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Upgrade my CPU?

brendonp

brendonp

brendonp

Associate
Joined
19 Nov 2014
Posts
73
Wanting to upgrade my CPU as it seems to be slowing down and not bringing able to overclock it. Any recommendations? I've also been told to upgrade my psu.?


Power Supply Kolink 500W 80+ Bronze Rated PSU
CPU Intel Core i3 8100 3.6GHz Quad Core Processor
Motherboard B360 Motherboard

With 16 GB of ram and Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 is it worth upgrading or building a whole new rig?
 
Whats the budget and what do you use it for?. What monitor do you own?

You have a decent amount of ram and a half decent graphics card so thats good start. processor is not terrible either so not a bad system, but it all depends on what you expect. does it feel slow to you? Any particular p[programs that are running slowly on it?
 
You can't overclock it because it's a locked cpu on a non-overclocking motherboard. To be able to overclock you need a K series cpu (i3 8350k, i5 8600k, i7 8700k, i7 8086k) and a Z370/Z390 motherboard. Your psu is garbage. That so called 500w psu only has 360w on the 12v rail where it's needed and Kolink recommends that it should not exceed 400w total power for 24/7 running (it's all on the sticker). Some 500w psu that is!!
 
brendonp said:
My monitor is Acer Predator XF270HBMJDPRZ 27" 1920x1080 TN FREESYNC 144Hz 1ms Gaming Widescreen LED... Mainly game on it just find my CPU struggles at times. Keep getting 100 %cpu in task manager. Would upgrading psu help? Something like https://www.overclockers.co.uk/bitfenix-formula-series-550w-80-plus-gold-power-supply-ca-22y-bx.html ?
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A new PSU wont help with performance matters really, it just means the power will be there when the system calls for it, but a bad PSU leads to shutdowns, bluescreens and at worst hardware failures (Apparently these Kolinks have a failsafe to avoid that though)

Maybe look at selling or trading machine parts, expecting 144hz can be quite demanding on games, especially at higher settings. As the poster above says you cannot overclock, but it isn't a terrible CPU, but with a better graphics card, you will be CPU limited at some point probably. I think 1080p has a tendancy to put more load on the processor in some games anyway, its more the move to 1440p that starts to use the GPU a bit more.
 
What the above says, if your CPU is hitting 100% then realistically you need a faster CPU, and your motherboard won't allow you to overclock either. As stated also, that PSU is a bit of a liability for a higher spec build.

Your options are really wait and see if you can get a good deal on a faster 8 series CPU, i5 or i7 (higher boost clocks and more cores), or if you can, wait and see what Ryzen 2 brings when it comes out, as it may shake the market prices up and is due this half of the year.

It may not be any faster in games clock for clock than what you have perhaps, but if gaming performance is equivalent clock for clock and the £150 Ryzen 2 has more cores and threads than your CPU, and is clocked equivalently or even higher (the i3-8100 is a 3.6GHz max CPU so quite possible based on R5 2600 clocks which is AMDs CURRENT £150 CPU, and also has 6 cores/12 threads - Ryzen 2 should boost performance at the same clocks, and potentially have more cores and higher clocks), then a platform switch would be worthwhile me thinks; plus potentially based on recent testing showed at CES, might do it at lower power draw compared to an equivalent Intel which might allow you to get slightly longer legs out of your not-so-ideal PSU.

Potentially you'd be kicking yourself if you spend say £300-350 now (on a new CPU, potentially mobo and PSU), and then £300-350 will get you a considerably better spec in a few months. Depends on how desperate you are.

I would suggest double checking your CPU usage in game, and make sure nothing else is leeching CPU, and it is indeed the game, just incase you have a 'software bottleneck' in the loop.

Edit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_JAOVhiwFk

See this for reference, this is AMDs CURRENT £150 CPU, the next gen should have more cores, higher clocks, have boosted performance at the same clock, and run lower power on top, if current signs are to be believed.

In other words, come Ryzen 2, you'll likely get a lot more for your money going for a Ryzen 2 (3000 series) platform than a mid tier Intel one; as Intel's I5s get pricey, quick.
 
