UPGRADE TIME - New CPU & Mobo? £600 max.. help!

[rmonkey100]

Posted originally in General Hardware but may be more suitable in here? So I'm thinking of upgrading my system since the CPU & mobo are coming up to 5 years old, looking to may get a new CPU, Mobo, Ram & Case? £600 ish max.. my current specs are:

Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor @ 4.3 ghz OC
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo Air CPU Cooler
Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
AMD RX480 8GB Graphics Card
16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM 2133hz
XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply
Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gbs Solid State Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gbs 32MB Cache - OEM
Asus PCE-N15 300Mbps 802.11BGN Wireless PCI-E Network Adapter
OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case
Acer 27" 75 hz 1080p monitor

Looking to upgrade with:

Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2 GHz QuadCore 8MB Cache Processor
MSI Intel Z270 SLI PLUS 7th/6th Gen USB2 Motherboard - Black
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB DDR4 3000 MHz CL15 XMP 2.0 High Performance Desktop Memory Kit - Red
Corsair CC-9011052-WW Carbide Series SPEC-03 Mid-Tower ATX Gaming Case with Red LED Fan - Black

in the future I will be getting a 144hz 1440p monitor too

Will those upgrades all work together, and with what will be remaining of my current hardware? would you recommend anything different?

Thanks!

 

[covenantuk]

If you want to save some cash, for right now, a 7600K would probably do just fine. You could get one with an OCUK 4,8ghz guarantee:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/inte...ocket-lga1151-processor-retail-cp-631-in.html


I've just bought the Asus Strix Z270 motherboard and can recommend it - the equivalent to your choice is virtually the same price. It's also the one 8Pack is using in his bundles.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...cket-1151-ddr4-atx-motherboard-mb-68v-as.html


If you get both of those, 8Pack has posted his settings to get 4.9ghz from that combo here on the forums also.

 

[rmonkey100]

Thanks for the reply!

Would the i7 7700 be worth getting for long term benefit & future proofing?

Also I like the motherboard you recommended, does it have extra connections, for extra tower fans if I choose to install more?

What would you recommend for a new tower? the one I suggested seems okay?

 

[DONOHUE07]

I would consider the AMD 1700, purely based on the core count alone, games are starting to use more cores. And with a decent motherboard you also have the upgrade path to a top end Ryzen+ cpu in the future.

I'm in the same boat at the moment and just can't decide between a i7 or the 1700, the i7 is usually just on top on gaming benchmarks, but I like to keep my CPU's' for as long as possible, and in the future, more cores COULD be important

 

[Plec]

Would the i7 7700 be worth getting for long term benefit & future proofing?

I would consider a Ryzen 5/7 build - you would retain the speeds you're after and the longevity of the socket will be far superior - giving you plenty of futureproofing compared to the INTEL socket.

Take a look at reviews - it's a win win (i'm repeating myself in different threads - not good)

 

[rmonkey100]

Very interesting.. I have looked at the Ryzen CPU's but just can't decide, on gaming benchmarks the Intels still seem to be on top?... with Ryzen been better for video editing etc

How well would the Ryzens overclock?

As for longetivity, my current i5 3750 is coming up 5 years old and is still going strong OC at 4.3ghz

After 4-5 years I'd probably look to upgrade the CPU again anyway?.. or do you mean the actual motherboard socket, in that it will accept much more future generations of AMD processors?

 

[Plec]

The gaming differences are marginal - and in most cases you wouldn't notice the difference in real terms. Plus, as firmware/BIOS/driver updates improve this gap is coming down all the time.

The thing that will make the significant difference is the cores - more games are making use of more cores - and with the 1600 you get 6 cores and Ryzen 7 you get 8 - but both have the same level of cache.

I know what you mean with upgrading - i have a [email protected] with a GTX 1070 and still quite happy - but (theoretically) had I a Ryzen 5 1600 in my system and is was starting to show it's age I would have had the option of dropping in the latest AMD release or last compatible CPU for the AM4 socket - and I probably would have. Or at the very least i would have had the choice - where as INTEL would have swapped sockets on me years ago. I know I would have upgraded my 2500k had I had an option.

Read some of the latest review - the Ryzen 5 reviews give updates on the format - it's all really encouraging/exciting.

 

[covenantuk]

Yeh, for pure processing power either is fine. There's a possiblility that for some future games Ryzen will be better. Depends when you think those games will arrive and if you'll be near upgrade anyway. Let's face it neither is going to be slow for the next 2-3 years at least - I was still playing AAA titles on my 3570K and GTX670 until recently

As far as I know, this Intel socket is good until the new chipset for Icelake in 2018/19 but the CPU upgrades until then will be minimal whereas a good Ryzen board will last longer.


