too, but I'm just asking about the processor. 

[NotTayyeb]

Im not too sure with US pricing, but what can you even get for less than $200 that will be comparable with your i7? If you go up a generation, you'll need a new mobo as well.. if you go up 2 generations, youll need a new mobo AND DDR4 ram too..... 

[creatorjohn]

1 minute ago, NotTayyeb said:

Im not too sure with US pricing, but what can you even get for less than $200 that will be comparable with your i7? If you go up a generation, you'll need a new mobo as well.. if you go up 2 generations, youll need a new mobo AND DDR4 ram too..... 

I'm okay with getting a new MoBo and RAM, but I don't want to spend too much on my processor. 

[HKZeroFive]

There's no CPU for $200 that I'd consider to be an upgrade from a i7 3770. You'd be getting a downgrade.

[NotTayyeb]

3 minutes ago, creatorjohn said:

I'm okay with getting a new MoBo and RAM, but I don't want to spend too much on my processor. 

I guess i'd suggest looking at used haswell chips for the price... So i5 4670k, i5 4690k, i7 4790k or something... A quick look at benchmarks says they perform slightly better than your current i7, and they're all easily overclockable, especially the "90k" ones, so obvious performance gain there...  

[Ramaddil]

I would suggest waiting until ryzen comes out in a month or so, Depending on their performance and pricing it will affect Intel's pricing, possibly making intel chips cheaper and more affordable.  

[BahdFish]

The closest to your limits that I could get to would be an i5-7600k but even then you'd be spending $30 over budget and the upgrade wouldn't be massive aside from the integrated graphics and the higher clock speed. And of coarse you don't have the extra threads. 

[Aereldor]

No need. $200 isn't enough for x99 stuff, and consumer chips haven't gotten much faster than a 3770 anyway. Wait for Zen and see what it brings to the $200 price point. 

[Ctown0812]

3 minutes ago, NotTayyeb said:

I guess i'd suggest looking at used haswell chips for the price... So i5 4670k, i5 4690k, i7 4790k or something...

I bought my i5-4690k off ebay for $150 and it works great.  Overclocks really well too.  Had it stable at 4.6 but lowered it to 4.3 until I get a better cooler.  You just gotta be careful who you are buying from.  I buy used parts all the time and I've been pretty lucky so far.  If you can wait, I'd see what happens once Ryzen is released.  Prices might drop.

 

[NotTayyeb]

1 minute ago, Ctown0812 said:

I bought my i5-4690k off ebay for $150 and it works great.  Overclocks really well too.  Had it stable at 4.6 but lowered it to 4.3 until I get a better cooler.  You just gotta be careful who you are buying from.  I buy used parts all the time and I've been pretty lucky so far.  If you can wait, I'd see what happens once Ryzen is released.  Prices might drop.

 

I've got a 4690k myself, 4.4ghz @ 1.238V, 65C under load lol

[Aereldor]

9 minutes ago, DunknDognuts said:

The closest to your limits that I could get to would be an i5-7600k but even then you'd be spending $30 over budget and the upgrade wouldn't be massive aside from the integrated graphics and the higher clock speed. And of coarse you don't have the extra threads. 

 

29 minutes ago, NotTayyeb said:

I guess i'd suggest looking at used haswell chips for the price... So i5 4670k, i5 4690k, i7 4790k or something... A quick look at benchmarks says they perform slightly better than your current i7, and they're all easily overclockable, especially the "90k" ones, so obvious performance gain there...  

These are side-grades; the improvement will be minimal unless he gets a K i7 and puts a serious overclock on it, and that's going to cost more than $200.

 

If you've got a Core i7 processor from Sandy Bridge or later, the only substantial upgrade is Intel's enthusiast x99 platform. AMD might become a more serious contender if more powerful Zen chips are priced right.

[creatorjohn]

Alright, thank you so much for your help. I was getting confused about upgrading my CPU not knowing that the one I had was good enough. Thank you for telling me that. 

 

I'll also wait for Ryzen to release and hopefully CPU prices will go down. 

 

Thanks a lot again.