What to do without my i7 3770K?

MegaMasher · 12 Nov 2016 at 12:08

Hello all,

Just this week my rig I've had for a long time failed me and over this week myself and my friends have done extensive research and found that my i7 3770K has got to the end of its life time. Built this rig when it was brand nee and just recently upgraded to gtx 1060 (3GB) been working fine and now cpu is completely dead.

I'm not here to check that my cpu is infact broken I know that as a fact. So what I would like to know is, is it worth my time to buy another LGA 1155 cpu or not? I'm coming up to my 18th birthday and aim to complete a rig to last me all te way through uni. If I'm not gaming I will be using my pc for doing work for school etc. Budget is really an issue just unsure what is best some people saying get anothet LGA 1155, others saying get AMD FX 8350 or the i5 6600k so I'm really unsure what to do so come here for advice. I currently own Corsair 500R, GTX 1060(3GB), GA-Z77X UP4 TH, Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU cooler, 650W Corsair PSU, finally 120GB SSD and 1TB HDD.

Any replay much appreciated.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 12 Nov 2016 at 12:12

I would get a Core i7 3770k or a locked Core i7 3770 or Xeon E3 1230 V3(or one of the other IB based Xeon E3 chips). I would use the money saved for doing stuff at uni. Also,I kind of expect that another IB chip will outlive your graphics card too.

joeyjojo · 12 Nov 2016 at 12:17

The best value option is to replace the CPU since everything else is still working. Either with another 3770K, an i5-3570K, or even something lower down the family as a stop gap.

i5-3570K seem to go for £80-100, i7-3770K are a rip off IMO at around £160-190. I'd get a used i5 and overclock it.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 12 Nov 2016 at 12:19

joeyjojo said:
The best value option is to replace the CPU since everything else is still working. Either with another 3770K, an i5-3570K, or even something lower down the family as a stop gap.

i5-3570K seem to go for £80-100, i7-3770K are a rip off IMO at around £160-190. I'd get a used i5 and overclock it.

The Xeon E3 chips tend to be cheaper. I got my secondhand Xeon E3 1230 V2 a few years ago for around £100.

joeyjojo · 12 Nov 2016 at 12:22

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
The Xeon E3 chips tend to be cheaper. I got my secondhand Xeon E3 1230 V2 a few years ago for around £100.

I'd take an overclocked i5 over a stock speed Xeon, even allowing for clamping it at turbo speeds.

MegaMasher · 12 Nov 2016 at 12:48

Ok so followedd both of your advice and found the i5 3570k and the Xeon 1230 v2. I doubt I will overclock cause doesn't it shorten life time? Or just a myth.
Here is the i5 on bid with ram but no return http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-Core-...%3A5891ebff1580a5eb361bf50afffcb630%7Ciid%3A1

Or the xeon here which seems to be quite a lot of money? http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-Xeon-...%3A588640fa1580a606414f366dfffbbd68%7Ciid%3A1

Also i only really play league of legends game wise

joeyjojo · 12 Nov 2016 at 13:19

MegaMasher said:
I doubt I will overclock cause doesn't it shorten life time? Or just a myth.

It does, but usually not enough for you to notice.

If you aren't overclocking then there's no point in having a K CPU, Z motherboard, and massive cooler. You could have had a locked CPU, B/H motherboard, and stock (or cheap) cooler.

MegaMasher · 12 Nov 2016 at 13:25

Yeah I see what you mean now but if i do Overclock would a good cpu still last that long enough, like 3 years? Due to my age I've never seen how quickly a socket dies and is that i5 a gpod buy then?

joeyjojo · 12 Nov 2016 at 13:43

MegaMasher said:
Yeah I see what you mean now but if i do Overclock would a good cpu still last that long enough, like 3 years? Due to my age I've never seen how quickly a socket dies and is that i5 a gpod buy then?

It's luck of the draw, but 3 years isn't a long time. I've got an 8 year old S775 Xeon that's been modestly overclocked for years and it's still going fine.

I wouldn't recommend an extreme overclock, just 20-30% and leave the voltage as low as possible.