In the end it's your choice. I went for the more mature and (IMO) reliable Intel platform as this system does a lot more than just games. If I was still gaming and overclocking a lot I'd be temtped by Ryzen

 

[rmonkey100]

Such a hard choice, that is the thing now, not knowing in the future whether games will take on to any big degree & optimize the ryzen threads/cores to go ahead of the Intel CPUs..?!

I will probably look to keep my next CPU for at least 4-5 years before upgrading again.. so by then I might have to buy a new motherboard anyway... all ifs, buts, and maybes at the minute regarding what may happen in the future haha, so hard to decide.

I do like the fact the AMD sockets last longer with regards to been able to just drop in newer CPUs. it is annoying that Intel change socket every couple generations.. my 3750k is so far behind now!

 

[Plec]

The way i look at is -at least we have a choice now.

Before it was just a choice of which INTEL flavour to get - and that was more guided by price and likelihood of the socket being abandoned.

TBH, whatever you decide - with your budget whatever you opt for will probably last you your anticipated timeframe.

INTEL is a hard habit to drop - but I remember the good ol' days of when AMD were the go to CPU (and all you needed was a pencil). It's was/is great having choice - and even the uncertainty of making the wrong decision makes a build more interesting. But 'today', there really is no 'wrong decision' - the one certainty you have is that whichever flavour you opt for it will be a relative monster of a machine for a few years - perhaps the odd GPU upgrade or two in the future.

 

[IRSHunter]

Judging by the benchmarks i've seen so far, the Ryzen CPU's preform very well on high end games such as battlefield 1 etc, they're a great cheaper alternative and AMD have done a great job refreshing their CPU market. On the other hand, the new Intel Kabylakes are amazing, i've tested with them and would personally say it's the safer choice, but it means a higher cost on the overall pricing. It is a hard decision, going with AMD means throwing yourself into the deep, but with a cheaper cost.

 

[rmonkey100]

Yeah weighing everything up, I think this time I'm edging towards staying with Intel... I mean in 3-4 years I'll have a much better idea about how well the AMD Ryzens are doing, and if they end up been superior by then, can always upgrade to them next time!

 

[Plec]

There's no real wrong decision here as long as you're budget can afford it...

Buy what makes you feel happy - personally I would be buying Ryzen but as much for the adventure of building and trying out a new format and also supporting AMD and forcing INTEL to finally loosen their grip on their prices (not prerequisites for your purchasing choices) - but I totally understand those that still want to buy and build around INTEL. It's tried and tested and apps/games are very familiar with the architecture (and it's popularity) and so things at present are heavily optimised towards this fact - and that's not going to change overnight - so INTEL builds are still a solid, but premium price, choice.

You'll be happy whatever you decide - we're just here to confuse you with choice and options..

 

[rmonkey100]

Yeah the choice now is great to have! I still keep weighing up both sides.. looking around at Ryzen stuff.. which Ryzen CPU is best bang for good competing with the 7700? the Ryzen 7 1700, for around £295?

also what would be a good mobo for it? around the £140 ish mark... would my remaining components go with that mobo fine too, the 212 cooler etc?

 

[---]

Yeah the choice now is great to have! I still keep weighing up both sides.. looking around at Ryzen stuff.. which Ryzen CPU is best bang for good competing with the 7700? the Ryzen 7 1700, for around £295?

also what would be a good mobo for it? around the £140 ish mark... would my remaining components go with that mobo fine too, the 212 cooler etc?

Would you prefer X370 or B350.

 

[---]

I think it might have been wise for me to get the X370 Ryzen board as I got the R5 1600 as temporary it will be great for next 1-2 year then when Zen improves i will upgrade CPU.
But I cheapest out and got a B350 but not much difference but anyway I don't regret as not much at all lost compared to £'s saved.

 

[rmonkey100]

The Ryzen 1700 is certainly tempting now, for around £290, overclocking it could you hit 4ghz?

Would a X370 be the best type of motherboard to get for future proofing?

 

[---]

I wouldn't say it would make that much difference for future proofing. I don't think it's worth the gain in overclock for the price. But that Is just personally l if I had more I would have got one but that money can go on graphics etc.

So only of you want X370 extras like 1 or two more ports or to get the gain in overclocking which B350's still do well. Of course there's SLI too which I will not be using.

So I guess if that's not much out of your budget it would be nice to get that performance and a couple added extras like lower temps but the B350 are great if you are looking to stay to a budget or even invest in better RAM or GPU etc.