E8400 P43 775 to i5-3350P Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt a worthy upgrade?

ScoobMaster

Platinum Member
Jan 17, 2001
2,528
10
81
So I am feeling the itch to upgrade my aging E8400 machine that has served me well (playing Borderlands 2 on it and it is holding up, but showing its age)

Current Specs - MSI P43 LGA 775 with an E8400 3Ghz(stock), 4GB DDR2 800, EVGA 8800GS, 430W ANtec Earthwatts PS

Newegg has a combo up including the Core i5-3350P Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz and MSI Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard for about $185 after rebates (during the shell shocker deal).

Is this a worthy upgrade? Decent deal for the $$? I know I'll need new RAM and the 8800GS will definitely need and upgrade (recommendations?) Will the Antic 430 be adequate, or is a new PS required as well ? (dependent on what GPU I get, I realize).

Bottom line - I know I'll need additional new hardware, but for the price is the processor/mobo combo a decent platform to base an upgrade on, or should I wait? (maybe just swap out the 8800GS for a better GPU for now?)
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
Although it contains last gen hardware, it is definitely excellent value for money. It would be better to get 4670k and a z87 board but if overclocking doesn't interest you and money is tight, go for that combo. It will retain its resale value very nicely too

I would add that it doesn't make sense to upgrade just the graphics card, and also, to get the most out of the CPU upgrade, you'll want to upgrade the gpu sooner rather than later

The antec 430w unit can handle any single 6-pin connector card
 
Last edited:

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
11,897
2,716
136
The 3350P does not have an IGP, just so you know. But if the rebates go though, you'll only be spending $5 on the board itself, which is great.
 

ScoobMaster

Platinum Member
Jan 17, 2001
2,528
10
81
Thanks for the reply.

According to the specs I looked up my current E8400 uses 65W and the i5-3350P uses 69w, so the new CPU power increase is really nothing - the big factor will be the power requirements of a new GPU.

Any decent "yesterdays tech" GPU cards on sale? What is the best price/performance ratio card I should look for (I don't need to be cutting edge). I like to balance a bit of longevity with the best bang for the buck.
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
If you're not prepared to pay for a new power supply, I would recommend a 7850. It has excellent performance for the price and requires only one 6-pin connector. MSI 7850 Twin Frozr 2GB $140 ($110 AR). It's not fast enough to have that much longevity though. If you wanted to play all games on high-max settings and stable 60fps, you'd get a 280X for $300, and the 7850 is half the speed of a 280X. You can of course narrow the gap a bit with overclocking... in fact, not overclocking a 7850 is against the law :p.

EDIT
The R9 270 also requires only 6-pin and performs similarly to a 7870.
/EDIT

A 7870 with dual 6-pin connectors could also work in your unit just fine. You would need to use an adapter but the power it uses is not much higher than what the 7850 uses.

If you can upgrade your PSU (some recommended units below), any of 270X, GTX 760, 280X and GTX 770 are decent picks for what they normally cost.

Corsair CX600 $38 AR AP
Rosewill Hive 550W $53 AP
TX650 $60 AR
 
Last edited:

Seba

Golden Member
Sep 17, 2000
1,507
157
106
Your graphics card (8800GS) is in much more need for an upgrade than your CPU (E8400). I will upgrade the graphics card first if I can not upgrade them both at the same time.
 

escrow4

Diamond Member
Feb 4, 2013
3,339
122
106
Your graphics card (8800GS) is in much more need for an upgrade than your CPU (E8400). I will upgrade the graphics card first if I can not upgrade them both at the same time.

Eh? The E8400 is the rough equivalent of a G1610, the bottom end $44 Celeron. Dual cores are dead for gaming, moreso if its an ancient Core 2. This:

http://www.techspot.com/review/577-borderlands-2-performance/page6.html

Shows Borderlands 2 thrives on a quad and any dual will be holding it back heavily. That system is too old period for any modern 2012+ era gaming.
 

Seba

Golden Member
Sep 17, 2000
1,507
157
106
Now look for comparisons between his 8800GS and a GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB for instance (the lowest graphics card that I would recommend to anyone to buy today). There is even a bigger gap here.

8800GS is comparable to today's integrated graphics.
 

ScoobMaster

Platinum Member
Jan 17, 2001
2,528
10
81
Yeah - I know I need to do both.

I am just trying to decide to pull the trigger on this CPU / MOBO combo to use as the foundation to use for my system upgrade.
 

Seba

Golden Member
Sep 17, 2000
1,507
157
106
What is the main purpose of this upgrade? Gaming or something else? Because if you upgrade the CPU+MB+RAM and keep your 8800GS, then you will see little to no improvements in games (depending on the games you play).

And how long it will take to also upgrade the graphics card?
 

ScoobMaster

Platinum Member
Jan 17, 2001
2,528
10
81
Gaming is my main reason for upgrading. A new graphics card is a given. I am just willing to wait a week or two to see if BF / holiday sales offer a bargain.
 

Blue_Max

Diamond Member
Jul 7, 2011
4,223
153
106
Your graphics card (8800GS) is in much more need for an upgrade than your CPU (E8400). I will upgrade the graphics card first if I can not upgrade them both at the same time.

I totally appreciate the value approach. I'd replace your video card right now in your current rig - it'll handle the previous generation games pretty well. The CPU/mobo/RAM combo is more expensive for less obvious performance returns -- until you get to 2012/2013 high-end games at least.

Heck, you may come across a Q9400-Q9650 on the cheap for your existing rig!

A Geforce 660 (non-ti) or Radeon 7850 will even still work with your existing PSU fine.
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
Normally, I would recommend to upgrade the GPU first because it is a much bigger factor in games than the CPU. While the CPU is important in plenty of games, the GPU is important in pretty much every games.

However, the CPU/mobo combo deal that you found is very nice. You're basically getting the mobo for free. Go ahead and jump on that and plan to buy a GPU very soon (like, immediately).