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Hyperthreading

Associate
Joined
13 Mar 2007
Posts
832
Hi chaps,

Sorry, but this is another 'should I upgrade' thread.

Basically, I want to know if it is worth upgrading my i5 2500k to a 2600k/2700k/3770k?

The cost is comparatively small, but I am wondering if it still worth it.

Now, I know that this question has been asked before, but I was looking for a more specific answer based on the games I play.

So, what I want to know is if it is worth the upgrade for these specific games (as examples of the games I play):

Witcher 3
Deus Ex Mankind Divided
Elite Dangerous
Fallout 4
WoW

As for the rest of my spec, I game at 2560 x 1600 with a pair of 780ti's.

Thanks.
 
Associate
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Brighton
Yes definitely worth going for the 3770k if it's going to cost you little. The 3770k is also mildly faster at the same clockspeed than the 2xxx series.

You want all the CPU power you can get when you have SLI, and the 780 Ti is still fairly powerful by current cards' standards.


I still turn it off

Bad idea these days. Almost all software benefits from it, and some to a significant degree. On the order of 30% IPC increase.
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
2 Dec 2005
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Herts
Bad idea these days. Almost all software benefits from it, and some to a significant degree. On the order of 30% IPC increase.

It definitely does not increase IPC. It can increase overall performance though in the right conditions. Specifically if the cost of context switching is less than the stalls (from other hardware).

I'd go for it OP if it's cheap. How cheap it must be is up to you.
 
Soldato
Joined
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6,847
I still turn it off

Why not just buy an i5? The only reason some people used to turn it off was because the i7-9xx came out nearly a year before any Core i5s were available and they usually clocked better with HyperThreading off. I doubt you even get that benefit these days.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
13 Mar 2007
Posts
832
Thanks all.

Seems it would be worthwhile then.

As for cost, after I sell mine, it would work out to less than £100.

I really want a 3770k, but they are hard to come by these days. I will keep my eye on the MM and the bay.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
13 Mar 2007
Posts
832
Thanks all.

Well, it would probably work out to about £70-80 in the end.

Considering all the extra benefits mentioned here, as well as the pure speed, I don't think that is a big price to pay.

Also, when I do eventually upgrade, I plan to give my current system to the missus, so it is a more long term investment too.

Now, I don't suppose anyone has a 3770k I can buy? :)
 
Caporegime
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armoy, n. ireland
If for gaming only, yes it helps in a few titles. Mostly with sli/xfire. But even with one card some can feel smoother. Not something an fps counter can convey. For other tasks that make use of extra cores/threads it can make a pretty signifigant difference.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
13 Mar 2007
Posts
832
Sorry, forgot to mention that it is currently running at 4.2Ghz.

So, since I plan to also overclock anything I get, I suppose the performance increase will be comparable.

Setter, yeah, that is why I asked about the specific games. Although you make a good point about the graphics cards. Perhaps more performance from them can be had with the newer CPU as well.

Well, you guys are basically in agreement, so it is just a case of finding one now.

Thanks for the help.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
13 Oct 2006
Posts
90,805
It ain't going to change your life - and if you game with 60Hz V-Sync then you might not even notice a difference.

In some cases it can significantly increase how snappy the system feels when busy in desktop use and if you like 120+fps/120+Hz gaming especially with multiple cards it can definitely help to make the games feel a bit less sluggish at times (though conversely even today there is the odd game that feels a bit sluggish with HT on but its a rarity and usually solved with disabling core parking). You might not see FPS increases on paper but frametimes, etc. can be more consistent helping to make a game feel smoother over having 4 cores running flat out.

I'd still rather have it than not have it even over a higher clocked quad core these days and with some games optimised for console type environments you get better results with 8 cores under-utilised than 4 cores under-utilised.
 
Associate
OP
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13 Mar 2007
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832
To be honest, I went for a safe overclock and might be able to get a little more out of it. Don't think it will make much performance difference though.

Rroff: I generally don't use V-Sync, so the more frames the better :) Yeah, I think the general conclusion is that it certainly won't do any harm, and I will see reasonable improves in certain situations.

So, all that is left is for me to find one for sale and see how good it is for myself :)

Thanks chaps.
 
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