Solved Is it time to buy a new CPU (or MB)?

[pintree3]

[FONT=&quot]I presently have an ''Intel Core i5-760'' CPU sitting on an ''ASUS P7P55D-E LX'' motherboard with 12G of RAM and an ''ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series VGA card'' I won't be able to afford a new computer for a year or two but I thought maybe I could afford to upgrade it some. From the little I understand, the specs of the new generation of my CPU show an interesting boost in performance and even reduced power usage so I was wondering if I should upgrade to it--from the Intel Core i5-760 to the i5-3350P[/FONT][FONT=&quot]?
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Of course it wold be nice knowing if this would imply also having to get a new motherboard, if my present one isn't compatible, etc.
Why would I want a boost? Two reasons, really liking Photoshop CS6,to me the faster the better and also since some games prefer something better than what I have.
etc. Thank you[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

 

[badger906]

overclock your current processor.
the latest haswell chips dont perform massively better than ivy bridge or sandy bridge and in some cases they dont perform as well.
mainly as their aimed at the mobile market.. laptops ect.

ivy bridge and sandy bridge both overclock much better than haswell and sandy bridge being the best of the bunch.

the only way youd see a sizable performance increase is if you were to get a multi thread core i7, a stock non hyper thread i7 wont again give vast performance gains, but with an extra 4 logical cores the hyperthread variants will give great gains in photoshop.

for gaming your current i5 is perfect.. you will see no performance gain changing your processor. quad core is fine and an i5 is more than powerful. youre bottle neck when gaming is your gpu.

basically your current setup is fine, more than fine infact.

treat yourself to an ssd and get a speed boost that way!!

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Personally pintree as the specs are not THAT different and it means a new motherboard I would rather build a new machine altogether unless the case is ok I suppose.

Knowing my luck I would flip it all in and then find the PSU requires renewing or the RAM is not up to the job or even compatible.
Really depends on what you use the machine for like the wheel if it is not broken............

Anyway for your info these are the two processors for comparing if you open two tabs and paste each one the two you can flip between to se the differences.
ARK | Intel® Core? i5-760 Processor (8M Cache, 2.80 GHz)

ARK | Intel® Core? i5-3350P Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.30 GHz)

 

[Boozad]

Your GPU is the part to upgrade.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Your GPU is the part to upgrade.

I'll second that the rest is like has been said best redone completely.

 

[3D Jed]

the only way youd see a sizable performance increase is if you were to get a multi thread core i7, a stock non hyper thread i7 wont again give vast performance gains, but with an extra 4 logical cores the hyperthread variants will give great gains in photoshop.

Not sure I've ever seen a stock desktop i7 without HT. Desktop Intels are in general

i3 2C/4T
i5 4C/4T
i7 4C/8T

and a few i7 6C/12T

The gain from the extra 4 virtual cores is not as great as you might imagine. The virtual core is just using bits of the real cores that aren't in use, so you don't get the equivalent of 8 real cores. I did a Cinebench test recently using a i7-930 with HT off and on. The HT gain was around 26% - I was expecting more. CB is considered a good measure of performance for graphic dudes. See pic



during the test all the cores are 100%. The cpu scores are directly proportional to how fast a complex 3D scene was rendered - higher is better

of course '8 cores' look cool in my desktop gadget

 

[Frozwire]

Your GPU is the part to upgrade.

I agree, better upgrade it to a Radeon R9 280 or 280X and the machine will still be more worth for gaming and Photoshop.

 

[Boozad]

What card would depend upon the PSU fitted and the available budget.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

All in all looks like a new build would be better than all this tossing around to be honest. For the cost of patching up what sounds like a reasonable machine one could get near a half decent build.

 

[Boozad]

True John, but if the budget for a new machine is out of reach a new GPU can really make a big difference when it comes to gaming. Even a 750ti at $150 or so would be a massive boost over the OP's current GPU. Stretch to a 760 to last a couple of years and the difference would be massive.

Again, all dependent on the PSU first...

 

[pintree3]

Thanks to all of you. I really appreciate it. From what I gather it is being suggested I get a new video card instead. Also a new Hard drive (an SSD).
When I 1st bought my PC I had bought a small hard drive, the ''WDC WD1500HLFS-01G6U3 (150.04 GB) " Precisely because I wanted speed over size. I also bought a Tagan BZ Series 800W power supply to help support all that it would contain (3 hard drives, a CDr and DVD-r, drives, video card etc.--some left-overs from my previous PC).
Now, with windows updates, Adobe CS6 suite updates and other software updates, this drive is getting full so changing it to an SSD may be a good idea.
As to the Radeon R9 280(x) it seems there is a difference of about $100 from one maker to an other. And it looks like (here in Canada at least) that upgrading both would cost me about $500 after taxes. Anyhow thanks again and continue to look forward to your opinions.[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

 

[mjf]

I agree the SSD is a modest investment for a significant improvement and it can be used on a new PC if and when you get one. I would check that any new GPU will support CS6 acceleration since I don't think you can guarantee they all do.

I stumbled across this for what it's worth
http://robertoblake.com/blog/2014/01/best-video-graphics-card-photoshop/

 

[AddRAM]

3 items you could get and use now, and put into a new rig later.