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Thank for the helpful replies. I think I will wait it out as you recommended. Will my mobo take any future cpus or only a selection? I will probably upgrade my psu for now.
 
No problem, take a look at the video I just linked, that's AMDs current £150 chip vs your one. Next gen WILL be faster likely performance per clock, number of processors included AND higher clocks, we just don't know to exactly what degree...

AMDs current chip is ballparking your chip already...

If they're that good, you'll either be able to get a good platform at a decent price for AMD, OR find upgrades for your system cheaper as people move their kit on second hand. Either way, win win if the new chips are decent.
 
It'll offer you similar performance to your current i3, BUT it will have more overhead...6 cores vs 4, in other words, you can run more stuff at the same time without seeing a hit and games that do well in multicore especially will have higher minimum framerates - aka smoother.

When you're checking that video, read the stats, check both the AVERAGE framerate, but also check the MINIMUM framerate. You'll often notice the AMD has higher minimum (although not always, some games favour Intel), because unlike the Intel chip, it's not hitting close to 100% usage most of the time, there is more room for background processes etc.


Theoretically AMDs next gen chips will run in current gen motherboards with a firmware update, so honestly as they're only a few months off, if you really want to move now, you can, there will probably be an upgrade path WITHOUT changing motherboard again. Something AMD does which Intel hasn't with motherboards for a long time. BUT if you just want to spend once, wait a few months as that way you'll have guaranteed compatibility and the next gen is sounding like it will be worth the wait :)


Edit - just saw your note about Motherboard
Intel - generally locks a CPU generation to a motherboard generation
AMD - has generally allowed several CPU generations to run on one motherboard with firmware updates, even if they get BEST performance with the latest, but at least its an option.
 
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If you go AMD, you will need to replace motherboard to switch to the AM4 platform, the trick is, that if you swap to a current, decent AM4 AMD motherboard, it will not only support the current 2000 series AMD Chips, it'll also support the older 1000 series and should support the new 3000 series chips with a BIOS/firmware update without the need to change board again. So you could swap to the AM4 platform now, with a decent motherboard, and a R5 2600, and then update the motherboard and stick an r5 3600 into it in 6 months and get the benefits that come with that (although a motherboard that comes out with series 3 may have slightly better performance as they may make say power delivery improvements etc). Which ultimately should work out far more cost effective than Intel's way of doing it, as they typically price both CPU and motherboards higher.

Intel on the other hand, each new CPU generation generally requires a new motherboard, so if a 10 series Intel chip comes out and you had a 9 series CPU and motherboard, you'd need a new motherboard to upgrade, no simple CPU swap. If you can find out exactly which motherboard you have right now, we can show you what Intel chips are supported in it. Your current B360 won't even support Intel's 9 series chips officially. AMD has far more flexibility here, which is one of the several reasons they're gaining ground against Intel right now.

Right now, at the top end, Intel's gaming performance is a bit better than AMDs, but AMDs win in productivity or heavily threaded titles (see Digital Foundry's recent video on this)

Next gen AMD should boost the gaming performance, whilst moving the performance in other departments even farther ahead.

That is why most of us are suggesting wait, or potentially AMD, because right now, it's looking like a waste to throw a lot of cash at an older Intel platform.

Here is a more recent video again showing your CPU, vs R5 2600/2600X with an Intel i5 also thrown in, you should see that for the price of the platform, the AMDs are doing well. 3000 series Ryzen should do even better. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRPBzIqKIE0
 
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Your current motherboard will take any of Intel's 8000 series cpu's up to and including the i7 8086k but I wouldn't recommend one of those in a board that can't overclock. The best cpu I would recommend for you with your current board is the i7 8700 (non-k) which would be a decent upgrade from a i3 8100. The sticiking point is that the price is just ridiculous but it's the most sensible upgrade without changing your motherboard. Yes there are new cpu's coming out but they won't suddenly make the current cpu's obsolete and I would say that a i7 8700 will be good for at least another 2-3 years, just see how long the Sandybridge cpu's have lasted!!