If like CAT says you can get a deal on a Xeon then that's also still a good option.

MegaMasher · 12 Nov 2016 at 13:49

Yeah makes sense about time seems to be more about taking care of the kit you have. Is eBay like the only place to get old cpus/sockets types I haven't found any other sites

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 12 Nov 2016 at 14:13

joeyjojo said:
I'd take an overclocked i5 over a stock speed Xeon, even allowing for clamping it at turbo speeds.

My Xeon E3 1230 V2 due to HT is doing better than even a Core i5 6600K apparently in games like BF1 so sometimes even a higher clockspeed won't always help. Not bad for a CPU which cost me £100 a few years ago. Plus with all cores Turbo I run the CPU at max boost clockspeed anyway,so at most you might be getting 15% to 20% higher OC clockspeed(unless you get a crap chip).

Another consideration is that any K series IB chip would have been overclocked for a few years,a Xeon E3 by contrast would have been run at stock.

MegaMasher · 12 Nov 2016 at 15:07

Damn I didn't realise how good a Xeon can be, thought they were just for servers and workstations etc. Seems like a more consistent option

MegaMasher · 12 Nov 2016 at 16:10

Is this a good buy? Guessing thr 1270 v2 is better than 1230 v2 or atleast when looking at benchmarks. http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/INTEL-XEON-...%3A594bb8101580a356d430d6e0fffd0d41%7Ciid%3A1

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 12 Nov 2016 at 16:28

MegaMasher said:
Is this a good buy? Guessing thr 1270 v2 is better than 1230 v2 or atleast when looking at benchmarks. http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/INTEL-XEON-...%3A594bb8101580a356d430d6e0fffd0d41%7Ciid%3A1

Yep,I was one of the first people on UK forums to suggest them when they first came out and only one or two retailers did them.

They were significantly cheaper than a non-K Core i7. For instance two of my mates got them for £180 to £190 when a non-K Core i7 was like £40 to £50 more expensive.

Sadly,with Skylake Intel closed the loophole so you need a server chipset to use it even though the socket is the same.

MegaMasher · 12 Nov 2016 at 16:53

Ok looks like will get that soon then. Thank you all for your help.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 12 Nov 2016 at 17:24

MegaMasher said:
Ok looks like will get that soon then. Thank you all for your help.

CEX sells secondhand Core i7 3770 chips for less though. Might be worth checking on the auction site for a Core i7 3770 too.

Jumper118 · 12 Nov 2016 at 23:55

I would get a 2600k or 2700k rather than a ivy chip, they are slower and they mostly stuck and are more expensive and run hotter.

pastymuncher · 13 Nov 2016 at 13:13

MegaMasher said:
Built this rig when it was brand nee and just recently upgraded to gtx 1060 (3GB) been working fine and new cpu is completely dead.

I am confused about your op. You say you built the pc when new, which I presume means when launched, then go on to say the the new cpu is dead. Is the 3770k a recent new addition? Just how old is it? If it is within 3 years (retail) or a year old (OEM) then you could RMA it to Intel.

Evian · 13 Nov 2016 at 13:43

Jumper118 said:
I would get a 2600k or 2700k rather than a ivy chip, they are slower and they mostly stuck and are more expensive and run hotter.

How are they slower?

MegaMasher · 13 Nov 2016 at 14:49

pastymuncher said:
Is the 3770k a recent new addition? Just how old is it? If it is within 3 years (retail) or a year old (OEM) then you could RMA it to Intel.

Woops that was a typo its not new, corrected now I wrote the post on my mobile and in a rush sorry. I've had the CPU for over three years, ordered it through someone else from this site then been running it fine without any faults.

To be fair I'm getting so fed up with A) hunting for parts for LGA 1155 and B) trying to find troubleshooting online for the issue. I'm very temped to just buy a new motherboard and cpu, as I've said its coming up to my birthday and I want something to last me through uni so I may just semi rebuild plus building is enjoyable

Not throwing in the towel but found a pentium for board that £10 so gunna do final check with that when it arrives