How good is this 2500k in 2017?

Amraam · 31 Mar 2017 at 17:17

Not very, is probably the answer I'll get from many. Seriously though, I'm still rocking a 2500k clocked at 4.4Ghz ( a nice 33% OC!) with 16GB RAM. Now that I'm on 21:9 3440x1440 with a 980Ti, I'm casually pondering whether I'd gain much updating the rest of my system? Would I gain much performance in titles such as Skyrim SE, Mass Effect Andromeda etc by going to a Kaby Lake setup?

For desktop use etc, the 2500k is still more than adequate - I never do any compute intensive stuff, and anything that would benefit from it such as file compression/extraction is something I've never felt too time consuming. So, would the large expense of updating CPU/Motherboard/RAM be worth it for gaming or shall I keep rocking the 2500 and see if I can get a decade out of it?

MissChief · 31 Mar 2017 at 17:20

Some games will benefit in top FPS but the main improvement is in minimum FPS. There have been loads of threads in the past few months with some good replies with videos of tests.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 31 Mar 2017 at 18:52

Anything Creation based like SR:SE and FO4 based seems to do abnormally well on BW non-E and KL/SKL,but not so sure about ME:A - it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the R5 1500 and R5 1600X at £250 and under do decently in the game.

I would say its a bad time to get a Core i7 7700K TBH.

Amraam · 1 Apr 2017 at 17:31

Well I'm in no hurry to get a new rig, but I guess 5 years is a good life for a chip. I just don't want it bottlenecking my 980Ti etc.

Terrorfirmer · 1 Apr 2017 at 17:56

Honestly, I wouldn't rule out a cheap 3770K upgrade. About €150 here and you'd get a major boost especially in titles that eat up cores/threads. Also means no hassle of having to get an all new board/ram/cpu etc.

Amraam · 2 Apr 2017 at 14:05

Terrorfirmer said:
Honestly, I wouldn't rule out a cheap 3770K upgrade. About €150 here and you'd get a major boost especially in titles that eat up cores/threads. Also means no hassle of having to get an all new board/ram/cpu etc.

Thanks, I'll keep an eye out on the MM. 1155 seems dead now, which makes sense given that it's ~ 7 years old. I might just budget a new CPU/Motherboard/RAM in the summer.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 2 Apr 2017 at 15:38

Amraam said:
Thanks, I'll keep an eye out on the MM. 1155 seems dead now, which makes sense given that it's ~ 7 years old. I might just budget a new CPU/Motherboard/RAM in the summer.

Creation seems to be quite limited by single core performance and memory bandwidth. In SRSE,it seems to not thread very well - FO4 which is the latest use of the engine threads better,but still seems to be single core limited. So I suspect for SRSE it won't be a big upgrade,but perhaps for ME:A as the Frostbite engine used does thread well.

wedrum · 2 Apr 2017 at 15:51

4.8ghz should be easy cooler depending

Amraam · 2 Apr 2017 at 16:03

wedrum said:
4.8ghz should be easy cooler depending

Perhaps. I've had it at 4.4 for a years now, but I'm sometimes peaking at 75C. 4.8 and the increased voltage needed would make it a little too hot for my liking. I don't want to invest in a new cooler just to get .4Ghz when I could just get a whole new system in 6 months.

My rads probably need a good dusting so I'll do that and check temps again.

PhoenixUK · 2 Apr 2017 at 16:36

Rather than thinking "Will I get an improvement", think "Do I need an improvement".
If the games u play run well as it is then I see no point spending any money - if they're however unplayable, then yes, upgrade is required and you will definitely see an improvement.

If you're already on 40-60FPS playable on your desired settings and you don't need the extra power then don't bother and see what comes out to the market then upgrade when needed.

Like others have mentioned, cheap move to 3770k could be good if u can get one for not much but that platform is pretty much dead so only would do this if it was cheap to move across (£100'ish for mobo+CPU after selling yours).

I wouldn't get Kabylake, incoming 6 core ryzens seem like a much better value.

