We haven’t heard of such an upgrade for a long time.
From time to time computers need to be upgraded, to be reasonably fit for current programs and browsers. Let’s not even talk about games here, because regularly upgrading is practically an inherent part of the whole thing.
in one Reddit-Thread we have now come across an extremely unusual, potential upgrade: user HD7000 would like to exchange his eleven-year-old processor for a ten-year-old one for cost reasons. Yes, you read that right! An offer from a local dealer gave him the idea. But does that even make sense?
AMD Ryzen 7000
A small upgrade excites me more than anything else
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Which processors are they?
As HD7000 writes, he is the proud owner of an Intel Core i7 2600 on an Asus H61M-K (motherboard). The legendary Sandy Bridge CPU with four cores including eight threads and a maximum clock rate of 3.8 GHz saw the light of day in the first quarter of 2011, more than eleven years ago. It is to be replaced by an Intel Core i7 3770K, which can also be operated on the H61M-K. The Ivy Bridge CPU was released in the second quarter of 2012, also with four cores and eight threads plus a clock rate of up to 3.9 GHz. The dealer calls for 50 US dollars.
| model | introduction | Kerne/Threads | clock rate | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i7 3770 | Q2 2012 | 4/8 | 3,5/3,9 GHz | 77 Watt |
| Core i7 2600 | Q1 2011 | 4/8 | 3,4/3,8 GHz | 95 Watt |
The key data alone reveals that this is not a quantum leap from upgrade, but at best a moderate increase in performance. According to the database UserBenchmark In practice, the i7 3770K is around seven percent faster than the i7 2600. In our CPU comparison with over 40 processors, both chips are therefore in performance class 9.
Current Intel and AMD processors
Is the offer worth it or not worth it?
According to the HD7000, the computer is not used for gaming anyway. Rather, it is intended for office applications and occasional image and video editing. The upgrade can actually make sense here, albeit only gradually.
However, it is questionable whether it would not be better to get a particularly cheap bundle of processor, mainboard and RAM for the money. So we took a look around and saw what is available on the market for around 50 dollars.
We couldn’t find any new devices at the price right away, which is why we paid a direct visit to Ebay. And what shall we say? For 50 dollars, there are at best bundles with specs that are roughly comparable to the system from user HD7000. But it only gets really interesting from a price of 150 dollars and up. Here we even found what we were looking for at a dealer. A bundle consisting of an A320 mainboard plus AMD Ryzen 3 3200G and 2 x 4.0 GB DDR4-2666 costs around 220 dollars there.
Purchase advice processors
CPU comparison with AMD and Intel
Our astonishing verdict is therefore: Yes, upgrading from an i7 2600 to an i7 3770K can actually make sense, but if money is tight enough that $50 is the pain threshold, it would probably be better to save up for a halfway decent bundle. Especially since the additional performance of the 3770K is manageable and in practice it will hardly be noticeable, at best measurable.
What do you think of the quite questionable upgrade? Does that make sense to you, or is it absolute nonsense? Write it to us in the comments!
