i3 4330 to Xeon E3-1231v3

[martin363]

Dear all,

I have a mini ITX machine in my office (Spec i3 4330, H81i-plus MB, 8GB RAM, and a GTX 970), which I use for general work (emails, Office etc.) plus WOW when I have some downtime.

I can get hold of a Xeon E3-1231 for 160 quid unused.

My question is, is it worth the upgrade to the Xeon? or should I stick with what I have?

The CPU is compatible with the MB, and when playing WOW the i3 sits around 60% usage. My gut is to 'future proof' a bit, but then maybe it is better to stick and replace the guts totally in 3 to 4 years.

thanks Martin

 

[martin363]

OK,

So I brought the upgrade and safe to say it has made a big performance difference.

Most noticeable is in gaming where the frame rates are significantly more stable, however the whole system does feel 'snappier' in general use too, so happy.

The chip runs very cool too, it is a small ITX system in an SG05 case so was never looking to overclock, but it is basically silent in use, so am very happy.

Come comparison numbers below for reference;

Martin

 

[martin363]

Yes, very pleased with the result, and cheap compared to the consumer options

 

[martin363]

I don't think there is a simple answer to this one, I think it depends on the game, resolution, and individual usage.

I do think it is a little simplistic however to say' 10% increase in GPU performance... not worth it' and 'The GPU is a bottle neck'.

1. Because the GPU is not a bottle neck (for me at least), it can maintain 60FPS playing WOW with basically max settings at 1440p.
2. Because the CPU upgrade has made a noticeable difference to the play experience in WOW with the 970, not in general frame rates, but the consistency of frame rates, and smoothness of game.

WOW used to pause / judder from time to time and momentarily freeze. Now it doesn't.

As further comment I also have a machine with an i7 4790k and 780ti in SLI. The 780ti is approximately 25% faster than the 970, and the SLI perhaps typically 70+% quicker (benchmarks below) however when gaming in WOW at 1440p I can basically turn everything up on all 3 options, and game at a solid 60FPS. I don't notice any difference in play between the 3 card options / 2 faster processors. So for WOW at least at 1440p, the slowest option, the 970 is as good as the 2 faster options. no bottle neck there. the 780ti's effectively have some additional 'redundency'.

The bottle neck was in reality the processor, (everyone knows WOW is heavily CPU bound) and upgrading the processor has made a noticeable difference, to WOW, and the 'zip' of the system in general.

Ultimately, the best system is a balanced system, the i3 is a little off for a 970, as shown and experienced.

780ti with 4790k std clock

780ti Sli with 4790k std clock

And for reference (again) the 970 with the Xeon E3-1231

And finally (again) the 970 with the i3 4330

Martin