Upgrading from a E8400. What's a good CPU?

2500k do not get a non-k

i5 2500k - $220

asrock z68 extreme 3 - $130 (supports crossfire or sli, very good reviews)

some generic 4gb ddr3 ram - $20

psu - $0, you're ok

[QUOTE="Joeycyw"]What I use my PC for: Games and games only. Current spec: Intel C2D E8400 @ 3.4Ghz 4GB DDR2 ATi/AMD Radeon HD6870 1GB 250GB HDD 7200rpm Native res: 1080p Here's what I am thinking. Need help and opinions. CPU: Core i5-2500 or i7-2600 (Not sure which is a better choice for my setup, 90% usage is games) Mobo: Please help, I don't need high end features or any on board sound. RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600 (Is this the right memory?) HDD: Keep the same HDD for now (Will upgrade to 120GB SSD when I am richer) Graphic: I plan to keep the 6870 as it's still pretty good in my opinion. Questions: 1. My current power supply is an OCZ 550watt, is it enough if I upgrade? 2. My budget is around $600 for CPU, mobo, ram and maybe a new power supply. Any other build you would recommend? Thanks in advance!evildead6789

I was under the impression that with a non-k SB processor, you'd be limited to "overclocking" by increasing the turbo frequency?

[QUOTE="Joeycyw"]What I use my PC for: Games and games only. Current spec: Intel C2D E8400 @ 3.4Ghz 4GB DDR2 ATi/AMD Radeon HD6870 1GB 250GB HDD 7200rpm Native res: 1080p Here's what I am thinking. Need help and opinions. CPU: Core i5-2500 or i7-2600 (Not sure which is a better choice for my setup, 90% usage is games) Mobo: Please help, I don't need high end features or any on board sound. RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600 (Is this the right memory?) HDD: Keep the same HDD for now (Will upgrade to 120GB SSD when I am richer) Graphic: I plan to keep the 6870 as it's still pretty good in my opinion. Questions: 1. My current power supply is an OCZ 550watt, is it enough if I upgrade? 2. My budget is around $600 for CPU, mobo, ram and maybe a new power supply. Any other build you would recommend? Thanks in advance!evildead6789

no point in 2500 if you don't get the k.

Get that i5-2500k yo.

[QUOTE="evildead6789"][QUOTE="Joeycyw"]What I use my PC for: Games and games only. Current spec: Intel C2D E8400 @ 3.4Ghz 4GB DDR2 ATi/AMD Radeon HD6870 1GB 250GB HDD 7200rpm Native res: 1080p Here's what I am thinking. Need help and opinions. CPU: Core i5-2500 or i7-2600 (Not sure which is a better choice for my setup, 90% usage is games) Mobo: Please help, I don't need high end features or any on board sound. RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600 (Is this the right memory?) HDD: Keep the same HDD for now (Will upgrade to 120GB SSD when I am richer) Graphic: I plan to keep the 6870 as it's still pretty good in my opinion. Questions: 1. My current power supply is an OCZ 550watt, is it enough if I upgrade? 2. My budget is around $600 for CPU, mobo, ram and maybe a new power supply. Any other build you would recommend? Thanks in advance!GS550L

I was under the impression that with a non-k SB processor, you'd be limited to "overclocking" by increasing the turbo frequency?

[QUOTE="evildead6789"][QUOTE="Joeycyw"]What I use my PC for: Games and games only. Current spec: Intel C2D E8400 @ 3.4Ghz 4GB DDR2 ATi/AMD Radeon HD6870 1GB 250GB HDD 7200rpm Native res: 1080p Here's what I am thinking. Need help and opinions. CPU: Core i5-2500 or i7-2600 (Not sure which is a better choice for my setup, 90% usage is games) Mobo: Please help, I don't need high end features or any on board sound. RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600 (Is this the right memory?) HDD: Keep the same HDD for now (Will upgrade to 120GB SSD when I am richer) Graphic: I plan to keep the 6870 as it's still pretty good in my opinion. Questions: 1. My current power supply is an OCZ 550watt, is it enough if I upgrade? 2. My budget is around $600 for CPU, mobo, ram and maybe a new power supply. Any other build you would recommend? Thanks in advance!NailedGR

no point in 2500 if you don't get the k.

Not worth upgrading for gaming purpose.

