will cpus keep on getting stronger? will i have to replace my i5 2400 in the future?

[An00bis]

I only have about 300$ saved up so I could either buy an i5+MB or a stronger GPU when the new consoles arrive, what should I do? I'm running the i5 at about 3.8ghz using turbo. It's actualy like 3.6ghz when using 4 cores, 3.8 or 3.9 when using 1 core, 3.7ghz when using 2 or 3 cores. I'm running BF3 on 64player maps perfectly fine so atm my cpu is fine, but will i have to upgrade it in the following years?

 

[Necc]

Resolution? GPU You're using? Games you play? eventually you have to upgrade at some point but Iwon't recommand it for the next 3 years. (iwon't atleast) no game that I play requires much CPU power, and non on the horizon. Maybe GTAV but won't be upgrading for 1 game, even my 3 year old Trusty HD 5850 is still enough for me, probably upgrading it next year, we'll have to see what AMD/nvidia offerings.

 

[inf64]

CPUs will be getting faster ,that's for sure,but the main question is: what is your main usage scenario? If you are primarily playing games and not doing anything that is taxing many cores(like rendering,encoding etc.) ,your OCed i5 will be doing great ,even in a few years. There might be a game or two that may use more than 4 threads,in say 2 years time frame, but overall your system will do great. Your GPU may become obsolete in 2 years though,so you will probably have to save up for some beefier graphics card in 2015.

 

[Sheep221]

The CPUs advance very slowly several years already so I think the sandy bridge i5s are going to be relevant for another more 4 years.
The GPU may however get replaced in 2 years.

 

[vampirr]

Your i5 is fine, you will wont need an upgrade for next 2 or 3 years... For 300$ you can get 7870 or even 7950 if I am correct and there is a still sweet deal if you buy one of them...

You probavly have an previous generation i5 or current generation?

 

[An00bis]

CPUs will be getting faster ,that's for sure,but the main question is: what is your main usage scenario? If you are primarily playing games and not doing anything that is taxing many cores(like rendering,encoding etc.) ,your OCed i5 will be doing great ,even in a few years. There might be a game or two that may use more than 4 threads,in say 2 years time frame, but overall your system will do great. Your GPU may become obsolete in 2 years though,so you will probably have to save up for some beefier graphics card in 2015.

well, the ps4 will have a 4 or 8 core cpu I think, so games will start using more than 2 threads (like they usually do). Since almost every game released in the past... idk how many years have been console ports, I think the majority of games in the future will be console ports as well.

Your i5 is fine, you will wont need an upgrade for next 2 or 3 years... For 300$ you can get 7870 or even 7950 if I am correct and there is a still sweet deal if you buy one of them...

You probavly have an previous generation i5 or current generation?

i5 2400 is sandy bridge

and I already have a 7850 (minor fps differences compared to a 7870 at same clock speeds), great GPU, I recommend it to anyone (7870 too), OCs like mad, I can easily get 50% OC (1200-1350mhz vs stock 850) on stock cooler at silent fan speeds (50%) and acceptable temps (around 60-70 depending on game), proably best price-performance ratio gpu you can get now, together with the 7870.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I only have about 300$ saved up so I could either buy an i5+MB or a stronger GPU when the new consoles arrive, what should I do? I'm running the i5 at about 3.8ghz using turbo. It's actualy like 3.6ghz when using 4 cores, 3.8 or 3.9 when using 1 core, 3.7ghz when using 2 or 3 cores. I'm running BF3 on 64player maps perfectly fine so atm my cpu is fine, but will i have to upgrade it in the following years?

The 8 cores in the ps4 are running at about half the clockspeed of your i5 and probably have lower ipc as well. Even accounting for the greater efficiency of consoles, you should be fine for a few years. Very few people have anything more than 4 cores either, so developers are hardly going to eliminate 90 percent of the market by making games that don't run well on quad cores.

 

[Murloc]

in my experiences GPUs get outdated faster.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

in my experiences GPUs get outdated faster.

This

 

[vampirr]

You could sold your 7850 and get a 7950 or even 7970 >

You don't have much space for upgrade since you are on a previous generation Intel processor and upgrading will cost you more on Intel side... For 300$ you could get an AMD FX 8320(180$)+Hyper 212 Evo(25/30$) and you have 90/95 for an nice AM3+ motherboard.

