i3 vs i5 and GTX460 vs Radeon 7870

R

Rauelius

2[H]4U
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I mostly game and use Steam Big Picture mode on my media PC. It currently has an i3 2120 8GB of ram, an EVGA Z68, Stock HSF, 450watt PSU, and a GTX460.

I want to upgrade this machine, but don't know where to start. Pretty set on replacing the i3 with and i5 2500k and the GTX460 with a Radeon 7870. But which upgrade will provide the most benefit?
 
HD7870 by far is the most logical upgrade... In a span of 18 months I went from i5-540 @ 4.5GHz, to i7-870 @ 3.8Hgz, to i5-3570k @4.2GHz, all with GTX460 786mb card and there was practically no difference in most games, except for BF3 which really benefited from having more cores (i5-540 to i7-870 switch), but was still limited to playing BF3 on Medium settings at 1600x1200 resolution. Two weeks ago got an HD7870 and now I'm playing BF3 at Ultra + 2xMSAA and it's butter smooth. Video card first, than CPU is my vote..;)
 
Thank you MZS, I appreciate your assistance. Have seen some deals for both the 2500k and 7870 for about $200. I'm gonna do the 7870 first as you recommended. But for $400+/-, the 2500k/3570k and Radeon 7870 make a pretty potent combo at a price not much more than a console.
 
I would go for the 3570K also since it is 200-300 mhz faster then the 2500K clock for clock.
The only exception would be on that Microcenter $99 deal for the 2500K, that was just sick.
I would also invest in a CM 212+ cpu cooler.
But like others have said, video card first. I dont know what resolution you play at, but 7870/7950 for 1080. I dont know if you can OC that cpu or if by much, but it would help and the CM 212+ can always be put on a new cpu anyways.
 
Which eVGA Z68 mobo do you have?
Which 450W PSU do you have?
 
Seasonic 450watt, and I know the max chip that the board can take is a 2600k, as EVGA is lazy and rarely updates firmware on their motherboards. I've seen amazing deals on IBs but I'm stuck on SBs due to EVGA lethargic support on their motherboards.....I have polar opposite opinion on the Videocard side. I'll avoid, and recommend other to as well, EVGA motherboards going forward. A shame too, I've seen better deals on 3570k's than on 2500k's, but am stuck due to EVGA ineptitude.
 
Sorry, forgot to come back to this: To answer your question as which upgrade will provide the most benefit, the 2500K or HD 7870, it's largely dependent on what games you're playing and your max resolution.

But it appears that you'll be able to afford both upgrades.
 
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