Processor Upgrade

[Anomaly1964]

Hey Gang,

I want to do an upgrade but NOT buy an entirely new PC. Here is the motherboard I have now, what is the fastest processor I can put on this board and what other changes might I need to make to get a few more years out of this current rig?

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/SABERTOOTH_P67/

Current Rig - i-2500K - 212+ - Sabertooth P67 - EVGA GTX 970 SSC - 8GB Ram - HAF 932

 

[ao_ika_red]

Its support page says you'll be good with i7 3770k, but better check (and update) BIOS version first.

 

[daveybrat]

Yup, you just need to have bios version 2302 and you can upgrade to an i7 3770K cpu. That would be a nice upgrade over what you have.

If i were you i'd go to the FS/FT forum here and see if you can get a 3770 or 3770K cpu from someone.

 

[Anomaly1964]

Yup, you just need to have bios version 2302 and you can upgrade to an i7 3770K cpu. That would be a nice upgrade over what you have.

If i were you i'd go to the FS/FT forum here and see if you can get a 3770 or 3770K cpu from someone.

Can I upgrade to the 2303 Bios with my current processor or should I not do it until I get the
Intel Core i7-3770K?

 

[UsandThem]

Can I upgrade to the 2303 Bios with my current processor or should I not do it until I get the
Intel Core i7-3770K?

Do it before. Otherwise it might not boot at all with the 3770k.

 

[Anomaly1964]

Do it before. Otherwise it might not boot at all with the 3770k.

And it won't mess up the current processor?

 

[daveybrat]

And it won't mess up the current processor?

Not at all.

 

[UsandThem]

And it won't mess up the current processor?

Only if it you don't glue it down with gorilla glue before flashing the new BIOS. Otherwise it has the potential to shoot out of the socket.

Not at all.

What daveybrat said is the real answer.

Please don't use gorilla glue on your CPU.

 

[Anomaly1964]

Only if it you don't glue it down with gorilla glue before flashing the new BIOS. Otherwise it has the potential to shoot out of the socket.



What daveybrat said is the real answer.

Please don't use gorilla glue on your CPU.

I updated the bios but now it says no hard drive detected...my windows is on an ssd and worked fine before updating bios. It says “reading failed”. Please advise. Thanks

 

[UsandThem]

I updated the bios but now it says no hard drive detected...my windows is on an ssd and worked fine before updating bios. Please advise. Thanks

You probably need to go into the BIOS and load "optimized defaults", and after saving that and rebooting, you need to go to your boot devices and select which one to boot from. The same thing has happened to me many times over the years.

For my Asrock board, I selected "Windows Boot Manager [960 EVO]" as my first boot device. Yours might just be the hard drive you have Windows installed on.

 

[Anomaly1964]

You probably need to go into the BIOS and load "optimized defaults", and after saving that and rebooting, you need to go to your boot devices and select which one to boot from. The same thing has happened to me many times over the years.

For my Asrock board, I selected "Windows Boot Manager [960 EVO] as my first boot device. Yours might just be the hard drive you have Windows installed on.

When i hit delete to enter bios, it just goes to the EZ flash 2 set up. Wont go to bios...? Help!

 

[UsandThem]

How did you flash your BIOS? Did you do it within Windows or did you download it to a USB/CD, and flash it within the BIOS itself?

 

[Anomaly1964]

How did you flash your BIOS? Did you do it within Windows or did you download it to a USB/CD, and flash it within the BIOS itself?

I did it with the EFI bios. Downloaded 2302, watched video, did just what it did...

 

[UsandThem]

OK, maybe it's hanging because you had such an old BIOS version. What you will need to do at this point, is power down your PC, unplug it from the wall (important), and follow the directions on page 2-12 of your motherboard manual to clear your CMOS, and see if that fixes the issue.

 

[Anomaly1964]

OK, maybe it's hanging because you had such an old BIOS version. What you will need to do at this point, is power down your PC, unplug it from the wall (important), and follow the directions on page 2-12 of your motherboard manual to clear your CMOS, and see if that fixes the issue.

Will try that and report back...thanks

 

[Anomaly1964]

OK, maybe it's hanging because you had such an old BIOS version. What you will need to do at this point, is power down your PC, unplug it from the wall (important), and follow the directions on page 2-12 of your motherboard manual to clear your CMOS, and see if that fixes the issue.

I did as the manual said, reset the jumpers for about 2 minutes with power off, put back in the right position and it booted up! A bunch of writing goes by so fast as it's booting up that were not there before but...it's working!

