Need advice - CPU/MB/RAM upgrade for i5 2500k gaming system

LeFru

LeFru

LeFru

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Hi all,

I'm looking to upgrade my current gaming PC which is an i5 2500k running @ 4.3Ghz, with 8GB of ram. It's served me brilliantly for almost 7 years, but is struggling a bit with some newer games.

So I'm after some advice please...

I was thinking of going with the i5 8400 with 16GB of RAM, which works out about £420 on OcUK at the moment. But then I saw the i5 8600k is an extra £60, which would allow me to overclock, unlike the 8400.

My question is will the 8400 be a big performance increase over the 2500k (the fact that it's a jump of 6 generations should count for something alone, surely)? Or would I be better off paying the extra so I can overclock?

Or would you suggest something completely different?

Budget is £600 max.

I'd really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!
 
Would personally jump into i7 8700 (all cores boost to 4.3ghz) , as you could just slap in i7 2700k and overclock for a little boost .
Depends on which games you play to see benefits of more cores , some do love it like BF1 etc .. 4 cores/4 threads to 6 cores/6threads is personally a step, going to 6 cores and 12 threads at either 4.3ghz or 4.7+ is more of a leap .

Non K 8700 gives the advantage of cheaper B460 boards in which some are better then most Z370 boards.. which are being replaced by z390 boards ...
 
Where is it struggling? An i5-2500k is still a fine CPU when overclocked. Are you sure it isn't just the GPU? Run Task Manager on a second monitor while you game and look at CPU usage and GPU usage. Note that you might need to upgrade both. :)
 
Quartz said:
Where is it struggling? An i5-2500k is still a fine CPU when overclocked. Are you sure it isn't just the GPU? Run Task Manager on a second monitor while you game and look at CPU usage and GPU usage. Note that you might need to upgrade both. :)
Click to expand...

BF1 is the biggest culprit, cpu is constantly over 98% when playing (all 4 cores) with the GPU (a 970) happily chugging along at around 75-80% usage. I'm looking forward to playing BF V later in the year and I'm assuming it'll have the same if not greater demand on CPU. Also I think the 8GB of RAM doesn't help as that's almost maxed out when playing too. Other new games I have noticed aren't as smooth as I would like either.

I know a lot of people will argue the 2500k is still a good gaming CPU, and it is! It still runs games like Overwatch, WOW, COD and lots of others absolutely fine. I just feel it's getting a bit long in the tooth and frankly, I feel like doing an upgrade as I haven't done one for years :)
 
orbitalwalsh said:
Would personally jump into i7 8700 (all cores boost to 4.3ghz) , as you could just slap in i7 2700k and overclock for a little boost .
Depends on which games you play to see benefits of more cores , some do love it like BF1 etc .. 4 cores/4 threads to 6 cores/6threads is personally a step, going to 6 cores and 12 threads at either 4.3ghz or 4.7+ is more of a leap .

Non K 8700 gives the advantage of cheaper B460 boards in which some are better then most Z370 boards.. which are being replaced by z390 boards ...
Click to expand...

I hadn't considered the 8700. It is quite a bit more expensive though (an extra £50) and I understand an 8600K should easily match if not beat its clock speed. So I'd be gaining extra threads but running them more slowly. Do you think that would be worth the trade? Bearing in mind it's mostly used for gaming. I don't do video editing or graphic design etc.
 
LeFru said:
I hadn't considered the 8700. It is quite a bit more expensive though (an extra £50) and I understand an 8600K should easily match if not beat its clock speed. So I'd be gaining extra threads but running them more slowly. Do you think that would be worth the trade? Bearing in mind it's mostly used for gaming. I don't do video editing or graphic design etc.
Click to expand...

True, core speed is mostly key ! Then again i5 8400 with 1070ti is perfect for gaming to be honest, built a few of those and people have been happy to save £100 odd and lose out on 10 FPS overall haha .

Guessing your not streaming or recording as well, so 8600k would suit you best if you overclock the nuts off it, won't sink the cash unless your going to push the most out of it personally .

And overclocked is a lot more fun :D
 
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