DONOHUE07 · 2 Apr 2017 at 20:16

I would just get the best 2nd hand cpu your motherboard can take, unless you want the newer features like m.2 and DDR4 etc

Nexus18 · 2 Apr 2017 at 21:05

PhoenixUK said:
Rather than thinking "Will I get an improvement", think "Do I need an improvement".
If the games u play run well as it is then I see no point spending any money - if they're however unplayable, then yes, upgrade is required and you will definitely see an improvement.

If you're already on 40-60FPS playable on your desired settings and you don't need the extra power then don't bother and see what comes out to the market then upgrade when needed.

Excellent advice this!

Too many people "upgrade" when there really is no "need" to, especially when the improvement is not going to be worth the £300+ outlay....

DeathofRats · 2 Apr 2017 at 22:05

My rig is almost identical, I'm looking for a cheap 3770k, but easier said than done

Amraam · 3 Apr 2017 at 08:00

Nexus18 said:
Excellent advice this!

Too many people "upgrade" when there really is no "need" to, especially when the improvement is not going to be worth the £300+ outlay....

Totally agreed, which is why I put up this sort "pondering aloud" thread

Just wondering if people thought there was a need as my lower FPS in ME:A could do with upping, but I'm too much of a tart to lower the settings from Ultra

craptakular · 3 Apr 2017 at 08:24

I'm in the same boat as the OP. I've had my 2500k at 4.5ghz for years and it is running ok. I've got 8gb ram and a 970gtx

I've been playing world of tanks for years so power want an issue. I'm now getting really bored of it and started looking at new games like battlegrounds and ark.

I want to try wildlands but worried it will be poor.

I also want a super wide screen monitor which will send my rig to a crawl.

It's a sad world i live my little 2500k best CPU i ever had.

Amraam · 3 Apr 2017 at 08:30

craptakular said:
I'm in the same boat as the OP. I've had my 2500k at 4.5ghz for years and it is running ok. I've got 8gb ram and a 970gtx

I've been playing world of tanks for years so power want an issue. I'm now getting really bored of it and started looking at new games like battlegrounds and ark.

I want to try wildlands but worried it will be poor.

I also want a super wide screen monitor which will send my rig to a crawl.

It's a sad world i live my little 2500k best CPU i ever had.

Well my rig is not stellar, but I've just upgraded to a superwide 3440x1440 and my 980ti runs it better than I thought. I have 16GB RAM, but I can't see that making all that much difference, unless your RAM was much slower.

Perhaps try a new GPU, maybe a 1080 (or go Ti if you win the lottery

) and stick in more RAM and you may be surprised.

StonedPenguin · 3 Apr 2017 at 08:38

Should be able to pick up a 2600k/2700k for £100-110, That should be fine for another 2-3 years.

ubersonic · 3 Apr 2017 at 08:47

Towards the end of last year I replaced my G/Fs 2550k/8GB setup with a 2600K/24GB, not bad value for money unless your looking to push things.

Terrorfirmer · 3 Apr 2017 at 09:16

PhoenixUK said:
Like others have mentioned, cheap move to 3770k could be good if u can get one for not much but that platform is pretty much dead so only would do this if it was cheap to move across (£100'ish for mobo+CPU after selling yours).

He doesn't need a new board for a 3770K though, that would kinda defeat the purpose and ease of that upgrade!

Yes, S1155 is old now but the i7's from that era are still tremendously good for gaming - especially the 3770K - and especially in games now like Battlefield 1 that really stress extra cores/threads.

3770K will guarantee rock solid 60fps framerates, the only way it could be bested by going Kabylake or Ryzen is if you're using a 120/144hz monitor, but even then a decent overclock on the 3770K will have it working pretty damn well even at the higher end.

For me personally unless it's about the above sentence, for normal 60hz gaming a 3770K is a no-brainer. 10 minute upgrade job and you're sorted for a few more years without question.

I've even played Battlefield 1 on a 1st gen i7-870 and it runs well....a chip from 2009.

Nexus18 · 3 Apr 2017 at 10:00

Amraam said:
Totally agreed, which is why I put up this sort "pondering aloud" thread Just wondering if people thought there was a need as my lower FPS in ME:A could do with upping, but I'm too much of a tart to lower the settings from Ultra

I especially wouldn't upgrade for games that are poorly optimised!

MEA uses a **** ton of tessellation with no benefit to IQ, harms AMD cards a lot more but still hampers nvidia's performance somewhat too.