 

[UsandThem]

I did as the manual said, reset the jumpers for about 2 minutes with power off, put back in the right position and it booted up! A bunch of writing goes by so fast as it's booting up that were not there before but...it's working!

FYI for when you flash the BIOS in the future, if your BIOS version is really old, and they have released a lot of new BIOS updates over the years, it would be better to flash to a BIOS that is not as new.

For example, the original BIOS version was 0901 and released on 12-29-2010. The version you just flashed to was 3602, and released on 11-22-2012. You might not have had to clear your CMOS if you had first updated to version 1502 or 1801, or a similar one. Sometimes when there is such a large gap in the BIOS file, it refuses to accept it until clearing the CMOS.

 

[Anomaly1964]

FYI for when you flash the BIOS in the future, if your BIOS version is really old, and they have released a lot of new BIOS updates over the years, it would be better to flash to a BIOS that is not as new.

For example, the original BIOS version was 0901 and released on 12-29-2010. The version you just flashed to was 3602, and released on 11-22-2012. You might not have had to clear your CMOS if you had first updated to version 1502 or 1801, or a similar one. Sometimes when there is such a large gap in the BIOS file, it refuses to accept it until clearing the CMOS.

Thanks man.

One more question...

Base on my original question, would I be better off just buying something like THIS: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227813

Could I build it for less if I bought the parts myself. I have always been an Intel, Nvidia guy, but I hear good stuff about the new AMD components. Seems like a good processor and 4GB GPU. Would I be albe to play most games on the highest settings (my monitor is 1080P)?

Thanks again!

 

[UsandThem]

That's not really a great buy in my opinion. While it is cheaper to buy a complete nowadays over building it, if that's the route you want to do, you can watch for a good deal on a Dell (Outlet or Consumer). I posted a deal for a Ryzen PC a little while ago for $599 ( however it looks like it might be dead now).

https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...n-1700-16gb-ram-rx-560-costco-599-99.2544804/

If you go the 3770k route, it should keep you happy for several more years, and at that point Intel will have fixed the Spectre/Metldown exploits at the hardware level, and both Ryzen and Intel should get a die shrink, which helps with power/performance.

So if I was in your shoes, I would get the 3770k and ride it out for a bit.

 

[Anomaly1964]

That's not really a great buy in my opinion. While it is cheaper to buy a complete nowadays over building it, if that's the route you want to do, you can watch for a good deal on a Dell (Outlet or Consumer). I posted a deal for a Ryzen PC a little while ago for $599 ( however it looks like it might be dead now).

https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...n-1700-16gb-ram-rx-560-costco-599-99.2544804/

If you go the 3770k route, it should keep you happy for several more years, and at that point Intel will have fixed the Spectre/Metldown exploits at the hardware level, and both Ryzen and Intel should get a die shrink, which helps with power/performance.

So if I was in your shoes, I would get the 3770k and ride it out for a bit.

I trust your advice...

Now...brand new, still in obx 3770k are hard to find and expensive, can you recommend a good place to buy one used other than say ebay...?

 

[UsandThem]

I trust your advice...

Now...brand new, still in obx 3770k are hard to find and expensive, can you recommend a good place to buy one used other than say ebay...?

You can look in the FS here for one. I've seen people here selling them a few times in the $130 range. Heck, I even sold my 3770k on here a few years back. As long as they have good Heatware, you will likely have a better experience than dealing with some of the sellers on Ebay. I wouldn't try to buy one brand new as they would be very expensive since they have been out of production for so long.

 

[Anomaly1964]

You can look in the FS here for one. I've seen people here selling them a few times in the $130 range. Heck, I even sold my 3770k on here a few years back. As long as they have good Heatware, you will likely have a better experience than dealing with some of the sellers on Ebay. I wouldn't try to buy one brand new as they would be very expensive since they have been out of production for so long.

More good info. I will keep asking as long as you dont mind answering. I will have to stick with DDR3 ram to up from 8 to whaterver...right?

Can you recommend a good, air cooled case, as small as possible that my GPU and CPU will fit in?

i-2500K - 212+ - Sabertooth P67 - EVGA GTX 970 SSC - 8GB Ram - HAF 932 - current

 

[UsandThem]

I'd have to research the case since I tend to stock with larger mid-tower cases.

I do have one smaller case (compared to larger mid-towers) that I like and I use for running a Folding system, and that is the Fractal Design C. The Fractal Design Meshify C looks good as well, but I've never worked with it.