Thoughts on a practical PC upgrade

[slightlyprog]

I am considering the idea of upgrading the CPU of my desktop machine. Unfortunately it means changing the motherboard as well because I currently have an Asus PZ77 socket 1155 and I don't think anything much faster is available. Current CPU is i5 3570 3.4ghz, running win 7 pro

It's all in a nice gaming case, 16GB Ram, Nvidia GT560, 250GB SSD for Windows and 1TB drive for files (just ordered a 2TB Firecuda to replace it)

There are so many variations of i7s and this is something I'm just not 'in the loop' about at the moment, I'm not sure how much faster you need to go for a performance increase that is a good value for money.

Soooooo, do you think there's a reasonably priced i7 and mobo I could get that would give me a significant performance boost?

[aeox]

What is reasonably priced to you?

[jlgrimes]

There are many Gen I7s. I think the number in the thousandths place refers to the gen. I think they are on 7th or 8th gen now. You definitely would want a quad core i7. Some i7s are dual cores. With Reason it helps that it's single core speed is fast as well.

With CPUs usually $200-$300 gets you a respectable CPU (or that was the case when I used to build them like 10 years ago). Going over $500 for a CPU probably won't give you good value but you will be on bleeding edge of technology and might not have to upgrade in a while.

You probably should check out CPU Benchmark to compare what you buy vs what you currently have.

[Kategra]

I had the i5 3570K overclocked to 4.2 Ghz with dual channel 16Gb DDR3.
I upgraded to i7 6800K oveclocked to 4Ghz with quad channel 16 GB DDR4 and preformance in Reason has doubled.

You can check these topics to see how various computers behave in some reason "becnhmark" songs:
viewtopic.php?t=7263897
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7501402

[slightlyprog]

There are many Gen I7s. I think the number in the thousandths place refers to the gen. I think they are on 7th or 8th gen now. You definitely would want a quad core i7. Some i7s are dual cores. With Reason it helps that it's single core speed is fast as well.

With CPUs usually $200-$300 gets you a respectable CPU (or that was the case when I used to build them like 10 years ago). Going over $500 for a CPU probably won't give you good value but you will be on bleeding edge of technology and might not have to upgrade in a while.

You probably should check out CPU Benchmark to compare what you buy vs what you currently have.

Yeah at any given time there is a price point where you get the best 'bang for the buck' and then above that you'll have very small gains but the cost goes up exponentially so that for a significant gain you spend three times as much.

For me the teeter point would be where the performance is enough to not have to modify my workflow, but I am getting into Acustica Aqua and Nebula now so it probably requires a workflow adjustment no matter what.

[slightlyprog]

I had the i5 3570K overclocked to 4.2 Ghz with dual channel 16Gb DDR3.
I upgraded to i7 6800K oveclocked to 4Ghz with quad channel 16 GB DDR4 and preformance in Reason has doubled.

Thanks! That's the kind of info I need and I can then consider the options.