Mixed Use Desktop Upgrade

CTX-SLPR · October 20, 2017

Howdy,

My current desktop is chugging along wonderfully for most of my usage which is a mix of gaming and 3D solid modeling with a splash of MatLab work thrown in for variety. It's a now a 6yr old system that has seen remarkably little upgrade in that time (mainly an SSD and more RAM). I think it's time to do a bit of upgrades to get another few years out of it before building a new battlestation. I'm gaming mostly older titles but really love the direction games are going with CPU intensive type modeling of individual projectiles in RTS type games which is really my favorite genre. I use Solidworks pretty heavily for very large assembly modeling which is starting to drag the system down and kick the fan speed up noticeably. Big deal based on watching HWID and the performance monitor is I'm frequently pegging the CPU while most of the rest of the system is staying in a comfortable usage range under load.

Current System (Parts I'm keeping in Bold)

CPU: i5-2500

CPU Cooler: Hyper 212

Motherboard: Intel DP67DEB3

RAM: 2x4Gb G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3 1333 & 2x4Gb G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3 1600 (Is this a problem having mixed frequencies and/or with the motherboard)

Powersupply: EVGA SuperNOVA 550 G2

GPU: GTX1070 Founders Edition (Can I add a Quadro Card as well to get some of the SolidWorks features? Something like a P400)

Monitors: 2x Dell U2410

OS: Windows 10 Home

Storage: 1x ~500Gb Samsung SSD, 1Tb WD Blue 7200 RPM drive

Is there a drop in processor worth spending the money on (likely used) to upgrade this system? I thought I didn't have the ability to overclock for the longest time due to the mother board (I know the CPU isn't) but now I see I do have the support but no experience. Is it worth it get an i7-2600K like Luke was running for the longest time, an i7-3770K, an overclocked i5 of some kind? What about getting a Xeon E3-1290 V2 and just not venturing into the realm of overclocking? Am I missing something in the rest of the system holding me back?

Thanks

Danny_UK · October 20, 2017

6 minutes ago, CTX-SLPR said:

RAM: 2x4Gb G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3 1333 & 2x4Gb G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3 1600 (Is this a problem having mixed frequencies and/or with the motherboard)

All the ram would run at the highest freq of the lowest rated stick. I.E 1333, unless you can get a stable OC on them, to which im not sure if that board supports that.

i7 2600k isn't much of an upgrade path from the i5 2500, It's pretty much the same just with slightly better multi core performance

The i7 3770k is gonna be the same story as the above but with slightly better results (mainly noticeable on synthetics)

You'd pretty much just be buying multi threading doing either of those options

The Xeon would be a downgrade, so thats out the question

GPU there would be no point in getting a Quadro IMO it would be a lot of hassle in terms of drivers.

If you google around Im sure you could find a "hack" how to trick the software into thinking you're using a certified GPU to unlock those features you're looking for.

However if you check out this link it will shed a little light on the situation for you https://forum.solidworks.com/thread/9116

The limiting factor is that motherboard as the socket is holding you back, I mean if you could upgrade the mobo and then get a i5 8400, then you'll notice a massive difference.

I know I didnt help you out much but that's just another perspective for you to see from

CTX-SLPR · October 20, 2017

As I've learned the research and systems engineering world, doing nothing is always an option. From what you are saying, in your opinion doing nothing is the most cost effective option in terms of measurable improvements. Doing something just spends money for minimal gain while going full on upgrade of the CPU+board+RAM is really the only path that will give a measurable difference in terms of performance.

I thought the Xeon E3-1290 V2 was the fastest clock speed LGA1155 CPU from the factory, did I misread the specs?

I didn't see much in the SolidWorks forums link but I am at work still so might not show up.

Thanks