Help with CPU upgrade

Hardware CPU
1

Here’s my configuration

CPU: Core i5 6500
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-H170N WiFi

GPU: Asus GTX 1070

MONITOR: 1080p 144Hz

I noticed that with some game, 6500 bottlenecks the 1070. I am now contemplating for a CPU upgrade.

My options are:

Get a i7 7700 and be done with it
Switch to Ryzen 1600x
Wait for Q1 2018 for Coffee lake

Thanks for your opinion

2

I have always been an avid supporter of GPU over CPU until my last upgrade. I had a GTX690 which never performed as well as I expected, it was always a pain in triple head output due to it’s SLI nature, or so I believed. I was running an AMD FX8350 and when I upgraded to Ryzen the card started performing better then it ever had, clearly all these years it was being held back by the platform.

Since I have upgraded to the 1080Ti, and I can’t complain, it’s performance is simply outstanding, and from what I hear, the 1070 isn’t far off either. So based on the above experience I highly recommend you go for a CPU upgrade, and with the openness of AMD of their platform I would suggest you go for the Ryzen.

2 Likes
3

I would try the bios update to the F20 first, that way if things go south you can go with option B.
So much depends on what is available in your area, if your a mile from a microcenter go ryzen, guy on craigslist a mile away selling a 7700K cheap go option A.
So much depends on how long the MB has before starting to fail, which makes these kind of choices so hard.
https://www.gigabyte.com/Ajax/SupportFunction/GetCpuList/?Value=5552&Type=Product

One thing to think about is your future GPU plans, a second 1070 or a jump to an 1180 or 1270 later on

4

Isn’t his board an ITX?

Oh wow… I am really curious to find out what games are we talking about.
Here’s the deal. As much as I love AMD AMD is love, AMD is lofe if we are talking about gaming, your 6500 is about the best you can do. There isn’t going to be huge difference in most games. Some games may benefit from an extra thread or two, but your cpu should be just fine.
The cheapest upgrade is to get a 6700 K or non K, whatever you can get used for cheap… Higher clock and extra threads and you are set.

2 Likes
5

Yep, however he is trying to decide between a new cpu vs a complete cpu+mb.
I can’t imagine a game stuttering on a 4 core skylake unless it is has really really bad code

6

I’d pick a 1600X. Choose a good mb that goes along with it and you’ll have a good PC that will last for a while.

7

Keep your mobo, go with the 7700, just remember to update bios first.

2 Likes
8

Get a 7700.

Best option for high refresh rates and won’t require a new motherboard.

Just update your BIOS first.

1 Like
9

Not really. I’ve been messing around with an OCed Kaby lake i5 and in CPU heavy games something like a 1080 will be bottlenecked by it.

Witcher 3, BF1, and others all have really bad stuttering with the CPU pegged at 100%. At 1080p it’s a guarantee you’ll see a bottleneck.

Those 4 extra threads of an i7 really help

1 Like
10

Ok, so my advice earlier may not have been the best one, considering you can keep your mb when switching to a 7700k. If you can’t, I’d still go with a 1600X, otherwise a 7700k is cheaper.

Also, if Coffee Lake is needs a different mb, it might be worth waiting for AMD’s new ones too.