[QUOTE="GS550L"]

[QUOTE="evildead6789"] I have an i5-2500. The i7-2600 is just the same in games. System is very good, plays about every game on max settings smoothly on 1080p, the heaviestgames maybe you have to lower the aa a little or the resolution (i have also a hd 6870). Loads everything lighting fast, unzips 1gb in 12 seconds. Is cool n quiet (my cpu has 19 degrees celcius in windows) This is a good motherboard, you can crossfire later on. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131730 As for your psu, it's still good enough as long as you don't crossfire. The ram, any ram is actually good as long as it isn't the cheapest out there, good brands are kingston, corsair, g skill, crucial.. but I think this would be a good buy http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144 or this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314 As for the i5-2500 or i5-2500k, well the i5-2500 k has an unlocked multiplier and can be overclocked higher. The i5-2500 you can overclock to 4ghz, the k version to 4.5 ghz (but not all models, some only go to 4.4 or 4.3, other go to 4.7 , depends how lucky you are). Still the k version is more expensive (20$ extra) and if you overclock you will need another cooler (another 30$). I don't want to overclock a new system and the i5-2500 is already lighting fast so i opted for the non- k version. Everybody will advise you the k version though and i can't blame them, but i don't care, mine was a budget build and anything I could save on I saved on, I was going to buy the i5-2400 first but since it wasn't in stock where i was buying , I chose the i5-2500 and i'm very happy with it. greetzevildead6789

I was under the impression that with a non-k SB processor, you'd be limited to "overclocking" by increasing the turbo frequency?

From what I understand, on a SB processor, the BCLK is tied into the PCI-E and SATA controllers, both of which, unfortunately, cannot be bumped up by more than a dozen MHz before causing problems.

Here's my suggestion:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790 Asus P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 2500K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 Hyper 212+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231416 2x4GB 1600MHz G.Skill Sniper

That's a little over 500$ on Newegg. There sure are cheaper motherboards, but this one has it all - exelent voltage reulation, 2 PCI-E 3.0 slots, front USB 3, and so on and so on.

[QUOTE="NailedGR"]

[QUOTE="evildead6789"] I have an i5-2500. The i7-2600 is just the same in games. System is very good, plays about every game on max settings smoothly on 1080p, the heaviestgames maybe you have to lower the aa a little or the resolution (i have also a hd 6870). Loads everything lighting fast, unzips 1gb in 12 seconds. Is cool n quiet (my cpu has 19 degrees celcius in windows) This is a good motherboard, you can crossfire later on. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131730 As for your psu, it's still good enough as long as you don't crossfire. The ram, any ram is actually good as long as it isn't the cheapest out there, good brands are kingston, corsair, g skill, crucial.. but I think this would be a good buy http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144 or this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314 As for the i5-2500 or i5-2500k, well the i5-2500 k has an unlocked multiplier and can be overclocked higher. The i5-2500 you can overclock to 4ghz, the k version to 4.5 ghz (but not all models, some only go to 4.4 or 4.3, other go to 4.7 , depends how lucky you are). Still the k version is more expensive (20$ extra) and if you overclock you will need another cooler (another 30$). I don't want to overclock a new system and the i5-2500 is already lighting fast so i opted for the non- k version. Everybody will advise you the k version though and i can't blame them, but i don't care, mine was a budget build and anything I could save on I saved on, I was going to buy the i5-2400 first but since it wasn't in stock where i was buying , I chose the i5-2500 and i'm very happy with it. greetzevildead6789

no point in 2500 if you don't get the k.

lol evildead, we know the 2500 is a good cpu, but for $20 extra he can overclocking features. To most people $20 extra for the life of the build, around 3-5 years, is not alot.

[QUOTE="evildead6789"][QUOTE="NailedGR"]

no point in 2500 if you don't get the k.

blaznwiipspman1

lol evildead, we know the 2500 is a good cpu, but for $20 extra he can overclocking features. To most people $20 extra for the life of the build, around 3-5 years, is not alot.

[QUOTE="blaznwiipspman1"]

[QUOTE="evildead6789"] great statement , allthough no arguments so what you're saying has no real value. The k version is 20$ more and you need another cooler of at least 30$. That's 50$ more just to overclock a cpu and you will need a better motherboard too that can handle those overclocked settings for the time you have the system. No thanks, The phenom II x4 955 is still sufficient for high end gaming and the i5-2500 is 1.5 times as fast. I'll spend my money on a future cpu instead of wasting it on even more cpu speed that i don't need.evildead6789

lol evildead, we know the 2500 is a good cpu, but for $20 extra he can overclocking features. To most people $20 extra for the life of the build, around 3-5 years, is not alot.

You don't need another cooler to overclock, and the 2500 isn't 1.5 times faster than a phenom 955.

Also you don't need a "better motherboard" to overclock an unlocked processor. You do if you are using a 2500 and are trying to overclock the oldschool way though.

If you go all the way up to a 2500 and don't get the k that is ridiculous, may as well have gotten a 2400 or an i3.

[QUOTE="evildead6789"][QUOTE="GS550L"]

I was under the impression that with a non-k SB processor, you'd be limited to "overclocking" by increasing the turbo frequency?

GS550L

From what I understand, on a SB processor, the BCLK is tied into the PCI-E and SATA controllers, both of which, unfortunately, cannot be bumped up by more than a dozen MHz before causing problems.

