Planning to upgrade my CPU, which should I get?

[Killamaker]

I plan on upgraded my CPU from my 2500(non-K) to a new and faster CPU. I was thinking about the 3570K but I was wondering if I have to change my motherboard to the new Z77 chipset as I have the Z68. I know they are the same socket, but are there any worthwhile advantages to getting a Z77 motherboard? Also is there any other CPU's that may be a worthwhile upgrade from my 2500 that is >250
Thanks,
Caleb

 

[Kenmitch]

Your motherboard is compatable with the 3570k with a bios update.


Keeping your current motherboard means no pci-e 3, enhanced ssd caching, native usb 3.0 for the most part.


Do you plan on overclocking the new chip? If gonna run stock speeds then might not be worth the $'s to upgrade.

You can bump up the speed of your current chip if you just need a little xtra power now. Even the non K chips have a little bit of overclocking in them.

 

[pantsaregood]

Don't bother getting a new motherboard. A 3770K would be a decent upgrade, though I'd honestly wait for an Ivy Bridge refresh. Maybe even wait for Haswell.

 

[Killamaker]

I plan to be using folding@home which is why i wanted the OC'ing potential. And i am glad I dont have to use a new motherboard. I've tried OC'ing my 2500 but so far it doesn't seem to be working at all. i just wanted to know if it would be a worth the money upgrade if I plan to OC.
Thanks.

 

[2is]

No, IMO it's not worth spending $200-$300+ for a upgrade to run a DC project that does nothing for you.

 

[Kenmitch]

I plan to be using folding@home which is why i wanted the OC'ing potential. And i am glad I dont have to use a new motherboard. I've tried OC'ing my 2500 but so far it doesn't seem to be working at all. i just wanted to know if it would be a worth the money upgrade if I plan to OC.
Thanks.

I've never overclocked a non K chip. But it looks like your max 4 core turbo speed would be 3.8ghz which would be better than the current 3.4ghz

Might be worth a try again and see if you can get it working.

 

[Killamaker]

You're probably right. Im not super familiar with the new way of OC'ing with these SB' chips. Do I increase the clock or just the ratio? I assume the clock as I heard the ratio is blocked.

 

[Kenmitch]

You're probably right. Im not super familiar with the new way of OC'ing with these SB' chips. Do I increase the clock or just the ratio? I assume the clock as I heard the ratio is blocked.

I'm not sure on the non K chips. Looking at the following photo I think what I'd try first to see is just changing the turbo values. Just up each one of them by 4 then save and reboot and see what happens. For clarification it's the core ratio limits.

Once in windows use something to load the cores such as prime, linx, intel burn test etc. and use cpu-z to see the vcore and speed it's running at.

 

[Killamaker]

Oh that's where I was going wrong. I kept trying to up the clock and then the ratio but it would end up in a boot cycle and I would have to hold the pwoer button for it to boot properly. Next I'll have to try that. I'll disable the C1E and EIST so it doesn't clock down.

 

[Kenmitch]

I don't think you'd need to disable C1E and EIST at all. The chip will throttle up very quickly when needed. Give it a try and see what happens. Might as well get some free speed out of your chip

 

[Killamaker]

Welp, I got it 3.798 GHZ(thats what it says on CPUz) and it stays at 52C max while running Prime95, It's running on a WC loop. I disabled C1E and realized I can't boost the turbo frequency if I dont have EIST enabled. So I left EIST on. Also, is there anyway to tell how high the clock is on each core? I just want to make sure I am using all 4 cores at 3.8 GHZ.

 

[Kenmitch]

if your running prime with 4 threads cpu-z would be correct reading. There are some free apps that will show all cores speeds. Open hardware moniter I think is one.

 

[Killamaker]

Yep, that application worked. All of my cores at running at 3.8ghz. Although it reads my temps a bit hotter. Max temps are now 54-55C. Ohwell, I have to reseat the water block and use new TIM soon anyway.