1) SSD
2) Graphics Card
3) PSU

 

[ICIT2LOL]

True John, but if the budget for a new machine is out of reach a new GPU can really make a big difference when it comes to gaming. Even a 750ti at $150 or so would be a massive boost over the OP's current GPU. Stretch to a 760 to last a couple of years and the difference would be massive.

Again, all dependent on the PSU first...

Yep mate wasn't criticising if it sounded that way I agree the new GPU would be the (in my mind) the only thing that I would be changing on that machine.

 

[pintree3]

2 questions if I may. It has been mentioned getting a new PSU. Are you guys saying that my ''Tagan BZ Series 800W" is not good enough? It was designed for high-end computers and the specs are way up there so this seems strange to me. More info would be nice.
Also: It also seems that getting a new video card is on top of the list here--to the point that just about any new video card would be a great improvement on what I have now. Is my video card that bad? or have video cards improved that much in the last 3-4 years to suggest this? Thanks again
One more question if I may. According to 2 sources, including PC Magazine, if I get an SSD card I should also get a ''SATA 6-gbps controller card'' to go with it. Any comments on this?

 

[Boozad]

True John, but if the budget for a new machine is out of reach a new GPU can really make a big difference when it comes to gaming. Even a 750ti at $150 or so would be a massive boost over the OP's current GPU. Stretch to a 760 to last a couple of years and the difference would be massive.

Again, all dependent on the PSU first...

Yep mate wasn't criticising if it sounded that way I agree the new GPU would be the (in my mind) the only thing that I would be changing on that machine.

No no, I knew you weren't critcising mate and I would agree that a new rig would be the ideal scenario (I ended up buying two new ones last year myself). Given the OP's circumstances though I was just pointing out to him the benefits of new GPU. And of course the new GPU could be carried over to his new rig when he eventually buys one.

 

[Boozad]

2 questions if I may. It has been mentioned getting a new PSU. Are you guys saying that my ''Tagan BZ Series 800W" is not good enough? It was designed for high-end computers and the specs are way up there so this seems strange to me. More info would be nice.

Nobody has recommended a new PSU so far, as far as I can see this is the first time you've mentioned what PSU you have. An 800W would be ample for virtually all systems, including ones with higher end GPUs, although I have no experience with Tagan PSUs whatsoever. My personal recommendation for PSUs is always Corsair.

Also: It also seems that getting a new video card is on top of the list here--to the point that just about any new video card would be a great improvement on what I have now. Is my video card that bad? or have video cards improved that much in the last 3-4 years to suggest this? Thanks again

Graphics cards are improved upon every year, AMD and nVidia release a new series every year which supersede the last ones, or at least are supposed to (a GTX 770 is apparently a rebranded GTX 680, so while it may not be new architecture it is better than a 670). For example, a GTX 580 is no match for a GTX 780 even though there are only a couple of years between the two. Plus a 5770 isn't exactly a high end card, this isn't being detrimental to your card either, it's just stating a fact. An upgrade in this area would make a huge difference to gaming for you.

One more question if I may. According to 2 sources, including PC Magazine, if I get an SSD card I should also get a ''SATA 6-gbps controller card'' to go with it. Any comments on this?

Looking at your motherboard specs it already has a SATA 6G/bs controller. Link.

 

[badger906]

One more question if I may. According to 2 sources, including PC Magazine, if I get an SSD card I should also get a ''SATA 6-gbps controller card'' to go with it. Any comments on this?

Your powersupply is fine, 800w is more than ample for single GPUs.

Graphics cards advance on a monthly basis a high end card from 2 years ago would make a mid tear card now!

As for the "SATA 6gbps control card", your motherboard already has a 6gbps controller in the form of a Marvel smart controller.

Just attach any SATA3 SSD to a 6gbps SATA3 port

 

[Lava King]

pintree3,

I agree with everyone else, that for gaming performance, the single-most effective upgrade will be a graphics card.

My current gaming system is a generation older (Intel Core 2 Quad X9650) than yours. When I upgraded it from a GTX 560 Ti to a GTX 780 the difference was like night and day.

Games such as Borderlands 2, Dead Island Riptide, Assetto Corsa, etc. run at an acceptable frame rate (60 fps or higher) with the settings maxed out at a resolution of 2560 x 1600 on the GTX 780. On the GTX 560 Ti, I was lucky to get 30 fps on some games at a resolution of 1920 x 1200. Of course, the performance will be lower on the games that depend heavily on the CPU.


Kent

 

[ICIT2LOL]

pintree3,

I agree with everyone else, that for gaming performance, the single-most effective upgrade will be a graphics card.

My current gaming system is a generation older (Intel Core 2 Quad X9650) than yours. When I upgraded it from a GTX 560 Ti to a GTX 780 the difference was like night and day.

Games such as Borderlands 2, Dead Island Riptide, Assetto Corsa, etc. run at an acceptable frame rate (60 fps or higher) with the settings maxed out at a resolution of 2560 x 1600 on the GTX 780. On the GTX 560 Ti, I was lucky to get 30 fps on some games at a resolution of 1920 x 1200. Of course, the performance will be lower on the games that depend heavily on the CPU.


Kent

I agre with Lava my tester is powered by a Q9650 and flipping in an Asus GTX 650 over the old original plodder made all the difference in the world.