On the other hand, the price of Intel cpu's is just crazy now. They just cannot compete with AMD on price and I expect AMD to have made up any performance deficit to Intel in their new cpu's when they launch later in the year.
 
This is why I just wouldn't invest in the Intel platform unless he got a bargain second hand, he could put a new i5/i7 in, but realistically, he'd get an entire AMD platform with the ability to upgrade to the new chips for virtually the same price, with money left over to put towards a Ryzen 3000 series chip when they come out!

i7-8700 = £300-330

AMD R5 2600 + Motherboard = £230-250 (now if you figure you can get £50-70 back for the 2600 selling it on later, you'd essentially pay no more than just the 8700 buying a 2600 now, selling it later and buying a 3600 when they arrive).


If he has to upgrade now, AMD is a better way forward due to a relatively decent upgrade path, if he can wait he's better to wait for the new run of chips which should boost performance, and may knock the second hand and older chip prices down significantly.
 
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pastymuncher said:
Your current motherboard will take any of Intel's 8000 series cpu's up to and including the i7 8086k but I wouldn't recommend one of those in a board that can't overclock. The best cpu I would recommend for you with your current board is the i7 8700 (non-k) which would be a decent upgrade from a i3 8100. The sticiking point is that the price is just ridiculous but it's the most sensible upgrade without changing your motherboard. Yes there are new cpu's coming out but they won't suddenly make the current cpu's obsolete and I would say that a i7 8700 will be good for at least another 2-3 years, just see how long the Sandybridge cpu's have lasted!!

On the other hand, the price of Intel cpu's is just crazy now. They just cannot compete with AMD on price and I expect AMD to have made up any performance deficit to Intel in their new cpu's when they launch later in the year.
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I might purchase this looking into as my processor I think is slowly dieing. would I need to purchase a fan with it? I haven't replaced or upgraded in a long time! I am a bit rusty! I've currently got a Alpenfohn Brocken ECO CPU Cooler - 120 mm I guess I just need thermal paste?
 
brendonp said:
I might purchase this looking into as my processor I think is slowly dieing. would I need to purchase a fan with it? I haven't replaced or upgraded in a long time! I am a bit rusty! I've currently got a Alpenfohn Brocken ECO CPU Cooler - 120 mm I guess I just need thermal paste?
Click to expand...


The cooler is good so you would just need thermal paste. The problem I have with that route is that for the price of the i7 8700 alone (£329.99 on here) you could get a very good AMD B450 motherboard and a Ryzen 5 2600, use your current 16Gb of memory and have a nice chunk of cash left over to put towards a decent psu. I have a problem with that route as well and that is the fact that AMD are launching new cpu's and motherboards in a few months. If they are as good as the hype suggests it would be well worth trying to keep what you have going until then.

I don't think that your i3 8100 is dying, more like it's being swamped by the work it's being asked to do. What are you doing when your cpu hits 100%? Have you checked your pc for malware?
 
Hmm I mainly game. I've been finding lately on games my CPU keeps going to 100% especially rainbow 6 I've scanned for malware and recently reinstalled Windows. I will take your advice and wait though. It does seem pointless spending that much with better options on the way.
 
last night i was checking videos on youtube of people running the same cpu and graphics card as you and playing rainbow 6 with the i3 8100, it does reach 98% all cores so it looks like an upgrade will be the only option. and like Pastymuncher said its not Dying. the i3 8100 just cant give any more performance.
 
brendonp said:
Hmm I mainly game. I've been finding lately on games my CPU keeps going to 100% especially rainbow 6 I've scanned for malware and recently reinstalled Windows. I will take your advice and wait though. It does seem pointless spending that much with better options on the way.
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This may interest you then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9zsDAuIpt0
Ryzen 2600 with a 1060 playing Rainbow Six. Settings are show, FPS is in bottom left.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GZbxOW9Duo

Ryzen 3*** will be out later this year and should be better.
 
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