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Looking to upgrade processor - advice sought
Posted on 4/30/15 at 4:48 pm
Posted on 4/30/15 at 4:48 pm
When I built my computer a few years back, I could only afford an i3 processor. Now I am looking to upgrade.
Here's my MB: the Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4
I've seen 1156 socket processors with exceedingly high prices but this one is exceedingly reasonable. What am I missing? Why is this one hundreds of dollars cheaper than the others I've found?
Here's my MB: the Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4
I've seen 1156 socket processors with exceedingly high prices but this one is exceedingly reasonable. What am I missing? Why is this one hundreds of dollars cheaper than the others I've found?
2
Posted on 4/30/15 at 5:29 pm to Bard
quote:
could only afford an i3 processor
Which one? Just like this one is an "i7-860," yours should have a set of 3 or 4 digits in addition. It's important because there are, I believe, 3 separate generations of Core i# CPUs on the 1156 socket. This one is falling in price because it was released nearly 6 years ago.
Can I ask why you are wanting to upgrade? For the price of this cpu, if you aren't using an SSd, you'll almost definitely get better results by adding a 240gb (or bigger, but you can definitely find nearly all sub-240gb sata III models worth buying for general consumer use for under the price of the cpu you linked). There are a few exceptions, of course. If you provide the cpu model (you can see it on the Windows Experience page and Device Manager in Windows, if im not mistaken), whether or not you use an SSd, and what type of performance increase you're looking for, someone around here should be able to help you out in short order.
Posted on 4/30/15 at 6:12 pm to Bard
Doesn't matter what i3 you have. It's a Clarkdale for sure. Don't upgrade your CPU to another 1156 CPU. Waste of money unless you can get that i7 for like $75 and actually NEED it. The IPC is low compared to modern processors. Even a 6-core AMD (FX-6300) outperforms that i7 you linked. In fact, a $100 Haswell i3 outperforms that i7. For a home build, never, ever, ever build on the Intel platform with the intent to upgrade the CPU. By the time the CPU is worth upgrading, Intel will have changed sockets. In this case, they've changed sockets twice.
Take Hopeful Doc's advice if you don't have an SSD. If you do already have an SSD, collect some hard data on your CPU usage, as well as RAM, when you're running specific programs. Monitor temperatures to make sure nothing is throttling. Be absolutely sure it's the CPU bottlenecking your work. Too often, people see their PC underperforming and automatically assume it's the CPU.
Take Hopeful Doc's advice if you don't have an SSD. If you do already have an SSD, collect some hard data on your CPU usage, as well as RAM, when you're running specific programs. Monitor temperatures to make sure nothing is throttling. Be absolutely sure it's the CPU bottlenecking your work. Too often, people see their PC underperforming and automatically assume it's the CPU.
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