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i5-3570K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-2500K

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=701

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i5-2500K-vs-AMD-FX-8320-Black-Edition

FX 8320 is a more worthy upgrade if you are doing some serious multitasking, also if you are streaming, video editing... Right now you can't see the advantage of Piledriver since older games/programs were not designed to use its advantage but in future that will change, specially since more and more games/programs are multi-threaded...

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i5-2500K-vs-AMD-FX-8350-Black-Edition

If you live in area where power is 8-12 cents you can get FX 8350 that is mostly 10% better than FX 8320. But you can OC FX 8320 to a 8350 level. yea.

You can always check the alternative, in gaming i5 3570k and i7 3770k are close and if you upgrade from i5 2500k to i5 3570k there wont be a much of a difference to see expect 5-10% maximum. I am just suggesting...

If you live in area where price of eletricity per kilowatt is low you can really consider an AMD alternative, but if you live where is 14-17 cents you will probavly stay with Intel.

Also take notice that Intel for each new generation has a new socket while AMD maintains sockets for several generations and even keeps some backward compatibility. Its your choice, you got the money... I think you should wait for Haswell if you want to stay on Intel otherwise if you upgrade now and you want to switch to Haswell it will cost you more while on AMD side it will cost you less to upgrade.

 

[MustangSVT]

yes you will have to upgrade cpu someday.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

You could sold your 7850 and get a 7950 or even 7970 >

You don't have much space for upgrade since you are on a previous generation Intel processor and upgrading will cost you more on Intel side... For 300$ you could get an AMD FX 8320(180$)+Hyper 212 Evo(25/30$) and you have 90/95 for an nice AM3+ motherboard.

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i5-3570K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-2500K

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=701

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i5-2500K-vs-AMD-FX-8320-Black-Edition

FX 8320 is a more worthy upgrade if you are doing some serious multitasking, also if you are streaming, video editing... Right now you can't see the advantage of Piledriver since older games/programs were not designed to use its advantage but in future that will change, specially since more and more games/programs are multi-threaded...

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i5-2500K-vs-AMD-FX-8350-Black-Edition

If you live in area where power is 8-12 cents you can get FX 8350 that is mostly 10% better than FX 8320. But you can OC FX 8320 to a 8320 level. yea.

You can always check the alternative, in gaming i5 3570k and i7 3770k are close and if you upgrade from i5 2500k to i5 3570k there wont be a much of a difference to see expect 5-10% maximum. I am just suggesting...

If you live in area where price of eletricity per kilowatt is low you can really consider an AMD alternative, but if you live where is 14-17 cents you will probavly stay with Intel.

Also take notice that Intel for each new generation has a new socket while AMD maintains sockets for several generations and even keeps some backward compatibility. Its your choice, you got the money... I think you should wait for Haswell if you want to stay on Intel otherwise if you upgrade now and you want to switch to Haswell it will cost you more while on AMD side it will cost you less to upgrade.

AMD fanboy

He wasnt asking for an upgrade, he was asking if CPU will keep getting stronger

AMD chipsets are way behind, I don't even think they have native usb 3 support. They don't a new chipset with each release (well if you call the 990FX an upgrade, then you're mistaken).

 

[vampirr]

Yamamoto... Did you read the whole thing?

I din't trash Intel, I said that current AMD's CPU are right now not ideal since programs/games don't really utilize the arhitecture of it also AM3+ motherboards have native USB 3.0 support... I was only suggesting if he want's to save up some money in future if he want's only to upgrade a CPU since he will need for each new generation of Intel's CPU's buy a new motherboard...

Also don't fix what is not broken

i5 2500k will still last him for couple of years, he will be fine ultil 2016 or even 2017 if its possible even thought I doubt it.

Yamamoto, your response is typical fanboy response since you are intentionally trash it and even say that it has no USB 3.0 support. It has and deal with it...

Go to a corner store and buy haterade, its on sale for 1$. Its its 1 dollar...

 

[ShadowVVL]

^this guy is irritating

 

[Torn Mind]

Your need to upgrade will depend on the apps you use in the future.

 

[VirtualLarry]

also AM3+ motherboards have native USB 3.0 support

No, they don't.

Edit: Speaking from experience here. Owner of an ASRock 990FX + SB950. Supports SLI, but does not natively support USB3.0. Has an EtronTech USB3.0 controller onboard.

The only AMD chipsets with native USB3.0 are the chipsets for their fusion APUs.