You can change the turbo boost multipliers to maximum allowed which is 41 on 1 core and 38 on 4 cores. That makes for turbo boost on all 4 cores to 3.8 ghz and 4.1 ghz on 1 core. The baseclock you can easily change by 5. So is 105 x 38= 3990 mhz on all cores and boost to 4, 3 ghz. on 1 core.

Normally you can overclock the baseclock maximum to 6-8 . So a maximum on all 4 cores would be 4.1 ghz and 4430 mhz on 1 core. Some people overclock an i5-2500k to 5 ghz on air but these are exceptions, not all cpu allow for that. Like i said before on average it's 4.5 ghz. On average it's 4 ghz with the i5-2500 (this will still go with the stock cooler, while with the k version it won't)

So you may be able to overclock higher with the k version , but you pay for it too. It's about the same difference between the i5-2300 and i5-2500. There's a 30$ difference there while with the the i5-2500 and k version the difference is only 20$ but that's for an overclock difference not stock clock difference and you have to buy an extra cooler of minimum 30$. That's 50$ in total.

[QUOTE="GS550L"]

[QUOTE="evildead6789"] You can increase the fsb just as any other cpu.evildead6789

From what I understand, on a SB processor, the BCLK is tied into the PCI-E and SATA controllers, both of which, unfortunately, cannot be bumped up by more than a dozen MHz before causing problems.

You can change the turbo boost multipliers to maximum allowed which is 41 on 1 core and 38 on 4 cores. That makes for turbo boost on all 4 cores to 3.8 ghz and 4.1 ghz on 1 core. The baseclock you can easily change by 5. So is 105 x 38= 3990 mhz on all cores and boost to 4, 3 ghz. on 1 core.

Normally you can overclock the baseclock maximum to 6-8 . So a maximum on all 4 cores would be 4.1 ghz and 4430 mhz on 1 core. Some people overclock an i5-2500k to 5 ghz on air but these are exceptions, not all cpu allow for that. Like i said before on average it's 4.5 ghz. On average it's 4 ghz with the i5-2500 (this will still go with the stock cooler, while with the k version it won't)

So you may be able to overclock higher with the k version , but you pay for it too. It's about the same difference between the i5-2300 and i5-2500. There's a 30$ difference there while with the the i5-2500 and k version the difference is only 20$ but that's for an overclock difference not stock clock difference and you have to buy an extra cooler of minimum 30$. That's 50$ in total.

Did you lost your brains?

[QUOTE="evildead6789"]

[QUOTE="GS550L"]

From what I understand, on a SB processor, the BCLK is tied into the PCI-E and SATA controllers, both of which, unfortunately, cannot be bumped up by more than a dozen MHz before causing problems.

NailedGR

You can change the turbo boost multipliers to maximum allowed which is 41 on 1 core and 38 on 4 cores. That makes for turbo boost on all 4 cores to 3.8 ghz and 4.1 ghz on 1 core. The baseclock you can easily change by 5. So is 105 x 38= 3990 mhz on all cores and boost to 4, 3 ghz. on 1 core.

Normally you can overclock the baseclock maximum to 6-8 . So a maximum on all 4 cores would be 4.1 ghz and 4430 mhz on 1 core. Some people overclock an i5-2500k to 5 ghz on air but these are exceptions, not all cpu allow for that. Like i said before on average it's 4.5 ghz. On average it's 4 ghz with the i5-2500 (this will still go with the stock cooler, while with the k version it won't)

So you may be able to overclock higher with the k version , but you pay for it too. It's about the same difference between the i5-2300 and i5-2500. There's a 30$ difference there while with the the i5-2500 and k version the difference is only 20$ but that's for an overclock difference not stock clock difference and you have to buy an extra cooler of minimum 30$. That's 50$ in total.

Did you lost your brains?

[QUOTE="evildead6789"]

[QUOTE="GS550L"]

From what I understand, on a SB processor, the BCLK is tied into the PCI-E and SATA controllers, both of which, unfortunately, cannot be bumped up by more than a dozen MHz before causing problems.

NailedGR

You can change the turbo boost multipliers to maximum allowed which is 41 on 1 core and 38 on 4 cores. That makes for turbo boost on all 4 cores to 3.8 ghz and 4.1 ghz on 1 core. The baseclock you can easily change by 5. So is 105 x 38= 3990 mhz on all cores and boost to 4, 3 ghz. on 1 core.

Normally you can overclock the baseclock maximum to 6-8 . So a maximum on all 4 cores would be 4.1 ghz and 4430 mhz on 1 core. Some people overclock an i5-2500k to 5 ghz on air but these are exceptions, not all cpu allow for that. Like i said before on average it's 4.5 ghz. On average it's 4 ghz with the i5-2500 (this will still go with the stock cooler, while with the k version it won't)

So you may be able to overclock higher with the k version , but you pay for it too. It's about the same difference between the i5-2300 and i5-2500. There's a 30$ difference there while with the the i5-2500 and k version the difference is only 20$ but that's for an overclock difference not stock clock difference and you have to buy an extra cooler of minimum 30$. That's 50$ in total.

