Back in Spring 2011, I bought a shiny i5-2500K (Sandy Bridge) for my gaming PC… and never looked back. I’ve never had to touch this sturdy, unrelenting CPU. I never even bothered figuring out how to overclock it (which maybe contributed to its longevity); it just always worked great, and kept on going and going and going.
However, when I realized my DDR3 RAM was no longer one but two generations out of date… I had to admit it was time to upgrade.
Obviously, Intel has earned my loyalty with the i5-2500k, and I’m not seriously looking at other CPU brands. I have my eye on a sexy little i5-13600KF with a nice new LGA1700 motherboard, and I fully expect that combo to last me another decade.
However, I’ve been out of this game for a long, long time. I seek your advice. Would I be a fool to buy now? When will the next generation be out? Is the next generation going to be leaps and bounds ahead of the current gen, or just an incremental improvement? Eight or nine years from now, am I going to feel like a chump for grabbing Raptor Lake when I could have waited a few more months for Arrow Lake?
Thank you in advance for your advice.
My primary system is 10 years so I’m looking at the same kind of question right now. The thing is, anything you buy today will bea huge leap in performance forwards regardless. There is not that much gain between two generations and it depends vastly on application or OS capabilities what the actual performance gains are.
For example I just upgraded a 2 year old system from Pentium Gold to i5 with the same motherboard. There was a noticeable performance gain with one applications that is multihtreaded being 10x faster in one aspect of it, but other less optimised operations are only a little faster. Two generations of i5 you wouldn’t see such a leapfrog of performance.
I would not buy a CPU without igpu. If you have to troubleshoot gpu problems its worth the few bucks.
Absolutely 100 percent second this. Having a cpu with really saved me when my old GPU died and I was still able to use my pc for pc for schoolwork/light gaming at the time.
Cpu prices are good, ram prices are decent and storage prices also good. Generally a good time to make a purchase. There is always going to be something new coming that you could wait for. But it will be expensive at release so you need to wait 4-8 months for it to drop to more reasonable levels. By the time you reach that time period, you realise the new gen is coming soon so maybe wait for that… And the cycle goes on. Forget about the longevity of Sandy Bridge. That was an anomaly due to poor cpu performance progress during ~2012-2019 and certainly not the rule. Nowadays cpus can get outdated after 3-4 years depending on what you are doing.
i5-2500k to 7800X3D here. Been in the same boat but ultimately AMD 's offering for just gaming seems much superior in every aspect. Having the ability to maybe upgrade to a 9800X3D also looks very enticing.
OP said he wants Intel dude… Yes AMD is fine, but OP said he’s had it, trusts them & wants Intel.
OP, could do a 13700f or 14700kf (or 13600 & 14600 if you want the i5 not i7)
Processor would do you right. I suggest the F, since you mentioned you won’t overclock it. Save some $$$
Why go for brand loyalty when you can get something much better for less?
Why go for brand loyalty when you can get something much better for less?
never wait, your be waiting for ever , 12,13, 14 gen all good
Nearly 13 years on the same CPU!? Upgrade today my man. If you live near a Microcenter they’ve got some killer deals right now. I’m seeing the 14700k bundle that includes a good board and 32GB of RAM for $500. I’d jump on that and not look back.
I have an Ivy laptop that is still doing well. It’s had some upgrades, but surprisingly well for a 2013 machine.
i upgraded from a 2500 to a 7600x this year it really feels like another universe when i click on an icon and it opens instantly without me closing every background task
Whilst cpu pricing is good right now, desktop arrow lake won’t be launched til next year October probably since 14th gen launched at that time. Waiting an entire year makes no sense if you need to upgrade now. For this reason most are building on AMD am5 since the 8000 series will also be am5. Lga1700 is end of life since 15th gen is not going to use this socket. As long as you are aware of this then do the move you want. I went with a 12600k since the deal was too good to pass up but I built on ddr5. I am sure you will find some decent priced bundles for a 13600 or even 14600.
for intel, i would wait for 15th gen otherwise if you cant wait then go with amd am5 now
Sorry you got downvoted, dude, this is the only correct answer in this entire thread, some people be trolling or are seriously toxic.
I also still have a SB i5-2500K OC’ed in a second system at home and it still runs fine - I’d say wait another 10months for 15th gen or try the AMD X3D Chips if you want to upgrade now.
im impressed you are on sandy I thought i was frugal being on Haswell till recently :)
Lots of Black Friday deals going on right now. Just got a i7 12700k for 199.99. That’s a hell of an upgrade at a sweet price.
Get a 13th or 14th gen you won’t be disappointed
4th gen haswell still going strong will upgrade hopefully in upcoming months …though tdp now a days for top tier processors is scary …power draw alone from cpu now days will exceed my current power draw by miles and lets no forget free heating during winter days 😂😂
Whatcha gonna use it for? gaming? I honestly wouldn’t recommend intel. They are good dont get me wrong but if you want something that is gonna last you the next 10, you better go with the best that can be offered which currently is 7950X3D.
The other option is to buy the cheapest am5 CPU and wait 6 months for AMD 8000 series 3D chips, they claim 15% improvement. If that is truly the case then it’d be a no brainer.
I’d get a 7800X3D. It seems like you like to keep your pc for a long time, and that one will definitelly serve you for years to come!