 

[mistercrabby]

Moore's Law says CPUs will double in the number of transistors every 18-24 months, suggesting regular increases in actual performance.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Transistor_Count_and_Moore%27s_Law_-_2011.svg

The fun and challenging and somewhat frustrating thing about PC building is judging when to jump from your current rig into the next wave of new procs and mobos. For me its driven by what I want to do with my PC, modest gaming, and as long as i can play the games i want to play reasonably well, I stay put. I know others want the latest and greatest to pump the best possible performance out of their games and are willing to put their money into that experience.

It's kinda like surfing- the longer you want to ride, the pickier you are about the waves, but if you wait too long you don't surf!

 

[aigomorla]

will they get stronger?

Yes.

Will they get noticibly stronger?

No.


But in the digital world, a whole 1 milisec is considered record breaking when messuring in nano seconds..

To us, a milisec isnt even the required time to blink an eye.

 

[happysmiles]

they'll get more efficient if anything

performance at 150w will be at 15w in the near future.

 

[Fjodor2001]

Moore's Law says CPUs will double in the number of transistors every 18-24 months, suggesting regular increases in actual performance.

Yes, but unfortunately no longer doubling of performance every 18 months.

 

[skipsneeky2]

The i5 is more then enough for now,have had a 3930k before and even a gtx670 and personally the i5 2500 non k and the TF3 7850 i decided to keep for a ultra quiet gaming rig runs almost nearly as good while making a fraction of the noise and nearly using half the power....all while staying cooler with less fans in a smaller case.

I do believe games will take advantage of 6 cores in the future but perhaps by the time its a mainstream requirement for gaming,they will be in the 65w tdp without the need for exotic cooling.

 

[MightyMalus]

You already have a good GPU. If you want to stick with Intel, I suggest you wait for Haswell. It will be a few more months till then, so you can save more money for the upgrade.

Otherwise, an AMD APU system. Richland is about to show its face, if it uses GCN on its iGPU you "could probably" Dual Graphics with it.

I don't think its worth upgrading that GPU yet. When GCN2 shows its face, sure. Now? Why bother? Unless you really want that boost.

 

[Torn Mind]

You already have a good GPU. If you want to stick with Intel, I suggest you wait for Haswell. It will be a few more months till then, so you can save more money for the upgrade.

Otherwise, an AMD APU system. Richland is about to show its face, if it uses GCN on its iGPU you "could probably" Dual Graphics with it.

I don't think its worth upgrading that GPU yet. When GCN2 shows its face, sure. Now? Why bother? Unless you really want that boost.

A 78xx GPU, which the opening poster has, will not be making it onto the CPU die anytime soon due to it being too power hungry, although the 77xx series certainly can since its power consumption is lower. However, if CPU-world's spec sheet is correct, then we're getting another 6670 rebrand because there are far too few shader units(384) to make Crossfire possible with a 77xx series GPU.

 

[frozentundra123456]

You already have a good GPU. If you want to stick with Intel, I suggest you wait for Haswell. It will be a few more months till then, so you can save more money for the upgrade.

Otherwise, an AMD APU system. Richland is about to show its face, if it uses GCN on its iGPU you "could probably" Dual Graphics with it.

I don't think its worth upgrading that GPU yet. When GCN2 shows its face, sure. Now? Why bother? Unless you really want that boost.

Why would he for any reason want to "upgrade" to an apu that is slower in both graphics and cpu performance than what he has now? Richland is a minor tweak on Trinity. It will not be a die shrink and will not be GCN.

 

[Torn Mind]

Why would he for any reason want to "upgrade" to an apu that is slower in both graphics and cpu performance than what he has now? Richland is a minor tweak on Trinity. It will not be a die shrink and will not be GCN.

Indeed. An APU is essentially a downgrade to a high end Core 2 Quad CPU-wise and it packs a nerfed 6670, neither of which are compelling options. Chips like the APUs, the i3s, etc for people who cannot spend as much money as they would desire(budget constraint) and/or do not stand to benefit much from the CPUs in the $200 bracket(diminishing returns to scale). Hell, even the FX-4300 is a better option to pair with a discrete card because of its L3 cache, which isn't on the APU.

The A10 Kaveri APU will probably be as fast as 4 FX-8350 cores at stock clocks and the GPU would only be a 77xx series, both of which are cleanly beaten by the i5-2400+7850.