Did you lost your brains?

:lol: anyways, evil dead, the i5 2500 is a great cpu. There is no need to overclock it, the fact of the matter is I didn't touch mine when I had the 2500k, and don't see the need with my 2700k. I will leave it as is for the next two years or so :D

i5 2500k is the best bang for buck. BAMVlaimir_Lem86

Thanks for all the help guys! This is my final decision, please let me know if it's fine before I checkout. CPU: Core i5-2500k Mobo: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO RAM: Cosair XMS DDR3 8GB (4GB x2) 1600 GRAPHIC: ATi/AMD Radeon HD6870 1GB (Already owned) HDD: 250GB 7200rpm (already owned) PSU: OCZ 550watt (Already owned) Can I run BF3 smoothly on 1080p with high quality visuals?Joeycyw

Looks sweet. You'll probably need to turn off AA in BF3 but at 1080p it's not such a big deal.

Thanks for all the help guys! This is my final decision, please let me know if it's fine before I checkout. CPU: Core i5-2500k Mobo: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO RAM: Cosair XMS DDR3 8GB (4GB x2) 1600 GRAPHIC: ATi/AMD Radeon HD6870 1GB (Already owned) HDD: 250GB 7200rpm (already owned) PSU: OCZ 550watt (Already owned) Can I run BF3 smoothly on 1080p with high quality visuals?Joeycyw

two of my friend srun there i5 2500k 3.9Ghz With Turbo on with intel stock HST tough not that i recommend it bu t they run it on Asrock Extreme 4 P67 & Asus V-PRO auto oc also but the clock rate is on automatic oc based on heat performances inside there HAF 922 could send you there cpu-z validate perhaps

while i did oc mine to 4.5ghz stable but you can find a cpu cooler for 20$ going to that 4.5Ghz but ofc if you want very cold performances then a ultra large heatsink can help like my havik 140 that i got for 64.99$ + 20$ MIR

but that can be bough later if you don't mind having to remove ur motherboard to install the cpu cooler lol you can still enjoy a small boost with stock intel till you can purchase like one suggest the Hyper 212+ or Better

as for 6870 it certainly' won't run shadow at ultra in a conquest mode (64 player) but it might handle 50-75% of the high graphic without fps dropping much below 45 in most of the time at 1080P if you find the game to having short lag burst cause of the graphic setting : you just lower it abit but the system will handle the game well

[QUOTE="NailedGR"]

[QUOTE="evildead6789"] Well the baseclock is 100 mhz , the multiplier is 33 with the i5-2500, that makes for 3.3 ghz. With turbo boost the multiplier changes . Normally this is 37 on 1 core, 36 on 2, 35 on 3 and 34 on 1. So turbo is 3.7 ghz on 1 core, or 3.4 ghz on all four cores.

You can change the turbo boost multipliers to maximum allowed which is 41 on 1 core and 38 on 4 cores. That makes for turbo boost on all 4 cores to 3.8 ghz and 4.1 ghz on 1 core. The baseclock you can easily change by 5. So is 105 x 38= 3990 mhz on all cores and boost to 4, 3 ghz. on 1 core.

Normally you can overclock the baseclock maximum to 6-8 . So a maximum on all 4 cores would be 4.1 ghz and 4430 mhz on 1 core. Some people overclock an i5-2500k to 5 ghz on air but these are exceptions, not all cpu allow for that. Like i said before on average it's 4.5 ghz. On average it's 4 ghz with the i5-2500 (this will still go with the stock cooler, while with the k version it won't)

So you may be able to overclock higher with the k version , but you pay for it too. It's about the same difference between the i5-2300 and i5-2500. There's a 30$ difference there while with the the i5-2500 and k version the difference is only 20$ but that's for an overclock difference not stock clock difference and you have to buy an extra cooler of minimum 30$. That's 50$ in total.

blaznwiipspman1

Did you lost your brains?

:lol: anyways, evil dead, the i5 2500 is a great cpu. There is no need to overclock it, the fact of the matter is I didn't touch mine when I had the 2500k, and don't see the need with my 2700k. I will leave it as is for the next two years or so :D

[QUOTE="blaznwiipspman1"]

[QUOTE="NailedGR"]

Did you lost your brains?

kraken2109

:lol: anyways, evil dead, the i5 2500 is a great cpu. There is no need to overclock it, the fact of the matter is I didn't touch mine when I had the 2500k, and don't see the need with my 2700k. I will leave it as is for the next two years or so :D